The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-10-27
RICH SEA SALVAGE
~ rxArINE JUNK To M COAmED
FROM BOTTOM ~ OCEAN.
tn,, JONES i.Dci.er Must ti-id iis
Sharc--Msny Vrecisesi Sess~ls WI
W. R~fioaf~sl. bat Not Few Diff'-
euitirs Attend Task.

Asw York sun: TAKE II from me-
.said one of New Yo<k's foremost uarine
,aa,srss,. 10Th thc sl.iphuiidcf ana The
ship f.ivug are rtlIag to haze thess
oegaani for ocoangnlnc cargo carriers
,e.ors this war h. over. Nautical junk
heaps have helped somc. but Davy
Jones locke. has ROT 20 yield ~ share
and that won't he q email one aeithcf
N Ne 10 about u right
There are plenty of vessels iy'ine on
the sea bed today. craft commonly rated
a. total LOSSES. that can he and must be
.aisod and refit;ed for service II the
country h to have al the ships ~ WIZ
certainly need. OF courfc engineering
s,si,. l. going 10 be taxed 20 the limit
and fnilure viii be only the reward In
some desperate cases. but ! am salts
fled ways will bc found 10 refl0ai scores
Of those sunken vessels.
.'rbc prices now offered ior any sort
az deep sen freightor viii make some
salvage venturcs attractive that ordi'
uagily would not bo given second
thought. we are on the eve Of the
very biggest things in ship recovery.
and Yankee ingenuity Is not going TO
he found wanting.
"lyc have the skill Ia meet any work
aile situation and We have been piling
up "A wealth Of experience In the course
OF the last few yuars that viii put us at
,he forefront In marine salvage Just
watch and before long the public will
Noar OF some astonishing achieve
,Dcnts."
The foregoing assertions are uoubly
important Jusi now. The published in
,ention OF the federal authorities to
commander all American merchant
men OF $500 tons dead weight capa.
city and over ia a frank admission OF
the pressing need for bottoms for the
transportation Of food and munitions
to the other side OF the Atlantic Ocean
Tor our fighting men. a need that VIII
grow rather than decrease with the
continuance OF the war.
Dsyy Jones Can Help.
The fact that now ships will not con
s,itute the only source OF supply Is OF
especial. consequence. for in most in
stances a sunken vessel can he salved.
ycpaired and made ready again for
serylt,e in far shorter time than a
craft OF like capacity can be built.
Time is vital element in the present
contest, and every week saved in the
uphuilding and maintenance OF the
transatlantic cargo fleet will hasten
victory.
Eut efforts to supply ships will be
unbalanced II made only In behalf OF
over sea traffic. In order to obtain
sbips for the European service we have
ma5e very serious inroads upon the
coastwise fleet, and IL is-now a"matter
OF vecord that vessels engaged in TO
,nessic business have been reduced 10y
something like one per cent OF the nor
nal or peace TIME aumber.
As a result the railroads are over
taxed, freight congestion is pretty gen.
rial. and the whole nation is feeling
the effects Of the interrupted flow of
commodities. Accordingly something
will have to be donc to swell! the coast
wise tonnage.
a will undoubtedly pay to reiioat
any coastwise vessel that has gone TO
the bottom in comparatively shallow
less wreck or in a condition that would
not warrant rehabilitation. Vesseis
that could be made serviceable are TO
he found along both se:iboards OF the
United States. and number oi them
are now engaging the attention OF
various marine salvage concerns. The
value OF a ship 80 recovered Is strik-
ingly instaDced by the case OF the
which was recently refioated.
The Powhatan is q steamer of nearly
? 900 tons gross register and has a
length OF $40 feet, beam OF 40 feet
and a depth OF substantially ~ feet.
She was built at the famous Delaware
of John Roach in 1894 and
originally belonged to the Old Donin-
ion line, bearing then the name Oh
Yorktown. Later she became the
Rawins, and in 1898 was taken over
by the navy for 4 transport and re-
christened Resoiute.
The government parted with her after
The Spanish-American War. and the
Merchant and Miners line bought her'
adding the ship To its fleet as the
Because she WAS buiit Oh
iron and fashioned in the manner when
made Roachs yard famous the vessei
has survived very active career or
nearly n quarter OF century. Indeed.
the powhatan Is a sturdier craft today
than many a smarter and younger SNIP
This fact has 10 do with the story. Tor
il influenced the people who bought her
as she lay on the bottom OF Chesapeak
i.ny and ultimately raised her.
About four miles eastward OF Fort
Monroe. out Ia the Chesapeake and in
the sweep OF the heavy swells rolling
lr from the Atlantic between the capes.
rises Trimble Shoal and Light. TINS