The sun., 1916-01-23
FACT OF GAS PERIL
ON E-2 SUPPRESSED
HutchisOn, EdisOn's Aid, Ad-
mits He Did Not Warn Sub
marines Officers.
TIE BLAMES VENT1LATORS

Miller Reese Hutchison. chief engineer
and personal representative Of Thoma'
A. Edison. admitted yesterday at the
naval court Of inquiry probing the E-i
explosion that he had not informed ;ht
submarines commander. Lieut.. Charles
VI. Cooke, that the excessive generation
of hydrogen gas under tho battery con
ditione obtaining at the time. was
menace Not only that, but the phe
nomenon itself was new one, not fully
appreciated and not Thoroughly invesu
gated. He knew. he said. that gas wal
given off under those conditions. bu
| considered the ventilating system as HI
/ had suggested it sufficent to make th'
mixture of gas and air safe.
The examination OF Mr.. Hutchison b,
| Capt William III. @. Bullard, chairman
| OF the court. and Judge Advocate Lieut.
J. o. Fisher was aimed apparently I,
| fix responsibility for the E-2's batter!
| ventilating system entirely upon Mr.
| Hutchson and other Edison representa-
tives Mr. Hutchison would not accep
! any such responsibility. He tried I,
| uIdN IL btkNttH the Ntutlldt
ing system AID the cooling system
When pressed by Lieut.. Fisher on tn
question OF responsibility Mr.. Hutchisol
! appealed to Capt. Bullard. saying, &c
am trying to be frank: but Lout
| Fisher declared
The judge advocate is OF the opinion
that you are not trying to be per
! fectly frank
| WOuIdn't Advise an Omcer.
why didn't you inform Lieut.. Cooke,
asked Lieut.. Fisher, referring to tn
! fact that four of the cells of one OF tn,
| E.2s batteries reversed on discharginj
and therefore gave OFF an excessiv,
| amount of hydrogen gas In a short time
, Il would no more think of giving sucl
| Information to men like Lieut.. Cooke
who know their business" replied tn,
| witness. than ! would OF telling an en-
| gineer that he must keep water In hi
boiler when his fire is going"
Under questioning by the EdisoI
counsel. Commander McGrann. L. S. n.
retired. Mr.. iiutchison said he hal
suggested ventilating system whic,
would send 1000 cubic feet OF air
minute through the battery compart
/ ments and he assumed that capacity wa
obtained. Lieut.. Fisher objected to as
sumptlons, but Commander McGran,
said that Mr.. Hutchison was simpl,
trying to establish his position with re
gard to the whole matter and what h
| knew about the facts as tending to shov
what he believed 10 have been the caus
of the explosion.
Mr. 1IutchAson recalled that when n
was leciuring to vlasG of naval officer
At the Edison plant last December h
told them that the Edison storage bat
terry could be discharged to zero An
that no injury would result TO the cell
II they reversed and began chargin
again Nothing would happen. he in
formed them. except the evolution OF gas
lie admitted that perhaps his remarks u
that time were not pointed enough, bu
he did not consider himself responsible
Cor the design OF the E-2's ventilatn
system.
Il am willing TO admit" in,errupie
Lieut. Fisher. that he was not re
,spousihle for that. but the point ] max
is that all the information he had wa
given 10 naval officers who are RI
sponeihle."
"In your lecture asked Capt. Bu
lari. "dtd you specify any amount {
gas that would be given off by r,
versed cell o. say anything about III
evolution Of an excessive amount OF ga
IN q short period Of time
40, sir" replied Mr.. Hutchlson.
Then your information was OF n
value to the naval o'iicers!'
, Except that | said that gas was give