Show N y y yI 1 I Accidental Discovery I JAMES JAMES E EARL L CUMMINGS 3 33 was a switchman switchman switch switch- J man living in St. St Louis Mo He had six children and a wife wife quite quite a 13 larg large family for such a 13 young man arid than and aT a family automobile It was much of a wreck wreck the the auto but auto but he and his family deri derived ed much pleasure out of it so Cummings tinkered with it at home to keep it running He couldn't afford to I garage bills hills The gaskets needed cleaning S so Cummings fixed up a preparation he thought would do dothe dothe dothe the trick It was this pr preparation that got him hini a check from a large copper manufacturing ing concern of Detroit for and rand royalties to come come that should mount up p to many millions more before he dies When he tried to wash the gaskets with his homemade homemade homemade home home- made preparation they would spring back to their bent form when he straightened them back to normal shape What Cummings did when he made his mixture was was to discover the secret of f hardening copper that had been lost for 2000 2900 years The Egyptians used to do dolt it and then th the arf art was lost Cumming Gumming didn didn't t know v the importance of his discovery until he talked alk d Jo to some of I the mechanics around the railroad shops where he switched J- J He got his formula patented patented patented pat pat- and then made a demonstration to the Detroit people who handed over the million and a half check He said the check n nearly arly knocked him cold It would just about knock anyone cold Cummings immediately Became became becam a very much interviewed person person but all he s said id was vas was that he intended to buy a home in Universal City a St. St Louis suburb where the kids can get plenty of fresh air Here is is' genius no no doubt born of acci acci- dent He lie accomplished what scientists have b been en wo working woking king on for ce centuries His discovery ry will have hav an extremely important bearing on our present civilization New methods for the Hie use of copper will follow Some may say that it was simply luck that won Cummings Cummings Cummings Cum Cum- his fortune But had he not been t the e spit sort of man who would rather stay at home and tinker about his automobile he u never u would haye have mixed up up his his' formula that hardens hardens hardens hard hard- ens copper Ha Had l h he been the sort who preferred pre pre- a a. a or bootlegging in joint preference preference rence to his family the secret of hardening copper lost with the ancient Egyptian civilization civilization tion 2000 years ago might still have been a lost art t I |