SUBMARINES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1713, 17 May 1917, Page 3

SUBMARINES.

“THE PROBLEM SOLVED.” A SENSATIONAL CLAIM. London, May 0. The New York Evening World says that Mr Saunders, chairman oj; (lie .American Naval Consulting Hoard. Hie members of which include .Mr T. A. Edi>on and other inventors, declares that the hoard has solved the submarine problem, and has submitted its plan to (he Navy Department, based on actual experiments.

Washington messages say thill there is an extraordinary coiillict of i.illhorilies ami statements ns to I lie American anti-submarine device. Mr Uobinson, official spokesman ol' tin 1 Naval Consult ins' Hoard, asserts that the hoard does not l;nou- of any invention as described. One is still being sought. Mr Sprague! ehairman of the Naval Hoard's committee mi electricity and shipbuilding, is also sceptical. Newspapers publish Mr Saunders -.(at(‘menl that he is confident that a means has been found to destroy submarines, and that it is not. a inalter of speculation. The hoard had tested several of the sub-com-mittee's. plans, involving an extensive use of electricity. These had been evolved by the genius of a hundred inventors, and perfected by Mr T. A. Edison. The scheme contemplated aggressive tactics, the most important step being the closing of the north end of the North Sea by several of (hi 1 inventions. In New York the general opinion is that the means of combating submarines referred to does not consist of a single device, but a system by which Oreat Britain and America will co-operate for a more complete blockade of the North Sea, even if it entails greatly diminished supplies to (he neutrals. It is hoped (hat the scheme will be carrired out with the consent of the neutrals. The Washington correspondent of the New York World says that English and American naval exports are considering the combating of submarines by mining the North Sea, closing tlie waters bet ween Denmark and Sweden, or storming the Kiel Canal. According to the Washington correspondent of the New York Times, American mines will be strewn in German territorial waters, because they are the most efficient obtainable.