Tin aaiGon: Sunday '. journal. Portland. Sunday morning.. November 25. . vos
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cresofT,J)scoverer
Tr&arvrratszr.
By Leigh Mitchell Hodges
y" NE day , fifteen years ago, a man named
Vf J Acheson, in Monongahela City, Pa.,
was experimenting with tan electric
current. . ,
. Thit man was a sort of dreamer. Some,
folks called him a fanatic on the subject of -electricity,
about which comparatively little
was then known. K,'-'yr:':--i- "
"But if he gets any pleasure out of it'1
they said, "let him go on." ,
Thafs what he did.. And on the day re
ferred to he took a little iron bowl, lined
with carbon, and a carbon rod,1 and, after he
had placed the red in jhe bowl,-he piled-a-mixture
of carbon and clay all' around it and
turned on a high current,' to see what would .
happezuJEhcnJie watted patiently
furnace and found a few brtght blue crystals
surrounding the rod. They were so small he
'1 could barely see them, but they sparkled like
diamonds, and, what was more, he f ound they
would cut glass like diamonds, Soot " , .
-- Th'u man-F.. G. Arhnn it hltAn
knew a great deal about metals and all that'
jor; o thing; but he coul!nt classify these
crystalsrYet-heyuarunwillingihatsuch
- r things should remain nameless, so he -cajled
them Carborundum. t
So this, then, is the beginning of the ro-
ma o Carborundum, a substance no trace
of which has ever, been found in nature,and
which strayed into being through accident.
, . No, not by accident. Nothing ever happens
zzrthat way. ---""-y
jTheJme'haI come: forjCarBoruadim;-.-
that's all.
fHfi new substance possessed a strange fascina-
UiLJJLv" y I discoverer. The Irides
cent crystals seamed to be th beareraof some
I - message to him. But What was this message?
He set about to see. Flrat he tried the lacking of
. It on e slightly larger scale, building a furnace with
four brlcka, and the result was aa Increased produc- -,
tlon. Then he studied It snd tested it and found that
It waa almost. If not quite, as hard, aa the diamond;
intensely sharp and Infusible at any known heat This
made him wonder It it might Jot be used for the pol
ishing of precious stones.
It was foolish to think of adapting It to ordinary
abrasive uses, for the world already employed emery
In these, and emery could be sold profitably for I cants
a pound, while Carborundum would t 40 cents a
carat, or $880 a pound, and then, how did he know he
could ever make so much aa a pound of It! .
It now sells for 10 cents a pound, and 10.000.000
pounds of It are produced annually In Niagara Falls,
But this Is an ante-climax. ,
It occurred to Mr. Acheson that Jewelers paid i
its a carat ror cuamond powder with which to polish
gems, and he felt aura they would like to save the 80
eenurrrihey oouldTSo when he had made enough 6t "
thla new atuff to fill a vial that had once held sugar
rillls, he put the world's entire supply of Carborundum
n his veit pocket and started for New York.
TIL ?r,t K"m merchant he went to laughed a laugh
that had grown rusty through constant use, and said
he would try it lust to show it wouldn't work. But It
did work, and Acheson went back to Monongahela
; City with an order for ten carats at 40 cents a carat
THE RISE OP'iUlWSTRVT' : '; '' "'
On the atrength of this order he organized the Car
borundum Cpmriuiy and built a furnace that would pro-'
duoe four Ounces a day. These Improved methods ialrly
wamped the market, and the price soon fell to 8440 -a
pound. And the supply outstripped the demand, until
It was found that the operation of valve-grlndlng
- could be performed In a mere fraction of the accua-"
tomej time If Carborundum waa used.
Then the price fell to 810 a, pound, and purchasers
would keep one or two pound cans In their safes and
weigh out the contents to the foremen as they needed
It And all of a sudden the demand passed the supply,
and the eompany started an electrlo light pla t aad a
one-car electrlo railway to secure a steady flow of the
needed current. Carborundum aeaaied to have made
good. . i . r , ,v
When the annual production had mounted to forty
five tone, however, th demand failed to show further ,
Increase, owing to the high cost, and the world might ,
have suffered the loss of one of Its most valuable and -widely
used products hat not th dentist come to the
' rescue. '
For today Carborundum smooths the sole of our "
hoes and roughs up our suede gloves, and scrapes
our bones after' we are dead and In the dissecting '
room, and ornaments our street sltrns and hulls rite
for our friends In India, and pollution our tombstones
and the stones we wear before we aet to these, end '
carves Our pearl buttons ind sharpens our carving
knives snd o"ir rnxorn. and keps vn from slipping
dawn th stairs when w tUscnt to U subway cars, .
.-if f 1 . 'Tftn ) or:: - sssUS! m&
fjivvAtofCet.'Mzri M &rre ooo Decrees, ns) - ftft
Ah, ' , ' , ' ,. I
76 e? firt&cfZ'oQmjn bftcr GrrAortfr
-and doea a hundred" Bt&eroaa7olifTmportance. in
addition to Ita prloolpal work done tbrough'-ftbraalT-
rbelli j--r.-ivt::.-i V.V ;:,f
. And It doea all theaa thlnra beoauie tba dentlata
found It would freatly facilitate their bualneaa of
moutb-mlnlnr, and aatd to the manufacturer: "Oo '
Novel Swindles That Entice the
HERE is no field with no. inviting" prospect
, that docs hot attract !tbe swindler. U
, will as readily engage in a religious propa
; trnnda as conduct a poolroom ii the finan
cial results to himself promise to be satisfactory.
If he can make the credulous believe that the
white pepper he sprinkles in shoes is magio pow
der curing all ills and ran sell the shoes for $2000
a pair to wealthy invalids, what need for him, ho
thinks? ta rnfraca in nthpr- Vinainen f . .
If ha fan imnnrt hann nnintinm and nalm
. II ne can import cheap paintings ana paim
them off as "Old Masters"; if he .WOrk Otf '
wnrtMnas mininir ' stAflr In Viiir Viloolcs unnn ann. "
wonniess mining siock in Dig diocks upon sun
posedly shrewd bank presidents: if he can dangle
phantom' states before the covetous ' eyes of
X . . . , -v ' - ;?-it7
lannriHTTniv connection ana assess tire neirsr
heavily for uncoverinff their inheritance in short.
'if lis cmi uluv II uc
to the-, tune of a handsome living without work,
then why work f ' .
. There are probably more swindlers busy, today
with ingenious 'and, in. som cases,-really unique
swindles than ever before, were known, and the
victims seem hungrier than ever. '' : ' : . ...
1- ' ,
o
NLY a. few weeks ago an "Old'MasUr." as It had
hem generally regarded, was suddenly withdrawn
from the American market and shipped back to
France. Thlai tan. aftee nercllatlnna had been
slmnet completed for the sale of the painting at between :
. $.0w and $73,1100. - - -
Mystery surrounds the ownership, since It failed to
cnintre hands. The painting was supposed to have been
the product of a noted Italian master whose name is
widely known to the art world through his frescoes.
At any rate. It was brought to America with a con
siderable flourish of trumpets, held In an elaborately con-
structed packing case and surrounded with the precau
tions that are usually thrown about a treasure. Coming
over in bond. It was held In the New York Custom House
in. til the , duty should be paid and the painting re-Icai'-il.
. :
The owner came over at th same time, lived at "
an expensive hoteL and entered into negotiatlona with
anumber of wealthy art patron to dlspos of th
"Old Master." One such man. It I aald, had virtually
agreed to buy th painting. .
When- entered in bond the owner gave 180.000 as
Ita lowest valuation. At a rate, of 10 per cent, the
duty would have amounted to $10,000. This was not
so opnr-.sive, if the painting could be aold for $48,000
or ffi.Ooo. ' "
The Sllrterlna bubble Was nrlckad however. hn
the customs appraiser, after a careful examination.
-placed on the painting a valuation of only $200. No-
gouauoa tor its sate, of course, cam to an end right r
ahead and ehrr ua what you Kk. We'll take it oat
of our patient:" ".-"
That aaved the new metal to men. :
Dental vooda were the flrat preaeed forma Into
which followed their Introduction mada poaalble the
aecnrUm-of oapital wHh which tu fouilnoa Hie mi
facture. And, ao far aa human aufTerlng- la concerned.
It la poaalble that nothing among the ao-called miner
adjuncta of aurgery baa done ao much to alleviate pain
aa theie tiny diaca and polnta. ...
r " If he la a benefactor who cauaea two bladea of
traaa to grow where but one grew before, then aurely
that una baa eonae claim on human gratitude who lea-ec-r.a
by two-thlrda tba time required to excavate an
esqulaltely aeneitlve 'toothl ,
.Thia la one of the thlnga Carborundum haa dona."
- - But jut about the timo It began to do' thla well. It
wee discovered that In order to continue lta manufac
ture with any profit electricity would have to be se
cured, for -leaa than an ona thought It ever could be
got. The poaalbllltlea aeemed great, but It would take
-tnByrTnaTrTOmrcTtyTd open" tba floor to" themT
a.nd where waa that key to found T T.Z.
At that crucial moment tho harnessing of eome of
Niagara'! vaat power waa planned and accomplished,
and ao when 'cheap electricity became a necessity. It
' became a fact And the. little company that bad been
there, and the chagrined speculator returned to France
with his "Old Master."
It Is said by experts that thla line of operation had
, opened what seemed to be a promlalns; field. Many
American collectors .of painting and art objects are
better endowed with means than special training; they
are greatly impressed by names and it s easy to at
tribute canvases to "Old Masters."
With equal adroitness and greater success, two'
men were accused recently of swindling a wealthy
. widow, of Cincinnati, who had gone to New York to
. select new furnishings for her house. How they
-learned of her intention Is another story, simply an.
evidence, ot their alertness.
. Tho two men. It Is charged by the police, rented a
TtciiH store lor a snori nine, ourruwru lunn uinu-
me anJ co iug carpets and other .furnishings
from merchants in the vicinity, and proceeded to trans-
act business with the Clnolnnati oman.
u ( SHld -h Blctei -0)da to the amount of
Sfil.uoo. lv ni a checK for s.svu and notes lor me oni-
flit
Upon
anc. Returning to Cincinnati, sne waa soon eaiiea
upon hy ohr of th men no Induce ww hr-en'"
!
th bP4 JJlr haa-really-nurchaaath-goo.
' " from themerchants from whom they .borrowed, they
would have made a pront or aoout lao.uuu. as k waa,
the police assert they simply returned the goode to
the owners and pocketed the entire amount minus the
temporary rent of the store.
" It Is perhaps unnecessary to etate that the widow;
failed to receive the goods she had paid for. The two
' men were arrested and lodged In lall. Later, U is
tated, they compromised by returning $10,000 of the
.money, and the woman refused. to press the charge ot
.swindling
Recently a man of the ssme name as one In the
Cincinnati ease waa arrested in Chicago, charged with
obtaining more than $100,000 from wealthy widows.
One of the transactions wpa stated to be a "book ven
ture." although ita exactefiature bad not been revealed. .
. A Be Loula woman, the police said. Intrusted $to 040
to him; one in Cincinnati hsd $20.0u0 worth of faith In
-a "book venture." while the widow of an Illinois
brewer Invested $10.0W In a rosy dresm.
Much more easily satisfied waa a smooth Individual
who recently- left a trail of rudely shaken confidence
througn the country about Columbus, Ind., when he
readily picked up 12500 or more for suits ol clothes T
that never materialised. .... .
Having samples oi pnni, onier Winn, ,nu an m
gratlatlng manner, representing himself as the agent
of a well-known Chicago tailoring house and offering
fine tailor-made suits for fio, the smooth stranger did
a rushing business; but no was caretui to collect upon
taking the order.
What proved to be the really enuring bait, how
ever, was an offer that. If the - eustomnr would buy
three suits snd two dress patterns for $10, the house -would
present his wife, daughter or any one he wished
handsome tailor-mad suit fr of charge.
In a great number of casea the $S0 was paid, and
a date fixed upon which th eustomer were to visit
the city and have their measure -taken. But they
never again saw their money or th clothing.
One of the most extensive swlnidlea popular Just
now la that dealing with a vast estate somewhere
generally In Eurone that "rightfully belongs to your
family." United Elates Minister Hill, at The Hague.
states that he has been receiving hundreds of letters,
recently regarding mythical "estate" In Holland,
using 131 eectrfcatDorsep6wer!n the annual produc
tion of forty-five tone of Carborundum, only half of
which waa being aold. by reason of Ita high price, en- ,
tered Into a long-term contract to use and pay for 1000
electi'luat horsrpowei lit Niagara, algwlwg the second of ,
all similar contracts that have ever been made, and
;ortTtg"lt factory to the heme of Ahe eataract.-
It seemed a foolish thing to do. But the fact that It
was wise foolishness Is attested by the further fact
that (00ft horsepower- la now used in the operation of
the queer-looking furnaces. In which I constantly be
ing produced the hottest heat In all the world a heat
so hot that It makea one persoire to think of Itt
- Imagine, If you can, 7000 degreea of heatt
Oo to an ordinary blacksmith forge and work the .
bellows until, you have heated an Iron rod to white
"beat and then conceive making that iron rod ten times
aa hot aa it Is, and you may be able to form aome Idea
of the heat required to bring this remarkable sub
stance Into being. v. '
Or, if It would be any easier, conceive a slice of the
sun and you will have it, for the temperature of these
"Carborundum rarBSce Is appreTlnweiy tMrririw- turt
The workmen who take care of them call It "pur
ple heat," and after on of them haa poked a steel rod
Into th 'hellish contre of a cooling furnace, and let
you look Into the gleaming, eleillng hole wherein a
piece of fire-clay would Instantly vanish In vapor and
Gullible Rich
using for thirty years as a means of getting money .
from the credulous.
Person supposing themselves heirs to one fortune
In Holland have organised In Oregon, Colorado, Penn
sylvania. Illinois and In other States for the prosecu
tion of their claims. The value ot the property sup
posed to be awaiting legal claimants Is variously
estimated at from liS.OOO.UUO to 1100.000,000.
"With regard to Imaginary estates in Holland."
said Mlnlnter Hill, "it may be stated that aa long
agu aa l;o the American Minister at The Hague made
a report In which the fraudulent character of pub
lications soliciting money subscriptions from parties
In the United Utates was fully set forth.
"1 he Holland 'estates' Include the 'Anneke-Jans,'
"the Cronkhelt.' the 'Vart Cot.' the 'Van Dussen,' the
'Webber,' the 'Brandt' and th 'MetxKer,' which are
supposed to represent millions ot money, but which
actually represent nothing. 1 -..
- i mm eatntee oo not exist; inev -re roymi. n
'Bawk-f -Hoiisntf.'-rnrhtch-1
"i neno eatntes ao not exist: tney -are myins. in
harvest from the Ilusslan famllyorTOrowtrtrTn -
duclna- Its members to seek a phantom fortune ot
843.U0C.OOO, said to have been left by a Bishop Horo
wlts in California. It is- stated that one man In New
York spent 810.000 in endeavoring to substantiate til
claim, and was finally forced to grinding a hnnd organ.
Gradual plucking of victims, however. Is not swift
enough for the plunging class of swindlers. When
the arrest of C. Augustus Seton in New York last sum
mer brought to light the Norfolk and Western Rail
way stock forcry.a : numbrof.clevercrolokawore
caught in the police net .
The general scheme was an elaborate one that of
fdrging bonds of several railroads. Including the Penn
sylvania, New York Central and Louisville and Nash
ville and the nrorroters believed they would hitve cleaned
tip something like I HUM). 000 had It gone through.
Just ss dnrlng wm a system of thefts which caused
a loss of more than SHO.onO some months ago. Operations
'were at the New York piers of steamship coast lines, -
A FINE SCHEME FOILED ' -
Thla waa a cane of collusion, and, as a chain Is no .
stronger than Its weakest link, the entire conspiracy fell
apart when one cf the eccused confessed.
A simple scheme It was; so simple thnt It pussled th
best detectives for weeks. When a merehtnt wished to
ship a esse of goods to a eustomer In the South, for ex-air-pie,
and It was called for by a truckman In the plot, It
never reached the wharf. It -was taken Immediately to
a receiver of stolen goods.
i Th truckman then took his hill of lading to a eherkef. .
who checked It a th goods having been received: then
It went to a clork for rls "O. K." In order to oomplet
th record. Of course, all thee person wer in th plot
and they divided th proceed of th el ot the gooda
filched;
Ho bold 'did they become that they m.vl away with
entire truehload. taking only the very bt siiks rl
woolens.- The pathetic part of the smry Is thnt tho,
elerks. hi order to prevent "O. K-Ing" 'i mai.jr hi. Is for
missing goods themselves; forged the nHita of other
clerks In the orhre, . usually newcomerx, and
s In the omea, . usually newcomerx, mni a number
of these were aiacnexgea, . ,
- any metal be turned to gas. you feel tht tha term L
. well applied.
It' la a regal sort of heat; an astounding heat; at
heat that makes' you wonder It after all, the orthodox
are right about their ldeaa of one port of the here
defter! . "- ..' . , ',. - ' 'I
There are fifteen of these furnaces, each the height
'Of a : manttn about ten by- twenty feet In- alee. -The
are built loosely of brick, and aftee- eaheherre ta.Xea '
to pieces and rebuilt for the next charge, alnee the b
tense heat often melt the brlcka together; In eM3
furnace is piled a mixture of powdered coke. Team
white sand, granulated carbon, salt and eawduat thai
.....u. . - h. mam ton tone
of which la generated at each burning. .
Through the centre of each furnace la laid a coej
of carbon, around which la packed the mixture, aadi
after tba top haa been rounded the electricity la apt
plied. ' ' ' ' ' 1 i!
The cables that carry the current from one end M
another are aa thick through, aa a strong man's wrta
They are securely connected to the furnace at either
end, and a current having an energy of lOOO horoae
power la turned on. In a few hours blue flamea beg-
to shoot out between the bricks and from fissures t
the top of the mass. But there Is no other evidence a.
the Intenae heat within.
The burning goeo on for- thlrty-ai hours, Then frJ
current la turned off and the furnace allowed to cet.
for aeveral hours. '' T r "
. Enough heat haa been used. In that small apaoo t'
raise 144.000 gallons of water to the boiling point;
heat 1,400,000 pounds of Iron red hot! Is It any wot.
dsr It produces aomethlng new and strange! . ; J
SPARKLING. CRYSTALS UNCOVERED
Is It any wonder that as the workmen, atandlng o"
heayv planka to keep from blistering their feet, shovt
off the black covering they come presently to 14,00.
pounds of sparkling brystalsrshlnlnarwtth an the ool-
ors of the rainbow and giving out what la left over c.
the heat that made them for hours. to come.'
In big Iron "buggies" .the- crude Carborundum
is carted to the crushers. Here It la granulated by th:
swift revolution of ponderous wheels, and after this 11
la sifted. The result is a mass that might be role
taken for breakfast food but for the color, And then
comes the grading. For tho large thirty-alx-inch abrasive,
wheels, which are used for grinding car wheels, the
coarsest grade Is used, and for rasor bones the fines'
it looks like black flour.' All these are pressed. IntC
shape hydraulicaliy and then fired In a kiln when
white heat reign. .". ."'
And this product of such vast heat will cut any-
ht"tlt :tn.tflfcyenzthe surf ace rfa diamond. " It
win eat Its way through chilled ateel aa easily as yot
and.. I eat our way through a slice of home-mad;
bread. It will put a gloss on tho ruby' and the sapphire,
and there la no acid In existence that will dissolve It
will resist any known heat It la the child of the
greirtf" - ' ,
dlscovel8 ' through his "fooling" fifteen years ago
jrymrv m-nin wiaens tne scope in us pracucaj uw
before eni
iterated, it now enters vitally Into the pro
-nnotion-of
versatlllty aol
'ma la no wise exhausted.
cniTuWngTts furnace capacity. TV
whole world la cS?n" for Carborundum, and to spec
a few hours In thek'uPP'n room ot th- PUot u
taking a course In t'K- U a sent to every aool
- and corner ,Br the earth.'S . .
And It la rather Interest" h,n tn 16
""price of It had not changed InWftsV"rowUl ex
product to a carload product, the V5 f th nnu
1 output would now be $4,400,000.0001 '
t Even though It does fall abort of thu '?0nnt ' '
. few hundred millions. It waa worth U VooUn'
waan't ItT ......... '
SOME CURIOUS PACTS AND
fancies:
I
N QERMANT, during May, hundreds of children rr
about th streets without bats on when It rain
aa it Is generally believed that May rain ta mo
healthy, and that When It falls on their bar:
heads the children will grow quicker and gain t
atrength.
In Franc a man under 2S year of age, whor
parents are dead and whose, grandfather or gra&4
mother la alive, cannot marry without th written wh
thorlty ot both, or either, of them.
The natives of the Sandwich Islands estlmat'
women by their weight The Chines require them t '
have deformed feet and black teeth. A girl must t.
tattooed sky-blue and wear a nose ring to satisfy si
South Sea Islander. Certain African princes recjutr
their brides to have their teeth filed Into th hum
blance of a saw. ,. ( ;
Th Japanese farewell. ""Sayonar, means some-
thing Ilk "If It must be so," or "If w must part thus,
so b it" ' " : - "7r"" ;
Kissing and shaking hands are rarely practloe
In Japan.
That marriage la a lottery Is not merely s flgun
of speech In the province of Smolensk. Rusrlaj It U
an actual fact Ther four times every year a lottery)
. lvi.,. u wur uraw nj 7w mnrn
eouiiti j girV
fekerisTibour'Scenta, At a single drawing 8000
ticket ara sold. He who Is fortunate enough to draw
the lucky ticket haa his alternat.ve be may marrj;
the girl If aha pleases him, also gaining thereby 34250.
In addition to whatever the girl bring with her a
dowry: or If the "prise" In question does not pleas
him, ho can turn the ticket over to a friend.
' The Tartar regard onions, leeks and garlle as
perfume. A lady ot Tartary will rub a piece ot
freshly cut -onion On her hands and over her soun-
tnanc to enhance her attraction.
In Scotland It wai long customary to Place on
man tombstone the symbol of hi tradx; n4 e
burtsl grounds tombstones so ornamented are to be
found. Thus, at th Abbey of I'unblaue a sugar oone
may be seen aa showing the grave of a grocer; sit
axe and a saw, with hammer and nallt, occur on tii
irrve of a carienter; and an awl and hammer on that
of a shoemaker. "' '" "
Well-trained Spanish women learn to hsndl -the
word from their earliest year, and as a reeult they
have admirable figure and an easy walk
In Germany what la known aa a pny-weddlng 1s
occasionally celebrated, at which the bride receive
ner guests with a basin before ner, ana eann p(o'-
entering denoslts a Jewel, a silver spoon, or a p
g aenoslt a Jewel, a nver spoon, or a prere c
monev In
v in it. in some pans oi upinmnf m, ri i
the expenses of the marring feet shall he r
cbguf-st paying for what ho eats or drink. 1
that
bv earl
prices paid for viands and tirinas are nie-n, ani t
young couple often niuk a nwi mr- yru. nn
i;iftr wedding. r'liln a sum uuite .((). t,r to r
them nicely In lite. femtlniS m imny in it') ,
are prent t such wedding.
Kuml-nudlty Is common In rm-il J " ' o. n-
tt-ermore it Is regarded as be.i.g r- ., , mi i
fill. , , .
Cniirtshlp In S? ln M r- '" ' v t . e
etiquette. A young man I" ' 1 ' r' -
tun,-ee. Kar Ml 'rn. a 1 1
JiiKt committed suk-i-i- ' ' ' . '
Which ptaoMpliomn t ' , '
the girl had v'"" ' ' 1 ' '' '
comments f tfi'-
had glvto bt t