The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-09-12
FATAL DISCOVERIES.
,.vrN7loNs THAT BROUGHT THEIR
oolclNATORS TO THE GRAVE.

soienfific SecretS
nnr,ed with the Men Who Pos
I'D Them and That Were the
es of Their Tragic Taking on.
rio moxim which states that silence
> o,o1dan has cost the world some Of
tho greatest discoveries OF modern
~. ~ for not few of the inventors
..hose names would have been handed
down to posterity as public benefac-
t,rs have been killed by their secrets
.oforo they would consent to divulge
tbem 10 their fellow beings.
In 1898 all Europe was startled by
+ho discovery of new explosive called
frlmipite. which, it was believed,
wonld revoutionize modern warfare
T. was the invention of an Exeter
soiontist named Sawbridge. and sam
Mos of the explosive which were test
cd by the government revealed the fact
thot rs mower was three times greater
tban that of cordite and in conse-
orence it would treble the range of
rife bullet. The German government
offered Sawbridge 100000 for his in
vontion. which he periodically refused
rntil the home authorities had had the
first option of purchase. But just as
tba latter were about to seal con-
tract with him the news came that his
laboratory had been blown up and him
self with it, Unfortunately he left
M records whatever, and although
some of the leading experts of the day
minutely examined the debris they
failed to discover the secret, which is
probably lost forever.
About half century ago an Italian
nriest named Luigi Taranti discovered
n method of making stained glass, the
coloring of which was declared equal
TO that made by the ancients, whose
secret has been lost. Taranti aban-
doned holy orders and set to work to
execute the hundreds of commissions
he received in the secrecy of his work
shop at Ostia, near Rome. The finest
stained glass windows in Italy We're
made by him. and he guarded his Sc
cret well. for when a year later he was
found dead of blood poisoning. set up
BY the pigments he employed, it was
realized that he had carried his secret
with him. The cleverest worlimen
were called in to examine the ingredi-
ents. but they one and all failed to
penetrate the dead mans secret.
The person who could make compo-
sitiJn billiard balls equal to those of
ivory would quickly qualify as a mil
lonarp. and it is not an impossible
task. for it has already been done.
Some years ago Il Scotch manufacture
err put composition billiard balls on the
market which We're as good ut but
only third of the price of those al
ready in use fIe refrained from pat
entius his invention and made all the
balls himself even his family being
prohibited from sharing his secret
But just as he was beginning to taste
the fruits of his experiments he was
one day mortally wounded by an acct
dent in his workshop and died before
he could make any statement. Elk
perts We're given specimens of the balls
to analyze, but in spite of the fact that
they succeeded in tracing the materi-
ais used they have long since given up
all hopes of being able to discover how
they were put together.
The only man who has yet been sue
ceSSful in taking photographs in color
was a martyr to his discovery, the
secret Of which is lost. Some years
ago Or. Herbert Franklin of Chicago
submitted number of colored photo
graphs-of Il somewhat crude nature,
1t is true-to the leading American
scientific institutions, and the encour
agement he received was such that
he built himself n laboratory, proof
against the wiles of spies, at cost
of $4,000, wherein to perfect his in
yention In the preparation of his
plates he used charcoal fire, and one
day when at work he omitted to open
the ventilators and was found asphyX-
lated. He had refrained from divulg-
Ing his secret to any one, and in con-
sequence, although some partially fin
1shed plates that hid the secret re-
manned, the way they were prepared
Is a problem that has baffied scientists
to this day.
Another victim to his secret was
Adams, the inventor of tallium, the
greatest discovery in the metals of the
age. Adams was confident that metal
could be produced which, although as
hard as steel, was only half its weight
and price, and after five years expert
menting with an electrical process tai
llum was the result. The invention
was taken up throughout America, and
orders for thousands of tons of the
metal began to pour in from the lead
Ing railway companies
But it was too late. The enormous
mental strain he had undergone,
coupled with the sensation of finding
millions within his grasp. took away
MS reason, and he was confined in an
asylum. He left no records to explain
The process, and no amount of per-
suasion drew the secret from him,
which persisted locked up in his brain
When two years later he died help
less lunatic.-London Tit Bits.