New-York tribune., 1908-01-19
LEMOINE'S DIAMONDS.
S4VANT OR SWINDLER =?
OpiniOns IN Paris DiUided-Science
and Trade Incredulous.
Especial BY French Cable to The Tribune

iCopyright. 1908, by The Tribune Assoctation.l
Paris Jan 1S-The sealed envelope deposited
in a London bank and not to be opened until
after Lemoine's death which, 1t is alleged, con-
tainS the famous secret FORMULA for making
diamonds and against which Sir Julius Wernher
advanced Lemoine $500 900 excites a public
curiosity almost as intense that ELECTED by
the contents of Nine. Therese Humbert's
memorable safe of the coffin Of Thomas c.
Druce- Masses of conflicting evidence have been
adduCed, and Paris is divided into hostile
campo for and against Lemoine. each proclaim
ing its views and theories with a boisterous
conviction second only to what was witnessed
during the progress of the Dreyfus case.
Is Henri Lemoine a Napoleonic swindler like
Therese Humbert or Galaxy? Is he a master
full conjurer. like Robert Houdin or Hermann?
Or is he prince of science, like Edison. Pasteur
or Curie? These are the questions that to-day
impasson Paris. The evidence at the outset
seemed to he overwhelmingly against Lemoine
VII, although stripped naked during his ex-
perimen =, accused of concealing diamonds
under his suspicouslv long and tapering finger
nails. Experts testified that he employed faxed
crucibles. in the interior of which he placed
natural diamonds. hidden from view by fusihle
materials which melted during the heating OF
the crucible in his electric furnace and released
the precious stones
Jewellers of the Rue de la Paix-for instance.
Cartier. La Cloche Leroy, Boucheron and others
are unanimous in the opinion that if Lemoine
could make merely kilogram OF diamonds
he could have disposed of them for at least
$4,000, and if he could make kilogram
there was no reason why he should not make
ten. twenty a hundred kilograms. which
would have made him a milliardaire. These
practical minded jewellers say that Lemoine, If
honest, has thus been losing his time, and should
have need 10 borrow money from Sir julius
wernher from any else.
The views of the French Academy Of Science
are emphaticay expressed by NJ. lie Chatelier.
who has succeeded TO the professorship Of chem
istry held by the late Henri Moissan at the Sor-
bonnie. Professor Moissan, Ike Sir William
Crookes. in England, made infinitely small dia-
monds at an immense expense, but of no COM
mercial utility. Professor lie Chatelier said that
although no one could say that Henri Lemoines
claim to make diamonds was impossible 1t was
nevertheless highly improbable and that at all
events Ilemoine's assertion that his method was
based upon that of Mossan is absolutely erTo-
neous. lie Chatelier continued: "Mossan melted
a bit of carbon in an electric oven. closed it in
a mass of casting heated from 1,500 to 5000 de-
grees centigrade and this was plunged into a
bath of melted lead at a temperature of only
300 degrees The crystallization, under the
enormous pressure thus obtained, resulted in
infinitely small diamonds, or, rather, diamond
dust Iemoine's process is essentially different
from this, because the method of capitalization
under high pressure which is the basis OF Mols-
sans method does not enter into Lemoines al
legged process All that science can determine
at present is that If Lemoine has succeeded in
making diamonds the method discovered by him
depends upon some hitherto unknown property
of carbon which must completely revolutionlze
chemistry as it is understood to-day. More
over. the method of Mossan was based upon
nearly a century of research. including expert
ments of Siman in 1898. Of Dupretz, Friedel,
Berthelot and others
Felix Birnan. the secretary of a Paris syndi-
cate of 6,alers in precious stones expressed the
greatest astonishment that 'men like Wernher'
/ Armstrong and Jackson should have been bam-
boozIed by Lemoine,' and says 'Ht surpasses
| human credulity 10 imagine that Lemoine,
= without scientific education, could sud
| denly produce diamonds of IS and 10 carats in
| his crucibles.'
Henri I.enoine is a tall, athletic, good look
| ing fashionaby dressed man, with frank ana
| oper features Jet black, intelligent eyes and
| souare-cut black beard His father was French
| ConsuI at Trieste and his mother Italian
| He was brought up at Bagneres. near Tarbes'
| where his father, after retiring from the con-
sular service, was manager Of marble works.
Young Lemoine's favorite pastime was to mount
an OK and to gallop about in the helds near
Bagneres. He served three years III d culid
| sier regiment, is an amateur bull fighter and
has had an adventurous life. visiting the Trans
: vaaI and the United States
Shortly after he made his deal with Sir julius
Wernher lie was shot at while seated under the
trees alongside the road near Cabourg by some
mysterious tourists in an automobile whose
identity was not discovered. Two balls from
revolver pierced his coat and newspaper that
he was holding in his hands. Lemoine was re-
Gently an advertising agent in the Rue Drouot
and was once confined in the Fresnes jail Tor
swindlng operations connected with the sale of
automobiles. His manners are courteous ana
svmpathetic and Notwithstanding his shady
,,ooor5 thousands of Parisians and foreigners
firmly believe in his alleged discovery OF a
method of making diamonds and are convinced
that he is one of the greatest savants whom
France has produced, - L D.
MANUFACTURED JEWELS TESTED.
1,a-1f, O manufactured precious