The Benson signal., 1917-06-23
Inventors Strive for Means to Rid
W Sea of Menace to
Shipping.
EARLY ACTION IN AMERICA
Thousands Of Letters Received by
Boards of Inventions in England
and United States but Few
Practical Ideas Advanced.

London.-The New York Herald's
naval correspondent writes:
A development of the war which will
receive special attention from the his
tOrian is that which is connected with
the mobilizing of inventions for fight
Ing purposes. In Germany science was
harnessed to the MolOch Of deStruc-
tion before hostilities began, and all
the resources of technical knowledge
were brought to bear for the purpose
of devising new methods of killing. 1t
was the use by the Huns of poison gas
and similar contrivances which awak-
ened the allies to the necessity for
mobilizing inventions and the imagi-
native enterprise of thoughtful men
and painstaking investigators.
AS a result there were established
In France and England boards of in
vention connected with the naval and
military departments, for the exami-
nation and trial of such plans and pro-
pOSals as seemed to be of value. By
these measures the flow of invention
was directed to channels from which
1T was hoped might issue a provision
Of new weapons and new kinds Of mu-
nitions helpful to the forces by land
and sea.
Early Action by America.
With ready forethought America,
while yet at peace, provided her own
bureau of invention. She should be,
therefore, more ready to utilize her
natural inventive genius now that she
has become participant in the war.
1t is comparatively easy to find men
of expert judgment and experience to
inquire into or advise upon the feas-
ibility of schemes and proposals, many
Of which are only rough hewn but may
contain the germ of improvements; !;
but what Is less simple is to detach
and detail the right kind Of officers
from the naval and military services to
carry forward the work Of experiment
and investigation to point of useful
ness
Just at present the attention of in
ventors is directed particularly toward
finding an antidote fer the submarine.
1t is said that the consulting board Of
the United States navy received in one
week more than two thousand letters,
each containing what the writer be-
iieved to be a solution of the subma-
rine menace. How many letters the
British board of inventions has re-
ceived on this subject has not been
made public, and yet it is manifest that
no device has been discovered the prac-
teal application of which Is an assured
success. The explanation of this un-
satisfactory state of affairs seems to
rest mainly in the inability of the in
ventor to grasp rightly the factors in
the problem.
The principal obstacle to effective
dealing with the U-boat is it's invisible
ity, it's quality of submersion for a
considerable length of time, during
which it can travel comparatively long
distances under water and change it's
position without discovery by the
watchers on the surface. 1t is true
that it must come up at times to re-
charge it's electric accumulators or to
give fits crew fresh air. It must more
often put it's periscope above water,
and the circumstances in which it's at
tack is made may oblige it to emerge
for the purpose of bringing it's gun into
action.
The Real Solution.
In these conditions it may be treated
as a surface boat, and proposals for
dealing with it, whether from the air
or the sea, have already attained a
high degree of efficiency. Again,
where the U-boat is forced to operate
or to reach the scene of it's activity
through narrow channels or construct
ed waters, the value of nets ,and mines
as a deterrent has, as official records
show, been proved up to a point.
Nevertheless, to overcome the sub
marine, it is not sufficient to be able to
obstruet it's passage in certain limited
areas or merely to be prepared to deal