The Washington herald., 1913-11-30
JUNGLE SAM Mines FOR RADIUM
ON PARADOX VALLEY CLAIMS

\
ore. to determine its radium content is
to wrap. in the dark. a photographs
plate in two thicknesses Of black paper.
then to lay upon the paper key. and
/ just above the latter to suspend a piece
Of ore weighing two or three ounces. the
whole being thereupon placed in a light
/, tight box. After three or four days the
plate is developed and IL the ore con-
| tains any radium an image OF the key
will be found on the plate.
There seems to be no question of the
fact that radium affords an effective
means of dealing with certain forms OF
cancer, especially when the latter Is in
| ternaL While producing little change In
healthy cells, IL attacks and destroys
the cancer cells. For one instance, on
April l OF the present year a cancer was
removed from the liver Of a man nearly
seventy years OF age at the Methodist
Hospital in Philadelphia His case had
been deemed hopeless, but since then ne
has been getting well quite rapidly.
For such purposes exposures OF
"a to 10 hours are made. the radium
| rays being filtered (for a reason pres
| emily to be mentioned) through a thin
| sheet OF lead. But whereas the concen-
| trated action of the rays from some
| hundreds of milligrams Of the substance
! has destructive effect upon cancer and
other malignant growths. smaller guam
| titles (as shown by many experiments)
! may have no beneficial effect. 1t is OBJ
vious, then, that radium should be avail
able in considerable quantity for medical
use, yet il is doubtful If at the present
time there is in the hands Of the medi-
! cal profession in this country more than
single gram of this rare element.
To Try Cancer Treatments.
The men who. with Mr. Kelly at their.
head, have given some hundreds of thou
sands of dollars for the purpose Of pro-
curing radium in quantity in Colorado
propose to utilize the material for con-
Quoting extensive experiments in treat
ing cancer. One hope they entertain is
that in time it may be practicable 70
apply the radium rays much more ef-
fectively with the aid of some sort OF
mechanical apparatus corresponding i'm
character to the already familiar X-ray
machine. Meanwhile it is deemed very
important that any radium which goes
! into the hands OF physicians shall be OF
known quality and potency. and it is
interesting to learn that the Government
Bureau of Standards is already prepar-
ing to standardize radium preparations.
II radium possessed no practical use
fulness it would nevertheless be OF enor-
nous interest to science 1t comes
nearer 10 q Indn lnlnS
else We know OF in nature. A substance
that actually contains a force (such q
phenomenon having hitherto been deemed
an impossibilfty), single gram Of it. il
its power were properly applied, might
drive an automobile around the world
Indeed, 1t might continue to drive the
automobile forever, apparently, inasmuch
as the force il gives out does not seem
to undergo any perceptible dirninution
with time. Here We have a suggestion
OF another impossioIlity in physics,
namely, perpetual motion
Radium gives out three kinds Of rays
alpha" rays. beta" rays. and gamma
rays The alpha rays may be shut on by
paper or glass. Both the alpha and
beta rays may be shut on by q sheet
of lead only one-tive-hundredth OF an
inch thick. But the gamma rays will
pass through inches OF iron or other
metal with scarce any interruption, the
extent of their penetrating power de-
pending upon the quantity of radium
used. 1t is the gamma rays, filtered out
! in the manner described. that are used
in treating cancer.
Mystery of 'sGamma Rays"
What are these gamma rays? The an
swer is that nobody knows. Nobody
knows exactly what radium Is; it is a
D
contains is wholly unknown. Apparently
the gamma rays are somewhat like
X-rays; but they differ, especially in
penetrating power. The X-rays in a
Crookes tube become luminous So like
wise do the gamma rays emitted by
radium when they impinge upon the min
eral "willemite," which is a silicate Of
zinc.
Finely powdered wiIIemite when mixed
! lIx-ifh har bril-
Gus. It has been suggested that a solu-
ton of this mixture, il injected into the
veins of human beings. would, as IL was
carried along by the blood. illuminate the
tissues of the body, enabling an observer
in. dark room to see the beating of the
heart, the coursing of the vital fluid
through the arteries. and even the most
intimate circumstances of the lungs and
liver. Lighting up the stomach and in
testines, IT would show the digestive
organs al work. In fact. by such means
important diagnosis might be made But
the difficulty lies in the cost of the sub
stance. Nobody but a millionaire could
AFFORD to pay for radium employed In
such a way, inasmuch as it would be
lost.
1t was Prof Becquerel. Of Paris, who
first suggested the use OF radium for
curative purposes Being engaged in e.
periments with the substance, he carried
in his waistcoat a tube containing a
very small quantity of II. As a result,
his stomach was severely burned. This
led him to the idea that radium might be
employed for attacking cancer.
So great is the power stored in radium
that its discoverer, Nine. Curie. declared
that single gram of the substance,
chemically pure, would destroy the life
of every human being in Paris. II sep
arately exposed to its influence.
The Germans report much success with
radium in the treatment Of rheumatism
Sufferers from that complaint inhale
minute quantities Of radium emanations.
and drink water which has been charged
with the latter. Certain mineral springs
are found to contain radiun, and 1t is
believed that the curative properties Of
many Of these, such as the famous
waters of Bath, may be attributable to
the presence in them of gas given on by
this marvellous substance.
RENE BACHE.