New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-03
THE WILLIAMSONS

Everyone who hears of the William
son Brothers inventions fancies that
these brothers are twins, that they al
ways travel together and that they
both invented the undersea apparatus
which made possible the INSTALLATION
of the drama which is being enacted
with the floor of the ocean for a stage.
We shared this popular idea, and so 1t
was rather a surprise to us when we
went to talk with "the Williamson
Brothers" TO meet only one. We asked
him where the rest of him was, and then
we learned that Ernest, to whom we
were talking, was the one who did the
inventing and that the other Mr.. Will
hanson attended to the business end OF
things. So after this we will think OF
that submarine eye inventor in the
singular.
at was I who first introduced the
taking Of undersea pictures, but my
father made this possible by his IN
vention of tube which would let one
walk down from the deck OF vessel
to the bottom of the ocean and sit
there in a huge compartment to watch
nature at work. 1t always seemed 70
me that II must be possible to photo
graph scenes below the water. for on
sunshiny day 1t is nearly as light
A. = In
Frenchman succeeded in taking pict-
ures under the water for distance OF
three feet the world Of science hailed
this as a wonderful thing. expert
mented year after year, improving my
/ idea all the time, and now l can take
| pictures almost as far as ] can see. and
/ the objects appear so clear that 1t Is
difficult TO realize that the pictures
were actually taken under the ocean.
"My stories l write, but | will tell
you that the plot is made subservien'
TO the pictures, for all Of the undersea
pictures are taken first and the story
written around them. So many things
/ happen which we do not expect. For
instance, I hadn't thought of leaving
the Young inventor in The Submarine
Eve caught in the lid Of the treasure
chest until it happened. The strong
tide helped me in my plot there. If il
we're not for this swift current the
taking Of pictures at the bottom Of the
ocean would be an impossibility, fol
the extremely light earth of the oceans
bed rises up at the lightest touch, anc
in stagnant water the view would bt
completely obscured.
ave needed sharks as part Of the
scenery in the new picture, so we Wis
tied the West Indian coast, where they
abound, and not a shark could we find
We planted bait of sort designed e
tempt the appetite OF any discrimi
mating shark, but still they refused e
work for US. We finally learned thai
they were all up along the Jersey coas
soaring the bathers to death, and We
had TO wait until the cold weather
] drove them Soutn again.
Studying the oceans bed is thu
most fascinating pursuit in the world
or under it, rather-for one nevel
knows what he will find. We come un
expectedly upon vessels which hav'
been lying there for a century, per
haps, manned by skeletons-all that il
left Of brave crew. When once yoi
have walked on the floor OF the set
and witnessed the strange life there i
becomes an obsession, and you mus
80 again and again"
We listened uninspired, and mad
up our mind that when we viewed tn
ocean bed IL would be through Mr.
Williamgon's new inverted pcrscODc.