Telegram-herald., 1889-04-17
GOLD NOT 10 eE TRUSTED.
a Cheap Alloy That sesists the Test .,
Asid 4s Perfectly &s furs Gold.

Acid 4s Perfectly a. Pure Gold.
tCcPYEIsHr ls-sy
The Iaisapplied ku0~lsdx < and danger
Gus skill OF Al unknown expert ia metals
has recently Effected something here ia
New York that Las started a thriil OF
alarm and horror that will spread quickly
over the LAID. a. the rlppies started by a
stone dropped ia quiet mill pond spread
unit. they reach the shores.
His achievement Is the prod uction az =
con- paratively cheap alloy that has the
color wei ght and dnctiuty OF gold, and
that resists the test OF acid as perfectly As
gold does. Ia short. it Is, 10 all intents
an5 purposes, short Of scientific chemical
analysis. gold.
A few days since prominent manEfac-
turer OF gold rings. Mr. julius Wodlska,
went 70 the Office Of a arefiner on J ohm street,
20 see about the refining or some sweeps"
from his factory. Tie Teluer handed 10
him small lngot that looked Ike gold
and asked him, What is that;" Mr..
Wodiska took up the acid bottle from the
table beside him AID touched the yell
low surface The hgid took no effect.
Then he rubbed the ingot OF the stone kept
for testing purposes until good mark WAS
obtained and put the acid on that.
Twelve carat gold, - he replied decidedly
as the result OF his tesS
There Is not a grain O, gold IN the whole
ingot. responded the redner.
Mr. WOciska sat down promptly on the
nearest stool aud breathed so hard that
he got red in the face. lie could not be-
lieve it. Again he made his tests; this
time ding into the ingot for the purpose.
The acid made the report as before 10 his
experienced eye, twelve carat gold Z"
Then the rcfner explained. The ingot
had been sent TO him. for test, by one OF
his customers. who had b cen deluded into
buying IL and had grown uneasy when
thinking how cheaply he had got it, from
an unknOwn man whose anxiety To effect
private sale of it gave at least a ques-
tionable color 10 his right of possession.
The refiner had tried it sufficiently to
make sure that il was not gold; and ap-
proximarely TO get at knowledge of
what were its component metals, but had
not yet made sufficiently close quantits-
tive analysis 20 determine their proper
tl0ns lie affirmed that it was Il mixture
OF platinum, aluminium, copper and silver.
II would seem that very great difficulties
must have been encountered in making
such a com bination, because Of the widely
but he WAS sure that those were the con-
stituents Of the mass. A piece of the al
| 10y that he had put through the rollers
showed that it worked quite as well as
gold and was as susceptible OF high polish.
Since then the keeper Of q small jewelry
store on Avenue \ has become the un-
happy possessor Of another ingot of the
new alloy. tie also bought from man
who had evident preferences for strictly
private aad quick sales, even IL he did not
set fall gold value and who volunteered no
condolences as 10 how he obtained the in
got. II looked 70 the storekeeper ike quite
q pretty and profitable transaction until
| he took his prize 10 an assaysr.
/ How many more victims have been
/ caught already by the modest metallur-
/ gst who has invented this seductive ma
1 terial. there Is no knowing, but they are
no douht numerous. In each of the cases
I discovered. the ingots have been small,
such as would be within the means OF
the keepers of little shops and so find
ready sale. especially when the seller con
/ yeyed the impression that he was n thief
I and was therefore willing to dispose OF the
/ chunk at less than its value. OF course in
a vast majority ~ instances the victims
would suffer their losses IN silence. when
/ they learned how they had been swiudled,
/ rather than nvow that they had bought
I what they Supposed 70 be stolen goods.
The pawnbrokers have vet 70 be heard
/ from. Doubtless they Will bleed freely
on the solid i2 2osrst gold ingots they
did az one time on the yellow diamonds
/ dipped In aniline ink, before that trick
was discovered. The thing Is bound 20
make big trouble in the tents Of Israel Z
that modest but talented metallurgist is
AZ all industrious.
Inspector Byrnes has lying upon the
table in his office big yellow bar Of metal
that once did duty ss gold brick" and
was the basis OF the biggest and most
I famous sviudle of its kind ever perpe-
I trated In this country. T. had real gold
F corner. that was cut of By the inteuding Z
. purchaser and that assayed - well that he
paid several thousand dollars for the mass.
F only 20 learn that he had had sssRyed all
there was ~ it that possessed any valae.
/ That vas considered q pretty clever tries
st the time when it was played. bat the
new device q having a whole bar of solid
i2cara. bogus gold discounts it.
And the nawnbroksrs and people Who
bay god cheap on speculation are not tB g
only ones whom it behooves 81 take a
f lively interest ir the new meta Those
fields viii soon be worked Ont, bur the
ability 60 make the alloy will remain and
the next dsmonstraficn o. - viii re in
solid gold is~eirY. turned ont hy M
rrinci pied manufacturers ard sold az
cheap prices 90 she puhlie- There vii be
10 sex = sxcus@s 20 egplsia most favora-
big - surprising ch-spness. and who. -
ordinary iew-lFv huve-~ can tell that The
uuf i rot geld when 50 $50 perfect ~ inl'-
.stior a. 70 deceive even the v-rv 80 2. %
Yer miza- say = II toNNEiIY.
rnfres- customs
- Co., -c----r- ! ---a--s .-- s-l-