European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 18, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday february 18, 1992 the stars and stripes Page 3 civil War wreck eroding As Access fight goes on Washington a time and the Atlantic oceans tides Are eating away at the Monitor while underwater explorers and government officials argue Over Access to the fabled ironclad whose Battle with the Merrimack ended the Era of wooden fighting ships. A if nothing is done in As Little As five or 10 years the whole wreck will collapse completely and what is left will be buried in the Sand or just completely disintegrate a said Peter e. Hess an explorer who wants to return to the civil War relic. The Monitor lies at a depth of 235 feet off Cape Hatteras n.c., where it Sank in a Gale on dec. 31, 1862, almost 10 months after its epic encounter with the Confederate ironclad Merrimack at Hampton roads a. The National oceanic and atmospheric administration agreed with Hess that the Monitor is deteriorating but said it is not in As great a danger As he argued thursday before a Commerce department administrative Law judge. Is the Monitor corroding a sure a said Noaa spokesman Brian Gorman. A a it a underwater. Its made of Iron. An illustration depicts the Monitor sinking in a storm on dec. 31, 1862, accompanied by the masted Tow vessel Rhode Island. Bonnie Archer and her Mother Lovine a. Salmon look Over norwegian accounts of the sinking of the Steamer  seeks Kin of victims of Erie sinking by Jeffrey Bair the associated press Erie a. A the Steamer Atlantic Sank to the Bottom of Lake Erie 140 years ago with hundreds of immigrants on its decks their possessions in sturdy Oak crates. Buoyed by a Federal judges ruling the Salvage company mar dive corp. Of Van Guys Calif., has claimed the wreck in Canadian Waters and is looking for descendants of passengers who want some of the possessions after diving begins this summer. Canada however has warned against any attempt to Salvage the vessel. A a it a like someone is taking part of my life and giving it Back to me a said Bonnie Archer of Al Dorado Hills Calif., whose great great Grandfather Amund o. Eidsmoe his wife and their two children survived the wreck. A the Story has been such an important p Art of our family for  a Grain freighter rammed the Atlantic on aug. 20, 1852, killing 150 to 300 people and sinking the paddle wheel Steamer near Long Point Ontario. The exact death toll is unknown because the passenger logs were incomplete. Most of the estimated 600 passengers were norwegian or German immigrants who paid $1 each to sail from Buffalo to Detroit mar dive president Steve Morgan said. Others paid $10 for first class Cabins and dined on Marble tables under whale Oil lamps. A a lot of people have the mistaken impression that immigrants were very poor people a Morgan said. A they were very Thrifty and a lot of them had sold everything they  among items believed to be at the Bottom of the Lake Are a Safe containing $30,000, leather sacks of . Mail about 1,000 guns and dozens of Oak crates packed with the immigrants belongings including Gold coins and jewelry Morgan said. Passengers such As the Eidsmoe were sleeping on the upper decks when the collision occurred in fog about 2 . Many could not understand the Crews English commands and jumped overboard in panic. A i next heard an awful scream from a Hundred voices which rings in my ears almost As vividly As then a passenger Almon Calkins of Belvedere 111., told a coroners jury afterwards. The Eidsmoe who had boarded the Atlantic shortly after arriving in the United states from their Village of Aurdal Norway were plucked from the water by the freighters Crew according to Eidsmoe a journal. Eidsmoe later became a teacher and magistrate in York wis. Editor s note the address Lor inquiries from descendants of Atlantic passengers is mar dive corp., descendant search division. . Box 9078-66, Van Guys Calif. 91409 a we Welcome research and proposals to Deal with the eventual decay of the wreck a he said. But Gorman added a i certainly done to see in looking at videotapes of three major expeditions any dramatic changes Over the past 10 or 12 years. The corrosion and disintegration caused by time and Salt water continue but at a snails  Noaa argued at the hearing that Hess a a Wilmington del., lawyer and scuba diver who accompanied a 1990 Monitor photographing expedition led by Gary Gentile of Philadelphia a has not shown that he is qualified to Lead a new photography and research Mission. The judge William Ogden has 30 Days to decide on Hess Appeal from a Noaa decision denying him a permit. A permit is needed because the wreck is in a Federal maritime preserve. The Agency has granted permission to Rod Farb an author and photographer from Cedar Grove n.c., who led expeditions to the site for the last three years. He said he is going Back in May. Farb said in a Telephone interview that he believes the Monitor will last Tor a Good Many years though a it will probably be virtually unrecognizable a Century from now. Moscow apr . Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii on monday handed russian president Boris n. Yeltsin a blueprint for dismantling Short Range nuclear weapons in Russia and finding work for hard pressed nuclear scientists. The two leaders also discussed further cuts in their countries Long Range nuclear arsenals during a Kremlin meeting. President Bush last month proposed cutting such weapons to 4,700 warheads each. Yeltsin suggested a More drastic Cut to 2,500. The former soviet Union is estimated to have Between 10,000 and 12,000 Long Range warheads and 17.000 Short Range warheads. The United states has 12.000 Long Range and 9,000 Short Range warheads. Bush did not Rule out further cuts when he met with Yeltsin at the presidential Retreat at Camp David md., earlier this month. But deeper cuts would affect the . Submarine nuclear Force in which the United states enjoys a distinct advantage. . Officials speaking on condition of anonymity indicated sunday that an agreement might be reached Between Baker and Yeltsin on one or More of these subjects although they did not elaborate. Baker met Friday with 30 senior scientists at Chelyabinsk 70, a top secret City where nuclear weapons Are designed. He pledged that his country would help the Commonwealth of Independent states overcome hardships caused by severely declining budgets. Baker in consultation with Germany and with Yeltsin is considering setting up an International Clearing he agreed with Gorman who said any idea of raising the wrecked ship is Only a Quot pipe dream of a lot of  a it ought to be studied from an archaeological Point of View and then simply allowed to go its Way a Farb said. Hess said removal of pieces of the wreckage was not a primary goal of his proposed expedition though some might be removed to save them from dispersal by Ocean currents. A a lot of the plates originally were 1-Inch thick but you can see from videos and photographs that we took that some of them Are wafer thin a he said. Gorman said a Given the right people and the right amount of Money and encouragement from us there is the potential for recovery of parts of the wreck that could be displayed in  Gorman said Noaak a policy a is that the Monitor is a special artefact that is not like any other Ordinary Shipwreck and therefore we have to be very careful about research  a we really Are extremely strict with this particular Shipwreck a he said. House in Russia that would use ., russian and other experts to gather and review proposals for turning the nuclear scientists military skills to civilian use. The United states Hopes that the dismantling of the former soviet unions tactical nuclear missile Arsenal will employ Many of the scientists who have lost their jobs. That could prevent them from being lured to renegade nations such As Libya and Iran. Refinements of the american plan were worked out in recent Days by Baker aides and by defense department officials in Washington officials said. . Experts have already begun teaching some of the scientists techniques for dismantling the estimated 17,000 Short Range nuclear weapons that Russia is gathering from All the former republics and collecting on its territory. American officials say the United states also is considering a plan to Send special containers and secure rail cars to assist in safely transporting and storing the warheads. Experts say All the weapons will have been moved to Russia by july 1. The United states plans to build facilities for the destruction of the warheads in Russia using some of the $400 million appropriated by Congress last year for that purpose. Without Western Aid Russia would need five to seven years to build storehouses for the plutonium extracted from warheads and could Only then begin disarming them russian officials said. Baker gives Yeltsin proposal on nuclear weapons scientists