Lost & Found

Radium, beneficent, can be maleficent when misplaced. Two cases of misplaced radium were reported last week:

P: In Philadelphia, a Mrs. Arthur B. Huey was being treated for asthma. A capsule attached to a cord and containing 25 milligrams ($1,700 worth) of radium was inserted in her nostril. The cord became detached. A sharp intake of breath popped the capsule into the throat, where it was swallowed. Purgatives were unavailing but after several days the capsule was located inside Mrs. Huey by Xray. An operation was undertaken, successfully. In spite of the capsule having remained in the body so long there was no sign of the severe intestinal burns which had been feared.

P: In Manhattan, Dr. Joseph J. Eller and two assistants descended from a taxicab at the Post Graduate Hospital. A few minutes later they discovered that a small black satchel containing 500 milligrams ($30,000 worth) of radium had been left in the cab, each man having thought that another had it. Word was sent to all the newspapers warning the finder to ware burning himself. Next morning a restaurateur a few blocks from the hospital reported discovering the bag under a table in his restaurant. Its intervening experiences were unknown.