Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1920-02-05
MINES ENDANCER
ocean VESSELS
High Explosives Still Float in
Lanes of Commerce.
NAvlEs TO SWEEP The SEAS
Known Fields Will Be Cleared and
DereIicts VIII Be Picked Up-Dan-
ger May Extend for Years, and
Mines. Freed From Moorings. May
Be Swept Miles by Ocean Currents
Many Ships Sunk.

Mines. Freed From Mornings. May
Be Swept Miles by Ocean Currents
Many Ships Sunk.
Untold thousands of unexploded
mines, planted in navigable waters
during the four years of war, still lin
ger in the lanes of commerce like seeds
Of death, a constant menace to the
toilers of the deep. Weeks back the
sting of the U-boat was drawn. The
signing Of the armistice halted further
ravaging of the submarine, and ship
ping sailed forth no longer in dread of
the torpedo or che guns of the under
sea craft. Nevertheless ships are en-
dangered by other marine agencies Of
death, and the mariner cannot be sure
that these hazards won't lie in his
path for months to come and do him
harm when and where least expected.
Already the navies of the allied ma
tons have undertaken the hazardous
work Of clearing the recognized mine
fields in European waters, and by the
use of wire drags propose to remove
| every mine that still is held in posi-
| ton by it's mornings. The chief dam
ger to the mine sweeperS and to COM
merce in general lies, however, In the
derelict mine, which has been washed
from it's original position and is likely
to be found in the North sea, in the
Gulf stream, on the shores of the Unit
ed States or in any other location to
which the current, tide or winds may
drive the mine with its charge Of T N T,
which is notably inert to the action
of water and will retain its destructive
potentialities until the charge is ex-
ploded.
Many Ships Sunk by Mines.
early in December the British war
ship CaSsundra struck u mine in the
Baltic and went down with the loss Of
II men. In January a British freightcr
%foundered off MiddlesborOugh after
hitting a mine and her crew vas lost.
A few days later the French ship
Chaouiu stumbled upon q mine in the
Straits of Messina and went to the bot
tom in four minutes. Four hundred
and sixty persons on board were lost.
The British sloop Penarth was sunk
by q mine % miles from the mouth Of
the Tyne. Scarcely a day passes, In
fact, that some British, Norwegian,
Swedish Or other craft is not sunk or
crippled by a mine in the North sea.
Navigation has become so hazardous
that many craft proceed only by day,
thus lessening the danger Of coming
into contact with the dreaded dere-
licts.
Official figures issued by the Dutch
and Danish authorities give some idea
Of the number Of mines that have been
torn from their moorings during the
recent war. At the close of the first
two years of war more than 500 mines
had been beached along the north coast
Of Jutland. BY March 1, 1916, 91s
mines had been washed upon the
: shores of Holland. From 1914 to 1918
the Dutch picked up along the Short
: seacoast of the Netherlands no fewer
t than $3.50 contact mines.
The belligerents We're not the onl!
. European nations which employed
mines. The Dutch, the Danes, TIN
Norwegians and the Swedes all plant
ed defensive mine fields, and upOi
numerous occasions these weapons go
. adrift and added to the perils of ship
ping.
Sweeping the Seas for Mines.
. During the war mine SWeeperS Wer'
constantly at work. Great Britain ha'
e no fewer than 700 craft to do thi
: work around the British isles alone
Each month the mine sweepers combe
100000 square miles of the sea, and t
accomplish this they steamed nor
n than 100000 miles. In 1917 they gal
g nered $4,000 German mines. In 191
G up to October ! they had harveste
II l 1000 mines. In this hazardous WOr
Il more than $50 British sweepers wer
blow. to atoms and their crews lost.
Now all the allies are preparing t
- sweep the planted areas in an effort
gather up every possible mine.
some sections the removal Of mine
has begun. In other areas the fcl(
will not be touched until after I'll
signing of peace terms. The task b
fore the nations is to sweep the Sc;
free Of the vast army Of submari1
weapons, and do it, despite the ha
ards involved, with the least pOSsib
delay. But no matter how rapid
this work may be prosecuted there st
& remains the disquieting likelihood Of
considerable percentage Of these min
breaking loose or being carried, anch
and all, into area, remote from the
original position.