Omaha daily bee., 1916-01-16

Continued from Page One)
they were working there. The battery
will generate no kind OF gas and there
was no gasoline on board. The engine
was OF the oil-burning diesel type
' Names Committee.
. Pending the appointment OF an official
board OF inquiry by the Navy depart
ment, Rear Admiral Usher named tem-
porary investigating committee az fol-
lows:
Lieutenant Commander Hope Washing
ton, commander OF the receiving ship
Maine: Lieutenant L. NJ. stewart Of the
torpedo boat destroyer Mccall, and
Lieutenant Rush II. Fay. commander Of
the submarine division to which the E-2
was attached. This committee immed-
lately began to take testimony Of men
working. around the B-2. when the ex-
plosion occurred.
-Four other boats I'm the dry dock at
the time were uninjuried and the dock
itself escaped damage.
Rear Admiral Usher reported that the
storage battery was being slowly dis
charged r
J. Officers Of the Ed were Lieutenant
Charles NJ. Cooke. jr, Of Arkansas. and
Lieutenant w. 3. Haas Of Rhode Island.
Cooke served five years on the submar-
inc tender Tonopsh In preparation for
taking command of the E-z, and Haas.
Joined the boat a few months after II
was commissioned.
SlThe new battery was developed by,
Thomas A. Edison some time ago to
obviate the danger to submarine crews
from that source and was tested for
months at the New York yard before
II was decided to install one for trial on
each Of the two 70 boats. and also one
on one Of the 4 boats now under con-
struction.e ~ e
Representative Of the Ediaon com
pany recently aaked that better ventila-
ton be- provided FOR on the Is boats. not
to avoid any anticipated danger Of ex-
plosion. they said. but to provide for
/ greater efficiency Of the battery stens
to that end were taken,
RAilt iR 10IO.
The submarine 80 was bunt In 1siV
and displaced 40 tons 1t was capable
Of travelling fourteen knots on. the sur
face ana eleven knots spbhierged ~
September. 1914 ID had a narrow ESCAPE
from an accident similar 10 that which
botell the ia outside 81 IIonelhlu har
bor. while the submersir!e was, engagei
in naneuvers off Brenton Reof lightshl'
Ensign Gillian detected ehloric gas wller
the vessel was submerged fifty feet H
ran 20 The surface and the, coming towei
J, was quickly opened to give the crew fresi
air EvsFyone OF the nineteen meniberl
\ OF the. crew. Il = said. wasa moSe or issi
faffeeted By the gas. sorAsi bleeding iron
the nose and mouth. eS'+,sss y
As a result of the accident t.nsign CHI
lam was under medical treatiaeut at tn,
naval hospital In Las Anifaas. Colo. 10
several months -
Made Trip I'm Deeember.
Tho E-2 was the only vessel In TIA
, world eaulpped with the Edisonl niclselo
batteries, and II made It's first trip suo
cessfully with them December q last
. With Lieutenant Charles NJ Cooke. 1r
I'm command the E-2 made an cxtensiv
slgun, oA thoi;susfaae1 then dived ana,ssau
llseuvered It several hours. After .CIiese tx
periences the E-2 made a successful rtt
submerged. The run proved. Il was de
4 olared on excellent authority. that IN
new batteries gave better speed with les
: fuel.t.s ~
The E-2 went into commission at Bos
ton In the spring of 1912 The boat wa
built I'm the yards OF the Electric Boa
eoniRany at Fore River. Mass
The E-s with it's sister ship. Eel. wei
; The fret two naval vessels TO be equippe
with the DIESEL oll-burning. interior con
bustion engines and they were tho fir
, submarines TO be equipped with wirelos
telegraph apRartus. ,asA