The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-06-21
WERNER WAS LAST OF DIAMOND KINGS
HIS DEATH INsIoNDON RECALLS THE REMARKABLE CAREERS
 OF FOUR MEN.
THE SYNDICATE'S FINANCIER
the old Reports and Talks About South Africa.

Sir Julius Charles Warnher, head of the be Beers Diamond syndicate and of the firm of sWernher, Belt SS Co, who died in London on Tuesday, was the last of the four men Who headed by Cecil Rhodes, built up and controlled the worlds diamond indus try. beginning with the De Beers Mine and the Kimberley Mine in South Africa. One by one the others dropped away in the last ten years, until finally the bulk of the respon- sibiiity and burdens rested upon the shoulders of Sir Julius. As the banker of the four, he had conducted all their financial arrangements in this the most precious or all the worlds cOmmo oditles.
 George F. Kunz of Tiffany & Co, who has perhaps the only copy Of all the De Beers Syndicate reports in this country, and who was familiar with the parts played by the men connect ed with the company, talked yester- day of Sir Julius and his life's. work.
 Although his name does not appear among the Directors of the company in the first report, in 1888, nor as one of the life governors until fS9S. Sir Julius Wernher was from the be- ginning one of the four who held and moulded the destinies of the De
 
 were Cecil John Rhodes, B. I. Barna- to and Alfred Belt. In the report for 1906, Werner was the only life governor left.
 .He- was the last of the four great empire builders, said MT. Kunz. ''They worked. not by offensive az, gfession,..or war;. but by. carefu! ssgsses lts{ 1 f npMavass ;n the many years of their association, did one of the four sell out on- -sthe rest as so often happens in present-day high finance. especially when the properties of the business are situat- ed in far and dangerous regions. Moreover, the bylaws of the com pany are today practically what they were at the beginning.
 From the start they. adopted, nov- Iute publicity. Their reports showed diaerSms of their mines in every de- tail, s4iid contained full and complete sfafemente of their finances. Never did any of the four advance or de- press a. stock for manipulative pur- of7 March 3l, 18Se,- was only $oS0.000, and In the last report, that of 1911. had sincrsased to, 1e,eoe. 900. the capi- tai 0f the company has been increas- Cd only from fS.eSo.0eo to f4.500.-
 EaCh Man Gave c Needed Quality.
 'sThe four mon differed in these ways: Rhodes. the son of 8 clergy man. who wont to South Afr5ca to re- gain his health and seek his fortune, and in that way became interested purely by chance Ia diamond mining, xwas the man of coto6sal mind for or ganisation on broAd llnes-A man who could think in terms of Kingdoms. Barnato, who. went to South Africa with . o1veus. and. also by pure aO- cident c13aneed to- buy frSt one and then moro diamond mine cla4xms, was mer;s oricknsss -of. .DeSoection. nj a faculty for seoiao md H1ofIning hfs three partner1 of tho nhinutsst details that otherwise M0eld nAvs .e6cAped them. Belt and Wernhef were dia- mond buyers and tnterested. in dia- mond stocks. Belt was keanly inter ested in detail and had q splendid knowledge of geology and mining: