The chronicle=news., 1913-06-17
RADIuM IN THE
UNITED STATES


domain OF medicine and the possibiii-
ties OF Its Ultimate efficiency In the
treatment OF disease are still too lit
tic understood to permit OF any Gen-
|eralizations or pnchallcnEed state
mcntx In respect TO rxdiOtherapy.
The readiness with which the quack
and uostrum fakcr have adopted the
improved virtues Of radio-activity In
the prosecution OF their lucrative ne
fariO,iS practices IL familiar to all
Despite this misuse Of the newer con-
iributlons. of chemistry II must be
admitted that radium with its I'M
known possibilities nx well as Its
marvellous properties has entered In
to both medical thinking and doing
in n way that cannot be overlooked.
The alleged potency Of the element Is
only exceeded by Its actual price.
Radium institutes have been es-
tabiished in Austria. France. Ger
many aud England: yet few persons
nrc cosnixant Of tho fact that the
United States has radium producing
deposits within her borders and has
taken the palm from Austria as the
radium- producing country Of the
world. The experts OF the Bureau Of
Mines have lately revealed = situa-
ton In respect to this unuSuaiiy val
liable element which leads To the
rather surprising conclusion that
while all the radium placed ON the
market In the last few years has been
produced In Europc. u large portion
Of this output has come from Amer
lean ores. carnotitc and piichbicndc
are the uranium minerals which car
~ tho radium. Practically the total
American output Of pitchbicndc. the
richest Of these. has come from the
mines In GIipin,. County. Colorado.
Pi,rhbi~nd. of tAe highest grade was
sent out of the country at TING
when the worlds radius output was
supposed to he coming from Austrian
ores. Parsons has pointed out that
Will" the Austrian government.
realizing the untold possibilities of
tho radium ores OF 81. JoachIinsthnl.
has purchased the mines. put their
output under direct governmental SUI
pcrvision. and entered into nm mr.
fanEcmcnt whereby this orc In
Is worked up In cooperation with the
Vienna Academy Of Sciences for cs-
pcrimcntai purposes In n carefully
administered radium institute. Amer
'ca has allowed her much more cS-
t.nsivc resources to he exploited on u
basis which wastes perhaps irrctrirv-
ably u large portion OF tho material,
mined. and has exported carefully &C.
lcc,rd ores n, price by no means
with their radium val
nc " worked up at home. AZ least
20 or IS tons Of high Rrade pitch
bicndc have already been sent out Of
the country.
or late the foreigners have real
iscd the value Of our carnoiitc re-
sources. This mineral. which always
and radium. IL purchascd almost
wholly for the radium which II con-
tains. The more important dcposiis
arc scattered over n considerable area
In Colorado and Utah. The u. s.
Bureau Of Mines has discovered that
these ores arc being shipped abroad
In some quantity.
Bearing In mind that practically
every ton Of radium- yielding orc
mine In 1911: went abroad. that the
American deposits nrc by no means
incxhaustiblc. that We Rrc rapidly
depicting our reserve and shipping
away material OF great value and un-
known possibilities which cannot be
replaced. that the present market
value OF radium is about $:.:50.0oo
an ounce: that the American medical
fraternity has been compelled to pro-
cure from abroad such radium as In
dividuals or hospitals could afford.
and that the study OF the possible ap-
piication Of radium in n therapeutic
way has been hampcred greatly by Its
almost prohibittvc price. VIC must vel
come an investigation OF the situa-
tion by American authorities. says
The Journal Of the American Medical
Association. Scarcely any one has
taken up the extraction and refining
Of radium In this country-tho very
place where carnotitc ores that can
not find a market In Europe are to-
day being thrown on the dump and
wasted. Perhaps when the days OF
conservation of our natural rcsourc-
cs at length arrive We shall be glad
TO concentrate and conserve what our
foreign friends once rejected when
they were exploiting the treasurs to
which We ourselves were blind.
"
In the whole field Of medicine
there is not n healing remedy that
will repair damage to the flesh more
quickly than BALLARDS SNOW
LINIMENT. In cuts, wounds.
sprains. burns. ,scalds and rhcuma-
tism. its healing and penetrating
power IL extraordinary. Price 25c.
soc and 800 per bottle. Sold by
Hausman Drug Co.
CHANGING ABOUT.