Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-05-24
Foreign

The London Engineer tells of an I'M
usual salvage operation recently car
ried out uIon a coal transporter which
sank in the Mersey. The usual prac-
tice of closing the apertures and
pumping was not deemed practical in
this case, owing to the weight of the
sixteen feet of water above the decks
being too heavy for the latter to sup
port A cofferdam was erected to in
close all the deck openings and hatch
ways, and the water in this was
pumped out along with that in the
vessel. The dam was fifty feet long,
and had to resist hydraulic pressure
of about 800 tons. The building of the
dam was commenced by laying pitch
pine logs along and across the open
part of the deck of the sunken vessel.
these logs were secured by long bolts
and clamps. Next, three large logs
Of the same wood were bolted to these
from the tower. Athwartship timber
beams were carried across to support
them and to counterfeit the pressure of
water out side when that inside was
pumped out. The cofferdam was built
in twenty feet by six feet sections, the
bottom ends Of which were bolted and
spiked through the log base on the
deck The sections were built on shore,
and We're fioated to the wreck, where
they were lowered end down and Sc
cured by the divers. The underwater
work was carried out with the use OF
pneumatic drills and Boyer hammers
With the completion of the dam came
| the work of finding and call<ing the
| leaky Joints. Afterward the pumping
| operations were undertaken by two
| twelve-inch centrifugal pumps placed
on the deck of an adjacent salvage
steamer and connected with the wreck
| sy hose pipes; and by portable oil
engine and centrifugal pump placed on
platform erected on the dam. After
pumping operations had proceeded for
about one hour the vessel commenced
| to rise, and in two hours the stern
deck was visible.
| A London guide was showing an
American tourist the famous tombs at
St. Pauls recently. says the Chronicle.
This, sir" said he. sis the tomb OF
the greatest naval zero the world ever
seen-Lord Nelson. This marble sar-
cophagus weighs forty-two tons. Hin
eide that is steel receptacle that
weighs twelve tons, an hinside that is
the mahogany coffin that Odds the
hashes of the great 'ero.'
"Well," said the tourist, after mo-
ment's deep thought. 81 guess you've
got him. If he ever gets out of that,
telegraph me at my expense"
| %
The story is once more current N
| London that Sir Antony Macdonald
| has resigned the position of under
secretary for Ireland. The chief charge
! against Sir Antony seems to be that he
is an Irishman and his downright
methods and uncompromising utter
ances have initiated against his pop
ularity.
| A good story was told the other day
which illustrates these characteristics
Sir Antony told Lord Ashbourne, the
Irish lord chancellor, that he believed
three-fourths of the trouble in Ireland
| is due to officialism. The lord chan
| cellor was aghast.
II am astounded." he said. "thai
YOU should say such thing to me-"
"Ohi" retorted Sir Antony, with his
| comprehensive smile, 1--WE said that
| TO a bigger man than YOU"
| "Who was that?" asked Lord Ash
| bourne. incredulously.
"The king" said Sir Antony.
| The rest was silence.