The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-02

For 1t tells how Fred Ora
Of the old Bay State, struggled
of revolution ridden Russia-rit
edly all-seeing eyes of the Germ
1T is almost unnecessary
Sam wants the precious metal;
ounce of it without his permiss
than he for it is absolutely es'
anism Of her submarines and
magnetos of her airplanes and
CThe Yankee engineer risked his
life when he carried off this one
whole ton of King Platinum. Every
milestone on the long way from Pc
trograd across Siberia to Vladivostok
was fraught with danger Of detection.
1t was a stunt that could not be done
again, and called for courage, daring
and diplomacy in the highest degree.
(Highly dramatic throughout is the
story of how it was done, that fol-
lows:
BY j. j. BOSDAN
Just the barest of announcements
did the Associated Press make-Mr.
Fred Draper, American mining engin-
eer had returned from Russia with his
family, bringing with him $1,000
ounces of platinum, all of which was
Immediately bought by the United
States government. Mr.. Draper was
Tech '95 man, and would leave soon
from New York for his home in Fay
vile, Massachusetts. It was as Mr..
Draper re-packed his bags for the
trip that he told me the story Of the
great platinum coup of the war.
Tall and rugged is Mr.. Draper.
Hardly the type of man that your
fiction writer would cast for ten years
of the toughest kind of roughing in
the Ural Mountains of Russia from
which he has just returned for the
first time. You would appraise him
instantly as business man of the cit
ties but nevertheless Fred Draper Is
one of the most noted of our consult
ing engineers of far away undevelop-
ed countries. He speaks Russian
fluently and when now and then he
would interrupt his story to speak tC
his very much Of a Yankee four-yeal
old boy in Russian, it gave an odd BIZ
of local color to the interview.
Knew q. S. Platinum Needs
AS long ago as last June the Amer
lean consulting engineer and his as
sociates in Russia foresaw that theil
country would have to obtain plat
mum in large quantities If the wal
with Germany was to be waged sue
cessfully. And 1t is in the Ural noun
tains where they were working tina
the world has been getting the great
er part of its supply of platinum.
An informal conference was hastil!
called. Every one of the engineers
agreed that it would be highly unpa
triotio not to make a desperate effor
to get as large an amount of platinum
as possible out of the country. No
must any time be lost in gathering
the precious stuff or it was plain tt
their experienced eyes that the Ker
ensky government was doomed and
that with it's fall anarchy would rult
In Russia.
Another goad to speed and likewis'
to secrecy, was the presence of Ger
man agents seeking platinum ant
German spies watching eternally les
ally WdI 1l6ICI1oII- LISu1d11J pat
inum-be shipped out of Russia.
Immediately a platinum collecting
, campaign was started. Under the re
! gime of the Gar the task would hav
been an easy one. But under tn
revolution, the miners were following
their natural inclination, that of loaf
, ing in the warm sun at the foot of tn
mountains in preference to swinging
pick. High wages simply could no
compete with a bag Of sunflowe
seeds-their favorite dish-when tn
seeds were to be had for the picking
+, So that the platinum had to b
picked up here and there all owe
Russia. Mr.. Draper bought one sac
in one mining town, perhaps; two 1
the next. Another engineer woul
hear of small deposit in a banI
Still another would hear that the het
> man of some Cossack village had
: small supply in his house. No amour
: was too small to be purchased.
All this was being accomplished IN
der the handicap of the fiercest com
I petition. German agents and spie
were everywhere, prepared to outbiC
: Likewise the agents of other nations
Only the supreme dash and initiativ
:. CT the Americans enabled them
make progress.
), Along about the latter part of Ser
> TENDER, the Americans realized thG
the Bolsheviki were almost ready
g Gust Kerensky and that with the ovel
Z throw Of the provisional governmeI
Il it would be impossible to get the
s platinum out of the country, an
highly dangerous for them to remain
= Already German intrigue and Pre-
paganda had undermined the pre-
8, tense of stability that the Kerensk
regime enjoyed. The army was di
Ie banding. Bands of soldiers were loo
D ing in the cities and towns. Foreign
II ers were in high disfavor. In shor
+ the country was on the verge of al
l. archy.
Their Shipment Declined
B In the meanwhile 21,0OO ounces
- platinum-nearly ton of the PR
cious stuff had been gathered an
= stored away in the vaults of the Ru
sian-English bank at Petrograd. Al
other conference of the American
was held. A decision was reache
that the campaign must be abandon
ed and the platinum shipped out {
Russia without any delay.
Whereupon Mr.. Draper strolle
casually into the offices of a. certai
big international express compan,
and requested the manager to max
arrangements for handling the trea'
ure. Imagine the Yankees consterne
ton when the express manager tire
up his hands and positively decline
to touch the platinum.
''Why, the stuff not only weighs
I.ton, but it's worth cool $4,000, 900,
the manager exclaimed. "You can