Evening star., 1932-09-18
DECADE OF PRACTICAL SCIENCE
NOT ENOUGH FOR EXPERT. o
Boy Who Served on Carnegie
Going to Maryland
University.
Decides He Doesn't Know
Enough After Designing
Instruments.

After 10 years experience in radio
work that included an escape from
death through explosion of the ship on
which he was serving, Stuart L. seaton,
Is, Of Washington Grove, Md, has de-
cided he doesn't know enough.
He has enrolled in mathematics and
physics classes at the University of
Maryland in order to gain background
enough to continue research in terres-
trial magnetism.
Seaton was radio operator and OBJ
server of the Dl-fated non-magnetic
yacht Carnegie in the South Seas in
1929. The ship was destroyed by ex-
plosion of her fuel cargo OF 1000 GAL
Ions Of gasoline in Apia Harbor. West
ern Samoa. Friday, November 29. 1929:
Seaton was one of four members OF
leave at the time of the disaster. With
two companions he was some Is miles
inland. The party saw a heavy col
umn Of black smoke in the sky, but,
not hearing the rererberation OF the
explosion, merely supposed that an
other ship had come into the quiet
harbor. On their way back to town
they met a truckman, who told them
what had happened. The story was so
weird that they refused to believe 1t.
Commander Was Killed.
seaton says: "Unhappily, 1t was only
too true The beautiful ship was gone
Our commander. Capt. James Percy
Ault, chief of the ocean work section
Of the department Of terrestrial mag
netism Of the Carnegie Foundation OF
Washington, was dead. BY a strange
whim of fate the only other person
fatally injured was the cabin boy.
Anthony Kolar. Thus we lost our most
important man, and. according to gen.
eral standards Of usefulness. our least
important. Capt. Ault was q great
scientist, universally admired and
beloved.
THE exact cause Of the explosion
never has been determined. 1t probably
resulted from the ignition of gasoline
vapor during the loading OF gasoline.
THE Carnegie was built almost en-
tirely Of wood. She was put togetner
with wooden dowels and bronze fittings,
and contained an extremely small
amount of iron. Graceful and speedy,
she was a 10y to behold. as many
Washingtonians who saw her in the
Basin here will remember. Her value
was estimated at 100000, including
scientific equipment.
Records Not Lost.
I'VE did not lose any records OF
especial value in the destruction OF the
yacht. 1t had been Capt. Ault's prac-
tice to mail to Washington all the
records Of our researches and investisao a.
tions Each time we made port ne
would send off whatever data was
ready. But. Of course. we lost every
instrument ve had with U.s.
There we're 19 men en- board the
Carnegie when the crash occurred. Be
sides the two killed six were severely
injured, but later recovered. The U. S.
S. Ontario came to our relief tmmedl-
ately.
1.-The last cruise Of the Carnegie was
the seventh she had made. All were OF
the highest utility to science"
Seaton, reaching the shore after the
destruction Of the yacht, summed up his
available assets as one pair OF shoes, one
pair of duck pants. one shirt and four
English shillingS. He was outhtted by
the officers at the Pago Pago naval base,
American Samoa.
Reached Here Christmas Eve.
Returning from Pago Pago, he reached
Washington Christmas Eve, 1929. The
remains CT Capt. Ault, which he had
accompanied home. were inferred in
Fort Lincoln Cemetery two days later.
Terrestrial magnetism. which has such
special attraction for Seaton, is briefly.
the branch Of science which deals with
the magnetic properties Of the earth
considered as a whole" The subject
began to be studied seriously about the
time of Christopher Columbus. The
discoverer noticed on his first westward
voyage that the needle of the compass
did not point truly to the North Star:
He did net know the explanation of
this variation and scientists today are
unable to give a complete answer to the
problem.
Investigation Of the riddle has pro-
ceeded for four centuries. 1t has been
studied on land as well as at sea. The
Carnegie Institution established a spe-
cial department to determine the
strength and other properties Of the
magnetic field. A world survey in CO.
operation with other scientific organi-
cations was undertaken. Field parties
were sent out. An observatory at
Huancayo, Peru, and an observatory
at Watheroo, West Australia, were set
up. The yacht Carnegie was built
The information collected by the de-
partment has been used by compilers
Of navigation charts, by the United
States Navy, the Coast and Geodetic
Survey, and the British Admiralty, as