The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-01

moving at all Fastened to handles like those with which I saw the diamonds spit. four diamonds rest on each plate. They are set in frame so that they just touch the wheel Each diamond Is coy- cred with a mixture of diamond dust ana water. and it is the friction of this. upon it as it moves around the plate that grinds it into the many faces or facets which SO much increase its brilliancy. The most valuable stones are cut in this way. and 1t takes . long time to trans form a rough diamond into brilliant
 During my tour I asked one of the ex- perts whether an imitation diamond had ever been made which could deceive him or any one who knew much about dia- monds. He replied that real diamonds are like nothing else upon earth, and that any one who understands them can easily detect the real from the false.
 Stringing Diamonds Like Beads.
 This man showed me models in glass of all the diamonds cut by the factory, in- cluding some of the largest of the world. He showed me real stones ready for sale worth thousands of dollars, and among others several diamonds strung upon wires as fine as hair. just as though they were beads.
 1nG HOlSS HI tAccS dAdmOAhb "Oic iuoaO here in Amsterdam. Thefe Is only one man upon earth who knows how to do it. His process is a secret. and so far no one has been able to initiate 1t. The holes he makes are as fine as a hair, but notwith- standing this they are polished on the inside Those saw were made at the tip of the diamond.
 talked with my guide about wages and learned that they vary according to the work from $5 to 20 week. The polish CTS are not so well paid as the spitters and the best work commands the big money. The great money in the business goes to the capitalists. notwithstanding more than $s.0o0.0 900 are annually paid out for such work.
 Chances for American Goods.
 I like the looks of the people of Am sterdam. They have plain, common sense air about them. They look thrifty and evidently have plenty Of money to spend. 1t seems to me that this would be one of the best places in Western Eu- rope for pushing our commercial inva- sion. Holland itself is rich, and the big firms here have wires which reach out to every part of the world, and especially to the vast population of the Dutch East Indies.
 The big factories of Java are largely owned by Amsterdam capital. and our sugar-making machinery and other such things could be sold through Amsterdam.
 The Government operates many of the railroads in the East Indies. and railroad materials for Sumatra and Java might be placed here. and the same Is true, as far as the Government is concerned. as undertakings.
 Uncle Sam in Holland.
 We already have a large trade with Am sterdam, our goods being shipped from here to all parts of Northern Europe There is a broker near the Dam who deals in American shoes, having his trade with the chief cities of Germany and Austria. American bicycles are sold on the Kal- verstraat. and our sewing machines and typewriters may be seen at several places on the same thoroughfare. You can find our carpenters tools in a half dozen places and the same Is true of American flour.
 The flour is hauled through the streets on wagons or pushed through the canals in boats and barges. It all comes in bags of 110 pounds each. about 50,00o such bags being imported each year.
 Our coal is to be seen everywhere It comes in barrels and tank steamers. The Amsterdam Petroleum Company has three
 
 each, and other companies have other large tanks. Some of the oil Is peddled about the streets in hand carts, or rather in barrels upon wheels; it is pushed by men and sometimes hauled by dogs. Our oil is used everywhere. I found barrels of It the little town of Yumiden at the end of the North Sea Canal, and I am told 1t lights the most out-of- the-way dis tricts In one of the stores here saw pack ages of Quaker Oats and bags of Mime apolis four I entered and bought a pair Of wooden clogs for 26 cents, to get a sample of the competition against the American shoe. The woman who kept the store was grinding coffee for a customer when l came in, and noticed that her machine had a Philadelphia trade mark on 1t. I asked her if 1t was a good one and she emphatcally nodded her head that 1t was
 l have spent some time today with our Consul, Mir. Frank D. Hill. who renre- sented the United States some years a 1o m Paraguay. and later on in Brazil The American consulate Is situated in one of the best streets in the center of the citv and Consul Hill does his business in A most respectable way. He is a good man ana Is pushing American trade. He thinks mat the United States could not do bet, ter than to establish a warehouse and salesroom here. where orders could he taken for American goods and where they could be always in view. He says the Dutch Will not buy without they can seA ana reel the goods. and that cataIopues are waste or postage and printing.
 Frank q HarDoo4a.