The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-06-01
COAST GUARD
MAKES OCEAN
TRAVEL SAFE
u. S. Patrol Ships
Locate All Big
Icebergs.
BY JANE COMPTON,
Consolidated Press Correspondent.


Copyright, 1922, by The Argus).
New York, June with the
European travel season approach
ing its height reports today indi-
cate that the northerly routes are
safe. There are, of course, plenty
of floating bergs and fields of ice
such as sent the Titanic to her
doom. But all are located and the
location is known to the navigators
of the vessels now carrying their
thousands to and from Europe.
That this is so is due to the work
of the coast guard patrol, and espe-
cially to Captain Aaron L. Gamble
and the noted Seneca. They are
back here in port with record OF
work accomplished. Since Febru-
airy they had been prowling the
sub-Arctic waters from Halifax to
the Grand Banks and beyond, locat-
ing the ice foes and noting the cur
rents. Incidentally with the Tampa
and the Modock the Seneca aided III
fulfilling international responsible
ity assumed by the United States
to police the waters of the Atlantic
throughout the iceberg season. The
Tampa and Modock will remain on
the job until the first of next month
when the last hunk of growler and
the final berg calf should have dis
appeared from the lanes. Then the
Tampa will steam back to Boston
and the Modock to Wilmington, N
c., to take up the routine of coast
guard duties.
Find ~NOthing TDuSuaI."
Nothing unusual was the re-
port made by Captain Gamble when
asked what the Seneca's expert
ences were in the exciting berg
chase which took her through
many thousands of miles to ice
green waters. Chill fogs as thick
as chowder, from which the tre-
| mendouS bergs loom suddenly
black and mountain high; distress
signals of fishing schooners caught
near the foes, these are routine
matters to the coast guard crews
| One unusual DEVELOPMENT, how
ever, was that fEie Zee This year is
| Just about the same as it was last
| year in both movement and volume
The shifting of the gulf stream and
the winds and deep ocean currents
usually bring about decidedly
! changed conditions every year
There were few bergs sighted in
April and May and the ice was nc
farther south than usual. Now that
the weather is warming up the
drift will increase until all are
melted and disappear.
Yards of seals, worth $l00 foot
on Fifth avenue, are commonplace
details. The northern lights, which
tied up communications in this
country last month, were even
more brilliant than usual. And the
cutters were called on, as every
year, to furnish everything from
medical aid to supplies by vessel!
of fishing fleets that were picked
up in the regular cruise.
Cutters Aid Science.
In addition to their work fol
commerce the cutters have addeC
to the material available for tht
scientists of the government. Train
ed men on each craft have mad
observations dealing with tempera
ture, the variations Of ice, curren
and winds and the dozens of small
matters. all Of which are needet
for the experts in Washington
Frequently the ice patrol has plac
ed bottles containing data on Sc
lected bergs in the expectation tina
when the berg melts the contain
ers will bob ashore and the infor
nation be transmitted to Washing
ton. Dozens of these already haV
proved of value in determining ic
drift and currents. Sometimes the
travel long distances. An Austria
expedition placed a bottle on a ber
almost half a century ago and las
year it was picked up on the Nov
Scotian coast.
Mirrors. differences in air pres
sure, echoes, varying temperatur
and submarine listening-in device
all play their part in locating bergs
TO-DAY the two cutters still on pa
Itrol send messages from their ra
dio reporting the position of eac
berg as are discovered and whic
had not already been charted, TO
the benefit of nayigators using tn
northerly route.