Evening journal., 1910-01-12
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Diplomatic Nose That Dis
covered a Great Trade Secret
BY "HolIand."

When Uncle Sam sends one Of his
nephews TO represent him at some
foreign court the old gentleman takes
It for granted that the nephew in
question will use his mind to further
the best interests Of his country. This
Is the hitherto unchronicled story of
a Yankee diplomat who used not only
his mind, but also his nose, in the
best interests of the United States.
This particular governmental repre-
sentative was Marshall Jewell, three
times governor of Connecticut, at one
time chairman of the national Repub-
hcan committee, postmaster general
under Grant, and also under the latter
minister to Russia.
you know, don't you" the govern
or asked. half facetiously, one day,
why Grant picked me as minister to
Russia? II was because / am tan
ner. Grant had a great partiality for
tanners. One Of his choicest friends
was Oliver Hoyt, one of the richest
tanners in the United States. You
see, Grants father was a tanner, and
he was clerk in his fathers leather
store when the war broke out"
We'll, maybe that's So" said one of
Gov. Jewells close friends to me.
when l had repeated the Governors
statement. But / want to tell you
that the governor has never let poll
tics or high office interfere with his
love for the tanning industry. and I'll
let you into little secret that was
told to me by the governor himself.
to illustrate my point
"The governor had not long been
minister to Russia before he became
Immensely popular. AS you know. he
was very handsome man, with a COM
plexion like that of a youth. clear blue
eyes, and pure white mustache and
imperial beard of the style of Louis
Napoleons. He also had much of the
vivacity and the dignihed courtesy Of
a French aristocrat. For these reasons
he gained the high favor of the Rus
SLAMS, and in addition to entertaining
him socially, they were always glad to
take him on visits of inspection to
their various manufactures.
AT last he was taken to inspect one
of the leading Russian tanneries and
leather manufactures. At that time the
process of making what is known to
the trade as Russian leather was
carefully guarded secret, known only
to the expert Russian leather workers.
So. though he was the official repre-
sentative Of a great nation, at the
czar's court, he was not allowed to en-
ter that part of the mandatory where
Russian leather was made.
But the Russians, in their anxiety
to guard their great secret, overlooked
one thing-the sensitive nose of their
distinguished visitor. As an appren-
tice in the tannery and leather manu-
factory established by his father in
Hartford, Conn, Gov. Jewell had
learned every detail of tanning, and
educated himself to detect by his
sense Of smell the various ingredients
that were put into the leather vats.
This sense he worked to its full ca
pacity while he was near the rooms
where Russian leather was being
made, and when he left the factory he
Woo NSA NaAh Nhdt NC hntW the pIlucl-
pal ingredient that was used in the
manufacture of the leather.
OF course, he did not learn what
were the properties OF the various in
gradients used, but when he returned
to this country the governorl brought
back with him formula for the man
ufactrue OF Russian leather which he
had worked out on what his nose had
told him while he was in the Russian
leather plant. Tests were at once
made with his formula, and, while it
was discovered that the formula was
not perfect in all its details, yet it was
sufficiently correct to enable American
manufacturers to put upon the mar
ket some fairly good specimens of So
called Russian leather"
To-day America, using the perfected
Jewell formula, manufactures a Rus
STA leather that to all intents and
purposes, is as good as that hailing
from Russia itself.
Copyright. 1909 by e. J. Edwards.l
Tomorrow, Mr. Edwards will tell
OF a "Handshake That Paved the Way
IL r. a..