Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-05-24
Is This Bachelor Richer
Than John B. Rockefeller?

the shipping firm to which young Belt
elonged and AS at that time the pros
pect IN South Africa was not IA certain
one. and credit orders We're risky. n
crash being possible at any moment.
the firm decided to send out n repre-
sentative to investigate and report. Mr..
Belt was % at the time, but he had es-
tablished himself so we'll in the good
graces of the heads of the business
that he was chosen for the task, and
set sail for Cape Town.
Going to Africa in those days was
not such an easy thing as it is today
Not an inch of the II 900 miles of rail-
way now in use had been laid. n the
only way OF travelling in Africa was by
bullock team. In this way MIR. Belt
journeyed some 300 or 400 miles. from
Cape Town To Kimberley. where he
found a city of madmen. Gold seek
ers from every part of the civilized
world were there. attracted by the
stories of fortunes made by a stroke Of
the pick. There was no order, no sys-
tenn, no laws. no method either in bus
mess or government. competition had
rough many of the mines to the
verge OF ruin: there We're
losses from thefts. against which there
was no remedy: Illicit diamond buy
ing was carried OF on IA huge scale.
and general chaos prevailed.
1t was the young Germans great up
i'A NAaAiN VIM Nv 81 ilo' " W VIZ
1t. His years of training In the Ham
burg shipping office had not been vast
ed. He was cool-headed, a man of or
derby business methods. and he quick
ly realized tina not all the wealth Of
the mines would save Kimberley from
ruin unless order took h place of
chaos and the industry was placed OH
II proper commercial basis. Forgetting"
the purpose for which he had been sent
out. Mr.. Belt set to work to accom-.
plish this object. and o found him.
self SO Indispensable to the diamond In
dustry that he resolved to remain in
the country for some years. From that
time his fortune was made. and since.
then 1t has been growing faster tina
he can count It,.
Belt tho Original Diamond King"
Though the late Cecil Rhodes Is in
separately associated with the history
of South Africa. Mr.. Belt was In that
country several years before him. and,
1t was he who first realized the danger
OF putting too many diamonds on the,
market ut once. He saw that diamonds.
might easily become so cheap as to be-
proitless to mine. and he began to car,
ry out his idea of controlling the marketj
by buying up scattered claims. The re-,
suit was that when Mr.. Rhodes ap-
peared on the scene MIR. Belt was al
ready we'll established as a sort of dia-.
1 IiipIIu hitlk III HIS w siihi u Az"
vent Of MIR. Rhodes. however, was des-
tined to work II great change In the
state OF affairs.
The great house of Werner, Belt H.
Co. is the leading house in the Ktmber-
ley diamond trade. and Mr.. Belt tx
also associated with many other gf-
gantic concerns. One OF his firms holds
., 1000. 900 acres of the most valuable ag-
r%icultural and mineral land In the
Transvaal. and Mr.. Belt is himself the
largest individual owner of mines and
land In the South Africa republic. He
is n director of the British South Afri-
can company, the United Concessions.
and the Exploration, all of them most
valuable properties. 1t Is beyond doubt
that Mr.. Belt has amassed the biggest
individual fortune ever made out OF
gold and diamond mines.
There was In New York recently n
man who has been intimately acquaint-
ed with Alfred Belt for years. He was
Joseph Lewis. one of he wealthiest and
most successful diamond merchants In
London.
alfred Belt has II of the greatest
business and executive minds l ever
came in contact WITH" Mr.. Lewis said.
He. without exception, excels n man
who has gone into the great gold n
diamond fields of Africa. Any one that
knows the man would have no cause to
wonder at his tremendous success. 4