Daily inter mountain., 1900-12-15

IN the world and one or the
most beautiful women in the
- world, the latter an American.
and the posSessor of millions
In her own right is the most recently an
mouncea probability in the fashionable
world. The man is Alfred Belt, real
head, chief owner and administrator of
the great South African diamond mines.
The woman is Mrs. Adolph Ladenburg
of New York who believes. herself q
widow, and who yet may not be widow
after all.
Alfred Belt. though a naturalized Brit
on and resident of London, is a native
Of hamburg, where his father before him
was the diamond merchant in the days
when diamonds were rare and their pos
session a wonder. The opening of South
African commerce. saw young Belt, then
a recent university graduate, sent to the
new field of commerce. He had an ex-
traOrdinary amount of native Shrewd-
mess and possessed precisely those gifts
of detail which Cecil Rhodes, then new
factor in the, field, lacked.
Adolph Ladenburg, whose death is
matter of practical certainty, with just
enough doubt left to give the affair
spice of romance, was an invalid-ill as
the result of overwork in his New York
UTlCe, ana aDSOlutely pfeCluueu from
doing business. He was compelled to
travel, and went from place to place
with a valet, who also acted as his sec
retary. During these trips Mrs. Laden
burg, noted as one of the most beautiful
women in America, continued to live in
New York, and was factor in the gay
life of society there.
On one of these trips, Mr.. Ladenburs
disappeared during the night from the
steamer on which he was returning from
Cuba to New York. That is all that is
knoWn. The steamer was in the open
Eea, and Mr.. Ladenburg was never seen
i0r heard of again. nor has any trace OF
S1lis remains ever been discovered. This
WAS several years ago, and thus Mrs.
44adenburg is a widow.
As to Mr.. Belt. his life has been almost
khe concentration of business romance.
I'm South Africa he was the business
tman of Cecil Rhodes, making sure of the
Earnings of the firm while it's head was
constructing empires and building rail-
foads and waging wars. Indispensable
Ethough he was to Rhodes, the latter al
ways referred to him as his little COM
mercial man." When Belt arrived in
South Africa, the mining excitement had
hut ibegun-and new mines We're being
seuits We're being waged for their possess
sion, while shootings and stabbings were
as frequent as in the widest western
town made famous by Bret Harte.
Belt never lost his head, and never lost
his money. OF the latter he was, from
Ehe first amply supplied by his fathers
firm in Hamburg, whose members had
thes most implicit confidence in the youns
mans judgment. He went ahead buy
Ing mining claims, and contested rights
and the rights of the contestants. and Or
ganizing companies and floating shares
and exporting diamonds and gold and
becoming the most potent factor in
South African business. He fought the
redoubtable Barney Barnato. though
the latter in his lifetime always man
aged to hold his own against the re-
doubtable Rhodese interest, which
seemed able to sway the power Of en-
pire into it's business affairs.
+ Rhodes and Belt had their business
headquarters at Kimberley near the
great De Beers diamond field, though
they We're largely interested in the gold
mines at johannesburg. Barnato lived
chiefly at the latter place. where the
firm of Barnato, Joel & Co. had mag
hificent offices. Belt and Barnato We're
Rntitheses in person and manners-the
Former cultivated, slender and quiet;
the latter ignorant, burly and bumptu-
Gus.
Barnato detested Belt, and Belt de-
spised Barnato The latter originally an
east-end of London Jew, a circus juggler
and a prize-fghter, had been sent to
South Africa by his co-religionists in
London, as the report went, to get rid
OF him. Barnato made money as a
juggler when he first reached South At
rica, and promptly began to invest in
gold mines and diamonds. He was con-
ttinualiy at war with Rhodes, and was
the one man whom Rhodes feared. Bar
nato was always sustained by the refu-
gees and renegades, the roWdies and
roughs, of whom there was ever goodly
assemblage in a newly opened mining
district. They recognized in him one of
themselves, a man who travelled ION his
muscle and an extraordinary patron of
the fruits of the dstillery.
The habit of drink finally led to Bar
natos undoing. While on his way from,
London to Cape Town on a steamer. he
suddenly jumped overheard near Gibral-
tar, and was seen no more.
Except that Ladenburg was perfectly
nbstemious man, there was considerable
similarity between his end and that OF
BarnatO.
While Rhodes and BarnatO quarreled
Belt went on With business. Wherever
there was a mine to be bought, he was
on the ground. If it pleased him he
bought it. price being no object. The
extent Of his purchases in the diamond
fields became astonishing. Everybody
wondered-while everyone wondered still
more that the output increased sc
slowly.
Here was shown the business wisdom
of Alfred Belt. He knew that the price
of diamonds depended largely upon theil
comparative rarity, and he knew. more
over, that once they became common, il
euer they did their value would he pnnf