Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-05-18

HI lCNS lNG AlLtltH oA4IAN NAAg ~ Np -
last time making the increase in the
price at least Is per cent.-NeWs Item.
From the New York World.
Richer than Rockefeller, richer than
the Oil King, whose wealth surpasSes
that Of governments, is Alfred Belt OF
South Africa and London. He himself
does not say ii. for he has no way OF
estimating-within millions of pounds
sterling-his tremendous accumulatlons.
But, with q perverted pride, England
sets him against America in the matter
of money, and 1t must be said that
England's claims seem worthy OF recos-
milton. -,
For this understood. ervou timid
little man is the actual head of the dia-
mond industry of the world. n con-
trolls with undisputed power the output
and price of this most precious OF
gems. He owns-or commands the COM
pany which owns-the only diamond
mines of any Importance in the world,
and it is for him to say just how many
shall be mined and put on the. market
for princes, wine agents n other mill
lionaires to buy.
Alfred Belt. according to authorities
of his Country-oT, rather his adopted
country, for he vas born in Hamburg
Is said TO be a Millionaire. the only
nan who has YER achieved that dis
tinction. just what this means no one
can think, for the human mind cannot
comprehend n billion.
John D.. Rockefeller. 1t las been
shown. is as near to being a Millionaire
as a man can we'll be, under existing
conditions. OF purse this does not
mean that he has a billion dollars, or
could convert his tremendous holdings
into anything like that. Not in actual
cash. that is, for the total stock OF mon
ey in the world is less than $500, OOO,OoV'
Set Supreme in Ready Money"
The question is, whether John d.
Rockefeller, If he had TO convert his
wealth into cash or collateral, u 90
II 10 as great effect as Alfred Belt.
Probably. in such a contest, Belt
would have the advantage, for dia-
monds and diamond mines look more
like ready money than railroads n
oil fields. Rockefeller, Of course, al by
turning his hand add im~measurably 10
his fortune by increasing the price OF
oil q cent a gallon; but, on the otner
hand, so can Belt, by pushing up the
cost of diamonds a shiIing OF 50 d
karat. The fortune Of 18th man is,
il may be said, just as much as the
public will stand for.
Rockefeller's wealth is the result, prl-
marily, of his having what the Worlo
must have-oil and it's by-products.
Belt, on the other hand, deals only IN
Injuries. But there are enough people
who must have these Injuries to make
them practically a necessity.
If is precisely his ability to do this
that makes him such a power In the
money world. He controls the three
great cones" or mines, In hlmberley
whence all the diamonds OF the world
come. Two of these are being con-
stantly worked, and their precious out
put stored away TO be Wneh
necessary. The third, the richest mine
of all. it is believed, has never been
touched. and the wealth il may con-
tain cannot even be estimated.
The futility of trying TO dispute n a
a man with the power of either Rocke-
! Teller or Belt is worth a billion dollars
I may readily be seen. each is easlIy
worth that sum, if he chooses to be.
The only question is. which of the two
men, If the necessity should arise, could
the more easily obtain the larger sum
of actual money? AND the answer Is,
probably, Alfred Belt.
Who, then, is his Colossus OF FL
nance, this money king, who from the
unitarian standpoint is the most sue
cessful human being that has ever
= lived. He is no SNOWY figure in the
world of society; nor is he a glowering'
handwriting Scrooge, whose voice
spreads terror and destruction JUST
as Rockefeller in this country is hard
ly known except by his pictures, SO,
to an even greater degree, with Al1red
Belt in London. He is seldom seen
hardly known, and has q horror OF no.
toriety.
Alfred Belt is not a Spectator. He
is a man OF big ideas and the gift OF
the grab. His quick and inventive
brain is too big for his frail body. His
health. never good, has time AFTER time
!. JDurn r1ndna the GTVltn
He has a small and slender physique,
and is not reckoned at all cute in small
transactions. He has the large, lumln-
Gus, brown eyes of a dreamer and the
point of view of an optimtst, but with
an extraordinary knack of getting near
" everything he wants. He is abso-
lutely a bundle of nerves, and his ner-
vousness is al times quite distressing
In moments of excitement it is prac-
tically impossible for him to sit still
His hands are always In movement, and
he emphasizes his remarks by nervous
tugs at his small. fair mustache. He
is hardly known in society, but he Is
very popular with his own associates
They call him Alfred" and refer to
him as the Little Man" He has a de-
lightful house at No. &c Park Lane
London, and really p~alatial offices In
the city, but he is not ostentatious. In
fact, he Is one OF the most diffident
and "unaSSuming little men that you
could meet anywhere.
Although he has tho controlling in
terest in the great diamond fields In
South Africa, he wears no diamonds
He does not affect jewelry at all for
personal ~adornment, but he has a great
taste Cor q magnificent collection OF
antique decorated jeweled objects.
Nc one can estimate how much
money has been made in South Africa
since nearly forty years & when ar
un%suspecting Hottentot picked up q
shining pebble on a desolate farm In
~Griqualand. Billions, certainly. I'm
doubtedly, more treasure in diamonds
and gold have been taken from the
South African mines in the last thirty
eight years than any single man has
possessed since the world began. Had
the man owned the mines of South At
RIGA he would have BEEN the riches,
maj OF our time. Yet the greater par
of this wealth Is in the hands OF yer,
few men. and of these Alfred Belt is
q long way the richest. So far as the
control of solid ash is concerned there
Is little doubt that Mr.. Belt is the rich
est self-made man in the world.
He is the son of a German merchant
and at 20 years of age found himself
with very little money, but with fail
prospects. sitting on a clerks stool In
a shipping Office at Hamburg. He was
heir TO his fathers steady-going bust
ness, but he was put In the office as
an ordinary employe TO learn the tech
nicalities of the business from the hot.