Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-05-29
SUBMARINE CRAFT
They Surpass All Warships In
Concentrated Deadly Power.
A DIVE UNDER THE SURFACE.

Down Into the Depths Of the Sea.
In waters where the United State.
maintains a naval station you may
happen to see tall staf1 cutting
through the water a. though borne BY
some unseen hand beneath the sur
face. On the top Of the stat u q
slight bent hood pointed in the direc
uon OF motion. This Il the eye Of q
submarine.
From the lens in the front Of the
hood picture Of the whole seascapt
10 carried down by . succession Oi
mirrors In the hollow stat until 1t il
thrown ON a prismatic lens at the bot
tom. here the navigator Of the sub
marine watches a moving picture oi
what Is going on above the surface OF
the water and guides his boat accord
ingly.
We said boat advisedly, because it L.
really vessel for the transportation
OF human beings at sea. 1t Is. more
over. nose than floating craft swim
ming on the surface like a swan. II
10 also diver. darling down into tbt
depths like fish.
Let yourself be shut up In It and
dive With It and II seems more like u
tightly corked bottle Your first sen
sation d. the boat starts downward il
that yon have fo0lishly allowed your
self to be shut up in q death traL
from which there is no escape. Your
heart sinks faster than the boat
And then something happens to make
you forget everything but that this
craft Ia a hellisb contrivance for de-
str0ying your hearing. As the subma
rine dips under the surface and all
outlet for sound Ia cut OF by the seal
ing waters the rush Of the sea around
the steel walls becomes the rattle Vi
spring bail on . tin root. You remem
Der that old and painful swimming
hole experiment when you held your
head under water and let q playmate
strike two stones together. But here
the assault ON your earirums Ia az
though million stones were striking
together. A pebble falling through the
waters on the steel hull sets the inside
changing like Chinese temple fun VI
jangling gOngs You must shout to
be heard.
Through the roar from the vibra tons
or the steel shell come the tnsistent
cracking hum OF electric motors. the
rafting hre Of gasoline engines. the
whir Of machinery and the barking
cough Ut exhausts. Your craft seems
to be nothing but an elliptical mass Ut
concentrated noise sinking through the
sea. You fear that 1t will blow up
from its own vibrations.
When you have In measure con
trolled your protesting ears you look
around and see wonderful array OF
engines. machinery. deadly torpedoes
dashed together In pairs and the steel
tubes from which they are projected
with compressed air all slowed away
In the least possible space.
The double walls surrounding you
are themselves huge ballast tanks,
which can be filled with water through
valves opening into the sea outside Or
can be emptied by the force Of com
pressed air from within. As these
tanks are ti.aed the hull Of the sub
marine sinks until only the periscOpe.
the elevated eye Of the vessel. shows
above the water. When the water is
forced out Of them the boat becomes
light and rises to the surface. until its
coming .tower. superstructure and the
upper part OF the hull are exposed
Then the craft Is navigated like any
other boat.
When the vessel Is submerged the
navigator at the lower end Of the
periscOpe has far more intricate task
than the steering Of an ordinary boat
The periscope. of course, brings him
limited view OF the sea about Then
ne must steer In two planes instead
ct one. His craft turns not only to
th- right or left. but also up or down.
TO rnnbie the vessel to stay under
the water Il longer time than usual
the submarine carries reserve supply
ut air. This emergency supply Is com.
pressed in a steel flask under the enor-
nous pressure 0f 200 pounds to the
square inch Should the flask burst
the explosion would wreck the boat
Perhaps better idea OF the tremen
d0us concentration implied by this
pressure may be gained from the
statement that II this storage cylinder
were punctured with hole no big
ger than needle and II the tiny jet
Of escaping air were to strike man
1t would pierce him through and
through like a bullet and even drive a
hole through an inch thick board be
hind him.
For ordinary purposes the afr sup
ply used under water Is carried In or
binary cylinders at much smaller pres
sures. Unusual precautions have to
be taken to prevent the contamination
Of the air supply by gases from the
storage batteries and from the gasoline
motors.
Concentration epitomizes the subma
rine Its energies and utilities are
packed in like the parts of puzzle.
and in the concentration Of deadly
power It surpasses any other weapon
Ut man.-Sau Francisco Chronicle.
Dance Madness Nothing New.
The polka was comma m tivolv new