Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-04

storage batteries used to navigate the
ship when below the surface.
Chlorine gas Is the ever present fear
and menace of the men who sail in sub
marines So that its first taint in the
air may be detected, many "subs" carry
| canaries, which are peculiarly suscep- :
tible to IL. and by their futtering and
! chirping give notice that a lurking death
is creeping through the ship.
Water Hit Acid, Forming Chlorine
Chlorine gas Is formed when sea
water comes in contact with the sui
phuric acid which Is used in the bat
teries. The water washed in through
the open air valve was soon at work in
the great battery boxes, eating In and
mingling with the acid, the deadly
fumes pouring out and slowly finding
their way up to where the men had
sought refuge.
Until the chlorine fumes became
| acute, the men had not given I'D hope
of getting the submarine out of It's
perilous position. They had clambered
down into the control room, and were
doing what they could to start the ma
chinery working again. As the deadly
gas mounted, however, their burning
eyes and choking throats gave notice
that it was death to stay, and they were
slowly driven aft. climbing higher and
higher, sealing each of the compart-
ments into which a submarine is d.
vided as they We're driven by the fumes.
At last they were all huddled, the
thirty seven of them, in two small ma
chinery compartments In the stern. 1t
was sticking almost straight up, jut.
ting clear of the water, The air was
foul with the accumulations of gas that
had followed the men through, or per-
haps seeped through the bulkhead doors.
1t was vitiated with the breathing and
rcbreathing of many men in a cramped
space.
Men Strip to Waist
Stripped to the waist to withstand
the heat in the two small compart-
ments where they had wedged them
selves, painting as they breathed the
poisonous air, the men yet fought for
their lives.
Commander Cooke conceived the idea
of drilling a hole through the wall Of
the submarine, so that they might get
fresh air They could reach only
small hand drill, but with this they set
to work. They did not know to a GER
tainty that the stern was out of water,
but the hollow sound given back when
they pounded on it led them to hope
that this was so. If they were wrong,
they faced once more the menace of
squirting water.
They were so weak and so scwt of
breath that only for a few minutes at
a time could the most powerful of them
work the little hand drill. Finally,
however they bit u hole through the
three quarter inch steel plate of the
outer shell of the submarine, and the
life giving fresh air, never so welcome,
streamed in to them.
Finally Set Signal
1t was but taste of bliss. The hole
was too small for air in revivifying
quantities to come through. They set
about enlarging the hole, and then made
the grim choice of cutting off part of
their air supply so that they might push
out Of the hole long. slim pole. on
which they tied seaman's undershirt
as a flag.
Then they waited, with what fortitude
they could. for the chance answer to
their distress signal. The Alanthus
saw It. after many hours that seemed,
eternitics to the imprisoned men.
In these age long hours of waiting,
the men held fast to their cour-
age. their laboring chests all but refus-
ing the tainted air. Their tongues grew
swollen and blaCkened, their lips swelled
and cracked, their faces took on the
lpadcn hue of poisoned men. They were
near death, but still full Of fight and
hope. when the Alanthus arrived.
Sailors Prove Heroism
With the Goethals came action. 1t