The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-10-18
Admiral Benson Tells OF Meth.
DDS Adopted TO Foil
Submarines.
EDISON INVENTION IN USE
Smoke Bombs and Smoke Screens
Are Proving EffeetIve--Camou.
fiaoe Employed to surpris-
ing Extent

Washington. - An encouraging nc
count Of the success OF the devices
being used by American ships as
means of escaping or destroying Ger
man submarines Is given by Admiral
Benson chief Of operations Of the navy
Several of the methods under trial ut
present, one Of them the invention ~
Thomas A. Edison. the admiral regard
ed as inadvisable TO describe, hut he
discussed without reserve the devices
in general use on merchant ships aud
naval vessels.
II was admitted that the naval con-
voy furnished the most effective safe
guard against the submarine. Admiral
conveyed ships sunk was even less
than the average up to q month aco,
when ii was estimated that only one
| half of | per cent fell victim 10 the
submarine. The impossibility Of CON
voying more than a small per cent OF
| the merchant fleet leaving American
! shores, however, has made necessary
the adoption Of other protective meas
urcS.
Devices Employed.
! Among those most In use on mcr-
chant ships, the admiral said, were
"smoke bombs" and smoke screens.
CamouAage also is being employed to
a surprising extent, but particularly
on naval vessels. The smoke bombs
are merely containers filed with chem
icaIs which when cast overheard
throw off dense black smoke, obscur-
Ing the ship from an attacking subma-
! rine.
A great variety Of experiments in
camouflage have been tried on naval
vessels. They have been painted cv-
cry hue of the rainbow that might
tend to merge the ship in its back
ground and make It indistinguishable
to investigating periscopes. Admiral
Benson said many of these devices had
been demonstrated TO be Of great
merit. Warships, too, are equipped
with detectors which indicate the proX'
unity of other ships.
More and more Of the merchant
ships. of course, are being armed so az
TO be able to give good account, OF
themselves in encounters with the
U.boats, and experiments constantly
are going on in the navy to improve
the weapons of offense employed
against the submarine. A special en-
deayor is being made to perfect the
operation of depth charges so thar 1t
may be possible more frequently 10
.not" tbe U-boats as they submerge
or as they run along with only thelr
periscopes showing.
Balloons are employed on the ships
for observation purposes but their use
is not at all new.
# was said today, in contradiction
of n recent interesting story, tllat no
invention had been perfected In the
4 United States navy which would en-
able an attacked ship to denect tne
course of a torpedo once II was 1red.
This report, according to Admirai BEN
son had no foundation whatever.
| Bigger Submarines.
Another report which has been max
ing the rounds is that German SUD
marines recently have been making IL
practice Of sparing all passenger
sbips they encounter. The only basis
for this belief, 1t was said, is the fact
that fewer passenger ships have beeh
sunk They have been attacked, how
ever, but In most cases have escaped
There have been no German supma-
rines near the American coast since
tbis nation entered the war, so far as
the navy department has learned a
submarine has been sighted nearly IN
lmid-Atlantic, but that is the nearest
lapproach one is known to nave inade.
The navy department has evidence
that Germany is increasing the SIZE Oh
Iber submarines nearly to the proper
lion of small cruisers. This evidence
was obtained by ocular observation In
mart. and also from the fact that the
submarines now are mounting guns OF
,early six inches In bore. Fragments
Of shells falling on merchant siiips