The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1900-10-16
TUESDAY. OCTOBER 10, 1000.
TRADE IN SOUTH AFRICA
Golden Chances For Young Men
With Brains and Money.
VARIOUS LINES OF INDUSTRY.

Mad Mining trnNe-NeafAF A@NSTF
thing Consumed, Including Food,
Is Now Imported From the United
States and England.
"Theres a great field in South Africa
for American energy and capital, n
golden opportunity for young men of
brains and pluck who have good flnan-
cial backing It's no place for poor
man"
Z. C. Reinecke, the resident repre-
sentative at Cape Town, South Africa.
for a number Of Chicago firms, was
the speaker, says the Chicago Inter
Ocean. Mr. Renecke left Cape Town
a few weeks ago for flying visit 10
Chicago and brought with him a lot of
valuable information about business
opportunities IN that faro6 land.
South Africa's greatest need today,
continued Mr. Reinecke, "is local man
ufactures 1t seems hardly credible
but between Cape Town and Johannes
burg there does not exist today a sim
gle factory producing anything for gen
cral consumption. There is not pin,
needle, thread paper or knitting fac
tory IN the country. All cooking uten-
sils and nearly all household furnish
ings are imported Overalls and wear
ing apparel. especially of the coarser
kinds, come from the United States
and England, while Of the finer fabrics
used for dress goods every yard is
bought abroad. So far as the heavier
lines Of manufacturing are concerned
farming implements, mining and loco
motive machinery, water and drain
pipes and such tools and machinery as
are used In ordinary mechanical
branches-there is absolutely nothing
10 suggest that any one ever thought
Of such an undertaking.
"But such conditions, while they ex-
cite wonder, are not the most remark
able. All the fresh eggs consumed
in the cities and larger towns are ship
ped from New York, while 90 per cent
of the meat consumed is supplied by
Chicago packers. 1t sounds ridiculous,
l know, but it's fact. The Beers are
supposed TO be an agricultural people
and so they are. They live nomadic
life, surrounded by their herds and
raising enough produce TO supply their
own wants, but they have little 10 mar
ket. You wonder what becomes Of the
beef which their herds furnish. Well,
some Of 1t gets into the Portuguese ter
ritory. more is consumed by the savage
tribes which skirt the semicivilized con-
dition Of African life, while a consider
able portion Of their herds die during
the long drOughts. ] think you viii
understand now why American beef
finds so large a market in the African
cities.
But Of all the absolute necessities
for which the South African merchant
suffers most a first class job printing
house IS the most pressing. All paper
bags bearing any printed matter are
bought in New York. OF course, there
are printing plants in South Africa, but
they cannot do satisfactory work Tn
der the old regime they secured a pro
hibitory tariff on all printed paper-TO
per cent is the exact flgure-and then
they forced the local merchants to take
such work as they gave them or pay
the tariff. Printed paper bags are re-
turned TO the grocers In most South
African cities just as brewers bottles
are to brewers IN America. All com
mercial printing orders 90 abroad. All
Of my letter heads, billheads, business
cards and price currents are printed in
New York. This is true also Of all the
companies and mercantile concerns,
wholesale and retail, throughout the
country. have always wondered why
some one did not start a match factory
in the Transyaai. At Cape Town there
is a factory, but they only do the dip
ping All Of their stock comes prepar-
ed from the United States.
"Things rule at almost famine prices
as compared with American values.
There Is a large consumptive demand,
and If American capital would engage
in the local manufacture of any Of the
foOdstuffs used in South Africa failure
would be hardly possible.
zone reason South Africa is behind
the times In these matters is that ev-
erybody who went there had just one
idea, and that was to get to the gold
or diamond fields. The country has
been populated by miners. At Cape
Town, when l left there, there were
several thousand of them living at the
expense Of the British government
They had come down from the Orange
free State and the Transvaal mines.
They are all broke and are waiting for
Lord Roberts permission to return
When / left, the same conditions ex-
listed throughout the country. Nearly
everybody was idle, for the miner
would rather sit around and wait for
his chance to get back to his claim than
undertake anything else. estimate
there are at least 10000 idle men in
Africa today. They will all be at work
as soon as conditions permit, and thou
sands more will join them, and this
has beer the history Of Africa year in
and year out
"But let me offer a piece of advice.
No man should think of going to South
Africa unless provided with some cap
ital Manual labor is no longer at a
premium. What Is required are brains
and capital to supply the needs of the
present and increasing population. Any
man of average intelligence, acquaint-
ed with American methods and ami
mated by a desire to permanently es-
tablish himself IN business, can hardly
fail to find suitable opportunities for
accomplishing his purpose while the
present primitive conditions continue
to exist. believe in South Africa,
and that is why am located there"
REV. s. A. DoNAHoE
Testihes to the Good Qualities Of Chamber
lain's Cough Remedy.