Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-08-05

that the platinum used at the jack
sonville, Tenn, power plant con-
tanned practically the same alloy as
the unclaimed platinum. This ap-
parent coincidence, coupled with the
fact Of Carriers southern accent, and
the discovery that hotel or the
name he gave as Canadian mouse
was located in Tennessee, led the
ever worked in the Jacksonville
plant. A visit to the plant showed
that an H. H. BroWn--remember the
initials on the belt-had been salvage
foreman at Jacksonville and had left
his job several months before, rather
mysteriously.
There the case stood, until Brown,
alias Carter, unconsciously cleared
things up by writing two letters to
his wife from the New York Jail,
where he then waited trial. The let
tiers were held UP by the New York
district attorney, who thought they
had to do with drug traffic because Of
references to 1.-THE stuff and $500
an ounce" To the police who had
worked on the platinum case the
letters we're the last link in the chaln
Of evidence attaching the crime to the
Jacksonville plant, for they gave the
name, phone number and address OF
the man at Jacksonville who had
worked with Brown. In the letter,
Brown instructed his wire TO go 70
this man and get $4,000 worth OF
stuff" for which she she cou rdcee ges sSs
was to send to New York as bail
for Brown. She never got the let
tiers and confronted with accumulate
ed evidence, Brown revealed the myS-
terry of the 2S0 ounces. .I.
His accomplish at the plant, who
was the chief chemist, had been as
signed the job Of converting over g.
900 ounces of platinum to platinum
SPONGE porous state of the: metal.
He was then to seal 1t up in zo-ounce
aluminium cans and place 1t In the
accounting house vault. There were
eighty-eight of the cans, and the
platinum thieves had filled eighty-s1x
of them with mercury and dirt, SO
that the weight was the same as II
the platinum was inside. one was
filled with LIQUID; me ne IL, 1ast ga can +hs
forty thieves, was properly filled.
This container, holding the right
amount of platinum, was placed
nearest the safe door. SO that wnen
it was examined in the census, the
contents of the safe were reported
correct.
Brown gave this information, but
his chemist associate, now in the
Nashville Jail with him, maintains
Innocence. The ESQ ounces which
Brown had in two water. bottles is
all of the 1900 ounces which IS 10
Gated. Probably the chemist VIII OK.
plain eventually.
This is the biggest theft of plati-
mum of all the recent hauls, anq IL
is arousing the most interest. But
the other thefts, many OF them rep
resenting as little as a hundred ooi-
lars, mean a great deal to the schools
and organizations whose work must
be hampered by the loss.
A committee on platinum recovery
composed of Dr. w. +. Htllebrand,
chief Of the chemistry division or
the bureau of standards, ana otneI
by the American Chemical society.
DR.. HilIebrand has already put forth
a. suggestion to the effect that law
is needed requiring that every gram
Of platinum be registered, possibly
with the internal revenue purea a1l
or bought without it's status being 4
accounted for
Protection against platinum thefts
is not sought by scientists so much
because of the high price OF the
greatly needed by science and INDUS
try. it is necessary in manufacture
ing electric light bulbs, munitions,
contacts on automobiles, telephones,
and other electrical instruments.
Russia, the great source ti Oh su 1pPcn
the war began, and SO far as the
future goes, it is reported that the
Russian resources are not 1ar from
exhaustion. Colombia sends US q
small amount, and we produce some
in the west for ourselves. Inc ue-
chemists and manufacturers realize
this only too we'll they are demanding
some kind of protection for what lit
tie platinum they have.