The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1917-05-12
SOMEWHERE THERE'S AN
ERICSSON.

AT this time OF Blooh ano"e NV
submarine menace. which Is appar-
entity as grave as the worst reports
make II appear. the United States
might find a lesson in its own history
People were as much disturbed In
1861 By the aspect OF the South's
navy strength as they are today by
the threat OF the U-boat, but Ameri-
can genius and American enterprise
averted impending disaster then and
they can do as much now.
Contemporary records preserve Tor
us OF this generation the record OF
the North's alarm that year. The idea
OF armor- plating wooden ships had
been developing in Europe for some
years and il was known that the Con-
federacy was adopting it, Congress
received report on this subject IN
August. and Immediately directed an
examining board 20 investigate the
matters. It's report was presented
September 16. and recommended an
experiment with three prosoed ships,
two of the ironclad type and the third
so called floating battery de-
signed by an inventor named Erics-
son. OF New York.
Ericsson's craft was of course the
Monitor, since famous in history. 1t
was his contribution to an invention
in which three pioneers had their
part. Theodore II. Timby OF New
York and Captain Cole OF England,
having also devised somewhat similar
designs. When congress appropriat-
ed the money to pay Ericsson for his
boat It stipulated for completion or
the battery" within 100 days from
the signing of the contract, which was
dated October 5, 1861, and incorporat-
ed the extraordinary provision that its
test should be by withstanding the
fire of an enemys batteries at short
range The Monitor was delivered on
March 5, 1862
March s, three days later the South
won the race against time by throw
ing the completed ironelad, the Mer-
rimac. into the naval conflicts in
Hampton Roads, and the instantan-
eous result was confirmation Of the
worst fears about the novel addition
to earth's water fighters. The pride
of the North's fleet succumbed to the
terrible Merrimac with hardly show
of opposition.
That night the Monitor entered
Hampton Roads from New York. The
morrow saw the black clouds Of des-
pair swept away with as impressive
certainty as had accompanied their
gathering. for the conquering Merri-
mae was stopped short in her career
The "cheesebox on raft SO very re-
Gently mere vague idea in its in
ventor's mind, had revolutionized nav
al warfare The check for the iron
clad was found.
What our fathers did we can do II
Is no greater task to find the answer
TO the submarine riddle than il was
to think out the type Of ship to meet
the ironclad nfty-hye years ago.
American genius is not dead. Some
where in the United States, we must
hope and believe, there lives a man
today who has in his brain the idea
that Is yet to be realized in concrete
form for his country's salvation. II
may be that the conquerer OF the u
boat Is at this moment more than an
idea. Tie Monitor was advanced to
the stage where speedy building could
begin when she was wanted. The
opponent Of the under-sea boat may
be discovered among tho many plans
our inventors are developing in their
laboratories. or it may still be lying
dormant in some mind TO be born
soon in physical shape But that
some American will yet bring forth
the needed invention all our history
leads US TO believe Detroit Free
Press