The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-12-20

Coast guardsmen said this after
noon the seas were running higher
today than any day since Saturday
when the 'S-4 went down.
Waves Break High
They broke eight, nine and ten
feet high in a constant swell. Spray
rose high from them, drenching
men in small boats, wetting down
the decks of ships and frequently
freezing into ice.
By noon there were upward of
twenty-five ships, most of them
Navy or coast guard vessels, but
few privately owned, concentrating
all their men and power in the ef-
fort to save the men aboard the S-4.
But the weather and the sea
proved mighty enemies. The wind,
though not as violent as yesterday,
approached gale force. The seas
tumbled and tossed. The tempera-
ture was around the freezing point.
Ice formed in the rigging of the
salvage ships. Men suffered ex-
tremely from the cold.
Sky Is Threatening
The sky was overcast with high
clouds floating, dark and threaten
ingly on the wind.
The Falcon, from which the divers
must go down, was unable to hold
it's position long enough to permit
the men to go oversides. Divers were
willing to try, but officers said it
would be suicide for any man to at
tempt the descent.
Word was sent ashore, however,
that the moment conditions made
it anything less than certain death
for a man to descend, divers ,uld
take up their work Immediately.
The divers first work will be to
attempt introduction of oxygen into
the torpedo room, through the tor
pedo tubes. If oxygen an be given
the men inside, they might bold
out for days.
There has been considerable dis
cuSsion as to why the six men
trapped in the torpedo room have
not utilized the torpedo tubes to
shoot each other to the surface.
Submarine experts point out num-
erouS lives have been saved In this
manner, although they say it is pos
sible the S-4 lies with its nose buried
in mud, preventing such method.
The Navy tug Sycamore arrived
from Brooklyn with three pontoons
yesterday, but anchored in the
harbor here for the night. The
Iuka was expected at any time with
two more and the seap1ane tender
Wright was en- route from Norfolk
with three.
The Wright was delayed by storms
and the Iuka lost one Of her pom
toons when it broke the tow line.
1t required eight pontoons to raise
the S-51.
Fear Delay With POntoons
With the sea running as it is and
storm warnings out for a gale ex-
pected along the coast, navy men
feared it would take considerable
time to get the pontoons in place
and fill them with air. Even If the
Iuka and Wright were here, it might
be late today before the work
started.
One plan being considered was to
sink several pontoons by the nose
of the sunken submarine and try
to lift her bow above the surface,
leaving the stern resting on bottom
Then the men could lie cut free.
The stout bravery of the i'm
prisoned men was shown by their
last messages. 1t was they who sug-
gested putting oxygen containers
through the torpedo tubes.
The message was picked up yes
terday by the So, another SUBJ
marine with the rescue fleet, through
her oscillator, drum-like device
which records vibrations sent
through the water when the hull OF
the submarine is pounded.
Oxygen bottles empty" the tap
ping hammer spelled out.
"Can you send down a couple?
It may be possible to place oxygen
bottles, soda lime and emergency
rations in q torpedo tube"
What Is being done to save us2"