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Diamond Mine Jn Arkansas Dearborn Independent. Comparatively few persons know that diamonds of pure water are mined in Arkansas. When the American Legion annual convention was held in Kansas City and the newly elected commander, Hanford MacNider was presented with an "Arkansas diamond'' by former Governor Charles H. Bough, of Arkansas, many delegates imagined it was a joke and one newspaper ridiculed the ' idea that real diamonds were found in Arkansas. But the diamond that was given to Commander MacNider equals in color, brilliancy and hardness any diamond that comes from the great mines of South Africa. And it was mined in Pike County,Arkan sas. . It is related tbat the children of early Dutch settlers in South Africa played with diamonds as they might have done with valuless pretty* bright stones before the first diamond was identified as such in 1896. The discovery that the "pretty stones" really were diamonds was made by accident. In like manner, the first diamond found in Arkansas 15 years ago was picked up and kept merely as a "pretty stone." John W. Huddlestone, a farmer, jnade the find. He picked up a stone in his field one day but had no idea of its worth. He had formed a habit of collecting odd crystals and various specimens of minerals with which the neighborhood abounds. But the stone that he found on this particular occasion was so different from any he ever had seen end gave such sharp ' glints of light that he decided to +ake it to Mufreesboro the n^xt lime he wrent to see if someone there could identify it. Several days later, rid \T 11 frooehnrn on a mule. he noticed another stone alongside the road which appeared much like the one he bad in his pocket. He dismounted and picked it up. With the toe of his boot, he kicked at a small pile of pebbles and uncovered another one. He took the three to a bank in Mufreesboro. None of the officials knew what the stones were although one of the men did admire the larger one enough that he offered \ Huddlestone 50 cents for it. Huddlestone declined to part with it, saying he would rather break it up and see if he could not identify it. Standing ,in the little group of men in the bank that day was Judge J. C. Pinna, circuit judge in the district of which Pike County is a part. "Why don't you send them to a jeweler and see what he says about them?" suggested Julge P4nnex. So Huddlestone proceeded at once to wrap up the stones and send them to Charles S. Stifft in Little Rock. The-three stones were immediately recognized as diamonds by Mr. Stifft. But to get other opinions, he fowarded the specimen to a firm cf diamond importers of New York, had 'them inspected by Dr. George F. j Kunz, recognized as one of the authorities in America on precious stones, vice-president ana diamond expert for Tiffany's and als? gem expert for the United States Geological Survey. The stones were pro nounced diamonds and the experts declared that they appeared to he as , hard and as brilliant as the average African diamond in the rough. Dr. Kr.nz was not especially moved by the news of the discovery. He i point, d out that diamonds had been found in several states in America, by single stones, and these were accounted f6r as "s'tray stones," the theory being that they had been left after the shifting of glaciers thousand; of ye*rs ago. ?He so informed the i -i'Vo Rc ;k jeweler, discouraging any ex.-.i .a/ant hopes until a thorough invesi nation might be made. On learning however, that the stones had he y* found in grounds apparently of 1 auie origin or nature, Dr. M*t. a special trip to the Ark '."as field and was greatly impre. d with the fact that it appeared ' to have diamonds "in place" in their rs*'vt; >>eridotite. t was i* nlained that diamonds T'? * rind. n two locales, those of voi< -iv:ic. or'gin being found only in a blue earth called peridotite. Carbon at int ise heat, it is supposed, is subject; 1 to tremendous pressure and sudd'.-nly cooled by the influx ^ of water, probably in volcanic upheaval. The other locale of diamonds in quantity are certain river beds but it never has been definitely determined just how they got there. The search for information that t might throw light on the Arkansas field brought out the fact that many years before State Geologist Branner, in an official report, had called attention to 4he presence in Pike County of peridotite similar to that found in the South African diamond fields. But while diamonds "in place" always are found in volcanic peridotite, it does no^ follow that all peridotite contains diamonds. The contrary is the rele, more volcanic "pipes" con taning non-diamond peridotite than otherwise. In any event, the Branner report did not create any interest and no one ever thought of prospecting for diamonds there, although many prospected for asphaltum, silver and other minerals in that region .Meanwhile, * additional finds of diamonds were being reported and the experts were convinced that Pike County contained a real diamond "pipe." There was no way of determining if the stones existed in paying quantities except by developing the field, and mining, under the conditions, was an expensive undertaking. With the prospects seemingly very good, however, a small company with $25,000 capital was organized under the name "The Arkansas Diamond .Mining Company." In it were Mr.Stifft, the Little Rock jeweler; Sam W. Rayburn, then president of a bank in Little Rock but now general manager of Lord and Taylor in New York; A. D. Cohn, department store owner in Little Rock, and J. C. Pinnix, the circuit judge of Pike County. The little company gave Farmer Huddlestone ?35,000 for his farm, much more than its ordinary worth, after informing Huddlestone of plans which entailed the prospective sinking of a considerable sum of money with the chance of no returns. Huddlestone ^relinquished ownership with the understanding that he could remain upon the property and that he would be given employment with the firm. t Progress in development of the property was very slow. It wa* almost impossible to convince even a limiited number of Arkansans that real diamonds were to be found in the state and that there were even renjote possibilities in the Pike County field. Work was undertaken in a crude way, however, being confined to "surface scratching" and use of the crudest sort of washing machines. And diamonds continued to be found. English capital became interested in the "find" a short time after-the company was a going concern.. The firm of Lewis and Marks, of London, owners and financiers of the RobertsVictor Mine in South Africa, also of the Veerspoed Mine which afterward was sold to the DeBeers syndicate, sent representatives to America to investigate and make a report dealing with the new field. Harry D. Lewis, son of the head of the firm, and B. Oppenheimer, their diamond expert, who afterward was created a baronet by the British Government, were selected for the mission. The two men visited Arkansas and were so impressed with conditions as they found them that they expressed a wish to take half the capital stock of the company, which at that time had increased its capital to $1,000,000. The prospects gave the company renewed hope and the capitalization was further increased to $1,250,000. It was arranged that representatives should go to England for a' conference with the English syndicate and Messrs. Stifft, Rayburn and Cohn were soon afterward in London. It was impossible to close a deal, however. The London concern insisted upon a controlling interest in the company which the Arkansans declined to give and the three officials returned empty-handed. Lacking the capital for the pur chase of adequate machinery and rapid development work, the project I went along with little change for several years. Two years ago, eastern capital beca'me interested, and a holding company for the "Arkansas Diamond Corporation" was formed. It became possible then to buy machinery. The making of this, linked with the difficulties of getting materials to the new field, then almost in the wilds of Arkansas, held up operations were begun under modern methods. Much of the work now being done in the Arkansas field, aside from the mere recovery of the gems, is of a /est nature. As yet it" is not known hew many carats per load nor what the exact cost of getting stones will be. It is not possible to ascertain until later the average cost per carat nnr the average size, color and value of them. It has been determined however, that the held in Pike County embraces 62acres. Com3ared with the Piemier field of 80 acres i:i Africa, the Arkansas "pipe" i^ the second latest in the world. In the matter of quality, the Arkansas diamonds are said to average, in the higher grades, even better than the output of most of the South African mines. The first lot sold brought an average of $129 per carat, a much better price than those not familiar with the handling of diamonds might understand. The low yrade stones used for manufacturing and mechanical purposes range as low as $4 a carat at the mine and from that low figure diamonds range upward in worth according to color, and hardness, anc perfection. There is, however a large margin between the mine value anc the retail value, of between the rougl: j diamond and the cut gem, but it it - * \ O. . 1 * vv ' Whiskey/or W ife, Says Pa *i Greenville, Oct. 7.?The Rev: W. Greenville, Oct. 7?The Rev. W. P. Step, Baptist preacher from whom officers confiscated a quart of moonshine whiskey as he was returning from a country church where he had preached a powerful sermon, told Sheriff Rector today that he was carrying the whiskey home to his sick wife. Although Sheriff Rector stated that he did not think prosecution would be instituted against the preacher in the State courts, the federal--autocrines nave announced no intention of abandoning the charges. , A preliminary hearing probably will be given the Rev. Mr. Step next week. He arranged surety bonds today before United States Commissioner Williams on charges of transporting and having whiskey in his possession. Two petitions to United States Judge H. H. Watkins, of the Western district of South Carolina, were drawn up yesterday by the people of Tigerville signed by more than 40 of the best citizens of that community. The petition requested that the case be fully explained to the Federal judge before Mr. Step be prosecuted. Sheriff Rector stated today that in his opinion the case against the Rev. Mr. Step would not come to trial, even if there is an indictment. "I have known this man for a number of years," said the sheriff, "and I know him to be an upright, law abiding citizen, and a devout minister of the Gospel. He told me that his wife was ill, and as they live a long way from a physician his wife asked him to get her a little whiskey to mix with some herbs and make ^ some medicine. Some good friend gave him the quart of whiskey, he said." Sheriff Rector declared State Constable J. H. Howard overstepped " * * *? ~ n r? his authority wnen ue stuppcu auu searched the minister without a warrant. Miss Beatrice Grimshaw, English authoress, lived 15 years among the South sea canibals. The new plague the Mexican lean beatle, is estimated to consume more beans than Boston. easily accounted for. A diamond in the rough may lose two-thirds in cutting. A six-carat stone in the rough may not produce more than a two-carat cut diamond.,, The cost of cutting and polishing is one big additional charge in getting the final marketable gem. South African diamonds in the rough are. subjected to a tax that ranges from 36 to 60 per cent. The rough stones are sent to London where the great diamond syndicate handles them. There is a charge for sorting and selling. The stones are divided into "parcels" in London and sold to the cutters only a selected few of whom are allowed to buy. The syndicate needs no salesmen. The cutters in Amsterdam, Antwerp and New York are notified by teleornr?r?Vi nr rahlp that narcels of dia feiapa VI ? __ _ monds await them. The buyer goe9 to the seller?not the seller to the buyer. The buyer cannot haggle over \ prices. Nor can he pick and choose. He cannot reject some of the stone? in a parcel and have them replaced with others. He must take the parcel alloted to him or go without. It may be, and usually so happens, that all diamonds in a given package or par.cel are not suitable to the buyer'? trade. He must take them nevertheless, and sell what he does not want to other cutters, not on the syndicate's list of buyers. The buyers of the parcels almost invariably are cutters who make a business of converting the -rough stones into cut and polished gems. The stones which are. brought into America bear a duty of 10 per cent, if in the rough, or 20 per cent if cut and polished. From the cutter, they go to the broker and the jobber, then to the manufacturing jeweler .and from him to the wholesaler or the retailer and then to the individual. From the time the diamond leaves the mine in Africa until it gets to the buyer, whether by way of London and Antwerp or Amsterdam or New York, every process and ' every change in hands entails added , costs and profits so that the mine value of the stones is but a small portion of the eventual price paid for ; them. The Arkansas mine now has a ca! pacity of from 300 to 500 loads a day, this to be increased gradually to > 5.000 loads a day, if present work is J satisfactory. The results in handling the peridotite already disintegrated - have proven very satisfactory but in I a measure they are aside from what ' is expected in the hard peridotite. I Up" to the time the new machinery l was installed, the Arkansas field 5 [ had yielded 2,000 good diamonds. 'C ' Sicily raises about 8,000,000 boxes of lemons annually. PORTABLE AND STATIONARY AND BOILERS Saw, Lath and Shingle Mills, Injectors, Pumps and Fitting!, Wood 3aws, Splitters, Shafts, Pulleys, Belting, Gasoline Engines LARCHES * LOMBARD Foundry, Machine, Boiler Worke, Supply Store. v AUGUSTA, GA. Service BB m GARAGE W SERVICE STATION jgl EXTRA PARTS m TIRES, TUBES i , I EXPERT WORKMEN g|i Repair Work Done g|| Promptly and SatisIll faction Always Gnar||| anteed. 1 I NEW CARS I Chevrolet and Overland H ' Let us show them to ||| you. Also a few good III used cars?at Bargain III Prices, fe&'j / IJ J. BRICKIE || BAMBERG, S. C. rn}| >|l ifr >|| >|? >|| I'm ILI1 A fl ~~ ' | For Schc 1 ments, et< 4? 7 * * * * Ban Itl DON'T BE FLE Em 1*1 PRINTED IN T If | BONDS ALREA] ||| MONEY. AND ||| PRINTED. OB Ifi BONDS FURNIS :.- ".. - ". . ;i'A -- - . - -f: ."^W* * I*1. ? V ? * I I Attractive Round Trip Summer Excursion i | Fares to Pacific Coast and | | Mountain Resorts, via | 4* (nntli Poilurov Cvcfam ? uuuuiuii imuattuj ujoivaaa * Tickets on sale daily until September 30th, with final return jL ^ limit October 31st. Stopovers allowed at any points either going & ^ or returning within final limit of the ticket. * / J Week-end tickets to Seashore and Mountain resorts on sale * ^ Fridays and Saturdays, good to return to reach original starting Y point Midnight of Tuessday following date of sale. J ^ I 3 HIGH-CLASS TRAMS DAILY 3 f Y ' W * COACHES, PULLMANS AND DINING CARS. N + Y Write for illustrated Summer Home Folder. Y s ^ W. C. Walker, R. W. Hunt, ^ / X Traveling Pass. Agt., District Pass. Agt., Y Charleston, S. C. - Charleston, S. C. lOYSTERSl I JEVERHHWAYandFMI I I In Pint and Quart Sealed Cans I :;|Jj The Sanitary Way V ' > ' 1 For Quality and Seifvice I v I Phone 15 ^ * If I gTom Duckerg I I 2 . I MMB?MBBIMH??I . .V J ' iOGRAPHED I I ||| r ? MB ^Hf 9 llPal ji^ja B3f Eflk Jfl s& *** S@ Ii Wm \j, ' .fv'i I VX-FLAMMED BY ALLOWING YOUR JJUIKIJB iv iu HE NORTH AT ENORMOUS PRICES. SELL YOUR PI DY PRINTED AND SAVE YOUR DISTRICT OR TOWN 1|1 COMMUNICATE WITH US BEFORE HAVING THEM Ifl R WORK IS ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL WITH THE 1*1 >HED IN ATLANTA, NEW YORK, OR ELSEWHERE. 1*1 ' ? Sy\ vV -4^1