Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-10

Washington, D. O.. May THE
theory that modern man can do any.
thing is leading some ambitious exper-
imenters toward the long deserted aims
of the alchemists.
For several centuries now, the pop
ular attitude toward the madieval al
chemists has been ridicule. The phil
osopher'S stone and the elixir Of life
were Jokes" fermentation of base
metals into gold was pronounced a
legerdemain trick which some alchem-
lists dexterously managed to put over
in the presence of gullible kings whose
knowledge of chemistry was limited.
One historian explained that the me-
dieval scholar could produce a con-
vincing illustration by mixing in the
presence OF witnesses some compound
in which gold was secretly placed or
held invisible in solution, and then
bringing it forth by a process simple
enough to the operator but profoundly
mysterious to the bystanders."
The bearded old alchemists were
relegated to q sorry place in history
and formulas were glibly quoted to
show just how far off were the the
cries of the early philosophers from
the facts Of scientific chemistry.
But now, we have come around to a
more credulous era. So many mira
cles have become commonplace; so
many mysteries have been explained;
to be periodically revised that most
learned men hesitate to scott at the
seemingly impossible.
Thus. some scientists listened with
respectful interest to the reports that
German chemists were making syn
thetic gold. To be sure, the reports
were later emphatically denied, and
there is no reason to believe that the
Germans have solved the problem that
intrigued and baffled the scientists of
Europe for a thousand years.
Still it is interesting to consider
that if gold were to be made synthet-
lcally, the discovery would certainly be
kept secret as long as possible, because
only by keeping the process secret
could the inventor hope to profit. As
soon as the process became public
property, gold would sink in value to
the level Of lead.
This economic fact explains why
philosophers searched through ten CEN
turtles for the secret of transmutation
of metals, without losing interest or
hope. The mystery which surrounded
the experime n of each black robed
philosopher was supposed to safeguard
all sorts Of important discoveries. Gen
orally, the philosopher died without
ever contributing his magnum opus to
science. He preferred to bury his Sc
cret with him.
Torture Revealed Nothing
Any number of wise men were sup
posed to have found the philosophers
stone which would dissolve the foreign
substances In base metals leaving pure
gold. Alchemists were tortured by
poverty stricken kings Of Europe in
vain efforts to force them to reveal
the secret they claimed 10 have or were
accused of having. Rack and wheel
left the sages mute. Either they had
no secret or it stayed with them.
Alexander Seton, a Scottish alchem-
list, was thrown into prison by the
Duke of Saxony who demanded of him
the secret Of the philosophers stone.
Seton refused to produce a fortune in
transmitted gold which the duke asked
for his ransom. and ever under torture
he told nothing. But when a fellow
alchemist Sendivogius offered to help
him escape in return for a little in
formation about alchemy, Seton
agreed.
He regained his freedom but, with
the caution Of the Scot, he refused to