Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-23
A Helena Lady Who Has Lived
in the TranSvaal.
BOERS NOT PROGRESSIVE
British Control, She Says, Would be o.
l~ncalculable Benefit to the
the Country.

IVY - - kAS
~Transvaal, Mrs. Frederick w. Link, who
is visiting her mother. Mrs. Rose NJ.
! Deeney, 121 Rodney, thinks that British
control would be to its temporal advan-
tage, says the Helena Independent. Mrs.
Link was born in Helena and spent most
Of her life here. In 1894 she accompanied
her sister, Mrs. M. Fl. Keefe. to South
| Africa, where she met and married Mr..
, Link, formerly of Butte, but more re-
Gently engaged in mining operations in
the rand. Mrs. Link left the Transvaal
last May, accompanying her husband to
America. Mr.. Link had business in
British Columbia, where he is at pres
ent, examining mining properties, inc
after a long visit with her sister at SYRIA
cuse, N. Y, she came on to Helena. s
Mrs. Link, being herself an Uitlander.
and having formed strong pro-English
impressions through her associations, be-
lieves in the Uitlanders' cause. During
her five years residence in the Trans
vaal she saw much of the country and
its people. She traveled over the mining
districts with her husband, n lived at
both Johannesburg and Pretoria. At the
capital of the country she met President
Paul Kruger and other officials. She
said:
Leaving out the question Of the rights
! of the Uitlanders altogether, British con-
troll of the T~ransvaal will be of incalcula-
BILE benefit to the country and all of it's
people, Beers, Kaffirs and the foreign ele-
ment. The Beers are a brave people, but
they are anything but progressive. They
are centuries behind the times, and from
what I know of them they will not i'm
prove If left to themselves. With a colo
nial government. such as Cape Colony
enjoys, the Transvaal would become one
OF the richest sections OF the. world, and
. delightful place in which to live. AS It
Is now, property rights are not secure,
persons not citizens are not accorded
Justice in the courts, and are taxed be-
yOnd3 the comprehension Of any one in
America. 1t Is sometimes argued that
il the Uitlanders did not like the coun-
try and the a they were treated they
could move, but it should be understood
that they ave vast interests there rep
reserting enormous capital. and it is alb
surd to say that they should leave these,
unless absolutely compelled to do so. as
was the cas- just before the war broke
out. i
1.-THE war was not unexpected. When
we left the Transvaal, English troops
had been modified to some extent or
the border, n we saw many British
soldiers on u way out. For years the
Transvaal had been expecting and pre-
pairing for war. Their troops were vel
organized, although there was no display
of the forces. The young men had beer
taught to look for the coming struggle
for eve the U%itlanders believed thai
there would come a time some day wheI
war would be inevitable. Uitlander.
were not permitted to carry or own arms
When we came out last May. the Boel
officials at the border deprived me on. my
revolver, which, for all l may know. maj
be IN service against the British now
for I never saw it again.
:. Mrs. Link said it was a mistaken. ide:
to believe hat the Beers were the EN-
bodiment of thrift m industry.
"Boer s~ympathizers generally salt
Mrs. Link, "have a wrong impression O
the character and habits of the citizen,
of the Transvaal. The Beers are in
tensely religious and they are cour
ageous, but they are above all things