The Washington times., 1914-10-11
EDISON WOULD MAKE
SHIPS LIKE FISH
inventor, After inspection Of
Warships, Says Submarines
Should Have GiIIs.

NEW YORK, Oct. 11.-A plan t
make the submarines Of the Unite.
States navy the most effective IN tn,
world was proposed by Thomas A. Edi
son to Secretary Of the Navy Danial
and Rear Admiral Frank F. Fletcher
commander-in-chief Of the Atlanti,
fleet. at O. conference yesterday in tn.
. hold Of the submarine CA in the New
York navy yard.
Edison s plan is to equip submarin.
{ with gills, an apparatus for extracting
oxygen from the water that will Der
nit them to stay submerged for an IL
definite period without endangering tht
lives OF the crew, no matter wha
accident might happen to the operatins
machinery.
Inspected the Machinery.
While it was denied there was any,
thing official about the conference be-
tween the inventor and the navy chiefs
the fact that the machinery of the sub.
marine and Of the super-dreadnough,
New York were closely inspected by Mr.
Edison. and that other naval improve.
ments We're suggested by the inventor
made it apparent that naval officer:
attached great Significance to the in.
terest shown by the inventor
Naval officers were given Edison
word that it would be simple to give
submarines gi-ls just as good as those
Of any deep-sea fish. a feature that
would make the submarines Of the
United States navy the most deadly
ard efficient in the world.
1t can be done in half an hours s
WORK. Edison at the close of the
conference. We discussed it down
there in the submarine. AS soon as they
IN Mt fn In
month";
Edison would not admit. however
that he is working on any inventions
Tor war craft. Il can't get interested
in inventions for war;" he said. II am
opposed to war"
A naval officer who had visited the
Edison laboratories. however. told of
the work Edison had accomplished on
the submarine gill plan.
He saw fish moving about under
the water extracting the ozone from
it with their gills,' he said. "and ar
sued that a man ought to have some
thing of the same sort for himself, sc
that liz case a submarine went down
and couldn't get UP he could pump in
salt water. extract the ozone and then
pump 1t out again, thus keeping up the
supply Of oxygen indefinitely until res
cue came"
More Power For Craft.
The breathing apparatus for subma-
rines was not the only Improvement to
them Edison discussed with the men of
the navy. They are engaged in testing
a new storage battery Of his invention
which, il It proves successful, will add
greatly to the efficiency Of the CT and
her myriad sisters.
The storage batteries now in use give
out chlorine when salt water gets into
them. which is a source Of great danger
to the crew. Edison's new battery,
which was devised by him for peaceful
uses. but has been snapped up for the
navy. is free from this objection. It is
wet storage battery Of greater eff
cheney in all ways than those in use.
As yet it has not been adapted to use
In ships. but in the testing room Of the
administrative building at the navy yard
they have riGged up a big cradle rocked
increasingly, day and night, in imitation
Of the motion of a ship. One of the
new Edison batteries is attached to this
rolling Of ship might have on it, and
whether salt water stopping into its con-
tents will have any bad effect.
Edison was taken to the testing room
and shown the apparatus. He looked at
It for some time, Then he made a sug-
gestion.
Key it up-make it roll further and
faster he said. Give it a harder
test
Worth Proved BY Tests.
''They can't feaze it, he said, after
ward. I've tried all these tests and the
battery is all right
After this test Edison and his party
were taken on tour through Admiral
Fletcher's flagship, the New York. They
visited the turretS and the great guns
were swung and aimed for them. They
were taken down steep ladders through
manholes into the most vital parts of
the ship-even into the central station,
which Is the brain Of the ship in action,
from which the fire control is directed
Here lie the deepest secrets of the
navy in the mass of electrical appar-
atus, paraphernalia and switches close
ly dovetailed into the tiny compart-
ment, and it was only on the specific
order of Secretary Daniels that the
party was allowed to enter it. The
thing that most interest Edison on the
whole ship was the Sperry gyroscopic
compass he found there
1T ought to have been discovered
years ago." he said. Its principle is
80 simple-its a cinch. That Is the
most interesting thing on the ship.
His First Visit.
1t was Ed!son's first trip aboard a
battleship and he asked Capt Thomas
S. Rogers many questions concerning
the great shells he saw aboard and the
theory Of shell fire. He wanted to know
whether the most effective were those
with great penetrating power, or those
devised with great explosive power to
explode outside of ship. Captain
Rogers told him that a study of the
present war was being made with "A
view of determining which type Of shell
was the more effective
After the tour was over Secretary
Daniels said Mr.. Edison was not work
ing at present on any special devices
for the navy. He did not say, however
that the inventor would not turn his at
tcntion to such inventions after his dis
coverv OF improvements he believes he
can provide.