Thirty-three members the crew of the American submarine Squalus, which lies helpless in 240 feet of water off the New Hampshire coast, have been saved despite the seemingly hopeless position in which the craft is situated. They were brought up in a special rescue chamber operated by the salvage craft Falcon, and successive descents may result in saving other members of the crew who were stated to be still alive when the first rescues were made. Submarine history is a tragic chapter in naval developments brightened only by the great developments made in rescue work. Once trapped below a certain depth it was once considered impossible to do anything for the men imprisoned in the steel hull which was their virtual coffin. As an offensive weapon, the value of the submarine was demonstrated during the Great War when German submarines placed Britain in a position of extreme difüculty owing to attacks on food ships. But whatever offensive ability may have been developed it has been reached at a great cost, and the number of submarine accidents in the leading navies of the world in recent years lead one to believe that that peace-time losses have far exceeded war-time losses. In fact, a point was reached some years ago when there Were official discussions for the complete abolition of the submarine but other conditions militated against this ideal. Rescue equipment and methods have made much progress in recent years, especially since the accident to the British submarine Poseidon off Weihaiwei some years ago when six members of the crew were saved by the Davis escape gear which enabled the men to reach the surface. The rescue chamber used by the American salvage authorities on the Squalus is much more elaborate equipment which enables a large steel cylinder to be lowered to the helpless submarine and attached to one of the several escape hatches with which the modern submarine is fitted. From the interior of the submarine the men are able to enter the chamber which is then drawn to the surface. The principal difficulty in using this equipment is the depth of the water which hampers diving operations in the preliminary stages. The fact that rescue work has been successfully performed at a depth of 240 feet makes it one of the greatest feats on record and encourages the hope that even greater improvement in rescue methods will be made to rob the submarine of its dangers to the crew as long as naval authorities insist on the retention of this form of craft Agreement Reached A British Government spokesman is quoted by the United Press as stating that Viscount Halifax, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, hoped to instruct the British Ambassador to Moscow, within 24 hours, to make an official proposal to the Soviet Government for the conclusion of a mutual aid pact. It is to be hoped that this is the case, and that there will be none of the limitations attached to it which have delayed arrival at an agreement between the two governments in this matter. If this is indeed the case then there should be no very great difficulty of merging this new pact with the Franco-Soviet mutual assistance treaty of 1936, thereby transforming the two documents into a formal tripartite alliance between Great Britain, France and Russia, forging one of the strongest possible combinations for the purpose of resisting any aggression which the Rome-Berlin Axis complete encirclement of the axis has to be admitted, though it has all along been consistently denied that this is sought for any reason whatever except that of mutual defence, and the guarantee of certain smaller nations against the use of force to wring from them concessions of one sort or another. It is reported that all salient points of difference between the two countries have already been settled, though there still remain some comparatively unimportant points which require clarification. These should be dealt with as soon as possible, for with the growth of tension over Danzig, the sooner the Powers, guaranteeing Poland and certain other countries, are shown to be at complete unity the sooner will their influence be felt on the European political situation. The removal of all doubt concerning the intentions of Britain, France and Russia at this time would be one of the greatest contributions towards securing a greater stability than at preexists, and may afford just that type of is so necessary in such
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.