Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-08-14
RAD|UNFOR THE WORLD
Discovery of Metal in Rocks
of Northland Said to Be
Inexllaustible
AN INVESTIGATING EXPEDITION
Society Of Scientific Research of Paris
Sends Henri BerthoIet to Field =
Shipment of Ore to be Sent to Paris
For Tests-sampes to be Exhibited
at Seattle Exposition.


the principal exhibit from Alaska at
the exposition that will be held at Sc
attic in 1909. will be the different colds
produced by the north, there is another
far more valuable element that will
also have a place in the mineral build
ing.
Radium, according to a leading Pa
risian scientist, can be produced in
large quantities from certain of the
rocks of the north, and this savant.
Henri Bertholet, son Of member of
the French Gallery of Forty Immortals.
is now in Alaska arranging for a
shipment of rock to Paris where it
may be treated under the most favor
radium producer ascertained.
Gold is worth about $500 pound.
That is, 1t costs $500 to extract a
pound of gold from the earth Radium
is worth about s5,0O0.0Oo pound; at
least it is figured it would cost that
sum to- extract q pound of radium
from the pitchblends in which 1t is;
found. or course no one has yet sue
ceeded in extracting a pound of rad
iu1il and the estimate of it's value per
pound Is more or less approximate.
Rsadium, at the present time, is OBJ
tanned only in one portion of the world.
1t is extracted from pitchblends of q
certain kind found only in the Aus
TRAN empire. 1t required that tons Of
pitchblends be treated to produce a
few gains of radium, and this is one
Of the reasons for radiums enormous
price. Recently Austria has forbidden
the export of pitchblends in quantity,
and as a result scientists experiment.
ing with this newest, rarest and most
valuable OF the elements, have been
at a loss to know where to get a per-
manent supply. Now all eyes are di-
rected to Alaska and Yukon, and great
hopes are held that not only will a
permanent supply be obtained from
the great white north, but also that
this supply will be in such form that
the cost of producing radium will be
reduced from millions of dollars a
pound to thousands or even hundreds.
When aluminium was first discovered,
it's cost was prohibitive, the process by
which it was produced costing hum
dreds of dollars a pound. But after
years of experiments, process was
discovered which placed aluminium in
the market commercially. 1t is hoped
and believed by leading scientists that
radium will also be produced in short
time commercially, and that thereby
many Of the industrial processes of the
world today be greatly cheapened and
simplitied.
Like so many other scientific discov-
cries, the knowledge that radium was
present in the rocks OF the north came
quite by accident. The society for
scientific research, of which Mr.. Ber-
tholet is q member, received several
rocks from Alaska for a purpose en-
tirely disconnected with radium. One
Of these specimens happened to- be laid
near Photographic plate. When the
plate was developed there was found
on it the outline of several instruments
that were nearby at the time the rock
and the plate were III conjunction.
This led to an investigation which re-
vealed the fact that in all the rock
from Alaska were traces OF radium.
Hence Henri Bertholet's trip from Par
is to Fairbanks. The exact location of
the mine from whose specimens the
radium was taken is not, for obvious
reasons, announced. 1t is sufficient to
say according to Mr.. Bertholet, that
the deposits are Of such extent that
will avoid the necessity in future of
scielfce calling on the unwilling pitch
blends deposits of the Austrian govern
ment.
"What will radium do?' repeated Mr..
Bertholet. "Why so great are its pos
sibilities that the average newspaper
and magazine articles, usually so eX-
aggerative. do not tell half it's wonders
when dwelling upon it. Had / a
pound Of radium here and row boat,
I could repell the whole united attack
of--Well. say the Japanese fleet. We're
the Japanese navy attacking Seattle.
The prospect of cheaper radium means
more to the scientific world, and ulti-
mately to the industrial world than can
be realized at, present. I have great
hope of the prospects of the trip am
taking to Alaska. 1t may mean great
things too for the north, forlthe cheap
production of radium will furnish en-
ployment ultimately for-well, do not
care to prophesy how many men, but
the number will be greater than most
people not familiar with the new ele-
ments possibilities can imagine"