The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1915-10-08
BRAVEST OF BRAVE
Nine Sweeper Risks Life Every
Time He Puts to Sea.
Work Is Never Mentioned Because In
formation Would Be Valuable to
Enemy-Always Engaged in
Forlorn Hope.

Liverpool.-In comparison with its
population, Liverpool has given more
soldiers, sailors and war workers tc
the nation than any other part of the
| empire.
The bravest of them all are the
mine-sweepers. The mine-sweeper
earns, but he does not get, a Victoria
cross every voyage. He is always
engaged in a forlorn hope. a work so
dangerous that it is a wonder he re-
| turns safely to his home so often. 1t
is not alone in the Irish seas that he
is risking his life so that ships may
pass to and fro in safety; in the North
sea, no longer the German ocean; in
the Dardanelles, in the English chan
mel and the Arabian rivers and Per-
sian gulf, you will find Liverpool sail
ors engaged in the perilous task OF
mine-sweeping, and so rendering cas-
Ter, one cannot say easy, the work Of
our submarines destroyers, cruisers
and battleships.
At present the British grand fleet
is resting in a spot unknown even to
the censor, for strange as it may ap.
pear there are scores of kilograms
which pass between the fleet and the
admiralty, and messages from our
armies, which reach Whitehall with
out the censor passing a line OF it, or,
for the matter Of that, even seeing a
word of it.
These messages record in so many
curt words the days doings of an
arm of the feet. Sometimes the ad-
miralty and the military authorities
consider that it is worth while send.
ing these messages to the press; more
often than not they don't.
One of the messages seldom pub
lished is the work of the mine-sweep.
er. To announce that so many mines
had been cleared on such a day in
such an area would be valuable infor-
nation to the enemy.
Competent authorities estimate that
Germany has scattered about ten
thousand mines in various waters con-
trolled by the British fleet Although
a large number of them have un-
doubtedly been laid by trawlers flying
neutral flags, many of them have been
just thrown into the water at Helgo |
land, at Ostend and at different points
Of the Baltic, and allowed to drift out
with the tide, in the hope that they
would sink one of the British ships of |
war Or shins OP commarca
In the Baltic alone Denmark, Nor
way and Sweden have picked up hun
1reds of these mines which have been
washed on their shores unexploded
And yet for her vast expenditure of
over five million dollars in sea-mines,
Germany has little or nothing to show
beyond the destruction of few trawl-
srs and few neutral ships, as in
are cases where British trading ships
rave been sunk by drifting or sta.
ionary mines, the damage done has
)een of more or less harmless char
lCter. The mine-sweeper, as one of
he most valuable sections of the
lavy, can claim full credit for this
Most Of the work in clearing the
eas of mines is done by trawlers.
which usually act in pairs. We have
Iuite a large fleet of trawlers and
rifters engaged in this work, which
s one of the reasons why fish is so
carce and dear. They set out at
light so as to be in their working
rea by daylight, then they fish for
nines by long rope street, he'd be-
ween the two trawlers. Proceeding
a very gentle pace, they lift the
line which is usually about foot
nd half or two feet below the sur
ace. ;
It is no uncommon thing to find
alf dozen stationary mines brought [
} the surface by one rope. Once in !
light a well-aimed rife shot explodes |
lem, then the trawlers proceed with I
leir work until another shot is I
eeded. S
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