Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1903-01-10
FATAL DISCGN ERIES.
INVENTIONS THAT BROUGHT THEIR
ORlGIN~TCRS 70 THe GRAVE.

Buried with thr W>. VII. -.
sessed Them nHt 1hat ". the
Caunes os Their Tra.-it T..L r. "I.
The maxim which Stat.- iuat r,!nncr
i# golden has cost t., void - he Dr
the greatest discover; OF modern
times for not a few of "a" i!;ycntcrS
whose names woLiG have rr"n handcd
down to posters? - pubic hcu"fac-
tors have been killed. hy their secrets
before they woa'I consent 20 divulge
them 20 their fellow hcin"s.
In 1898 ali Eurnrc W. startled by
the discovery of Il Few explosive called
fu!min!te, which. ii was believed,
would revolutioniZc modern warfare.
It was the invention of an Exeter
scientist named Sawbrid%c. and sam
pies of the explosive which were test
ed by the government revealed the fact
that its power was thre" times greater
than that of corditc and in conSc-
qucncc it would treble the range of Il
rifle bullet. The German government
offered Sawbridgc f2O,OOO for his in
vention. which he patriotically refused
until the home authorities had had the
first option of purchase. But just as
the latter We're about to seal il 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 the day
minutely examined the debris they
failed to discover the secret, which is
probably lost forever.
About half 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 anci"nts, whose
secret has been lost. Taranti ADAM
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
crct 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 clevcrcst wOrkmcn
We're called in to examine the in@redi-
cnts. but they one and all failed to
penetrate the dead mans secret.
The person who could make compo-
sitiun billiard balls equal to those of
ivory would quickly qualify as a mil
lionaire, and it is not an impossible
task, for it has already been done
Some years ago Scotch manufactur
cr put composition billiard balls on the
market which We're as good at but
only third of the price of those al
ready in use. He refraincd 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. Exc
perts were given specimens of the balls
! to analyze, but in spite of the fact that
they succeeded in tracing the matcri-
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 Il martyr to his discovery, the
secret of which is lost. Some years
ago DR.. Herbert Franklin of Chicago
submitted number of COlOred photo
graphs-of a somewhat crude nature,
it is true--to the leading American
nnl tho
agement he received was such that
he built himself a laboratory, proof
! against the wiles of spies. at a cost
| of $4,000, wherein to perfect his in
| vention. 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
ishcd plates that hid the secret re-
manned, the way they were prepared
is problem that has batfled scientists
to this day.
Another victim to his secret was
Adams. the inventor of tallium, th>
greatest discovery in the metals of the
age. Adams was confident that Il 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 it 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 pershed locked up in his brain
when two years later he died help
less lunatic.-London Tit-Bts.
Believes In the Theory.
Il ANaaN