HEBREW HERMAN.

NZ Truth, Issue 63, 1 September 1906, Page 7

HEBREW HERMAN.

FLOATING A "GOMBANY."

Iron and Steel Treated.

THE "PURE GAS" PROCESS.

"Vere iss dot Admospheric Gas Gombany?

CHAMPAGNE AND ORATORY ON TAP.

There have always been seekers for the "philosopher's stone" that would transmute base metals into metals that are precious. There have, moreover, been many persons that promised wealth "beyond the dreams of avarice" by means of new processes of treating ores. There is seldom anything commercially valuable about these processes, and, therefore, until they have stood the test of time, it cannot be said whether some of these processes are, or are not, likely to prove profitable to investors.

There has recently been formed a company to exploit the rights m what is termed the Moore-Heskett Iron and Steel Process. The promotsr of this company is a young man of the Jewish race and Hebrew persuasion whose name is

J. EARLE HERMAN. This gentleman lias engaged half a dozen rooms at Vickery's Chambers, m. Pitt-street, Sydney, and, on Friday, the 17fch instant, he gave a champagne luncheon to all who, were willing to hear himself, Mr. Montagu Moore, Mr. J. de Lissa, and others talk about iron. The luncheon was a good one, and was done full justice to by the visitors, but practically no information was given about the nature of the new process. Mr. E. W. O'Sullivan was among the speakers, and, assured the audience that our iron deposits were enormous, very valuable, and ought to be exploited as speedily as possible. He, however, said that he could not say anything about* the Moore-Heskett process, as he had no practical knowledge of the industry. There were ironmasters present, said Mr. O'Sullivan, and no doubt they could talk. The ; "IRONMASTERS," HOWEVER, DID NOT . TALK. . • •Mr. A. D. Nelson was appealed to, but he

Zealand, called the Iron, Steel, and Metals Manufacturing Company. The shares of this company have occupied a prominent, if not a satisfactory, position m the market of late, and though principally dealt m among the tick-tackers of the Mutual In-, vestors' and Gun Clubs, have been made sufficiently attractive to ' draw _ into the maelstrom a few of the unwary 'ones.

There have been all sorts and conditions of companies run at various times for. the MANUFACTURE OF STEEL

for mining purposes, all of which have blown into the air and burst, and this one seems likely to follow suit. One company, which had a travelling representative a year or so ago, adopted a most ingenious device to gull mine managers, and they as a body are riot usually got at. / So specious were his demonstrations that a few Actually fell iri; ; fie was a Frenchman,' voluble and impressive) carried a small bag containing bars Of .steel six inches m. -length-. . Now, to temper steel for mine purposes is a fine art, but Frenchy showed these mine men that any. blacksmith without prior knowledge could temper the points of drills to a hardness far aheadof anything yet seen, and showed how it ■was done. No matter what the- heat — a white, red, or even a black heat — the point would come out tempered to cut the hardest country; cut the hardest of iron, steel files, or any other metal that these managers could produce. It was truly a wonderful invention. Large orders were given, and paid for on the sample, which was always left behind as proof of bona fides; but when the bulk came to hand it was discovered that it was no better than THE ORDINARY MINE STEEL. j

Needless to say that the swindle was soon

said* that he was "not conversant with the subject," and so the little gathering got no speech from him. Mr. Herman was the first of the speakers, and what he .said was, m effect, that the Moore-Heskett process took about only onetenth of the time that was taken by the ordinary process; that his object, and that of Mr. Moritague Moore, was to float a company, that the works established m Melbourne for the utilisation of the new process were open for inspection at any time of the day or night • and that the company floated would work the deposits of iron ore.

Mr. O'Sullivan said that he was not an expert, and, therefore, COULD NOT JUDGE

the value of the new process, but, if only half that had been said was true, the community was on the eve of a very great change m the' treatment of iron deposits. It was, he said, by the utilisation of new means of treating steel that Carnegie had become so wealthy.

Then Mr. de Lissa said that he was acting as the solicitor for the company, and he declared that he attached great significance to the fact that the company had been granted patents m the United States and Germany.. ■ . • Montague Moore said that the works were open for public inspection at any time; and John Haynes enlarged upon the enormous benefits likely to be derivable from such a process, assuming the statements marie to bo true.

Iben a bee-line was made for the refreshX'jnt room, and out went the corks of the

i BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE. There is something about, this new company that— strangely enough— reminds us of the notorious' Atmospheric Gas Company. Here are some extracts fvbm a pamphlet published by the promoters^ of tho new iron, and steel syndicate:— .

The ore was taken into the first stage pure; m the; second it was reduced by pure gas; and down it goes now m another fiety, : all-protecting mantle—unpolluted through any contact — to the bath of molten metal or slag. The work is finished. . . When Kelly, nearly 60 years ago, demonstrated, that there is no nee°d of charcoal—

"AIR ALONE IS FUEL"— the Ironmasters of his day laughed. "Some crank'll be bui'nin' ice next," said one of them. The men who did not laugh, but • believed, were the steel millionaires of a quarter of a century later, tiodigious! Much the same was said by the promoters of the Atmospheric Gas Company, but the world found no commercial value m Atmospheric Gas. Mr. Herman's little "conversazione," if we may so term it, would have been much more impressive had some of the "ironmasters" been trotted out, and had they stated their belief that tho new . process was of some commercial value.

Mr. Herman's "leedle' gompany" is not the only one of the sort, and this is what our Melbourne "Truth" had to say about such enterprises m Melbourne m a recent issue : —