Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-23
IARDY RECOGNITION
TO Be PAID M. F. MAURY
Society Formed to Place Statue of
Great Geographer in Hall
of Fame.
MAPPED OUT OCEAN CURRENTS
statue OF Inventor of Torpedo and
Consulting Designer of First Sub
marine May Stand in Richmond in
Near Future.

IS him. She opened the book at Psalm
viii, the eighth verse. of which speaks
&Eot whatsoever waiketh through the
paths of the sea" The commodore was
very much struck by this verse. and
Kept repeating over and over to him
sef: The paths OF the seattle paths
of the sea"
+ Finally he said IF God says The
4paths of the sea they must he there,
and IL ever get out of this bed. l Will
find them"
He did find them. in 1851 and the
finding revolUtionized ocean travel. He
had prophesied the existence OF an
&Bocean plateau on the bed OF the Allan
tic as early lSis but ii was three
s years before he could persuade the
+ government to send out boats TO take
ocean soundings. When the work was
finally completed, with Maury's help
and suggestions. the soundings re-
path of the sea. stretching from
America to Europe, there was laid.
also at Maury's suggestion and with
MS help the first ocean cable. The
versatile Ccogrnpher even invented. to
expedite the work, machine for coil
ing and laying the cable.
MAPPED GUT WINDS
AND CURRENTS OF OCEAN
But this was only small part Of the
work that the great Vircnian did for
the world. He is perhaps most ia
nous for his work in mapping the
winds and currents of the ocean. 1t is
Interesting to note the circumstances
which suggested TO his mind the max
Ing of these charts Having entered
the American navy at the age OF nine
teen, he was made, at the age Of TWEEN
ty-fve sailing master OF the sioop-of-
war, "Fa lmouth," and sent on n cruise
through the Pacific Ocean lie tried
to obtain some information OF tho
winds and tides of the Pacific aud
was astonished TO find that there was
practically none at hand. Thereupon
he beSan series of studies. investiea-
lions and observations which resulted
in his world-famous winds and cur
rents charts and sailing directions.
which are the basis of navigation to-
day. The Importance OF these charts
cannot possibly he overestimated.
with their help voyages OF sailing YES
sells in particular have been short
ened from one 10 ninety days AS
freight communication between coun-
tries depends on the length Of time
necessary for the voyage. 1t has been
calculated that the total saving 10
commerce amounts 10 many millions a
year being often as much as s.. Don
on one voyage of one ship
REMARKABLE SKILL IN
LOCATING SHIPS At SEA
Many interesting, stories are told of
Maurys skill in locating ships at sea
from his knowledge Of wind and tide
When the san Francisco. with a large
number of Americans on board was
caught in an Atlantic gale and wrecked
news OF the disaster somehow reached
the government. The officials went In
the commodore. who told them exactly
Where the helpless wreck had proba hlv
0ritted' lhey sent out rescue boat
ana IN the exact spot he had indicated
found the San Francisco, with several
= men sun alive aboard her. When the
NPrince of Wales was returning IA
England after his visit 10 this country
MS snip sol INTO "A region OF contrary.
winds, and was ten days overdue Tn.
british Lords OF the Admiralty nm
pea!ed 10 MaUry. who told them ius,
where the ship probably was An
other boat sent out 10 meet i, found
II In the spot indicated and hore ,ba
prince trlumnhantly home in time ~
he present al the celebration of his
birthday "''
The grea, geosrapher also mad.
"i'n!e charts, indicating for tho hcneht
OF whalers exactly whtrc WHALES couid
ne round during crert month Of ma
year. me tmc and MONEY that has
culahe
Originated GOVERNMENT
WEATHER. BUREAU
Another Invaluable institution which
can trace IT'S inspiration 10 the hrain
or TINS man is the Weather Rurcan
Maury was a skillfnl Weather sneciaI.
ISL, ana on SfNeTa! occasions wrote
papers and made speeches urrirr NO
passage "i law recurring accurate
weather observations to b, taL..r -
various points all over the coun,r,
and communicated several times a dsy
by telegraph TO ccntra! once His
eforts hna!ly bore fruit in the ac
curate and successful forecasts issued
by the Weather Bureau Of to-day
One of the most important ana TO-
reachins Of Maury's invention. has
yet 70 he mentioned That is the tor
pedo, and, closely associated with il.
the submarine. Torpedoes as effective
weapons In actual warfare we're hrs,
used by the Confederate navy. and II
was ne no introduced them and i'm,
proved them uni! they have become
now one OF the most potent forces in
naval warfare ana the most effective
means OF coast and harbor defense
The Secretary OF the United States
Navy reported to Congress in 1854
>That the Conicderates had destroved
with their t0rpedoes more vessels than
were los, from all other causes com
bined
INVENTOR or TORPEDO
AND or SUBMARINE
n
and makeshift AFFAIR. but success
y IT was composed OF TWO small KEGS Of
ssrifle powder. weighted 10 sink a few
< feet below the surface They were
IS fitted with hair triggers and friction
= primers, and thirty feet OF lgnvard
attached 10 the trig gers connected me
askeys. They were 10 hc set ahoar In
& the channel as near as possible 10 a
vessel. and to drift down with Inc
current untii the connecting lanyard
fouled the anchor chain or the bow 81
the vessel, and The kegs swun9 around
Eaagainst her side. The tiehtenrd Lam
s yard would hre the trigger and cause
h the torpedo 10 explode. Before the
end of the war ;orpedoes we're. buiI,
which could be fred by electricity from
the shore.
~ On August 9. 1864, there Was a grca,
e $explosion in Grants lines at City Point
caused by torpedo with clock al
81 Stacbed, which caused II 10 explode q,
eS a given hour Two Confedeyates, o: