Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-08-21

Ing ship and thought himself safe
when the great liner took her final
plunge. The great masts slammed
over into the water. Between them
was strung the aerial of tho wireless.
q complicated arrangement of strands
o. wire. AS they came down into
the sea, they SURROUNDED him and it
vas with the gJeatest difficulty that
ne freed himself. For half an hour
ne swan around looking for Mr..
Knox and Mr.. Ferguson but. could
not lind them. Then he struck out
FOR the shore-eight miles away.
when asked If this was not an ex-
ceptlonal exploit for a ma of his
yeaEs--between As and 50-he said:
Not especially. in view of the fact
ina l nave cup for winning a ten
mile swimming race"
Exposes q Fraud.
a curious aftermath OF this extra
ordinary experiences was the exposure
OF q fraud BY Mr.. Gauntlet on his
return to h United States. EVERY
one remembers how the lists Of miss
Ing passengers and Of survivors were
published by the newspapers.
II seems an old, retired sea captain,
living IN Newfoundland, had ~conceiy-
ed the idea Of obtaining money on the
p~retense that he had picked up float
ing baggage of persons lost on the
Lusitania. Using tho published list
OF names OF the lost and even of the
SURVIVORS. he c~trcularized them saying
mat their baggage had drifted ashore
ana mat o a stated sum he would
forward 1t. 1t was a scheme likely
70 attract the next of kin of the
drowned passengers, anxious to have
the enects of their lost friends or rel
atives, and also likely to attract sur
vlvors who had lost their baggage.
Hundreds of dollars were sent the old
captain, but there is no record Of any
having received any Baggage.
MI: Gauntlet uncovered the fraud,
Familiar with the sea and having
been a victim Of the Lusitania disas.
ter, he knew the exact position Of the
nip when she sank and knew that
the. ocean currents were such that
baggage would drift ashore
where the old. captain said he hau
picked up many trunks. .Investigat-
Ing, he confirmed his suspicious and,
upon publishing the facts through the
Coast Guard. saved money for many
persons.
Mr.. Gauntlett's ownership Of a
cinatine. He learned at a. dinner
party in Washington attended BY the
charge d~'affaires Of the Greek Legal
tton that, Greece wanted to buy some
battleships. He knew, an a result Of
his intimacy with naval >facts, that
the United States navy was about to.
retire two fine ships. He consulted
Secretary of the Navy Daniels and
made q deal. He completed the other
end with the Greek charge d'affaires.
Them by -Athgent application, he got
9 bill through congress authorizing
the retirement Of the warships and
their transfer to Greece.
BY q curious technicality OF the
transaction tine. two warsnips first
were transferred to Mr.. Gauntlet
and BY him to the king Of the Hell
leneg. It SO happened that, because
OF the red tape involved, a period OF;
two days elapsed In which he,l as
private citizen, was the sole owner
OF these two great warsIaips. They
weIsanehored in Hampton Roads,
each burning about 200 te,ss o. Goa,
q day Just "a. Keep the boilers warm.
The deal was contaminated and
Greece took the ships. But MI
Gauntlet often has wondered what
would have happened to him II, for
some reason, Greece suddenly had
backed down, leaving him I'M possess
sion Of the two vessels.
ANswylEHEs 10 QUESTIONS.
What 10 a person Gated who
nsee o. we'll or better Al the dark
w. "A. r.
a, The state Of being able to 500
In the dark 10 knownsa hemeramopsG-
day blindness. A person who $suf-
fsrs. from this may b knownlas hem.
e~FarnopAAl. sS B1
"A. Are cedar chests efectual al 4
protection from moths for wool gar.
,fmAntafE A <I