The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-07-22
LUSITANIA TREASURE
IS SOUGHT BY DIVER
Believes Own Invention VIII Enable
Him to Overcome Obstacles
Threatened.

Threatened.
Plans are rapidly approaching com.
= pletion for the great enterprise OF sal
yaging the Lusitania. In Philadel-
phia, the steamer Blakely Is being out
| fitted for this task, which will be
essayed some time this summer. Cap
! tain Richards is in charge, and the
diver who Is really the handspring
Of the expedition, Is Benjamin f. Lea
Witt, also of Philadelphia. II any di-
yer could succeed in reaching the
l4usitania, it might well be LeaYitt,
for he, SO far as Is known, has gone
down deeper into the water than any
other man who has ever returned. He
went down 361 feet in locating the
Pewabic, sunk in the Great Lakes in
1865, adds the Toronto Mail and En-
pre, and salvaged' copper and other
material valued at $4,000. This wat
in 1916. Leavitt believes that it will
be easier to reach the Lusitania, but
admits that il is likely to be much
more difficult to gain access to her
and recover the sunken treasure.
This is valued roughly at $15OOO,00O.
Some years ago Leavitt invented
and patented a diving suit, and 1t 10
because OF the tests that this suit
has withstood that he believes he can
descend 2S5 feet to where the Llsi-
tana lies, and work long enough to
secure the specie and jewels that she
carried to the bottom of the Atlantic.
off Kinsale Head. ireland. The suit
Is armored from head to foot, with
the exception OF the heavy plate glass
that will be adjusted before his eyes.
1t is said that the suit has withstood
pressure Of 200 pounds to the
square inch, to which an object Is
subjected 500 feet beneath the sur
face of the water. The main section
of the suit is heavy manganese
bronze casting, which covers trunk
and head. Leg and arm pieces are
made of specially constructed cop
per coil, planned to give the utmost
possible protection with ease Of move
ment. Unlike old fashioned divers, he
will not be dependent on a rope Tor
the purpose of signaling those above.
He will carry a little telephone and
will be abe to give the most minute
directions.
This telephone wire will be inclosed
in a stout cable, capable Of lifting
twenty tons and Leavitt believes that
this cable added to the strength OF
his armor. will be sufficient to with
stand any pull necessary to haul MIN
to safety. should he become caught
! in the wreckage. This is probably
the greatest risk he runs, and 1t Is
| this which makes the salvae:ng oil
| the I.usitania so different from the
salvaging of any other vessel that
has ever been attempted. The dl'
ver's air supply will be carried on hls
back in a cylinder fixed to the nam
casting. One and quarter cubic
feet OF oxygen, properly mixed with
hydrogen, will be fed to him through
valve every hour, this being the
amount required by a normal adult
while at work The poisonous car
bon dloxide from his lungs will be
obsorbed by a can Of caustic soy
fixed in another niche in the casting.
Another great difficulty OF diver
working at extreme depths is be-
lieved to have been overcome by Lea
witt who has devised an electric lamp
of 300 candle power. Leavitt VIII
need three of these, and their glass
globes have stood pressure tests
equal TO those of the manganese.
Deep under the water the darkness Is
much deeper than is ever experienced
on the surface of the earth, and II is
mot expected that even with these
lights Leayitt will be able to see
more than a few feet in any direction.
Inability to get proper light has been
a great stumbling block to many sal
yaging operations in the past.
Leayitt will use dynamite to clear u
passageway to the strong rooms OF
the ship, and, of course, it cannot be
known until an examination is made
whether IL will not be necessary 10
snbiect the Lusitania to even sever
er torpedoing than that which sank
her before she can be made to yield
up her treasure, The treasure, II
found, will be sent to the surtac IN
clam she'll buckets 1t is known tha'
there was $5,00O,000 in specie on the
I.usitania when she was sunk, and II
lis believed that an equal amount was
lost In jewelry. In addition, there
we're the great sums carried by the
passengers, most of which was turned
over to the purser, Two passengers
are known to have carried Sl75,OoO
between them. and the enthusiastic
sa'vagers look to a total haul OF about
SIS 900 900 if all their plans succeed
II will be easy for Leayitt to drop
over the side of the Blakely, almost
at the precise spot where the Lusi
tania sank. But will he find her at the
bottom? Some authorities say that
bv this time the Lusitania, as snip
has ceased to exist, that she has lohg
since disintegrated under the pres
sure of the water and has been
spread for miles along the shore by
the action of the tides