Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1902-09-18
FATAL DISCOVERIES.
INVENTIONS .EAT BROUGHT THEIR
CRIGINAToRS TO TaE GsAve.
scientiGr secrets Thnt .ave Been
Buried with the Men Who f~s-
sessed Them Ind That Were the
Cnt..es VI Their Tragic Taking or.


Euried With the Men Who f~s-
sessed Them md That Were the
Cat.es of Their Tragic Taking or.
The maxim watch states that silence
is golden has cost the World some OF
the greatest discoveries of modern
times, for not few of the inventors
whose names would have been handed
down to posterity as public heneIac-
tors have been killed by their secrets
before they would consent to divuls
them 10 their fellow beings.
In 1895 all Europe was startled By
the discovery of a new explosive called
fnlminite, which, il was believed.
would revoiutionize modern warfare.
1t was the invention o. an Exeter
pies of the explosive wh.xh were test
ed by the government revealed the fact
that its power was three tisaes grea Ter
than that of cordite anG in conse-
quence it would treble the range OF q
rife bullet. The German government
offered Sawbridge 100000 for his in
vention, which he patriotically refused
until the home authorities had had the
first option OF purchase. But just as
the 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
no records whatever, and although
some of the leading experts Of tho day
minutely examined the debris they
failed TO discover the secret, which Is
probably lost forever
About half a century ago an italian
priest named Luigi Taranti discovered
a 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 were
made by him, and he guarded his Sc
cret well. for when 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 workmen
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-
sition billiard balls equal to those Of
ivory would quickly qualify as a mil
lionalre, and it is not an impossible
task, for 1t has already been done.
Some years ago n Scotch manufactur-
er put composition billiard balls on the
market which We're as good at but
only third Of the price Of those al
ready I'm use. He refrained from pat
enting 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 acci-
dent In his workshop and died before
he could make any statement. Ex-
perts were 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 n martyr to his discovery, the
secret of which is lost Some years
ago DIR. Herbert Franklin of Chicago
submitted number of colored photo
graphs-of q somewhat crude nature,
it is true-to the leading American
scientific institutions, and the encour-
ha that
he built himself laboratory. proof
against the wiles of spies. at cost
of $4,000, wherein to perfect his in
vention. In the preparation OF his
plates he used a charcoal fire, and one
day when at work he omitted to open
the yentilators and was found asphyx-
lated. He had refrained from divulg-
ing his secret to any one, and In con-
sequence, although some partially fin
ished plates that hid the secret re-
mained, the way they were prepared
Is a problem that has bafiied scientists
to this day.
Another victim to his secret was
Adams, the inventor of tallium, tho
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
lium 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 1t was too late. The enormous
mental strain he had undergone,
coupled with the sensation OF finding
millions within his grasp, took away
his 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 perlshed locked up In his brain
whom fwn ypara l0ter hn died n hclD-