Evening journal., 1922-07-19
BY C. E. MORRIS

| Omitted Press Staff Correspondent.
LONDON. Omitted Press.) )-Spec'
ulatioD is rife here and on the Con
tinent as to the possibility of raising
the Lusitania.
Whether the salvaging is success
full or not. revelations of historic
import are expected to follow the
attempt.
Did the Lusitania carry muni-
tions?
That is the moot question which
the salvaging operations are ex-
pected TO clear up.
The German press is taking a par
ticularly keen interest in the pro-
ject. Berlin papers, which have re-
Gently been devotiDg considerable
space to discussions OF war guilt. are
agitating for the appointment of a
German official witness Of the sal
vaging attempt.
Count Charles Zarardi Landi, who
will command the specially-equipped
salvage ship, "Semper Paratus,' is
confident of success.
The Lusitania," he told an inter-
viewer, Lies in ESQ feet of water on
clean gravel bottom. No attempt
has ever been made to raise her, be-
cause the limit of diving possibili-
ties has hitherto been not much
more than 12O feet. The new div
ing suit which l have invented will
enable my men to work at a depth
of 500 feet"
do you expect to bring the Lusi-
tania home under her own steam?"
the Count was asked.
Engines Disabled
Perhaps not" the salver re-
Piled" I expect to find her engines
disabled by the torpedo that severed
her main steam pipe, thus instantly
stopping all her mechanical func-
tions when she was hit. Had that
fatal torpedo struck 80 feet fur
ther forward, the Lusitania would
never had sunk. She could have
limped along those few miles and
been safely beached.
IF it is mechanically possible"
said the Count" three days are all
that are necessary to get the en-
giDes OF a salvaged vessel in order
again. There is no rust. The deep
fA AAAF " hdAtA ~ III ~ snip mas
been lying, the less rust there is"
Count Landi does not appear dis
turbed by the report that an Ameri-
can firm is already proceeding across
the Atlantic to salve. the LusitaDia.
The Ayeready Salving and Tow
ing Company. of which l am man
aging director" he said. has been
granted a three-year contract by the
Liverpool and London War Risk
Insurance Company. the British !
owners OF the vessel and her con-
tents" }
Count Landi. an Italian by birth, |
is naturalized British subject He
spent years in Canada at ship salv- |
ing and photographic surveys.
His Greatest Triumph
One of the Counts greatest tri- !
umphs as a salver was the raising |
OF the French steamer "Evangeline," |
which was torpedoed near Corfu !
and sank with heavy and extreme
ly valuable cargo off the Madonna |
Rocks. The French Admiralty sent |
for Landi. CoDtre Admiral Mer- |
veilleux du Vignaux, in command of |
the Eastern Mediterranean. was
as to the success Of the at
tempt.
After going down. examining the
ship and estimating the difficulties.
Landi said 10 the French comman-
der:
II will have her up in six days"
The admiral laughed tolerantly.
She came up In five days, four
hours and % minutes" said Landi
n describing the salving of this
vessel.
Landi has had eighteen years ex-
oerience in salvaglng work. While
operating under Sir Vincent Gregh.
1f the British Salvage Company, of
London, with Constantinople as his
base, he brought up many ships OF
III sizes in the Black Sea. the Dar-
ianelles and the Sea of Marmora.
During and since the war he has