Louis Enricht had a arcanum . And if anyone wanted to shake it loose from him , he made itclearthings could take a defective turn .
“ The arcanum is mine , ” he said in 1916 , “ and until somebody gives me a fair reward and promises to make [ it ] a public welfare , I ’ll guard my right to it even if I have to use this . ”
At that , Enricht gestured to a side arm on his hip .
Perhaps Enricht had in effect reason to be paranoid . What he was anticipate was no less than a rotation in transportation — a mysterious unripened fluid that could transform spare water into a “ body of water gas ” fuel alternative for the automobiles that were increasingly populate the streets .
If Enricht was somehow right , he would be one of the most celebrated build of the 20th century . If not , he would be oppress as one of its greatestcon artists . Either mode , carrying a gun did n’t seem like such a bad idea .
Gassed Up
At the turn of the one C , unauthentic claim were scarcely unusual . Pharmacology trumpeted the welfare ofcocainefor everything from irritable babies to back pain;corn flakeswere thought to be beneficial to curb onanism . regulative supervision to enquire such assertions was not yet established . A man could come out with a promulgation that he could turn water into gasoline and someone would listen .
Like an infomercial peddler , Enricht decided that ademonstrationwas in edict . In front of gathered press , the man — who was carry in Germany and come from Farmingdale , Long Island — first had them take a sip of spare water . Then , he dropped in a pill curb a green liquidity . Thatmixture , typically an ounce of his enigma solvent to a gallon of weewee , was add to the empty fuel tank of an automobile .
Enricht turned the engine over . It part .
One fearless reporter , Chicago Heraldpublisher William Haskell , evensippedthe fuel mixture after it had been poured inside the tank and into the carburettor . away from tasting and smell out like acerb Prunus amygdalus , there was nothing suspicious about it . Enricht beat back the gondola around , journalists in tow . He promised the liquid would ensue in fuel that cost just 1 cent per gallon .
Enricht repeated the presentation for the British Army , which was also successful , and proceeded to lure in a number of investors who poured millions into his approximation . He scoffed at those who were questioning of his motives ; scamming mass did n’t make sense for someone “ situate as comfortably ” as he was , he aver , “ yet I want to get what is by all justice my reinforcement . ”
Enricht ’s payoff was quick in come : motorcar titan Henry Fordreportedlyentered into discussions with Enricht about acquiring the formula , with Enricht promising that Ford would share it with the populace .
“ If Mr. Ford behave out his intentions , as he has said he will , everything will be all ripe , ” Enricht pronounce . “ I will recite you this much : Mr. Ford ’s motive in this whole matter are entirely un - freelance . If he were to buy my formula tomorrow it would be given out … to all the mass , and I ’m with him on that . ”
Whatever Ford go steady or heard , it was n’t enough to persuade him to continue the conversation [ PDF ] , so Enricht sought out other backers .
But what was Enricht really up to?Accordingto Miller Reese Hutchison , an engine driver who worked with Thomas Edison and who witnessed one of Enricht ’s demonstration , the enterpriser had n’t discovered anything revolutionary . In his own laboratory , Hutchison mingle up a root of water , acetylene , and propanone and then pour it into the same vehicle Enricht had used for one of his demonstrations . It begin and proceed running . The water had been a livery system to burn the acetone .
“ It was as if a valet take the ashes from his furnace and saturate them with oil , ” Hutchison said . “ They would combust , but then the ash tree would be left as before , and unless you put in some more crude oil you could not get another fire out of them . ”
The trouble of path , is that piss , ethyne , acetone , or any mixture thereof quickly corrodes an engine — scarcely a practical fuel option . It was nothing more than an illusion .
Fueling Controversy
Had anyone looked into Enricht , they would have find a trail of nebulous demeanor . While living in Chicago at the turn of the hundred , Enricht had beenimplicatedin a land rig in which he hand over wretched deeds for $ 500 . He netted as much as $ 50,000 before authorities closed in . If a gas alternative was to be chance , you probably would n’t want to see about it from a man like Enricht .
Around the meter of the Hutchison experiment , the Maxim Munitions Corporation wassaidto have bear Enricht $ 1 million for the formula and even swear they had conducted experiments to learn its strength . But following Hutchison ’s revelation , Dr. Hudson Maxim , president of the company , explained he had never witnessed it personally and found reports of it dubitable .
The controversy stay for some time , with reputable engineers swear Enricht could power an engine and Enricht hedge endeavor to reveal his recipe before being duly compensated . In 1917 , he was actually legallybarredfrom disclosing the solution by a New York courtyard after it was rumored he would share it with his native Germany . Enricht deny the claim and saidPresident Woodrow Wilsoncould have his secret tomorrow if he need it .
Enricht ’s problems really began in sincere when an investor , banker Benjamin Yoakum , insisted on seeing the formula Enricht was using in orderliness to make his alternative fuel . Enricht waver , saying the recipe had been stolen . When Yoakum hold on , he said he had run out of the ingredients .
This was last enough cause for suspicion , but Enricht would not be deter . In 1920 , he had a young idea , this time to reverse peat into gas . He lured in more gullible investor — this sentence for thousands , not millions — but was less savvy about his showmanship . Someone discovered an unseeable fuel line running to the tank in the fomite he was present .
It was a footling too much hubris . In 1922 , the 76 - year - old Enricht was convicted of thievery for misleading an investor about his peat gas [ PDF ] andsentencedto three to seven years in prison house . He wasparoledin 1924 .
Not surprisingly , incarceration brought with it another discovery . This time , Enrichtclaimedhe had been allowed access to the prison ’s science lab and had developed a special blood serum that he insisted could bring around drug addiction . There ’s no parole on whether it could also power a burning engine .
