THE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
QfcDISCOVTOY
YOUNG MAN HAS OLD JOB
3Tl)E HODJ BFJfr COCD'JQO
wrmour
works at apjswM? or nm? srvirr
HE credit for discovering tlio
metallic oloment vanadium, al
most, but not qulto, belongs
to Androa Manuol Del IUo,
profcBBOr of mlnoralogy In the
Royal School of Minos of the
City of Mexico. Tho honor
would bo wholly his had ho
not hlmaolf repudiated his own
discovery.
Del Rio was born In Madrid, November 10, 1764,
and graduated from tho University of Alcala do
Henarea In 1780. On account of his extraordinary
aptltudo in tho natural r.oicnces, and particularly
In chemistry, ho was pensioned and sent by tho
government to study in Oormany, France, and Ens
land. He spent about twelvo years in those coun
tries, principally in tho study of mineralogy and
mining, and was associated with tho leading scien
tists, among others Lavoisier. After his return to
Spain, ho was named, in 1794, by royal order as
ono of the group of professors to establish tho '
!Royal School of Minos in Moxico City. Tho royal
order named Del Illo as professor of chemistry,
.but on his request this was changed to mineralogy.
Tho school was opened in April, 1795. In 1820 Del
fftlo was sent as doputy to tho Spanish Cortes,
whoro ho championed tho causo of Mexican inde
pendence. Ho returned to Mexico in 1824, but In
H820 on tho expulsion of tho Spaniards ho went to
tho United Statbs, Ho aftorwards returned, and
died in the City of Moxico on May 23, 1849. Tho
jdlRtrlct of Andres Dol Rio, in tho stato of Chihua
hua, where tho city of Datopilas nnd tho mines of
tho samo nam nro located, Is called after tho dis
tinguished scientist
In 1801 Prof. Dol Rio in examining some brown
lead ores from tho mines of Zlmnpan, in what is
now tho state of Hidalgo, bolloved that ho had dis
covered a now element different from chromium
nnd uranium and this ho named erlthronlum. It
was In reality what wo now know as vanadium.
Tho discovery was a genuine one, and had tho
matter rested thoro tho namo that Dol Rio gavo
tho new oloijient would have been Its namo now,
and ho would havo been tho undisputed discoverer
thereof, But unfortunately tho Mexican professor
was a little too much undor tho glamour of tho
French school, and so when Collet Descostlls pub
lished an article in which ho stated that Dol Rlo's
orlthronlum was nothing moro than Impure chro
mium Dol Rio accoptcd tho French professor's
(Judgment and In tho Anales do Clenclas Naturalos
pf Madrid in 1804 disavowed his formor claim of
'discovery and statod that tho BUbstanco was a
lead chromate. Dol Rio had been right and tho
French school wrong, fdr tho element does not
f' von bolong In tho chromium group. So tho mat
er rostod until In 1830 tho Swedish scientist, N.
p. Sofstroom, rediscovered tho oloment among
tho slags of tho Taborg Iron ores and namod It
(vanadium, which namo it still boars. It Is somo
times stated that tho namo choson by Sofstroom
Was in honor of tho Scandinavian goddoss Vnna
dls. This is not strictly corroct. In tho Norso
mythology tho gods wero dlvldod into two
stocks, Aeslr and Vanir, or Asa and Vann. NJoord,
Froy and Froyja woro of tho stock Vnnlr, honco
VnnadlB. Tho word may bo taken as tho sur
name of a number of gods and goddossos, al
though perhaps most often used In connection
with Froyja, tho Norso Vonus.
Neither Dol Rio nor Sofatroom, nor later Bor
liollus, obtained tho pure element, although Ber
eollus publlBhod what ho thought to bo Us atomic
weight, 137 and tho formlao for Its oxides. Tho
English chemist, Sir Henry E. Roscoo, In 18GS
demonstrated that Berzollus was Incorroct; that
ho and other prior investigators had dealt with
nitrides or oxtdos of tho element; and that in
ptoiul of bolonglng to tho chromium group of
dements vanadium should bo placod in tho group
with arsenic and phosphorus.
Vanadium is a silvor-whlto metal and readily
pxldlzed. It has an atomic weight of 51.2, Is
fonmagnotic, has n vory high electrical reals
Ivlty, and molts at about 1,680 degrees C. It
b ono of tho moat dlfllcultly rcducod nnd hardost
t tho metallic elements. Fortunately for Its uao
in tho arts, It is not nocosaary to reduce tho
notal to its pure stato. Such a reduction would
w too costly. It can bo reducod, however, qulto
;aally as nn alloy, particularly aa nu alloy of
ron, ferrovanadlum, containing approximately
ono part of vanadium and two parts of Iron.
Again, fortunately, this alloy hns n molting point
1,300 dogroo C. to 1,340 dogroos C, sufficiently low
to fu'rthor alloy with molton stool, which would
)o difficult in tho pure vanadium having a molt
ing point over 300 dogroos C. higher.
Vanadium Is ono of tho moat wldoly dlasoml-
natod of all tho olomonts, although commercially
avallablo deposits nro comparatively raro. It,
la found in moat of tho rocks, In clays and shales,
and in tho ubIioh of plants. In addition to Mex
ico, whoro it waB first discovered, vanadium has
boon found In Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, No
vadu, Now Moxico, and other parts of tho Unltod
States; In I'oru, Sweden, Auatralla, Spain, Eng
land, Turkestan, Chill and Argontlna.
Tho chief ores from which vanadium Is or
fnay be dorlvcd ure patronlto, carnotito, roscoo
Ito, vanndinte and naphaltlto. Coal Is a sourco
of vanadium, Ash from tho Rockvalo Colorado
poul gavo 27 per cont vanadium oxldo. Coal
from tho Mendoza district in Argentina contains
kbout Ave pounds of vauadlo acid por ton. It is
DZNr COLD n
at FHproor or TttJvw-AKD&urxwffi
Ono of tho youngest officials of
tho Wilson administration ' is at tho
head of tho oldest scientific depart
ment of tho government, and his ap
pointment was not tho result of luck,
nccldent or political Influence but, tho
recognition of romarkablo qualifica
tions which fitted him for the posi
tion. It waa on tho lifteonth of April,
tho day following his thirty-ninth
birthday, that Dr. E. Lester Jones bo
ennio suporlntondont of tho coast and
geodetic survoy, tho sorvlco which,
nccordlng to Secretary Redflold, "deals
first with humanity and second with
commerce."
Perhaps no ono in tho survey, no
matter how long ho has been in tho
sorvlco, has spent moro of his lifo
in tho opon than has Doctor Jones.
Indeed, it would soom, that by en
vironment, training, education and
tomperamont, ho had boon qualifying
for tho suporintondency of tho coast
and geodetic survoy all hia life. Ho was born in Orange, N. J., and as a
small boy was tho companion of his father, himself a 'scientist and a student
of nature.
Doctor Jones was educated at Princeton and Hcldolberg; in Germany ho
hunted, fished and studied in tho Black forest and specialized in zoology.
For llvo years ho was connected with tho Now Jorsoy fish and gamo com
mission, and his first sorvlco in tho national government was aa doputy com
missioner of tho bureau of fisheries.
vsmvs, u mm wwwwwmiwrm
PACKING QR rOR 17UUf3PO&r7V THE .
called rafaellto. At Talcuna, in tho. provlnco
of Coquimbo in Chill, vanadium is found as a
yellow earth in connection with coppqr oro.
Tho principal and almost tho only coramorclal .
source of supply of vanadium at present is from
Poru.
Thoro nro numbers of asphaltlto deposits in
Poru, among tho best known of which aro those
of Yaull. When burned, tho ash from thoso de
posits yields 24 to 40 por cent vanadium oxldo.
Othor mines nro located at Matucan and Casapal
ca, on the Contral railroad of Poru near Callao,
at Huari, and at Huancayo, but tho greatest of
all doposlts, as now known and worked, aro at
Minns Rngra.
Tho Rngra mines nro nbout fifty miles from
tho colebratod Corro do Pasco copper mlnos and
aro In tho samo mining district. Minus Rngra
had boon frequently denouncod and again aban
doned as coal mines. Tho fuel was of so poor
a quality as to bo hardly worth tho mining.
Some yoars ago on tho abandonment by C. Weiss
& Co. of Lima, Sonor Euloglo E. Fornandlnl, who
was engaged in mining at Corro do Pasco and
who owned tho QuIbquo hacienda, about six
miles from Minns Ragra, denounced tho mlnos
anow. Sonor Fornandlnl had a now process for
making coko in which ho proposed to uso tho
output of Minns Ragra. Sonor Antonor Rlzo
Patron was tho technical director of tho Fornan
dlnl works, and on his attention bolng directed
to a mass of black mlnoral which accompanied
tho coal ho bocamo Intorostod and mado a chom
ical nnalysls. Ho thoroby discovered that it
containod vanadium in a greater proportion than
any of tho thorotoforo known orcB of this motal.
Tho material lookB Hko a slaty coal, is vory hard,
with 30 por cont or moro froo sulphur, 14 por
cont silica, 4 por cent iron sulphide, and about
1 por cont each nlckol and molybdenum sul
phides, and nbout 40 per cont vanadium sulphldo.
After burning out tho froo Bulphur tho oro con
tains about 5is per cont vanadium oxldo.
Tho distinguished Poruvlan scientist, Sonor
Joso J. Bravo, made n vory thorough examination
of tho locality and published tho rosults in a
bullotln of tho Society of Engineers. Tho slil
phldo of vanadium, not having boon thorotoforo
known as a natural product, was named rlzo
patronlto by Sonor Bravo in honor of tho original
dlscovoror of tho mlnoral. This namo it still
boars, although ordinarily shortenod to patronlto.
Rlzo-pntronlto, according to Sonor Bravo, appoars
In tho form of a compact mass, dark in color
and somo two motors thick (about 6 foot 6
Inches), and in his opinion is dlssominatod ovor
a largo extent of country around Minus Ragra.
Tho earth surrounding tho rlzo-pntronlto volii3
Is highly Impregnated with vanadium Bolutlons,
and In small catch basins this Impregnated oarth
is bolng oxtonslvoly worked.
Until tho recent development of vanadium in
tho stool industry Its commercial uso was moro
or 1ob8 confined to ink making and coloring
fabrics and loathor. Tho ink is mado of a mix
ture of neutral solution of ammonium vanadate
gum wntor, nnd a solution of gallic ncld. ThlB
Ink Is not dostroyod by acids or alkallnos. nor
can It bo blonchod out with clUorldo. Tho ink,
howovor, is not vory pormanont. It dyeing fab
rics vanadium chlorldos combined with nnnllno
hydrochloride form a brilliant and pormanont
black. In coloring loathor a l por cont solution
of noutrnl ammonium vanadate Is used with
loathor which has been tanned with nutgnll.
Tho first recorded ubo of vanadium In stool
waB in 1890, in Franco, in tho production of ar
mor plates. Tests of Uiobob showed that thoy
woro much toughor and moro highly resistant
than Hko plates mado without tho uso of vana
dium. No immcdiato results, howovor, followed
tho French tests, owing porhaps to tho fact that
at this tlmo no adequate supply of vanadium waa
In sight. About four years later Prof. J. O.
Arnold of Sheffield in nn address boforo tho Brit
ish "Iron and Steel institute declared that vana
dium was tho master weapon of tho Btool metal
lurgist. At this tlmo prlco of vanadium alloy
was vory high and tho supply uncortaln. Tho
greatest advances, however, mado in tho uso of
vanadium in the steel Industry havo followed the
experiments nnd practical applications of J. Kent
Smith of Liverpool. Mr. Smith's work has been
principally In tho production of tho various
grades of vanadium alloya, and he has supervised
personally tho initial uso of vanadium in most
or the leading steel mills of England and the
continent nnd somo in tho United States.
About 1905 tho supply of vanadium began to
lncreaso to a largo degree, duo to tho purcha30
of tho Minns Ragra doposlts In Poru by tho
American Vanadium company, also totho devel
opment of' mlnos In other parts of Puru, Spain
and elsewhere. From having been a raro metal,
owing to tho largo output, It became available In
quantities claimed to bo unlimited, as a steel-
making olemont. Tho claims mado by its users
aro that it has accomplished wonders in crucible
steel and in open-hearth steel, that it gives cast
iron creator strength nnd endurnnco, and that
coppor and aluminum aro remarkably Improved
for certain nurnoses bv its addition. It is usoa
in steel for enclno axloB and frames, in trans
mission shafts and gears, in wire springs, in
piston rods, hydraulic cylinders, tiros, tools, boiler
lilntoa. holts, eun shields, nroiectlles, armor
plates, gun barrola, watch springs, and in cast
ings and forglngs generally.
The claim Is mado that In stool making U
unites with tho nitrides and oxides, nnd carries
them into tho slag. Tho quantity of vanadium
that will remain In tho slag is in proportion to
tho amount of Bcavonetnc thus dono by It. In
woll-deoxldlzed steel it Is Bald that tho scavong.
lnir will consumo nbout one-fifth of tho vana
dium.
Tho alloy, ferrovanadlum, Is Introduced Into
tho Bteol by a very simple process. In the cruel-
bio process tho alloys aro brokon Into small bits
and put into tho chargo with tho socond addition
of tho mnnganoao. In tho acid open-hearth proc-
osb the alloy in largor pieces 1b dropped Into the
bath when tho flamo has boen blanketed. In the
basic open-hearth practice tho alloy, brokon small,
is run through a spout that omptles Into tho ladle
in which tho molton Bteol Is being poured. A
similar mothod Is followod in tho Bossemor and
Troponas practlco and also in tho cupola process
for cast iron. In tho latter, tho alloy Is crushed
qulto flno.
It is claimed that vanadium increases largoly
tho resistance of motals to vibratory disintegra
tion, that tho stool Is strongor and tougher and
tempers moro uniformly and to 'a greator dopth
than stool without vanadium. Ono of tho prin
cipal advantages in tho uso of vanadium steel In
the. future will no doubt be that It will onablo tho
stool man to roduco wolght In such constructions
as locomotives, cars, machinery, etc., through tho
uso of a Bmallor amount of tho strongor and
toughor stool Tho quostion of wolght has bo-
como sorioua not only in locomotives but in othor
forms of machinery. Anothor great economy
claimed for vanadium steel Js its greator dura
bility. If this can bo established, it would of
itsolf moro than Justify Its moro oxtensivo uso.
BRUCE ISMAY, RECLUSE
There is one man in tho British
isles, at least, to whom the memories
of tho Titanic disaster nro a dread
and over present reality. That man
is Bruco Ismay. Ho was managing
director of tho White Star lino at tho
time of tho Titnnic disaster, and was
among thoso saved when tho llnor
sank.
Ho has voluntarily withdraw him
self into almost complete seclusion.
Ho is a tragic figure whom caro and
premature ago have marked for their
own. A great part of tho year ho
passes, oftentimes alone, In Costelloe,
ono of the most remote, most unfre
quented and desolate spots on tho
west coast of Ireland. Here his solo
employment is fishing for days and
weeks on end, occasionally with a
friend, or perhaps two, but for tho
greater part of his tlmo accompanied
only by his servant.
Ismay is very popular among tho
cottagers around. Ho found them
sympathetic and friendly, and he has given them employmont in many ways
in connection with tho fishing and his lodge In fact, whatever drove Bruco
Ismay to this romoto, lnhospltablo shore, it was a blessing in disguiso to
thoBe poor people, and thoy appreciate his presenco very keenly. They don't
care whether or not his oscapo from tho Titanic aroused a storm of criticism;
for that matter they take no stock In tho Titanic story anyway.
WORKING HIS WAY UP
Z3
At tho 1915 commencement exor
cises of Columbia university Ensign
Louis Randolph Ford, U. S. N ro
celvod tho degree of master of arts.
That was only one incident in tho
determined fight this young naval
officer is making to achlovo his child
hood ambitions, which ambitions, it
may well bo, do not stop short of the
insignia of a rear admiral.
As a barefooted lad in Texas,,
whoro he was born thirty-two years
ago, Louis Ford mado up his mind to
enter the navy, but his parents wero
not ablo to send him to college and
the influence to obtain an appointment
to the naval academy was lacking. .So
at tho ago of fourteen Louis wont to
work on a Sabine river tugboat, and
three years later became an appren
tice in a machlno shop. In two years
moro ho was a full-fledged machinist
and enlisted as such in tho navy.
Starting in nt Mnro Island, ho worked
his way Bteadlly up to tho rank of
chief machinist, and in 1912 he took the examination for an ensign's commis
sion, passing with tho highest marks over mado by a warrant officer. Service
on various vessels was followed by a post-graduato courso at Annapolis,
which included radio engineering, structural engineering, naval construction,
ordnance and gunnery. Then camo tho welcome order to enter Columbia,
whore, as ono of tho professors said, ho "worked his head off." Ford Is
now attachod to tho New York navy4 yard and eventually will dovoto himself
to tho designing of all sorts of naval machinery and the organization of tho
shops in tho ynrds.
PAW'S EXPERIENCE.
KENT TELLS A NOME STORY
Littlo Lemuel Say, paw, docs every man havo
a bump of wisdom?
Paw Ho does boforo ho gets married. Bon.
After that tho bump becomes a dent
THE REVERSE.
"A doctor reverses tho usual order."
"How?"
"Ho must oxorclso resignation whon he lacks
patients."
CAUSE AND EFFECT.
Hykor Old Swlggs has stopped drinking.
Pykor Well, that is certainly to his credit.
Hykor Don't you bollovo It. It's duo to his
lack of credit.
A SURE CURE.
"Physicians havo demonstrated that rattlo
snako venom does not euro epilepsy."
"It will euro it all right If tho phyBlclans will
permit tho rattlosnako to administer it"
Ropresontativo William Kent of
California has many quaint tales of
tho north country. Ono of them deals
with tho early days in tho Nome re
gion, whon gold wob plontlful and
everything olso was decidedly scarce.
Ono of tho residents, tho story runs,
wandered into a rough, ready-made
saloon and beheld four bowhlskored,
rough-looking individuals.
Thoy woro deeply dejected. Thoy
Eat far back In their chairs, hands in
pockots, Occasionally ono of them
sighed or swore. In front of thorn
woro stacks of chips representing
several thousand dollars In gold.
"What's the mattor?" asked tho
visitor.
"This hero pokor gamo Is busted
up!" was tho reply.
"Busted up?" repeated the visitor,
in astonlBhmont. "Why, you've got
enough money there to play for a
wook!"
"Yop, stranger," ngroed tho be-
whiskered man, moodily, "wo got that, but somebody's lost all the aces and
two Jacks in tho deck!" and resumed his etaro at tho useless chips.