The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-10
TAXING AS A FINE ART.
Recalling an Ancient and EXtraOTdi-
nary Story.
How Donaldson, Chemist Who Gould
Burn the Ocean, Demanded Million
of Dollars and Was Put Out of the
Way.
From the Chicago Herald.

of Dollars and Was Put Out of the
Way.
From the Chicago Herald
Speaking of fakes" said the old re-
porter, "the first one that knew was the
best. Oh, of course, that doesn't excuse
the fake, nor make it less odious. OF
course none of US ever was guilty of fax
ing. know that. No Chicago reporter
ever wrote line which he didn't believe,
with adequate information, was the per
feet truth. But they used to do it. And
I'll tell you about it.
81 was lad, learning my trade in the
Office of the Plymouth Democrat, down in
Indiana. One of the Chicago papers had
some hired man, who certainly earned by
this one act the title of king over all
fakirs then or thereafter born. I was
devil in the Office, and found the story in
the galley proofs, even before | had
learned enough about the trade to be
trusted to take proof. 1 suppose my
technical duties consisted in carrying up
wood and sweeping out the Office
"The McDonalds, who ran the paper
and have run it ever since-were good
newspaper men, and they saw the value
of the tale, and they cut it out of the
Chicago paper and ran it from beginning
to end in their news columns; for that
was before the day of plates and patent
sides. We set our own matter and made
better papers than the journalists of the
country are making now. Here was the
story:
William Donaldson was a chemist,
Twin Grn, L1rsgiVn Il
for chemical analysis and was forever
startling his friends with some new and
wonderful discovery which was simply
wonderful and new and never had any
practical use in the business. But that
made no difference to him 1t was
enough for him to know that he had
learned something that other chemists
did not know, and he went straight ahead
with his experiments, till his hands were
burned and his eyes were injured and his
room was sight for all experimenters.
And at last he seemed to have struck the
trail Of really interesting thing He did
not come among his fellows as he had
formerly.
HIS FEARFUL SECRET.
'He never joined them in the restau-
rants, nor at the drinking cellars, nor at
the theaters, where they all had spent
many of their evenings formerly He
was scarcely ever seen even at his board
ing house. And when they did catch a
glimpse Of him it was seen that he was
worn and thin and distracted 1t came
to be known among his acquaintance
that Donaldson had tackled a problem
that was fast driving him to insanity.
His fellows talked of him and his condi-
ton with that interest we feel in man
who has tried to drink all the bulge in
town and has found it rather too much
for him. 1t is interesting, but not absorb
ing
FINALLY one day Donaldson came out on
Kearney street, clad in a fine suit of
clothes. sporting a cane and bemeaning
himself very much in the fashion of a
nabOb. He spoke to his old friends when
they addressed him, but didn't see them
till they had called his attention to their
existence. He was clearly living in the
clouds. Fact is, Donaldson had found
fortune, and he was putting himself in
training to get all out of it he could
Zone day he went to the president of
the richest bank in the city-a man who
was foremost in all public enterprises and
one who banked on his general guardian
ship of the town To him Donaldson
limited that he had make a discovery
which was of vast interest to the people
of San Francisco.
What is it2' said the banker
cit is a chemical which will burn
water said the chemist,
land what good is that to me2'
Well, have concluded to throw it
into the bay unless some of you rich men
think it worth your while to buy it, was
the rejoinder.
The banker thought he had mad
man TO deal with, but little talk showed
him that whatever might be said of Dom
aldson, IL could not be said he was crazy
He simply had a scheme by which he
could destroy by fire all the water in the
bay, and he was willing to prove it. If
he could prove it, and if he persisted in
his resolve to use it, he was dangerous to
an extreme.
HIS FIRST PROOF STUNNED THEM.
''The banker appointed an interview
with Donaldson and half a dozen rich
men and they all went together to a no.
tel which the bankers selected in secret.
They put Donaldson into room and told
him to go to work. He ranged all his
auditors across one end of the apartment
and then drew wash basin full of water
He called their attention to little pellet,
much like cathartic pill in appearance,
and dropped it into the water.
Instantly the flames shot up to the
ceiling, with roar like the falling of
walls and an intense heat that ruined the
furnishings. In two minutes all the
water in the bowl was consumed. The
bowl itself was so hot it could not be
touched by the naked hand. The air of
the room was like the fumes of an oven.
The line of capitalists across the farther
side of the apartment we're as white as