The Washington herald., 1907-08-31

For centuries men have strlven 10 do
things; TO fiy above the earth, and 10
swim In boats beneath the sea. Sub
marine boats are still somewhat expert
mental in the navies of the world, al
though they have won a place IN the sea-
fighting machines Of each nation. They
are not the outcropping Of modern in
ventive genius save in the sense that the
new have surpassed the old Aristotle
tells US of diving bells used with some
success in the siege of Tyre, 3S2 B. c., and
In 1888 an Invention for descending into
the sea was heard Of at Toledo. Charles
is said to have Interested himself in the
invention, and forty-two years later an
Englishman, William Bourne. invented
plunging apparatus that was submerged
by hand-vices that contracted the sides.
The earlier submarines did not attempt
navigation but were suspended like div
ing bells. Cornelius Van Drebel, Dutch
man, was the constructor Of the first
navigating submersible, in 1920. He was
SO successful that he had two more built
upon the same plan, and in one Of them
King James I, with whom the inventor
The vessel was built of wood and made
watertight by stretching creased leather
over the huh It had a dozen oars, and
made journeys Of several hours from
twelve to fifteen feet below the surface
Van Drobel possessed the secret Of a
liquid which revltalized the air IN his
boat, but he died without revealing it.
These few Of the many attempted sub
marines OF early history may be men
TONED to show that inventive genius has
been at work upon the great problem
for some time. Jules Verne is regarded
by many poorly-posted persons as having
dreamed Of a submarine before anyone
else. As a matter of fact, Verne merely
perfected in fiction the crude submarine
Of fact going further in that direction
than the modern inventors have gone.
and accomplishing wonders in navigation
upon the bed Of the ocean The French.
in 1906. turned cold shoulder TO Robert
Fulton, who, aside from being an in-
ventor in the field Of steam navigation
by water, was greatly interested in sub
marine boats. Fulton offered his plans 10
the French government Il few years
before the opening of the nineteenth cen
tury, and commission was directed 10
examine the model and report. The re-
port was favorable. but the minister OF
marine rejected il. and Fulton had the
same Ill luck with the Dutch government
three years later. Finally he secured
and built his Nautilus" a cigar-shaped
Boat. seven feet in diameter. and demon
strated its workings in the Seine, but the
minister OF marine refused him even the
afa.r.r ion So .r---
upon the ground that such warfare was
piraticaI. Yet the French had been ex-
perimenting in submarine invention for
So0 years
Many men with many models had ex-
perImented, when 8n eccentric American
captain named Johnson planned a craft
with which he intended to slip up TO ST.
Helena and rescue Napoleon. Unfortu-
nately Napoleon died before his would
be rescuer got his plans perfected. a
few years later a Spaniard whose name
was Cerve, descended bravely I'm a
spherical submarine made of wood. and
that was the last that was heard Of man
or boat History Of this period bristles
with the names Of Frenchmen, Germans.
and Englishmen, who were wrestling with
the great problem. Germany claims
credit for the first practical submarine,
launched at Kiel in 1850. and made in
the likeness Of a dolphin, whose move
ments the inventor had watched from
the shore as it dived into the depths. The
vessel sank in the harbor year after it
was built, and is probably still there.
Wilhelm Bauer, whose brain conceived
the model, was a poor soldier who had
audience at the court through the good
Offices of a wealthy woman. After much
discussion, Bauer and mis- invention were
dropped by the government, and he
turned 10 England, where he was en-
Couraged and aided by Prince Albert,
Charles Fox. and others. But he felt
that he had been unfairly treated. and
went first to America and then to Russia.
while Germany was branding him as un-
patriotic, although unwilling to try his
invention herself. In .B55 he got q model
accepted and built q boat for the Rus
slams, Bauer went through many trials
writing letters to King Macmillan, OF
Bavaria. and Grand Duke Constantine,
while seventeen feet under water testing
the vitality of man In inclosed space. and
remaining beenath the surface throughout
the coronation ceremonies when Alexan-
der II was crowned.
The civil war naturally stimulated in
terest In inventions along the line of per-
fectIng underwater fighting machines.
The United States government had a
French engineer build & cigaT-shaped boat,
the Navigator, and the Coufederates Of
fered $4,000 to a French engineer TO build
a submarine and 4 bonus of $25,000 for
h7ff aef rrfrh fat
ure. Undiscouraged, however. they built
half dozen submarines 10 try to blow
up the IrOnsides and an attempt by
Lieut.. W, T. Glassou, c. S. A. was very
nearly successful al Charleston. Often
sive power was supplied by tOrpedOes car
ried at the end Of a ffteen-foot spar. One
evening the watch saw a little object like
a pleasure boat near by and Just as or
ders to fire were given the Constitutions
decks were flooded by a gigantic stream
Of water, and Ensign Howard was NOR
tally wounded by rifle shot fired from
the torpedo boat. The escape OF the Con-
stitution was due to an error in judging
distance. Under heavy musket fire. and
untouched by the ships guns, the little
assailant disappeared. The Union at this
time had no torpedo boats. The new form
OF fighting craft in the war between the
North and South attracted the attention
OF the world. The name David" was
given to the first of the little boats be-
cause its attack upon a large vessel re-
called the attack OF David upon Goliath.
Like that OF the Monitor. the name be-
came generic. About this time the
Wlnan, a semi-submarine, was launched
on the Thames, but never went beyond
the trial stage.
Every year inventors continue to work