The Washington times., 1915-03-28

When Jules Verne dreamed his ia
blcd submarine. the Nautilus. and sub
merged IL Twenty Thousand Leagues
Under the Sea-" he accomplished IN
vivid imagination what the ne"
United states sea-goinS fleet subma-
rine. the SChlcy. for which contracts
have Just been awarded. Will partly
accomplish in fact.
OF course nobody claims that the
Schlcy will be able to reach the low
er-most depths of the ocean lloor,
but what. IS more. Important 10 this
Government, she will be able to tray
el 1000 miles without replenishinS her
supplies, and that at a surface speed
of twenty knots, and a submerged
speed Of from IL to IA knots, which
opens an entirely new era in the build
ing of submarines.
To Put L. S. In Forefront.
So great deal of what Jules Verne
cid with pen and paper. plus the story
tellcr's art is now about to be ac-
complished with iron and steel plVs
ship-building genius: the last factor
to be furnished by one-timc United
States naval constructor, Lawrence
Spear, who originally conceived the
idea of q sea Soing submarine, and
ultimately drew the plans upon which
the Navy Department asked bids for
the Schley.
Just what il means to be the pro
genitor Of a class Of fighting craft
such as the Schley will be, can bc
summed UP IN the fact that the
launching of this giant diver will i'm
mediatcly place the United States in
the forefront Of all nations, so far as
The development of the submarine is
concerned and it has been long time
since this country carried away first
laurelS in the Development OF any DIS
tinct type of lighting craft
For instance, Great Britain launched
her first super-fght!ng craft. the
Dreadnaught.' in 1905. 1t was not un-
of the United States feet to qualify in
the dreadnaught class. came off the
ways.
Quit Navy To Perfect Sub"
But as European submarines go to-
! day, according to the best information
possessed by this Government. those of
| the greatest size and radius are pos
sessed by England. whose class + boats
are but 20 feet long as against the
! Schlcy, whose length will be 365 feet
| over all. with displacement of about
l,lOO tons.
But not only did Lawrence Spear con-
| ceive the idea OF q seagoing submarine,
and draft plans for her but he will
/ also superintend the construction of the
Schley in the plant of the Electric Boat
Company, near Groton, Conn.
He came to Washington a few days
ago to- go over the plans with the Navy
Department for the last time. and he
proved to he a veritable mine of In
formation concerning submarines, whose
| E-1I- 1 ,tSE
when as naval constructor in charge for
the Government of the construction of
the old class A. boats, he became
deeply interested in the problem of un-
derwater craft When once he had
watched the then revolutionary type of
boat sing beneath the water and prove
to the satisfaction of Government tests
that Nerne's 5 dream was not impossible,
he became so infatuated with the prob
lem of their development that he re-
signed from tho United states navy and
has since devoted his energies to per-
feCting the submarine.
Under Sea 500 Times.
Mr. Spear is tall spare man, we'll
past his early years. with the lean
chiseled face of him who combines with
his dreams that rare quality which
makes his visions possible of rcaliza-
ton.
Submarines are more to him than
his work-they are hR friends and
] close intimatcs.
And today he holds what is prob