Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-07-05
ENGINEER DENIES
GERMANS TRIED To )
CRIPPLE LEV|ATHAV
Sabotage Attempts Reported
Officially During Great
War Declared to Have
Been Results of Accidents

NEW YORK, July 3.-By the AS
ISOLATED Press).-Announcem to-
day by engineers who reconditioned
the Leviathan that wartime tales
of German attempts to cripple the
liner were false, has left the ship
ping board in a quandary as to what
to do with SIS, 200 worth of elaborate
souvenir booklets, containing &C.
count of alleged sabotage, which
were to have been distributed to-
morrow on the, ships first voyage
as an American liner.
f. II. Gibbs, of Gibbs Brothers,
engineers, who prepared the giant
liner for service as an American
passenger vessel, said that damage
to the vessel, originally supposed to
have Leen a result of German
sabotage, has been found to have
been result of an accident in dock
ing the vessel on her last trip to this
country under the German flag in
1914.
DENIAL WOULD ALTER
HISTORY OF GREAT WAR
WASHINGTON, July S.-Part OF
the official history Of the World war
will have to be rewritten If re.
port brought back to Washington by
Representative Madden, of Illinois,
a guest on the trial trip Of the liner
Leviathan, should turn out to be
ture.
Mr.. Madden said today that during
the voyage he had been informed
ION good authority that the story
of the Gripping of the liners MAJ
chinery by her German crew when
she was sized by the United States
was all a myth.
Department of justice records de-
scribe extensive damage to the en-
gines OF the ship, which then was the
Vaterland, and attributed to Ger
man seamen, while the files of the
navy department contain photo
graphs of gaping holes in her boil.
ers and Of shattered mechanism
found when the American naval fore
es took charge.
Damage Reported
Captain e. P. Jessop, retired, who
was in charge of the official inspec-
ton Of the Vaterland when she was
taken over and who also supervised
the repairs to her engines, said to-
day he had found the following spe-
tific injuries when he boarded the
vessel:
About three tons of blading from
starboard high pressure turbine
missing. These blades were of spec
ial deseign and required the manu-
facture of special tools to replace
them
One 8-foot crack in high pressure
cylinder. This was welded electri-
cally, the first time the process had
ever been used IN this manner and
with such good results that the same
repair is standing today, according
to shipping board records.
Thrust blocks on propeller shafts
removed, permitting the seepage of
more than 1000 tons of water into
the ships hull. Fortunately, Cap
tain Jessop said, these missing parts
were found hidden on board and were
reinstated.
Water Pipes Bored
Numerous holes bored in. water
pipes and then filled with putty.
According to naval engineers theee
would have endangered the Whip at
any moment of her active service
at sea.
Tags and labels on all Important
electric and steam lines were shifted
so that the American engineers were
completely in the dark as to the pur-
pose Of tho equipment. The repair
forces, Captain Jessop reported, de.
voted two months to the sole task
of tracing these lines and correctly
labelling them SO as to obViate
danger of short circuits and fires
and Of exploding possible hidden
bombs.
In mis- annual report for 1918, Sec
rotary DANES included the Leviathan
as among the former German ships
which has been deliberately dam.
aged by their crews, in many cases
seriously. and the character of the
Injury denuting that the work had
been carried out under a central di-
rection." The secretary did not give
any details as to the injuries found
on board the biggest ship.