Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-04-10
diver AGRAz IN
10 FEET THINKS
F-4 LOCATED
Observation Continues-"AC-
Cident Stories" Widely Dis
CuSsed - FIotilIa Officers
Understood to Have Known
Nothing OF Serious Blowout

Swinging to racing current l1O
! feet below the surface o. the ocean.
| Jack AgraZ. chief gunneTS mate and
! master diver, strained his eyes this
! morning fer 4 sight OF the sunken sub
marine "A as it rested on the sea
! floor With the sun almost directly
overhead and conditions 1Cr submarine
observation specially favorable the
diver believed that the position CT the
"a had been definitely located and
that line was fast t. DOW and stern
Of the SunkCn craft
This bears out the underwater OBJ
servattOns taken yesterday afternoon
by AgraZ and Evans, who dived to
about IL feet At the spot where the
F.4 is lying, and thought that they
could make out her dim outline on the
lotion. The current was too strong
for diving this mOr2ing. and the deep
sea explorers came UP with the in
tentiCn Of making another descent
shortly after l O'Clock at slack water
With the exception Of the diving
operations Off the dredge Gaylord,
most OF the salvage work on the sunk
en- submarine is being conducted from
the shore end. Yesterday one of the
600-ton scOWs that are to be used as
lifting pOntOOnS arrived from Pearl
HarbOr, where the preliminary fitting
was done, and all this morning navy
mechanics and men iIOm the Honolulu
Iron Works were busy fitting the
hosting machinery on which the lat
ter concern has been working for al
most week past. Within a day or
SO the other scOw will be towed to
this port and when it is fitted up work
of actually raising the submarine can
be commenced
No direct wireless word has been
received from the cruiser Maryland,
which is speeding toward Honolulu
with five expert naval divers and i'm
proved gear, which will enable the
men to combat the enormous pressure
of the water at more than the 300-foot
depth. Last night the local station in
tercepted a message to the command
er-in-chief of the Pacific fleet, giving
the ships position. 1t is figured here
that the Maryland may arrive toner
row, but that if she has slowed down
for any reason she will probably not
round Diamond Heal until daylight
Monday morning. There is nothing to
gain, and a big chance to take, in en-
tering port after dark. The raising Of
the Pa is a work of salvage and in
vestigation only, now, and there is no
reason why the Maryland should try
to break records between San Fran
cisco and Honolulu.
An Associated Press despatch from
Los Angeles, quoting a letter from
Lieut. Alfred l.. EIDE. commander of
the lost submarine to his brother. in
which the former, sitter detailing a
number of minor accidents to the F-4,
says: AS a matter of fact, if the
whole boat should vanish in smoke, I
don't think | would be terribly aston
ished," was widely commented on by
naval men yesterday.
The gist Of the criticism is that if
there was anything radically wrong
with the F-4, only the crew and Off
GERS of the vessel knew of it. Lieut..
c. E. Smith. commander of the sub
marine division, had no knowledge Of
anything wrong with the boat, which
had just come from the Pearl Harbor
navy yard after a thorough overhaul
ing. and the substitution of damaged
motor 1t is believed by some, how
ever. that Lieut. Eide may have had
some misgivings about the general
condition of the boat, and still refrain
ed from reporting them to superior au-
thOrity, putting them aside as unim-
portant in the interests of his men.
Submarine crews get 81 a dive per
man for the enlisted personnel, for
every dive up to Is per month. This
money is a snug pickup for the men,
and commanders always try to get N
the maximum number. Lieut. Eide
might have felt that his fears we're
groundless, and that it would be an
injustice to his crew to further hold
up his beat. 1t is generally agreed
that if the "a was unsCaworthy the
state of affairs was kept close by Of
ficerS and crew.
Says Mrs. Nelson Was Unstrunq.
Mrs. NJ. D. Black, who was quoted
yesterday as confirming the state
ment attributed to Mrs. w. 5. Nelson
in Los Angeles concerning the acct
dent to the motors, today told the
Star-Bulletin that Mrs. Nelson was
in state of hystericaI collapse and
hardly knew what she was saying
Mrs. Nelson says she heard several
of the boys on various occasions dis
cussing the accident seriously, but they
did not express any fear of diving
after the repairs had been made
Il wish it understood that | myself
never dared give a cause for the &C
cldent," says Mrs. Black. Il did not
wish to be quoted in any way yester-
day"
Memorial Services Postponed.
Memorial services for the lost crew
Of the F-4, which were planned by the
Chamber of Commerce for Sunday,
April Is, have been postponed at the
request of Rear-admiral Moore, until
after official announcement is made
of the fate of those who went down
in the submarine