New-York tribune. [volume], July 29, 1917, Page 10, Image 10

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Labor Shortage
Delays Work at
YaphankCamp
Mosquitoes So Thick That
Workmen Leave Soon
After Being Hired
Government Planning
To Drive Out Pest
Contractors Admit Canton?
ment May Not Be Com?
pleted Until October
By HARLAN BENNETT
Yaphank- the name is Indian and not
from vaudeville is just a place the
train goes through. Apparently, nobody
ever geta of? there except by mistake.
The man in front of me was saved. He
asked for a ticket to Yaphank.
"Coin* to the camp?" queried the tick?
et clerk.
"Yep."
"Then I'll ?ell you a ticket to Camp I
Long Island," ?aid the clerk. "That*ll
be 12 cents more."
Ar lire at Camp Upton
And when he got to bis destination
tbe man found the War and Postofflee
department? had still another name for
tbe site of the city-to-be where Uncle
Sam is to train a sixteenth of his big
draft army. Tbe official name is Camp
Upton, In honor of btajor Oenertl
Kmery Upton, U. S. V. Camp Upton It
will no doubt remain or, rather, be?
come?it lent anything mach, yet
You go out Long Isl?Lnd way from
the Pennsylvania Station. By achedule
it i? two hours, by train three hours.
The distance is aixty-four miles. The
first forty miles are not unpleasant
With the cooperation of the engineer
it might bo made exciting. The route
is through Mine?la, where the aviation
training school is already turning out
eye? for the men who are to be trained
further down the island. The student
aviator.?, proud of their wing? and
frisky with a desire for ?port, fly over
and try to race with the train. But
the engineer refuses to budge hi?
throttle, the train falls behind and the
birdllngs turn off in disgust
Further along the girl in the tennis
clothes with th? pink ?Ilk hose is wait?
ing at the station in her Stutz run?
about Tho train ?trip?, the engine
snorts at the pink ho e and ?hies off
down the rails, trailing the coaches
after it And after that the dark. Mile
after mile of thin, sandy land, covered
by a dense growth of scrub oak and
scrub pine. Yaphank, where the con?
ductor corrects the mistakes the ticket
clerk overlooked, and then?Camp Up?
ton.
Soldiers Line up Employe?
Two ?quads of soldiers have atr-ang
out in skirmish formation along the
tracks and they direct the new arrivals
to line up where the dirt road crosses
the tracks. It is here that the fore?
men and their assistant? swarm out,
weaving their way through the crowd
and selecting the men they need. To
these they give a ?msll slip of paper
and the men are passed by the ser?
geant on duty.
Within un hour the whole crowd Is
inside the lines pressing about the
window? in the various shacks?chauf?
feur?, carpenters, plumber?, linemen,
unskilled laborers of many national?
ities, all trying to complete the task
of getting a job. In and out among
them thread vehicles of every deacrip
tion. The great five-ton army trucks
and their civilian cousins chug by with
loads of lumber for the scene of con?
struction two miles away. Foremen in
flivvers and buggies, timekeepers on
horseback, construction commissary
men, messengers on motorcycle?.
One m-.y aoe the first tractor the
American army ever had?awkward,
turtle-!-'.,'-, but still effectively one
minded, moving along like the wonder?
ful one-hor?e shay.
On the way out a prospective work?
man thought I "belonged out there,"
and put to me the very questions I was
taking out to get answered. He was
not ?ure he was going to ?tay. He
wanted to look the jot) over. "How
about the pay? Was the gTub good?
Were the hour? long? Lid they work
a fellow 1*.Fird .?*? And then came what
?cems to be the real big question:
Mosquito??? Bother Worker?
"Is it true that the mo?qu!toe? out
there w ? ': let a fellow ?leep?"
I assume the gentleman ran enivrer
hl? own questions by now. If he
stayed out there one day and one night
bartain)** ! c ean. I can?now.
To begin with, th? wage scale is
undoubtedly the highest on the At?
lantic seacard. Ordinary, unskilled
labor is pa:d 37^4 cents an hour. Car?
penter? are paid J5 for eight hours'
work?the same scale as applies in
Brooklyn for union labor; but, whereaa
Photo? tir Gr?eley Phot? Bervlc.
In drele?Peeling "-"puds'* at Ya*>
hank. Boye get $10 a week for this.
At right (above)?Befrinning work
on the cantonment. Tho barracks
will lie in the fields beyond.
Below ?Part of the crowd of labor?
ers who arrive every morning. Al?
most an equal number throw up their
jobs every night.
Brooklyn pays for overtime at on?* and
one-half the regular rate, Camp Upton
pay? double time for all overtime, for
all over four hours on Saturday and
for nil time on Sunday.
The men are housed frea of charge.
They sleep in tents, three to tha tent
Each man is allotted a steel cot, with
excellent ?Brings, a good mattress and
a pair of blankets.
The men are not driven by their
bosses. Loafers, of course, are not al?
lowed, but I was nil over the camp, and
nowhere did I sec a laborer In a hurry.
The only men who seemed to be In
deadly earnest were some uniformed
soldiers, several companies of whom
are stationed at the camp.
The civilian laborers eat at messes
oneratfl by the Van Noy Interstate
News Company, under the close super?
vision of government employes. Meals ,
are served at a standard price of L'fi
etatt each. The food served is of the
highest quality, Izzy Kaplan, the
famous Greeley photographer, fur?
nished undoubted evidence of this.
Izzy buzzed around where the meat
cutter was slicing some roast pork.
Tho cutter was hospitable, and Izzy
violated every injunction the rabbi
ever laid upon him.
Men Kick on Food
There Is no little kicking on the food,
but the American housewife can testify
that the male of the species Is the most
finicky creature on earth whenit comer?
to what he eBts. Growling gives him a
much better appetite than any kind of
sauce.
All this any one can learn. It tAkes
more diplomacy, however, to get from
officials the truth about the mosquitoes. ;
They are touchy on this subject?asi
much so as if one said their pet dog j
was a sheep killer. But there are mos- j
quitoes at Camp Upton?enough for aj
man to have his own little community
chorus at night?and usually he does
have it
It is predicted that, with the con?
tinued widening of the area of cleared
land and the constant burning of brush,
the pest will disappear. It is declared
there are no swamps on the military >
reservation; that the "humming-birds"
breed in marshes near by. Colonel
Henry A. Shaw, of the army medical
corps, was at the camp last week, and
it is understood he will recommend to
Washington that these marshes be cov?
ered with petroleum. But It will take
time to get the benefit of such a remedy.
This failure to face the mosquito
problem Is the first weakness of the
camp administrative system. And it is
proving very costly. Every morning
scores of men leave on the first train?
one night, or perhaps two, has proven
sufficient for them. Thursday there
were less than 1,800 men on tne pay?
roll, but more than 6,000 had been hired
in the three and one-half weeks of op?
eration there.
Xee-d at Least Six Thousand Men
The contractors need at least six
thousand men. "All you can get us,"
they tell any man who offers to supply
labor. Tho men come?and go. The
wages are very high, the food is really
good and at low prices; sleeping quar?
ters cost nothing. The work is not a
severe tax, but "a man must sleep,"
explained a returning workman to me.
Many more men would remain at the
camp were a comprehensive employ?
ment system in use. Despite the fact
that men are hadly wanted, particularly
carpen.e.-s, I saw fully a dozen wait?
ing for the afternoon train to New
York, who claimed thev had been there
slnco morning and han been unable to
find the man who was hiring carpen?
ters The method of getting to work
is cumbersome and proves Irritating.
Because of this shortage of labor I
found no on? who would say he rea'ly
believed the camp will be ready for oc?
cupancy by the drafted soldiers on the
date set -September t?. A miracle may
yet work the trick. There is no prece?
dent to guide one. This is the big|-e?t
construction Job of its kind tTtt
tackled in the United States. But
among thoso who are best entitled to
gueas, the confidential "Don't quote
me" opinion Is that October lisa much
more likely date for the completion of
the camp.
At that It will be an achievement
First e?timate? were that 40,000 me
would be housed at the camp. Tho ad
dition to the first draft and allowance
for instructors and various auxiliar
organizations bring the grand tota
much nearer to 50,000 men who nil
live in this Arabian Nights city. Nearl;
a thouiiand buildings will be necessary
There will be more than 200 barrack
alone?one for each company. The Y
M. C. A. is to have nine buildings, in
eluding an auditorium seating 3,201
people. The association will have fift]
employed secretaries on the ground.
There are to be a power house foi
electric lighting, an ice-plant, a sewei
system, a water system, a heating plant
scores of administrative buildings, sta?
bles for 7,000-odd horses.
The entire reservation covers 11,00(
acres, or about eighteen square miles
Less than half of this is to be cleared
The land was leased free to the gov?
ernment for the period of the war?
and this free lease, combined with the
large acreage and the reasonable ac?
cessibility to New York, was responsi?
ble, it is said, for tho location of the
camp. True, the railway to Camp Up?
ton is single-track.but such roads serve
much larger communities in the West
and the company is spending nearly
$200,000 in local improvements. This
includes nine miles of trackage laid on
the reservation. The Long Island Rail?
way is getting the much-needed lumber
to the camp a? fast as it arrives in
New York from the pine mill? of the
South. One day recently sixty-seven
cars arrived, cutting down by that
much the 1,325 cara which make the
total requirements for construction.
Camp to Coat $4,000,000
Latest estimates Indicate that slight?
ly less than $4,000,000 will be spent in
constructing the camr. The original
figure was around $3,000,000. The con
i tractor, the Thompson-Starrett Com
! pany, is doing the work on a cost-plus
! basis. It* commission on the amount
i actually spent is based on a sliding
? scale, which ranges from 10 per cent
I down, until the average is about 7 per
I cent. There is a provision also that, no
i matter what the cost, the maximum
commission to the contractor shall be
; $250,000.
All work i? carefully inspected by
i jTovernment officials under the direc?
tion of Major 0*K. Myer?, U. S. R.
! Everything involving money is doubly
. checked. Tho contractors have their
own staff of timekeeper?, auditor? and
other checkers, and for each of these
the government has a man to do the
same work.
Persons with statistical leaning*?
may be interested In learning that in
i.ddition to the 1,325 cars of lumber
there will bo needed 313 carload?
of crushed stone for roadmaking, 60
] of roofing, 20 of plumbing, 102 of
tanks, heater?, stove ranges, etc.: 30
of ties and other timbers, 20 of spikes,
10 of telephone and electric light poles,
TO of cement, 350 of stone, 175 of sand,
1 160 of hospital supplies, 20 of con?
struction tools and 65 of ?ewer and
, lighting pupplie?.
And if these are not enough figur?e,
then the weekly supplied when the
training crimp is in operation will in
cluclo 12.;r.0 gallons of milk, 100,000
pounds of fre?h beef 50,000 pounds of
fr.?h perk, 60,000 pounds of mutton or
! goat meat, 16,000 pounds of butter an<J
' 12??? d?z(x1- ?"?If'*'?.
This ought to be a good time to go
into the poultry busines? on Long I?l
and.
A fragment of tht lint up at meal time of the workers at Yaphnnk.
Curiosities of the Census
Trie Myth About Woman's Age?Comedy,
Tragedy, Farce and Melodrama as
Seen By an ?East Side Military
Census Taker
"How oldr I tsked with trepidation,
mindful of the terror? which prover*
bially await the rash Intruder in the
mystery of mysteries, the age of love?
ly woman.
But there wa? no storm. "Forty
two," she replied, without hesitation
and without tht suspicion of a frown.
Manifestly, however, it was absurd.
"Madame!" I protested, "you surely are
not over twenty-five!" Then there was
half a suspicion of p frown at she
retorted, "Now, now! No jollying, Mr.
Census Man," and went on to the next
question; while I wondered if the tra
?iition of woman'? unwlllingne?s to con?
fess her full age must go the way of
other vanished fantasies.
"How old?" I asked the next one, and
again an Incredible reply was gi*?**en:
"Thirty-nine." "Ye?," I re?ponded;
"then you must have been born In"
'"Eighteen eighty-six," was the prompt
reply; and "Precisely!" I added, quite
flabbergasted, and wondering why tnero
wasn't n question as to the extent of
her studies In primary arithmetic.
Many Overstated Age
But so it went on all afternoon.
Women of all degrees of loveliness and
conditions of fascination, giving their
ages, or what purported to be their
ages, without resentment or hesitation,
but with the most nonchalant disregard
of the testimony of the mirror and of
the rules of mathematics. And the
queer th'ng about it was that they gen?
erally much overstated their ages.
Why? Could it be in order to avoid
danger of being drafted Into some pub?
lic service? But then, women are not
slackers!
It was an Interesting study in fem?
inine psychology and in some other
things. But it set this one particular
census taker to wondering why it
would not have been better to make
the age question more general. Instead
of getting down to the brass tacks of
year, month and day, why not ask if
the subject Is between eighteen and
thirty, or between thirty and forty
five? Some such arrangement as that
would have secured just as accurate
result?; and think of tho taradiddles?
euphemism for perjuries?and tho wild
mathematical stunts that it would have
saved!
Still, it added to the Interest of my
work as census registrar, and that was
no small thing. I had volunteered
for service in that capacity in or?
der that I might "do my bit" In the
war for humanity and democracy. A
non-partisan, naturalized citizen, In?
tensely eager to fight for the land of
my choice and adoption, I had been
rejected at the recruiting stations and
elsewhere as "too old." But that was
no insuperable barrier to ctnsui ser?
vice, and so I rejoiced to be assigned
to duty a? a registrar. I knew the work
would be useful, and I hoped it would
be not uninteresting. But never did I
imagine that it would be such a me?
lange of varied experiences?comedy
and tragedy, melodrama and farce; and
Ant, last and all the time, protean
human nature.
Few Knew How to Cook
It was not all asking ages, of course
The"*e were questions as to ability at
cookery, and at making garments. The
unanimity with which nearly all
pleaded "Not guilty" was astounding.
It suggested that all the cooks and all
the dressmakers must bo mere men.
Scarcely a woman had seen the inte?
rior of a kitchen, or even a kitchen?
ette, and acquaintance with so much as
a chaiir.g di.-h was con?incd to obser?
vations in restaurants. Again the irre?
pressible speculation arose, Could these
things be? Were these answers really,
truly true? Or wa? I, p? a census
rej-i-trar, presiding over a school of
amiable perjury?
In one unforgettable case, though,
there was surely truth; pathetic an?l
all but tragic truth. She was about
twenty-one years old; apparently in
some domestic service; cheaply but
neatly ami even tastefully clad; mod?
est in demeanor, with sorrow and suf?
fering written clearly upon her face -
the face of Marguerito--after she had
known Faust. With timid air and
lowncast eyes she faltenngly asked
me to fill out the form. 1 did so,
?luestion and answer after question
and answer; all doubtless truthful.
"Are you married*?" "No." . . .
Then of course there wa? no need to
nsk some of the questions, about hus?
band . . . and children. "How
many persons ?r<? dependent upon you
lut auj)*"ort?" "One." , "Ah, your
mother, I suppose?" A ?hake of the
downca?t head. "No? Then . . ."
"A child."
But she wa? one of the few who did
j know how to cook, and how to make
garments.
"I Don't Care" Girl Appears
It wa? not long afterward when La
Penseroia was -succeeded by an exag?
gerated travesty of L'AUegro. She was
showily dressed, and showily chewing
gum, and showily or loudly conversing
, with an only less showy girl companion.
"Age, please." "I don't know!" "But
I must nut something down. What
shall it be?" "Oh, I don't care!"
Eva Tanguay herself was never more
flippantly free from worriment. "Where
i were your parents born?" "I don't
know!" And so on, she all the while
chewing gum and ?langily chattering
, with her congenial chum; until at last
I had to remind her that she was in a
census registry, and not at a th? dan
' sant; to which reminder she returned
; the irrepressible "I don't care!"
Continuing with the questions: "In
i what industry or business are you cn
! gaged?" "I don't know! I don't
icare!" "But you must say something.1
What do you do for a living?" "Oh, I
don't know! I?oh, I dance, and sing,
| and?I don't care!"
Truly, "I should worry!"
There came another; a grave-faced:
woman, of perhaps forty year?, wit!
hair touched with gray, and the trace
I of caro and pain, and also of resolutior
I upon her face. She announced that sh
? had come not for registration, but fo
information and advice. Now, I had no
conceived my place to be that of an in
! formation bureau or of a counsellor
yet there was that in her air that a
once enlisted sympathetic attention
and I bade her ask on.
"Could a woman," .?he asked, "v.-h'
was living with another woman's hus
band come here and register?"
"Why, yes; everybody is supposed t?
register."
"But could she register as the wif?
of the man she is living with, when sh<
isn't, at all?"
"Certainly not unless ?he perjure!
herself, or at least makes a false dec?
laration."
"Well, if ?he die", could I?could any
body else?find out about it?"
"Probably not, because, you see, all
the information which is given by peo?
ple who register is regarded as confi?
dential."
Her Sorrow Revealed
She was silent for a moment, think?
ing intently. Then she continued:
"If my?if?If the man were killed in
; the war, couid this woman who is liv?
ing with him lay claim to his property
or to a pension, as his widow?"
"Why, anybody can claim anything;
but it is a very different matter to sub?
stantiate the claim. Do you mean, could
fihe make such a claim on the basis of
her having registered here as his n ife ?"
"Yes; could ?ho?"
"As I said before, she could make the
claim, but I don't think the fact of her
having registered here would be any
proof that her claim was valid. She
would have to prove her title, entirely
apart from this."
An expression of relief flashed across
her face, and I mutely and inwardly
r.pologized to her for having been in
doubt for a single moment as to which
of the two women she was. I ventured
to let her know that I had read her se?
cret.
"Pardon me, madam," I said, "but I
trust that it is not impertinent for me
to assume that it is concerning your
husband and -and?some one else that
you inquire ?"
She looked at me keenly and not dis?
pleasedly.
"Yes." she said, "I wanted to know if
that woman had had the bras? to reg?
ister here as my husband's wife!"
Drama of Actual Life
Here was the whole drama of hu?
manity, comedy and tragedy, farce and
n elodratna, seen behind the scenes,
often enough, masks off, in actual life.
In an ordinary census taking it would
not have been so significant. But here
was a tremendous occasion, the most
serious occasion in the history of
America, and it was supremely inter?
esting to noto the different ways in
v/hich these women regarded it.
I am not sure that the "I don't know"
girl knew that we were at war or that
there was any war anywhere in the
world. In fact, I fancy that if I had
asked her, "Do you know that we are
at war with Germsny?" she would have
given an extra chew upon her bit of,
gi m and answered with a toss, "I don't
know! I don't care!" There were'
others, less flippant, but almost equally
regardless of the seriousness of the,
crisis and of the purpose for which :
they were being registered.
Yet there were others, and not a few,
who seemed to havo lost all sense of
selfish personality and to be possessed
with a passion for "doing their bit"
fu.d doing their all for the nation in it?
reed. It was an experience which gave
me such an insight into the tempera?
ment of the American people a? I
probably could have -jot in no other
?ay. So much, at ?east for the women
who registered. As for the men, they
ure another story.
a
This British Rookie's
First Post 15 Yards
From German Line
A British soldier's first experience? of
the front line trenchea trt contained
in a letter received by the last mail
from Europe. The writer, who il a
corporal in a London regiment, Joined
the colors at the beginning of the war,
and after nearly two years' training
in England was moved across the Chan?
nel in June, 1916, where, after ?ix
months' in the trenches, he was trans
; fcrred to Sal?nica. He write?;
| "My first experience in the trenches
in France was more pleasant than I
> thought it be. We had a long, tiring
march to reli?ve another battalion in
I the line. I was quite surprised when
i our journey ended to be told that we
! were in the front line. Not a sound
j could be heard; in fact, it was hard to
believe that the Germans were only
forty yards away. To make things
more plear.ant, on being posted for
outpost duty with two of my chums,
I won the toss as to who should go on
lookout duty first. Naturally, I went on
last, and took advantage of tho four
i hours olf to have a good sleep.
"The very next night, however, was
a very different experience. I and two
others were at an outpost situated in
a sap leading from our line to the Ger?
mans, a matter of only fifteen yards
from them. It was so near that we
were forbidden to talk or smoke, so
you can guess my feelings were some?
what mixed.
"Then, in the middle of the night, I
got my first experience of a bombard?
ment, and how I missed catching t
packet I do not know. I was hit by a
splinter, which 6truck my equipment.
It still retains the impression. I had
another experience there some time
after, although at the time I was not
aware I was in danger. W? were in
the support trenches, where one can
take things more easily. I went out
of my dugout after breakfast to find
a shell hole with water in for a wash.
As I was washing over came t shell
and dropped within twenty yards of
me. but by a lucky stroke it didn't go off.
If I had heard it coming I would have
jumped into the water. It was the
thud on the ground and the dust cloud
that gave me the tip to hop it, and one
dett not want telling twice to clear at
such times.
"Since my arrival at Sal?nica I have
enjoyed much better health than when
in France, but it is a ghastly place to
be in, especially in winter time, when
I have never experienced such cold. We
live in bivouacs, two men in each one.
It is all light in the summer, but the
censor would not pass my opinion of it
In the winter time."
TWO DEATH TRAPS FOR U-BOATS
Above?The weight method, by which the subm arine
by tho pro5surc of the water.
Below?The bomb method by which thn U-boat starts
i.i carried to the bottom, where it will be crushed
machinery that will drop torpedoes on itself.
?Americans Design
Nets to Destroy
Trapped U-Boati
One Device Envelop? ?^j
Bears Down Submarines
on Contact
Bombs Are a Feature
Californian Ha? Scheint fo.
Dropping Explosives on
Submersibles
Although it Is our belief that th
only effective answer to th? ?ubsm*,.
. wou'.d bo to build a bombcurt?in d**.
I across the North Sea, there art ??f.,
| other more limited application? ?' C
net which have proved to be SsM-atT
actual service, and others which a?-,'.
well warrant a trial in shallow chi*.
; neis or in variou? location? wbtr*? ti
| submarines are liable to be encounter?'
J in considerable number?.
W? give in the pregent article t?.
' illustrations of submarine net?, ?,*y.k
! after some experimental work, otn?
j doubtless prove to be very e*jc;.v
I The first of these device? i? on? ?hie.
was submitted to this office by Wait??
Wellman, of the Wellman Arctic ?,.
pedition. He proposes to build ? ,U>v.
net of steel cable in section? ?f asm,
venient length, each ?ection tes*?--.,
tically independent of its atigaber
Each ?action is loaded with kit*?
weights at the top and with ?utter
I weight? at the bottom. Th? lu??
| weight? (and thereforo the top ?f fa
I net) are attached to flotation buoyt b
? a connection which is s?ffln**,?.;.
i strong to carry the loaded nit and
? withstand the stresses due te ti?
movement of the sea and tho tidal cur?
rent?, but is not sufficiently atronj to
i withstand th? pull which com-a SMS
the net when an 800-ton aubmaria?
? run? into it at a ?peed of ten knot?.
Net and Weights
Drag U-Boat Down
When the submarine hits the n?t the
; latter is torn away from its aupportia*
i buoys, and as the centre of the net ?
] carried forward, the upper p?rt, with
| its attached weights, ?inks ?nd folds
over the forward half of the subm?r.M,
as shown in the diagram.
Now, a submarine when running b<
low the surface is in a condition *f
very sensitive equilibrium, and it hit
\ only a few hundred pound? renn?
; buoyancy. Hence, the load ?udd*nl*
; imposed upon the forward end of the
i submarine by the weighted net deatr?**!
'? the fore and aft trim, depressing th?
bow, and before the submarine can b*
, stopped, or the equilibrium reatortd b
I means of the hydroplanes and trim
ming tank?, it will have plunged dow
to depths at which it will be crush??.
in by water pressure.
This principle of upsetting tnd sink
in? the submarine by dropping a heavy
weighted net acros? its forward half It
! something new, and ?eem? to be wel
! worthy of a trial.
The other ?ubmar.ne-d??troying nt
, has been lent to us by A. M. Sanbora
? of California. This device eon?i?t? of i
, comparatively Ifght net of large m-ii
made up in ?everal units and -upper*?.:
from a buoyed cable. At every ten - foot
interval (the mesh being ten-foot) t>?
net is supported from the buoy-d ubi?
by a pair of light hemp "break cordi."
which have sufficient strength to hoi?,
the net, but would be broken b) the
strain put upon them if the net ?w?
carried away by a submarine.
Suspended from the cable and h*i?
in place by release string.? is a aariee ef
torpedoes or bombs, each carry*.*-*
enough explosive to rr.aKc tur* ?!
wrecking any submarine if contact wir?
made. In the nose of the torpedo in
firing pin, and at the rear are van?! t*
steady the torpedo in it? downward
flight.
Pulls the Trigger
That Drops Torpedo
When a submarine strikes th? ?'?
and brings a heavy strain upon t??
break cord?, the latter are severed, **?*?
as the net is carried forward it p?li?
on the release strings and relea??* ?*??
torpedoes, which drop vertical'** ?*?
on, and are exploded on contact b; th'
action of the tiring pin. Sine* th? u*r*
man submarine is about thirty ittt i'i
width, it is certain that at least thrw
of the torpedoes would strike the hu?.
at approximately the ?ame dieta?**
from the bow, and, if ro, it* absols?
destruction would be ?tfiured.
The pull on the release string??'
only serves to set the torpedo fr**
from the supporting cable, but it ?**'
opens certain valves which admit*?**
and increases the negative buoyancT?
the torpedo. It is fairly certain that i.
the submarine was travelling at ?dep*^
of thirty to fifty feet, and at a r?U ??
five to ten knots, the torpedoe?-*****?
f-trike home before the 2(0 feet of ti*
submarine's length had passed clear *
their line of flight.
The valuable feature In both of th***
devices is that they are entirely ***f
matic and self-conta:r.c-.i, ?nd th'"
work is done independently of th? *P
trol fleet- that is to ?'ay, the nets s?
their own killing. In the firat pi??. ?
is necessary only to provide ?uffle-***
weight on the loaded net to ?n,B/V
quick dragging down of the r.oM?"*
submarine when the net, ton '**?"
from its buoys, falls upon it \**
other plan has the valuabl? t?*-**'~
that one at least of the tomb? g W
tain to strike the plating of the iB,*T
pres?ure resisting hull, thereby ***'
ing the submarine. . M
In each case it would he t?tummst*
anchor the nets, either from top orb**"
ttm; or they might be held m V0*'*'>r
or towed through infested "**'***,,
tugs and trawlers. A fruitful ?MMIP
their employment would be touti '
the exits from the submarine l*******
particularly at the mouth of the E"1
and the approaches to Wilhelmib******
and Zeebnigge.?Scientific Americas
a
Germany to Raise
Her Sunken Sb-f?
Having become masters in the art*
?inking ship?, German engineer?^
now reported to have perfected i*?
trivance for ?raising them again ss**
the war it is ?aid Germany ****MlmZ
recover most of the vessels no?* *?
at the bottom of the ocean. '?"PB
?he hopes in this way to repien*.s-_r
empty coffers and to create a ****Z
tile marine once more. Before ???Ja
there was a good deal of go.d Oj*s
the bottom of the sea. and ?????J3
must be much greater bow. Jbsstjm
tempts were made to recover t Msj**r
ure lying in the hull of the ?^?*mS
thirty-six-gun frigate which w?i**?
ured from the French in NelaeWg
at the ?iege of Toulon, She ?*?*?
off Vlie I?land. at ?he mouth 01
Zuyder Zee. in 1799. ?d Spsmih tm
to the value of 11,200,000 sa?I? j
her. l*p to the time war b?"?it*.
some ?600,000 in gold ?til ""V*^,
her hull, and enterprising!am ^t
were ?being taken to ??*******
amount. Dundee Advertiser.