Reported Discovery) of Radium in NortKern 



Arkansas 



By A. H. Purdue^ State Geological Survey. 



In this day new results of scientific work make such rapid ap- 

 pearance that the public in general are very credulous about re- 

 ported discoveries, however unreasonable they may appear, and 

 even scientists are cautious about expressing adverse opinions 

 concerning such, without having carefully investigated them. 

 Apropos of this^ a short article that some weeks ago appeared in 

 a St. Louis paper, reporting an alleged discovery of radium in 

 northern Arkansas and naming the writer as authority for its ex- 

 istence, has been somewhat widely copied by the press, and has 

 brought numerous letters to the writer from different parts of the 

 country from New York to California. Among these have been 

 letters from scientists and those engaged in commercial work. 

 The foundation for the report is as follows : 



In the latter part of February, 1912, there came to the writer's 

 office, then at the University of Arkansas, a Mr. Lieb, of Ben- 

 tonville, that State, who brought a cigar box of earthy material 

 that he said came from a cave near his home. It was just such 

 material as might come from any limestone cave. With the box 

 was a photograph which Mr. Leib said had been made by ex- 

 posing the box containing the material before a camera, for sev- 

 eral hours, in an absolutely dark room. The picture was of about 

 the distinctness of an ordinary X-ray photograph. It plainly 

 showed the box, the string about it, and the knots in the string. 



Mr. Leib was told by both Prof. A. A. Steel, of the University 

 of Arkansas, and myself that while the photograph was interest- 

 ing, careful investigation was necessary before it could be stated 

 that the substance contains any radium or other radio-active ma- 

 terial. For this purpose he was advised to send some of it to 

 Prof. B. B. Boltwood, of Yale University. 



Such is the basis of a newspaper story that seems to have at- 

 tracted a good deal of attention. 



