Jefferson jimplecute. (Jefferson, Tex.) 1907-1926, 1913-01-09
Saw, PLhI.E,g. J
4 Little Drama Enacted In Uncle
Sans Assay Offices.
SCIENCE IN THE STAR ROLE.

Cast, and. With Aeids and Precious
Metals - Stage Properties, They
Scored . Brilliant Success.
Even the United States government
has become possessed OF the present
day fever to eliminate any waste and
stop leaks In the methods OF doing
things. The results, particularly In
the minis and assay Offices. have been
remarkable.
For instance. the old method OF ex-
tracing gold from baser metals when
1t came from the mint consisted merely
OF treating the smelter bars OF gold
with nitric. acid. which dissolved out
the baser metals, leaving the gold with
a small percentage OF Impurities that
could be removed by fusing with inter
Germany Aent the United States one
better I'm 80. The professors over
there. men whose genius for scientific
detail IL unsurpassed by those OF any
other mutton. perfected process for
refining by electricity. Simply stated.
1t is nothing more nor less than electric
plating The smelter bars are placed
in the plating bath, and the gold Is de-
posted IN an absolutely pure state.
leaving the base metals behind In solu-
ton
1t was this residue that interested
the high brow professors. The fact
that platinum Is frequently found with
gold has been recognized ever since
the science OF metallurgy was ip swnd
ding clothes; also the fact that god
and platinum have one quality In com
mon--i. e.. that no single acid known
will dissolve them. 1t takes comb
nation OK nitric and muriatic acids TO
get either of these two metals In solu-
ton Silver. on the other hand. Is
readily soluble in nitric acid. No one
ever thought Of testing a nitric acid
solution OF silver for the presence Of
platinum because OF the theory, sound
as religion, that platinum could not be
dissolved by nitric acid. Therefore. it
was argued. II there wasn't enough
silver In the solution to make 1t worth
while to extract 1t, then, OF course,
there could not be any platinum. so
into the sewer 1t went.
The professors began to experiment.
At the first step they uncovered the
dusky gentleman In the wood pile.
They discovered curious fact-nam
ly, that. while platinum alone was not
soluble In nitric ncld, some Of It's al
Toys with silver were soluble For
instance. composition OF per cent
platinum In silver Is readily soluble.
Right there was the clew leading TO the
discovery that for years out OF mem
DRY untold quantities OF the precious
metal. essential above all others In
electrical manufactures, had been run
ming into the sewer. All solutions were
carefully tested. Salts OF Iron were
added, precipitates supposedly OF silver
were analysed. and since then platl
nun at the rate Of 5000 u month has
been offered for sale by Uncle Sam
It Is Interesting to trace the sources
of this gold In that the facts suggest
that sooner or later deposits Of pati-
mum In large quantities are going to
w AOuAu- A-AtIiC Va ebC 6O'u Np'hhiS
from the western United states and
Alaska contains platinum. 1t Is found
almost entirely in the gold mined In
Mexico and South America. Gold from
these districts Is coming In larger
quantities year after year. 1t Is found.
for instance. In what is popularity
known as Guinea gold. Guinea gold
has peculiar luster all its own. 1t Is
highly priced In the jewelry trade for
this same peculiar color
There are vast reaches of wilderness
In South America that, filed with
miasmlc swamps and lurid savages
armed with poisoned arrows. have so
far resisted the advance Of the white
man. 1t seems not too much to expect
that sooner or later, when these dis
tricts are exploited. platinum In large
quantities will be discovered. Some
Bret Harte is probably aborning now
to sing the romance of Platinum gulch
The romance of gold is founded on the
material consideration Of $20.GT an
ounce. which the governments OF the
earth have decreed must be its price
now and for evermore. They viii
have to build a second story exten
sion on the romance OF the metal that
IL worth twice as much as gold.
Now that Uncle Sam Is finding this
mine of platinum In the supposedly IN
alleged bars that the big refining COM
panies are sending In from their smelt-
ers. the interesting question is arising.
Who owns the platinum, Uncle Sam or
the refneries? Uncle Sam bought their
gold refined it for them at cost and
paid them dollar for dollar out OF his
pocket. Actually he was out on the
transaction. Now that be has stopped
the leak in his drainpipe. he Is a little
ahead.
Naturally, II one can play nj n game
two can play Mt the same game. Some
Of the bigger smelter companies. whose
output Is sufficient. have undertaken
the task Of recovering this platinum
themselves. II Uncle Sam can help out
his payroll with platinum residues
there IL no reason why privately con.
Quoted smelter cannot do the same
thing. So the electrical method OF re
lining II coming more and more into
use. ana the highbrow professors In
tho mints who have been searching for
platinum have discovered that the
smelter bars sent in for coinage are al
most 100 ncr cent tine. without so much