The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-02-10

recorded In letter form her son to a
committee of the Colorado scientific
society. Apparently a belated desire
had been expressed at Denver to learn
something concerning the Carrie j.
Everson whose name has been so pro-
minently identified with famous no.
tatlon patent The melancholy result
was TO discover that the lady, whose
experimental work had been quoted
freely in recent litigation, although
neither litigant had dared to subpoena
her as a witness, had died a year be-
fore the enquiry was set afoot
Another consequence is to shatter the
romantic story Of the alleged invention
of the oil-fotation process. It was
about time to ascertain the truth. We
have been told that Carrie ], Everson
of u. s. patent No. 348.15 was Miss
Eyerson, school teacher, the sister of
an assayer, in whose laboratory at
Denver she had discovered the fiota-
tive power of oil by washing some
greasy ore sacks containing concen-
trate, and that therefrom had resulted
the invention Of an epoch-making pro-
cess for treating sulphide ores. In
deed, one authoritative writer gave a
final touch to the picture in these
words: when she had the greasy
concentrate sacks in the wash tub and
gave them such agitation as was In
cident to the operation OF washing, 1t
only required the customary acuteness
Of observation of the western lady
school teacher to grasp the essential
facts of sulphide fiotation." Alas, our
hold on those essential facts is Slip
perry enough even 80 years after the
date of the supposed discovery. The
excellent lady herself proves to have
been a Mrs Everson, the wife of
Chicago doctor, with no brother as
saver and no laboratory for washing
ore sacks or other scientific research
Several years after the patent had
been obtained she became a nurse and
later still, twenty years subsequent to
the filing of that patent, she was for
short time teacher in school for
girls. The romancist is welcome to
that scrap Of fact, even If 1t comes at
the wrong place in the story. In short,
Mrs Everson was an intelligent earn
est woman who happened to touch the
fringe OF a metallurgical enigma. We
do not ridicule her, nor her effort to
investigate q problem that remained
entirely unsolved for many long years
after she made her amateur expert
ments; but we permit ourselves a
laugh at those who have exaggerated
her ineffective attempt into a great in
vention, in order to belittle the work
of real metallurgists and In order to
destroy the originality of much later
and far more scientific research The
Everson patent describes no workable
process; 1t was forgotten until patent
litigation brought it into fictitious pro-
minence. Posthumous demonstrations
OF the prior art made in court do not
impress the detached onlooker If Mrs.
Eyerson had never recorded her ex-
periments the flotation process would
have lost nothing. Flotation was not
descended from her, That oil would
adhere to metallic particles and float
them was known to Herodotus, it has
been matter of encyclopedia inform
alton ever since. Mrs. Everson tried
to apply the old fact to the concentra-
ton of ore, and failed. The fiotation Of
today comes to us through the Gilmore
brothers, who got their idea from |
George Robson, at the Glasdir mine, |
in Wales; where Robson got his idea |
we do not know, but we hope to find |
out before the chapter Is closed. No |
reason exists for believing that he got |
It from the U. s. patent records, for
his method bore no resemblance to
that of Carrie Everson. From the Ell |
mores the flotation pedigree continues
to Alcide Froment, who saw the Ell
more bulk-oil process In Italy, and
rom Froment to H. L. Sulman and II.
Z. k. Picard, 1t is only the distortion
If scientific vision created by the mi
isma of litigation that has caused the
Everson patent to loom so large
against the later Investigations and
developments of the process. One
myth has been swept away in course
II time others may follow 1t, so that
Ultimately the scientific truth may
tand out clear. Meanwhile we con-
'ratulate the Colorado scientific So
iety on it's course of action and hope
hat it win not abate in its intention to
10 honor to woman who was an In
nurse, teacher, good
wife. and a devoted mother That Is
more than being bubble in the froth
t litigation.
Facts Given by Her Son.
According to John L. Everson, of II
an Anselmo, Cal, Mrs. Everson's
MAIDEN name was Billings. She was i
orn at Sharon, Mass, in 1912, and in /
S51, when only years old. went with
er parents to Illinois, where in 1864 Ia
he married William X. Everson, a
MUSICIAN and surgeon practicing at c
hicago. Through her husband she L
ecame interested in chemistry. In
s7S DIR. Everson lost money In one
Brick Pomeroys wildcat mining liz