Smyrna times., 1902-09-10
FATAL DISCOVERIES.
INVENTIONS THAT BROUGHT THEIR
ORIGINATORS TO THE GRAVE.

Buried with the Men Who Pos :
sessed Them and That We're the -
Causes of Their Tragic Taking On :.
The maxim which states that silence b
is golden has cost the world some OF a
the greatest discoveries of modern ii
times. for not few of the inventors G
whose names would have been handed Il
down to posterity as public benefac- u
tors have been killed by their secrets I
before they would consent to divulge '
them to their fellow beings. v
In 1895 all Europe was startled by I
the discovery of a new explosive called l
fulminite, which, it was believed, :
would revOlutionize modern warfare ,
1t was the invention of an Exeter
scientist named Sawbridge, and sam
ples of the explosive which were test
ed by the government revealed the fact
that its power was three times greater
than that of cordite and in cOnse-
uuence it would treble the range of
rifle 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 a con-
tract with him the news came that hls
laboratory had been blown up and him
self with it. Unfortunately he lett
no 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 ltallan
priest named Luigi Taranti discovered
q method of making stained glass, the
coloring of which was declared equal
to that made by the ancients, whose
secret has been lost. Taranu 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 a year later he was
. found dead of blood poisoning, set up
bv 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 mil
: lionaire. and it is not an impossible
- task, for it has already been done.
: Some years ago a Scotch manufactur-
- er put composition billiard balls on the
= market which were as good at but
only third of the price of those al
ready in use. He refrained from pat
enting his invention and made all the
- balls himself, even his family being
- prohibited from sharing his secret
:. But lust 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
81 he could make any statement. EX
.o,. perts were given specimens of the ball
or. to analyze, but in spite of the fact tina
they succeeded in tracing the materi
-, ais used they have long since given III
dy oil hopes of being able to discover hoV
he they were put together.
10 The only man who has yet been sue
10 cessful in taking photographs in colo
81 was a martyr TO his discovery, tn
-. ~. secret of which is lost. Some year
-, ago DR.. Herbert Franklin of Chicag
81 submitted number of colOred photo
- =. graphs-of a somewhat crude nature
If is true-to the leading America
us' scientific institutions, and the encOu
agement he received was such this
he built himself a laboratory, proc
against the wiles of spies, at CO.
of S12O00 wherein to perfect his Il
Vi vention. In the preparation OF b
'us. plates he used a charcoal fire, and OF
anu day when at work he omitted to OPT
10 the yentilatOrs and was found asphy
GUY lated. He had refrained from divul
con- ing his secret to any one, and in co
sequence. although some partially Fl
nal ished plates that hid the secret !
tne manned, the way they were prepar
Duh- is a problem that has battied scientis
to this day.
tiy. Another victim to his secret W
Ut Adams, the inventor of tallium,
ays greatest discovery in the metals of
Iays age. Adams was confident that me
not could be produced which, although
NOR hard as steel, was only half its weil
and price, and after five years exp'
menting with an electrical process
lium was the result. The invent
eSSs a., was taken up throughout America,
liAs orders for thousands of tons Of
: s'0 metal began to pour in from the lie
-. ing railway companies.
But it was too late. The enorm
"ey mental strain he had undergo
W ~ coupled with the sensation of find
millions within his grasp, took aN
his reason, and he was confined in
r. asylum. He left no records to exp
larg snssion drew tbe secret from /
ever which perished locked up in his b.
The when two years later he died
0 feet less lunatic.-London Tit-Bits.
line,