The sun., 1916-08-20
ANY JONES'S locker has to
give up some of its boarded
plenty. At least. such In the


give up some of its boarded
- plenty. At least; such In the
dotum OF the marine wrct ker. for to-
day more than ever the spoils OF the
deep are at premium.
SaIvo's of the sea are toiling over
tine row. bu' their quest Is not 80
much for riches of gold and silver as
II is vessels. Sunken ships, apart from
any precious cargo. are worth a kings
ransom az present II for no moro am
liious service than that Of hauling the
slut of freight awaiting oversee car
riasc
Clriou.lv tuc most spectacular OF
these undertakings IL not concerned
with the rcfoating of a victim OF the
present conflict. Instead it Is now en-
Gagged upon the preliminarics looking
10 the raising Of an American freighter
which foundered off the Delaware
coast about eighteen months ago. The
task is entirely unlike any previous
ocean salvage problem. and II the men
who have had the courage to essay 1t
succeed they vii! place tails country
Just - much further in the forefront
Of daring engineering ventures. While
the ship was lost through sea acci-
dent in time Of peace. still the world
var is unquest!onably accountable for
the present effort to recover her from
the oceans bottom. The vessel is the
American Hawaiian liner Washing
tonian.
Eighteen months ago the Washing
tonian was valued at $750.000. based
on what she cost when built in 1914
As ships go the Washlngtonian was
not a big craft, having "A gross tonnage
ct only $3.50. and Yet to-day. could she
he restored to service. she would I've
easily worth s2.oooo o6o. Is there any
wonder. then. that she has proved a
compelling lure to marine wreckers de-
spite the fact that under normal con-
ditons she would probably he consid-
cred an irrcyocable loss? The public
generally does not realize the state OF
affairs in the shipping world.
There is plenty of romance to-day in
seafaring life despite all that aged
croakcrs and retired seadogs may say.
True. not since the days of the clipper
ship has Il heen possible until now to
make Graf; pay for herself In a single
voyage, and that is why marine. junk
heaps and nautical cemeteries gener-
all. are being rakcd over to breathe
new life into Substantially abandoned
iulks aud set them out again upon
profitable ventures. craft that could
lie bought for $4,000 sour years ago
sorry relics oi former periods of ,ee-
:ulness-have brought q. late substan-
TALLY sajo,0co to their lucky owners.
This demand for means Of water car
r.aHc has become well nigh Unsuitable,
and il was not long ago that four old
schooners. scarcely better than junk,
ne;ted the tidy sum of more than
100000. lnnumerable instances OF
this tremendous increase in the value
o' shipping might be cited. but those
mentioned should suffice To make II
plain why ii is we'll worth while to
make a valiant effort to rcfoat a ship
not year old when carried to the bot
tom eighteen months back.
On January &c. 1915, on the second run
~ her career, the Washingtonian was
nosing her way comfortably north
ward, hound for philadelphia. She was
heavily loaded with raw sugar from
the plantations Of Hawaii and all had
non" well with her until she drew up
abreast os the Delaware coast. Then
heavy tvg shut in and compelled her
I" slow down and to feel her way cau-
t!ously toward the capes OF the Della
ware. As the frcigher crept closer to
'he lichtship on Fenwick Island shoal
out Of the gloom "A great five masted
Schooner loomed upon the Washing
'on.ans quarter and bore down upon
hey nearly in line with the steamers
ma.nmast. There was 40 chance for
a saving manpuvre. The schooner
crashed fun upon the freighter and
hHe'c1 her over at sharp angle,
crushing tho Washlngtonian's side and
ftdnS hcr upper or shelter deck aft
aGf Scaing her ma.nmast overheard.
The captain of the Washingtonian
was % tho bridge. and To him the blow
seemed rather an easy, glancing one.
although his snip rolled deeply under
,Ne mga.'. lie saw his mainmast fall,
and his fret thought was how funny
ne 'h.n would look s1caming up the
Delaware with only her foremast
Nind.n-. Slowly the Washingtonlan
HF7'"I aad wet, H'gh before this slug
f''A mov mcnt had carried her beyond
mo p1-od.nular and to the opposite
S''i" Sl" hD-'u tu ron back again. with
steadily increasing angle toward her
'"'nfci sd Instead Of recovering