Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-03-11
RHODES RULED AFRICA
/ LIKE AUTOCRAT|C CAR
Empire Builder Was a Colossal
Adventurer, John Hays
Hammond Says.


Rhodes was an adventurer on q
colossal scale. He planned mighty
things and never hesitated at a great
risk II proportionate end was to be
geined. His vision. courage. and reso-
luton are well Illustrated in connec-
ton with the story OF the deep levels.
As we sat about our campfire one eve
ning--llhodes, Jameson and l on a
trip through Mashonaland---a discus
sion arose between Rhodes and myself
about the future of the Rand. He
wanted to know how long the life Of
the Rand mines would be. l told him
that geologically there was no reason
| why Il should not last many more
years: that from an engineering point
of view there was no limit to the depth
to which mining might be carried
Then l went on to explain that, where
as outcrop claims We're selling at
anywhere from $4,000 TO 100000
per acre, we could pick up all other
land for deep-level mining at $50 TO
500 per acre, providing no ono dis
covered what we were trying TO do. !
figured that allowing for the cost of
sinking shafts to depth of three
thousand feet, his profits would be
twenty or thirty times an great as
those yielded by the enormously costly
outcrop lands.
why would II not be good bust
ness" Rhodes asked, ito sell tho out.
crop-company holdings, quietly. buy
all tho ground along the deep levels
for ten or twelve miles and star
mining at 1000 to 5000 feet7"
~ recommended this to Barnato.'
/ said, but he was too busy with
other things to bother about 1T
"Let's send n cablegram TO London
Mt once," Rhodes exclaimed.
About two o'clock in the morninr
my secretary-now Lord Sage and
Sele, fearless adventurer. ID. s. O
man and a crack shot--started Will
only a couple OF natives. on n 500
mile ride across dangerous countr,
TO the nearest railroad station n
Matching. with a cable to the Londol
directors OF the Consolidated Col
Fields. The cable signed by Rhodes
was briefly this
Have decided best policy for com
, pany would be TO sell out our entir
, holdings in outcropping companies. ID
this at once. Hammond approves
: Cable reply"
, II took over a month for our repre-
/ sentative to cover the land tourne,
receive the reply and retoin US nes
/ Zambesi, a total ride OF over 100
miles. And this was the wording {
: the directors reply:
HNNa dnu's ,.nnr cable
gram. Do you wish us TO liquidat
{ company This cannot he done with
| out fun explanation to directors"
! Rhodes was furious. He WAS not
the habit OF having his explicit II
q structions disobeyed. He sent BAG
d this cablegram:
s DO exactly what ! instructed yo
y TO do without asking questions. I tal
full responsibility"
i This time the London agents oheye
z When we got back 10 Johsnnesbu,
several million dollars worth Of shaI,
e had been turned into cash at very his
prices. the market being then at u
y height OF boom. We Immediately 81
y machinery IN motion TO aquire all Il
" land we wanted, and though there w
10 no Gnu VI flaSkAiilk ny so4iie oi lhe IVA
> ties IN interest. we finally got near
i all we We're after, and the whole dee
!, level plan OF mining was mapped o
y and started. We had 70 spend millio,
= before we reached a trace Of gold, M
- moro millions before we won n sins
" ounce OF metal. But within two yea
we made SIC. 900 900 profit on tho tlan
action. Had II not been for deep-ley
mining. the Rand would have be
nearly exhausted by now.--John Ha
Hammond in Scribners.