Evening star., 1924-01-27
By HAROLD n. PHILlPS.

the worlds champion wander
lUster rides today upon the
peaceful bosom of the Washington
channel, dutifully standing-by until
once more she is called upon to fight
her way through the seven seas in the
interest of science.
She is the good ship Carnegie. the
only non-magnetic yacht in the
world and. perha ps. one of the most
famous vessels that ever dared the
fury Of bowling nor'we ster or
fearlessly rode out the lashing
hurricane of an oriental typhoon
Her domain is the unlimited eXpanse
Uf the restless sea.
From the very shadow OF the
north pole to deep into the lonely
white wastes of the Antarctic, from
the man made skyline OF New York
To the quiet lagoons of the South
seass the Carnegie has driven her
GRACEFUL prov into harbors known
and unknown. Her name is as
familiar to the lonely sentinel
marooned on the fringes OF civiliza-
tion as il is TO the learned scientist of
the metropolis.
Commissioned in 1909, the Carne-
gle has made six cruises in the fif-
teen years of her existence, covering
total OF 25o,702 nautical miles.
which IS equal to nearly 100000
statute, or land miles. In the course
OF her travels she has completely
'ircumnavigated the globe on a
single cruise, has circIed the south
pole and poked her nose 10 within
about GOO miles Of the north pole:
When the sheer monotony of more
than two unbroken years at sea
mad driven home scientists and crew
alike, the Carnegie and her comman-
der alone kept doggedly at their
tasks and did not see their home
port for three and a half years. And
that was only one cruise.
She is part of the equipment Of the
department Of terrestrial magnetism
OF the Carnegie Institution OF Wash
ington and is named for the man who
made possible that association for
scientific research. Her duty IS to pro-
vide the means of studying at sea
he phenomena Of terrestrial mag
netiSm just as it is being done on
land. the fulfillment of n long cher
1Shed dream of DR.. Lewis 4. Bauer,
director of the department.
x = X =
EVERY well-informed person knows,
perchance, that the hand of the
compass does not always point to true
north, as was once believed. While
ut few spots on land and sea 1t may
indicate true north, at most others 1t
is declined either east or west. The
Importance, therefore. of having ac-
curate charts showing the points Of
declination at ferquent intervals on
the maps can readily be appreciated
The department of terrestrial mag
netism has undertaken this work. as
well as other important researches
in an effort to determine what power
full forces are at work, both on this
earth and in the atmosphere, to cause
this phenomenon. In order to take OBJ
servations of terrestrial magnetism
and atmospheric electricity. it is nee
cssary to use non magnetic instru-
1nents, as far removed from steel and
other metals susceptible to magnetic
ed forces as possible.
Hence the need for a non-magpetic
yacht In the 10000 pounds of the Car
negie's equipment, only $50 pounds
are steel or iron, thus completely
eliminating magnetic disturbances
due to these things. Much of this ma
teriai consists of cans containing nee
essary food SUPPLIES and such ma
terials are slowed aft. far removed
from the "domes" in which the in
struments for observation are kept.
The Carnegie's anchors are of
bronze and their "chains" are huge
manila ropes. Where it was necessary
to use nails in her construction, cop
per ones were adopted and even the
spikes of her hull are made of brass.
Once. when a late purchase of chairs
was necessary and no brass nails
were available. all of the steel nails
In the chairs were removed and the
uarts carefully bound together with
copper wire.
Capt. J. p. Ault, who has command
cd the Carnegie since 1914 and was a
member of the scientific personnel on
her first cruise. has q special "Sher-
look Holmes with which he soon
finds any infinitesimal scray Of steel
OF iron that might be brought aboard
through accident. 1t consists Of a
magnetized needle, suspended at the
end of a silk fiber in a small glass
bottle.
Tho minute that needle gets any
where near a piece of steel or iron it
promptly fiops over against the side
OF the bottle nearest the magnetic
metal, and stays there until either it
or the metal is removed.
So careful are the officers Of the
Carnegie that Sherlock is even ap-
piled to the clothing of the crew as
they come aboard. It instantly tells
Yhethec they have f0Egottrn and