New Britain herald., 1927-12-22
SALVAGE VESSELS NEEDED BY NAVY


 TO better effort could be made to rescue the men entonlbed In the S-4. critics of the navy organization are getting as frank as Rear-Admiral Magruder. Representative Griffin of New York already has come for ward with blasting criticism of what he terms naval red tape" in- cluding the astonishing statement that the naval authorities have con- sistently refused to sanction appli- ances which would make it possible to hoist disabled submarines to the surface. The New York Times has assisted the representative by grand ly playing up his contentious. The Boston Post, bitterly caustic, wants | to know why the navy was so "wo- l fully lacking in adequate appliances | for the rescuing of disabled under | etI lldi dH'i uelIdIluS d IIccl OI enormously powerful rescue ships to be provided for in the coming naval bill of Congress-
 Mir. Griffin gets down to brass tacfs. He says the s-4 could have been brought to the surface in a few hours if it had been constructed with graphing rings on the hull, to | which chains could be attached The President was criticized for not in cluding salvage boats in his naval program, and criticized naval off cials for refusing to adopt a tele- 1 phone device by which sunken | submarine could make known its position and lead to a quick rescue in connection with the graphing rings on the hull.
 1 The representative makes charges ! that need careful consideration and possible action by the House naval affairs committee, which in due | course will investigate the sinking of the S-4. The history of the subma- rine had revealed, he says, that laval authorities have repeatedly resisted safety methods, and that the proposals to have compartments and double hulls were finally adopt ed only after strong opposition.
 The effort has been made to in- stall telephone signal buoy. to be released when the submarine sinks. l Resisted in the United States, the idea was promptly adopted by Ger many. which also adopted the grap- ! pling rings. so that when one of her submarines sank in the Kiel canal in 1911 the vessel was brought to the surface in quick time. Such grappling rings. however, were placed on the submarine "Plunger," before President Roosevelt took a trip in if,
 Salvage vessels are part of the navies of France. Italy and Ger. many. it appears, but are opposed by the naval authorities in Britain and the United States. Why this should be the case Is one of the technical mysteries that only be- comes aware to technical minds.
 Something needs 10 be done te make submarines safe. Since tho armistice nine submarine disaster. lave taken place. resulting in tht loss Of 362 lives. The greatest wa: when the Japanese submarine. No 70, went down at Kobe in 1926 when s5 lost their lives; other dis astcrs include the loss of three Brit ish submarines, with 23. 48 and 6! lives lost respectively: the loss of { Japanese submarine with 49 live. sacrificed; an Italian submarine with 50 lives gone: and the loss O. two American submarines, with Z loss Of B and probably 70; in addi ton there were a number of minor accidents in American submarines.
 Even before the great war sub marines were among the most pro