The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-02-23
SEA TREASURE
Lure TO DIVERS
ingenious Mechanisms Devised
to Recover Some of Wrecks
Beneath Waves.
ARMORED SUIT is DESCRIBED
inventor Explains Device Which En-
ables Him to Work Freely Under
70oo-Pound Pressure - Two
Claim Deep-Se Record.

New York.--Before the Germans
sank single vessel In the late war,
it was estimated that there were
strewn upon the floors of the Seven
Seas, S7000000,000 worth of ships and
cargoes, and records indicated that
large part of these were recoverable
Since the war the sum of the oceans
buried treasure is practically meal
culable.
Naturally nations now vie with one
another for the recovery of choice
morsels of this treasure troye, and
individual inventors are deyoting ge-
MUS and, energy to the evolution of
salving devices ranging in size from
the one-man diving suit to compliant
ed mechanisms so large that they
dwarf the seagoing vessels of which
they are integral parts.
Benjamin Franklin Leavitt OF
Brooklyn, inventor Of a diving suit,
who claims the deep-sea record, talk
ed enthusiastically yesterday about
what can be accomplished in recov-
ering the shimmering treasures of
gold and silver and precious stones
with which old oceans floor Is car
peted.
Incidentally Mr.. Leavitt protests
most emphatically against the assump-
ton Of world-record hOnors for any
other diving armor than his own. He
backs his protest in these statements:
81 not only hold the record for deep
sea diving, but for deep-sea salvage.
went down 361 feet in Grand Ira
verse Bay, Michigan and remained
down for 45 minutes the first time
and at another time nearly two hours.
This is the worlds record descent
Capt John Morgan of the Morgan
Transportation company, cousin OF
the late J. p Morgan, did the sound
ing. He took three sonndings, using
a wire sounder, and there is no posi-
bHity of error. TwentyNsix persons
witnessed the descent. This was in
1916.
Two Claim Deep.sca Record.
81 see by some of the newspapers
that n Mr.. Turner claims the world
record. The statement is made that
Mr.. Turner went down 800 feet II
miles off Graves Light. massachusetts,.
Look at this chart. Concedng that
Turner went down and did everything
he said he did, If you can find 800
foot depth anywhere 10 miles off
Graves Light I'll eat the map. Here's
20 fathoms-294 feet-the deepest WA
ter 10 miles off the light
Coming now to the question of his
diving suit, Mr.. Leavitt said that its
principal point of advantage is In the
air-supply arrangement.
MY suit" said he. 'is self-contain-
ed. carrying enough air for q four
hour suhmergence. The oxygen tank
is connected with a reducing valve
which reduces the pressure from 1880
pounds to pounds to the square
inch. and, spraying through nozzle,
sucks nitrogen through caustic soda
cartridge. It mixes with the nitrogen
and is discharged over the shoulder
Of the diver from a tube. The caustic
soda absorbs the poisonous carbon
dioxlde and moisture. To protect the
man from the caustic soda, l use an
automatic valve that closes in three
seconds after the water reaches it.
1.-THE suit itself weighs $50 pounds
and with me in it weighed Just 500
pounds. The suits buoyancy, how
ever cOunteracts 425 pounds Of that,
leaving n balance of 70 pounds that
/ bear on the bottom of the sea.
Mr.. Leavitt regretted that he could
not show the armor just as it was
when he went down & Grand Ira
verse Bay, but he explained, he had
mnde several important improvements
since that descent.
II learned a lot" he said; ''in fact
might say | learned more from my
first A minutes actual experience
down on the bottom, in my armor
than / learned from years of theoriZ
ing. Take the jointed strut rods down
the sides of the legs and both sides
of the arms, for instance. They were
added after my descent"
Leavitt's Diving Armor.
Here he reassembled the armor toll
show how it worked. The legs aud
arms. which are very flexible, are
made of hard-rolled copper tubing
guaranteed to stand 700 pounds of
pressure to the square inch.
These hinged strut rods down both
sides of the arm" said Mr.. Leavitt, |
take the pressure from the wrist to
the shoulder. The shoulder is a solid |
casting of manganese bronze and has
bal-bearlng which allows the man
within to move his arms, which would |
not be possible without ball or roller
bearings Here Mr.. Leavitt whirled |
the arm around freely TO illustrate his
point at a submergence of 36l feet
there is G,664 pounds pressure here
lie called attention to the fact that !
the cable attached to the top of the |
helmet has guaranteed lifting
trength of 10000 pounds. In the cen.
Ter of the cable is the telephone wire
sonnected directly with small com
plete telephone in the top of the hel
met. The diver is connected" slmpl,
with dictaphone ear pieces. The hel
met is also equipped with siasst