The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-16

WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. l6.-Sal-
wage Of sunken ships Is a proposition
which is attracting widespread inter
est, Numerous companies have been
formed to raise hulls and recover car
goes. Britain has. reclaimed over 500
of her 5000 wrecked ships, and United
States salvage companies plan to raise
such of our craft as are in shallow
water or can be most easily found and
lifted
New inventions in diving and salvage
apparatus, removal of mines from the
sea, and the demand for tonnage all
combine to stimulate the wrecktng
business, and make it probable that
operations will be extended to mid
ocean and to localities hitherto mac
cessibe to divers.
All the famous treasures buried in
the earth by medieval misers and pi-
rates are insignificant compared with
the incalculable fortunes sunk in the
sea, Seven billion dollars il con
servative estimate Of value of the seas
hoard before the war, and it is believed
that after four years Of war this fig
ure is doubled
Davy Jones locker has so far been
as good as locked to ambitious plum
derers Of the deep. Divers are willing
to take the chance of meeting sharks
and other monsters. They will brave
the danger of being trapped in rotted
ship. or of their apparatus becoming
faulty, But they can not by sheer
courage overcome their physical limi-
tations, especially the effect of heavy
pressure on the body, and this has
protected the sea treasures better than
their shark policemen the darkness and
the envcloping sands.
Until a few years ago, ships sunk be
low $50 feet were as safe from treas
ure-seekers as if they had been en-
IN hla glass Divers
could see them and occasionally
wrrcking company would snatch a bit
Of the cargo from a hold, but the great
mass Of DaYy Jones property remained
intact.
Many of the sunken treasures IA
nous by tradition are now declared to
be the product of various story-tellers
imagination. Pirates, for instance, are
popularity regarded as millionaire
class, whereas Tealists maintain that
most Of Captain kidd's fellow bucca-
neers would never have had to pay an
income tax had their government levied
one. Thus Is another Illusion cracked
but not shattered, for enough buried
and sunken treasure is now and again
brought to light to keep the faith of
the romanticists from wavering.
The fascinating tales Of the pirates
treasure ships may be discredited, but
ii Is a matter of history that fortunes
in gold, silver, and precious stones nave
for centuries been carried over the seas
wherever ships could travel, and many
craft have been sucked under by
storms, whirlpools and strong cur
rents.
Staid British historians tell, for ex
ample. of Sir Francis Drake capturing
a fleet Of ships in the harbor Of the
Azores and recklessly ordering them
sunk, laden as they were. This com
mand sent down four or five million
dollars worth of precious metals which
have never been disturbed.
Another famed example of treasure
shin that sank was Spanish galleon
lost off the English coast in 1874 with
a load of gold estimated at $S5 100000.
Then there are unrecoVered cargoes s
Of the Spanish Armada. exaggerated
perhaps as to value. but undoubtedly
worth reclaiming. =,
The Iusitania, laden with seven mil
lion dollars worth Of gold and other
metals, and five million in securities, as
well as jewels and other private prop
erty. is one OF the great prizes to be
angled for. Experts agree that the
Lusitania will never be raised from its
position. 2S5 feet below the surface,
but a company Is now awaiting favor
able weather to go after the lndestructi-
bic part of its cargo; ,,.
The Merida, which sank or cape
Charles, IS announcer uhldPppu. oVHiNS
Of wealth. which is to be tackled next
summer by n New York diver. The
storms and treacherous currents that
wreck so many ships in certain PLACES
endanger equally the company that al
tempts their salvage in rough weather.
For this reason, salvage companies are
now combining themselves to plans and
study. so that when spring comes they
can launch their offensives without
loss of time.
With ali OF our boasted ingenuity
and progress in the art of salvage, we
still have far to 20 before we can
sweep the ocean bed OF all its booty
Systematic salvage dates back only q
century or two. Before that. divers
wore no special costumes, and stayed
under water only so long as they could
hold their breath--at the most two or
three minutes at a time, Then in the
seventeenth century came leather
diving suit, and after that the rubber
and canvas suit with its steel helmet
and tubes to supply air. This rubber
suit is still worn by river and shallow
water divers. as It is easy to work in,
and allows the wearer considerable
use OF hands and feet The main dis
advantage Is that the diver must be
let down and raised very slowly be-
cause of the changes in pressure. The
pressure Of the atmosphere at sea level