The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-09-04
AN AGE OF ALUMINIUM.
A CHICAGO MAN BELIEVES he IS
ABOUT TO CHEkPEN IT.

. EOunu-Nar1ous Ses 10 W nAcn the metal
Can Be Put-An Important Discovery.
Aluminium at fifteen cents a poundl
Such condition OF affairs would revo-
luionize a hundred of the useful arts
and make the Twentieth century an age
of aluminium, Just as the Nineteenth has
been an age of iron. J. III. Hirsch, a
German chemist Of Chicago, says he has
discovered a process by which he can
extract the aluminium from common
clay at cost of fifteen cents or less for
each pound. IfMr Hirsch is right, then
his secret Is worth many millions of dol
lars.
Aluminium is the perfect metal. It is
so plentiful that it composes the metallic
base of the earth's crust. The soil under
our feet is full of it. 1t is as bright as
silver and it weighs only one-fourth as
much-in fact, it is only two and one
half times as heavy as water. 1t Is both
malleable and ductile, and may be drawn
into fine wires or beaten into sheets as
thin as paper. Water does not corrode
! it. 1t does not tarnish or change color
when long exposed to the air. 1t is not
affected by any acid except hydrochloric.
1t Is superior in ightness, strength and
resistance to destructive forces 10 any
other metal. And yet it is scarcely
known to the general public and is used
very little. Why? Because it costs too
much to extract the metal from the tena-
cious grasp of the clay which contains it.
IMPORTANCE OF THE DISCOVERY.
AT S. a pound aluminium is found
only in the chemical laboratories as q
sort of curiosity At fifteen cents a
pound its uses would be endless. 1t
would be employed in the manufacture
of thousand of articles-from collar
buttons up to freight cars. Since alu-
minum was discovered, fifty years ago,
the one great problem in chemistry has
been to cheaper the process of separating
it from clay. If the Chicago chemist
has solved this problem the most ex-
travagant statement viii scarcely ex-
aggerate the far reaching results of his
achievement.
Professor Joseph NJ. Hirsch is not a
moneyless adventurer and he is not
prOclaiming the Importance of his dis
covery; in fact, he is very reticent m re-
gard to the matter He is not after
subscriptions of stock, for the entire |
stock of the company which he has |
organized has been quietly taken up by
a few capitalists, except the great slice
of 81 600, 900 retained by the discoverer
of the process.
Professor Hirsch, studious, pleasant
faced, specialized German of As, was
found at his Office.
Il have process by which aluminium
may be extracted for fifteen cents a
pound, " said he. ''It is not matter of
superstition, bQt an established fact.
have already, with my small experimental
apparatus, made from thirty to fifty
pounds in a single day, and there is moth
ng to prevent the same process from
being applied to secure indefinitely large
amounts of the metal"
THE PROCESS A SECRET.
"Can you give some idea of your pro-
,ess" was asked.
THAT Is my secret and prefer to say
Nothing about it. have been working
With the aluminium problem since 1865,
md my process is my own. l know that
can produce the metal for fifteen cents
pound. If the public does not believe
his it cannot accuse me of any Interior
motive in saying so, for do not ask any '
hing IN the way Of assistance"
Under the cheapened process to what
ses can the aluminium be proftably ap-
hedY
well, to freight cars, for instance.
'wing to the hghtness of the metal if
cen cents a pound is almost as cheap as
teel, and the metal can be used for ,
ulldlnS materials, roofing and any /
'here, IN fact. that zinc, iron or tin can ,
g used. The metal can be made as soft
5 foil or tempered harder than steel. !
luminum cutlery viii be better than
tel and silver, for it will not rust or
arnish. ] already have an order for as Y
lany pocket knives as I can turn out.
bicycle can be made of aluminium
died pipe that will weigh only fifteen
ounds, and VIII be as strong as any one :
'uld wish. Water pipes made of the T
NOSS'A VIII ASSoI IO4oFCA. AL h1uOS OF
lachnery, everything made of any y,
etal, will be improved in appearance, .
ficiency and wear if made of the new Ii
tetal" II
Professor Hirsch has put much of his :"
vn money into the company and evinces
} fear that his discovery viii prove to -,
practicable, applied upon the largest e,
ale. OF
If Chicago is soon to have cheap alu- +
inum there Is no reason why the main :,
-hi6tHon hall Of the Columbian exposi- fo
On should not be built of the bright to
etal, which is lighter than an equal IN
llk of either brick, stone, iron or glass. az
Chicago News
Wen Behaved Parrot