Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1902-04-02
WOOL INTERESTS :oFsTHE GREAT JUDITH COUNTRY,

MIR. Rhodes had many individual
tastes. He knew Gibbons Decline
and Fall Of the Roman Empire" al
most by heart. He admired Froude
and Carlyle as authors, collected old
furniture, China and odd Dutch curios
and paintings.
He was devoted to gardening and
did much for agriculture and viticul-
ture in South Africa. He kept a me-
nagerie on Table mountain. The en-
pire builder was a woman hater and
was in the habit OF saying that his
sister. who kept his house for him,
was the only woman he loved.
Cecil Rhodes will occupy a unique
place in British and African history.
His career has often been likened to
that of Robert Give, the poor and
melancholy young man who went out
to Calcutta as a clerk OF the East In
dia company. drove out the French
and founded the British empire in
India.
Rhodes went out to South Africa
as a mere boy, in bad health in 1871.
He made lot of money at Kimberly
oscilated between South Africa and
England until he took the NJ. A. de-
gree at Oxford. in 1881. and studied
law. Then he went back to Kimberly
and grew enormously rich In working
the diamond mines. He was not mere
ly a money hunter; he had dreams Of
empire building. and was really a fine
type OF the lingo imperialist, with a
sincere and intense enthusiasm-not
In the least unconscious of the mar.
row race selfshness underlying it
for the extension of Anglo-Saxon su-
premacy over as nue.. of the earth's
surface ana many human millions as
possible. regardless OF their wishes.
Dominated by this idea. his life was
spent in scheming to color the map
of Africa red from Cairo TO Cape"
He has colored II very red. too-par-
ticuarly in the Transvaal the Orange
Free State and Cape Colony. The
war was the inevitable outcome of
his aggressive schemes. The jamie
son raid. which was its prologue, was
his work At As, exhausted by his
prodigious exertions Of brain and
body. he is closing his eyes upon a
country desolated with a cruel war
directly traceable to his overweening
and INSCRIPTIONS ambition,
But If Gives Indian parallel is
completed and the British empire is
finally established over all South Az
rica, including the 100000 square
miles which Rhodes himself added TO
its area. there is no doubt that the
next If not the present generation will
see his life-size statue in the Abbey.
and himself canonized by British his
torians as ''the creator Of the great
South African empire" At the mo-
ment. nevertheless, he Is dying under
a cloud. while Kruger survives and
Rhodes countrymen are still paying
"the price that staggers humanity
New York. March 2G.-John Hays
Hammond. who was for many years
and up to the time of the death Of
Cecil Rhodes, intimately associated
with him in the development of South
Africa. was consulting engineer OF the
British South Africa Chartered com
pany and the consolidated gold fields
of South Africa. in which Mr.. Rhodes
held important interests. had this to
say of Mr.. Rhodes:
Mr.. Rhodes, whose sun went down
while IL was yet day, died in the i7th
year of his age. He leaves no pos.
terity but leaves his name on the map
of Africa lsponsor for a common.
wealth nearly as large as our western
states.J Had he lived he would have
devoted the remaining years of his
life and would have spent every dol.
lar of his fortune in equlpplng that
commonwealth.
Unfortunately his character was
misunderstood in America. Judged
by American standards. Mr.. Rhodes
was truly a great man. He was not
only a great empire builder. but also
a captain Of industry. He is oftener
reported as a shlfty, unscrupulous
financier, in league with the capital.
lists TO coax the Transvaal into hope
less war In order to steal the mines
of the country. He Is also reported
as giving his entire life to the amass.
ing of large wealth. and ready to EN-.
ploy the most INSCRIPTIONS methods
to that end.
Rhodes ideals were pure and lofty
and | believe that history will deal
rather with his ideals than with his
achievements and methods, and that
he will. therefore. rank high among
the great men OF the nineteenth cen.
tury. Cecil Rhodes found in the med
itations Of Marcus Aurelius many in
spirations for his own career.
Until the unfortunate Jameson raid
for which he has received far more
blame than he deserved. as history
will prove. he was very popular with
the Dutch Of South Africa.
Strange as II may seem there
would have been a revolution OF feel
I,u aaI atr a., 4. .~.... -,.,uJ a..