The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1918-08-22
DEEP-WATER SALVAGE

There are three ways of circum-
venting the sea wolf. One is to sink
him on sight; another is to build ships
faster than he can destroy; a third to
raise the vessels he has sent to the
bottom and put them again into ser
vice. All these methods are being en-
ployed to defeat the submarine cam
paign, and the last named is made
possible by the tremendous impetus
which the war has given to the art of
salvage. Little as we have heard of
the feats now being performed under
this rubric, the sum Of them up to
date makes an important and note
worthy chapter in the four-year rec
ord just about to close.
Before August, 1914, you could not
plumb the salt seas with any chance
" raising vessel that had carried
lown with it a cargo Of more than l.
500 tons. Today you can get your
wire lifting-ropes around a ship that
las $500 tons of freights in its hold
md swing it sheer up to the surface.
Formerly wrecks were cleared of wa
,er with the ordinary centrifugal
pump, which had a lift Of no more
han thirtytwo feet; the introduction
Of the submersible electric pump now
makes it possible to work effectively
at far greater depth. Germany's at
tack upon the worlds shipping has
led to various other new types of
salvage machinery. including tank de-
vices and better equipments for the
diver. In the old days a perishable
cargo gave of gases injurious to the
worker and sometimes fatal in their
effects. The recent discovery of an
anti-toxic eliminates this danger, and
the salvage men are able to proceed
just AZ soon as the cargo has been
sprayed with the preparation.
Private enterprise used to be re-
lied on for floating submerged ships.
In England the Admiralty salvage
corps now performs this duty as a
branch of the British war service.
Not many years ago salvage won its
chief title to fame by raising sub
merged bullion. Those were the days
when Alexander Lambert recovered
900 worth Of treasure from the
wreck Of the Alphonso XII of the
Canaries, and when a companion div
.r finished the job by bringing up
100000 more. A Spaniard obtain
ed $4,000 worth of silver bars from
he wreck Of the Skyro in more than
ITO feet Of water off the boisterous
coast of Spain. Add also to the 70
nance of salvage the 100000 secur-
sd from the Hamilla Mitchell, wreck
ed near Shanghai; the $750,0OO in
specie recovered from the Oceana,
md the si,5G0.o00 sslvsa In bullion
from the Malabar.
Today, with the mightiest salvage
Equipment ever accumulated, the Ad-
niralty corps is spending its energies
IN submerged merchantmen, and is
intent on recovering both cargo and
ship. 1t salved 260 vessels in 1915
z, most Of them over 200 tons !;
Turing the present year, up to the
10Th Of May, il has recovered 407
'hips and their valuable cargoes in
nome waters alone. Its latest achieve
nent has been the lifting Of Ia,
J00-ton vessel, which had also fallen
victim to submarine attacks. The
ship was pumped out and fioated, and
s today almost ready to resume its
,lace in the British merchant feet.
Best Of all, its precious cargo Of food
'tuffs, worth $16,000,000, was "very
argely salved" and has already gone
aa stiffening into "the sinewa of war -