Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1927-12-19
Unknown TO
Be ALIVE ASK
QUICKRELIEF
Sinking of Sub Held
To Be Unavoidable
Accident; Air Line
Broken by Wind

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. Dec. 10.
Pl.-The furious gale which swept
Cape Cod today forced the navy res
cue fleet assembled on the scene
Of the S-4 disaster 20 suspend all
activities until A y. M. Coast guards
men at the Race Point station radio
cd Admiral Frank III. Brumby aboard
the divers ship Falcon that their in
sruments indicated that the wind
might die down az that time.
IL was reported that the naval
tugs Sycamore and luke bringing
pontoons from the Brooklyn. M. ~,
navy yard, were hove TO in Buzzards
Bay, but this could not be con-
firmed- Their delay in reaching
here will seriously handicap efforts
20 effect the release of six men
known 10 be alive aboard the SUBJ
marine and the determinati Of the
fate of the IS others aboard.
The wind was blowing from the
northwest az 45-mile rate. the coast
guard said. The sea was rough mnd
the temperature was low. All unitH
were blanketed with ice.
REPORTS which camn ashore from
the Falcon stated that the sea was
so rough that IL was impossible to
lower divers platform over she
slde. Early this morning two navy
dorys were sent out TO the Falcon
from other rescue ships. The high
sea washed them against the side of
the Falcon and their cccupantR
were pulled onto the deck from the
Falcon with great difficulty.
The Sd was sent to the bottom
Saturday when IL was struck by the
coast guard destroyer Paulding.
II was a fight against time today
IN which every minute was precious
and the odds were admittrdfv
against the slowly suffocatinr sur
vivors in an almost impossible ~
In the ears OF every officer and
man OF the rescue fleet from Rear
Admiral Brumby down TO the raw
est recruit, rang the degperats
cry Of the unfortunate men, labor
ously pounded out by hammer IN
the metallic dots and dashes of the
Morse code 10 "a diver alongside nn
the sandy bottom. The messages
follow:
Diver-Is gas bad?
Submarine-No; but the air. How
iong VIII you be now2
Overflow many are theres
Submarinc-There are six. Will
you be long now7
Diyer-Ne are doing everything
possible.
The message that told the fleet
that men still lived on the S-4 came
from the torpedo room. From the
other compartment, there was no
encouraging word.
a great hole ripped through the
heavy steel plates Ftarhoard al
midships and just forward VIZ the
ships four inch gun left little doubt
~ the fate of officers and men on
duty there when the speeding prov
of the Paulding Glove its way into
the submersible's side.
AIT OF the coming tower there
was silence too, but there was also
hope, however, slight. Divers hnd
been unable 10 elicit N response IN
their tappinHs because mass oi
wreckagc cbstructcd the decks.
WASHINGTON. ID. III. Dec. I9. UPi
The sinking Of the S-d BY the
coast guard destroyer Paulding was
described today by Admiral Charles
r. Hughes, chief Of naval operations
az a Legitimate accident" for which
the coast guard was rot being
blamed. He believed the accident
was unavoidable.
BOSTON, MasE.. Dec. 10. Fl.-A
message from the men trapped or
the submarine So was received b.
the mine sweeper Falcon early 10.
day. On the arrival or the Faleap
here from the scene of the rnscua
operates Off Provinret0wn. Lieut..
enant Commander Edward EIlBbnrH
said that the message tapped WI
Continued on page tWol