Wilmington daily gazette., 1872-08-23
STOLEN SECRETS.

. m,uufacturef IN tnesc uOi u"y "oS ~"
..n AGAINST competition Dy In .U.e =, y. ,.r Srp
know.e"S" -" secrets beyond that Of producing
tie . nas art,cie at the lowest price. one nun.
the rs ago the case was diHereht. What
ore" discovered in the arts ne concealed
sunrrmen were put upon thelr oatn, 10 tne
,,, M0s" nf cod. never to reveal the processes
nam, " ,nair employers. Doors were kept
useu u, ~ artisans going out were searched, vis-
closo" s, ,y.re vigorously excluded from admis-
itois .'ud false operations blinded the work
slo,' THEMSELVES. The mysteries OF every
craft hedged in BY yIrsI aHGkIsst ss%atoa on %
plTha rpoval manufactures Of porcelain, for |
annie, we're long carried on In Europe with |
eA0nirit of Jealous exclusi seness. His Majesty
ss.PSaxony was especially circumspect: Not
oa oantent with the oath Of secresy imposed upon
his work people. he would not a0ase xh ms KING
~ u. .snspicion In favor Of brother monarch
Nsither king nor kings delegate might enter
N,.h;n ,ha taboO.d walls Of Meissen. What
w,." .ws,a.rronem,-ly c,llpd the Dresden porcelain
,bat xluisite pottery of which the world mas
nsy.r seen the like was produced TOT TWO
hundred years by process 40 seclet tnat mel
ther the bribery OF princes nor the RaIIu"'y
of operatiyps ever revealed II.
There is still standing. close by Temple Bar,
:, iondon. an old chemists shop The pro-
nrptor Of it in days gone ny enjoyed tne mo
pponoly of making citric acid. More favOraOIy
circumstancrd than other secret manu.actut
srs his was a process that required no assist
snce He employed no workinrn. Experts
same to samp and as>Ort and bottle his pro-
Jncts They never entered the laboratOy.-
The mystic operations by winch ne grew rich
we're confined to himself. One day, having
locked the doors and blinded the WINDOWS,
snre as usual of the safety Of his secret our
chemist went home to dinner. A chimney
sweep or boy disguised as such, wide awake
in chemistry, was on the watch. Following
the secret keeper so far on his way, toward
Charing Cross as to b. sure lie wOu u not re-
turn that day. the sooty phlosopher h.ed % rap rap
idy back to Temple Bar, assembled the low
building, dropped down the hur, saw all ne
wanted and returned. carrying with him the
mystery OF making citric acid Iha mOnopo-
IL of the inventor was gone. A frw m"htns
after, and the price OF the article was reduced
fonr-ffths The poor man was heart broken
AMI died shortly afterward. ignorant OF the
trick bv which he had been victinlztd. Like
Mis-, Tapitha Brambl., when informed that
thn thunder had spoiled two barrels Of beer IN
her cellar, he might have said, "How the
tlln,ler should get there. when the cellar was
douhe locked, | can't compre,ieha.
The manufacture of tin-ware in England
originated in stolen secret Few readers
need to be Informed that tin ware is simply
thin iron plated with tin by being dipped into
the molten metal. In theory it is an easy
ultter to clean the surface of iron. dip 1t INT"
a bath of the boiling tin, and re,novr IT. en-
y.oped with q sivcry metal. to place Tor
ceoling. In practice, however, the process IS
one of the most difficult in the arts. 1t was
discovered in Holland, and guarded from
publicity with the utmost vigilance for nearly
half century. England tried n vain to dis
cover the secret, until James sherman,
Cornish miner, crossed the Channel, insnu-
ated himself surreptitiously into tin-platt
manufactory, made himself master of the Sc
cret and brought it home.
The history of cast steel presents curlou
instance of manufacturing secret stealthll!
obtained under the cloak Of an appeal to phi
anthrOpy The main distinction betweel
iron and steel. as everybody knows, is tina
the latter contains carbon. The one Is con
verted into the other by being heated Tor
considerable time in contact with powdere
charcoal in an iron box Now steel thu
made is unequal. The middle Of the par
more carbOnized than the ends, and the SUI
face more than the center. 1t is, therefor,
unreliable. Uniform work cannot be mad
out Of it. For many purposes it will anSWe
but where accuracy is required 1t fails. Ne'
ertheless, before the invention OF cast ste'
there was nothing better.
In 1850 tie q lived at Atterciffe, near Sne
field, matchmaker named Iuntsman.
became dissatisfied with the watch-springs
use, and set himself to the task of makiI
them homogeneous. "lf," thought he
can melt piece of steel and cast IT into /
lngoI, us tohpOSitiOH Snouu De Ihc S,'
throughout F" lie succeeded His steel b
came famous. Huntsman's ingots for II
work were in universal demand. He did n
call them cast-steel. That was his seer
About ITO large mapufactory of this per
liar steel was established at Atterclif1e
process was wrapped in secrecy Dy eve
means within reach-true and faithful M
hired, the work divided and subdivided, lar
wages paid, and stringent oaths administers
1t did not answer. One mid-winter night,
the tall chimneys Of the Atterclne ste
works belched forth their smoke, travs
knocked at the gate; 1t was bitterly co co
the snow fell fast and the wind hOwled acr'
the moor. The stranger, apparently plo
man or agricultural laborer seeking shel
frOn the storm, awakened no susplclt
Scanning the wayfarer closely, and moved
motives OF humanity, the foreman gram
his request and let him in.
Ftlgnlng to be won ont with colo ana
tigue, tie poor fellow sank upon the uo
and so0n appeared to be asleep. That, ho
ever, was far from his intention. He clo'
his eyes apparently only. lie saw workn
cut bars Of steel mo bits place them in CT
cibles, aud thrust the crucibles into 1urha
The fire was urged to its extreme power, VI
the steel was melted. Clothed III wet rags
protect themselves from the heat, the W.
men drew out the glowing crucloles
poured their liquid contents ihto a ihou
Mr.. Huntsman's factory had nothing nlort
ulsclO,e. lhe secret Ot making c"S''S'eo'
been stolen.
One of the most important discoveries
this cen, ury is the uulcdHtztHq OF caoutci'
i. e., the process by which 1t Is renur
insensble to cold and he at. Previous " l'
Is SUN ner or winter weather prevailed, In
rubber fabrics >tiffened or melted. ms ;
cepti0iiity was the great hlndiahc " u
Use. Some half dozen inventors On thls
tie other side of the Atlantic had been
perimentlng upon this difficulty Tor sew
years. Charles Goodyear ut last stu'It
ipOn the secret. Over his little stove. ~