The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 17, 1898, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1898. find out just how the explosion occurred. ‘ “What good will that do?™ he asked. “What can divers discover about a hulk of | 5000 tons of steel sunk in the mud and | filth of the foulest harbor in the mzr'ld?i No! There is no investigation of that kind | which can be of ‘the slightest value. If the | presumption is that the Maine was sunk by | outside means, then Spain must be heldj strietly accountable, and there is only one ! way known among the nations of the worla'\j by which accountability can be enforced. ! If the tragedy was due to a torpedo, then it must be cssumed that this torpedo was | directed by those who are in control of the | harbor and the city. | *“No, disavowal can avail nothing. Spain | might say that it was the work of an irre- | sponsible crazy subordinate. She ‘ might offer the most abject apology and put | 1o death every man responsible directly or indirectly. Even that would not avail. There is only one way in which satisfaction can be given. That is through an appeal m1 arms. | The man who said this is not a jingo. If | his name were to be disclosed it would carry | weight on two continents, and he spoke with | a seriousness which was born of the gravity | of the situation. ard DID AN AGENT OF SPAIN DESTROY Continued from First Page. | el plosion?” T asked Captain Sigsbee. “You will have to excuse me from | answering that,” he replied. “In such| cases it is best not to think; it is best to know. That requires investigation and time.” Lieutenant John J. Blandin, who was the officer of the watch at the time of the explosion, gave me this version of his own experiences and of the whole | e under his immediate ovservation went on watch at 6 o'clock, relieving eutenant Blow. At 9:40 o'clock, e on the port side of the Q\mncr‘ , an explosion occurred, seemingly | on the port side forward, followed im- mediately by 2 second one. I was struck | on the head by a flying piece of wreck- | age, but not stunned. I climbed on the poop deck, where I found the captain, the executive officers and several others. | The barge and gig were lowered and manned, they being the only boats left. | We picked up all the wounded that could be found and put them into the boats. “The Spanish flagship Alfonso XIII had sent four or five boats very prompt- ly to our aid, and more of our wounded were sent to the Alionso. One of our: boats pulled around the Maine and| picked up several men who had been | blown into the water. The executive| officer went forward to see if the fire could be put out, and found that it was ess to try to do anything to save; the ship, as she was a total wreck. “The captain then gave the order to aba n the ship, and most of us went | in the boats of the City of Washington | of the Ward Line, where we were most | cordially received and cordially treated. | The ceptain was the last to leave the | ship.” | i d ymaster Ray, who only a few days | ago relieved Paymaster Littlefield on aine, told me of his experience. | in my room writing a 1 ‘ Mr. Ray said, “when I feit the shock. | Long residence in earthquake countries has given me the instinct to get under a | door wher I hear a noise of that sort, | and it is lucky for me that I am pos- | cessed of that sort of instinct, for I] 1 hardly got under the door jamb be- | re debris was crashing all around me. | After the shower I made my way on! deck and got into the barge. I took | an oar, as did Lieutenant Blow and | Engineer Morris. We pulled a long | time, but found only one man, whom we picked up.” “I was sitting abaft the aft turret talk- | g to Boatswain Larkin,” said Assist- | ant Engineer j. K. Morris, ‘“I.am a hazy as to how it all happened. AI]E can remember now is I was thrown to | the deck and that when I regained my | feet and tried to reach the superstruc- ture I was three times knocked down | by falling wreckage. 1 got on the| superstructure some how and then into the barge. Fred Lanahan, landsman, | was sleeping in his hammock under the} topgallant forecastle. He was hoisted | high into the air by the explosion, and | strangely enough was fished out of the water with never a bruise or burn.” The steamship Olivette arrived early in the morning. = As soon as her passen- gers had been landed the wounded from the hospitals ashore and from the Al- fonso XIII were transferred to her. To her were also sent as passengers to Key West, Lieutenant - John' Hood - and twelve officers of the Maine. Dr. Dud- ley- of the United States marine hospital | service in Havana accompanied the ship | as medical officer in charge of the wounded. The lighthouse steamer Mangrove ; reached Havana early in the afternoon, | foliowed shortly afterward by the sup- ply steamer Fern, tender to the North | Atlantic fleet. The loss of Lieutenant Jenkins and ! Cadet Merritt is deeply felt. Poor Jen- | kins—I had seen him a few hours be- | fore in the Hotel Ingletarra. He was | to have taken dinner with me, but at| the last moment decided to potspone | the engagement. . There were three magazines forward, | but all of them contained powder, and | my informants could not understand how this could be exploded by a tor- pedo bursting under water. When the cable closed at 1 o’clock 1ast night only thirty-seven officers and | men had been reported as surviving the | explosion. Before .daylight it was known that more had been brought ashore and taken to the hospitals or were on board the ships in the harbor. | 1 made the rounds of the hospitals,’ commencing at 1:30. At 2:30 more of One of the Guns Mounted on the “Baterie de la Reina at Havana, Which Covers the Approach to Havana Bay. the wounded had been brought in and had received attention, but one by one all night long stretchers bearing sea- men, burned and scarred, were carried into the wards. The Spanish doctors in charge did all that lay in human power. The hospitals were already crowded with sick soldiers, but room was im- mediately made for the wounded from the Maine. I have asked several officers of the Maine what, in their opinion, caused the explosion and what they believed it to be. “I do not believe it was a torpedo and I do not believe it was a mine,” three who were willing to express an opinion at all said to me. Among thelr reasons for thinking so is the fact that neither a torpedo nor a mine would have caused the destruction that the explosion wrought. There is no doubt that the explosion came from the for- ward and port side. It was argued that a torpedo exploded against the sides of the ship might by its detona- tion set off any high explosives located near, but there were no high explosives stowed forward in the Maine, the gun cotton magazine being located aft. I had an interview with General Lee, who declined to express any opinion regarding the cause of the accident. He says no doubt an inquiry by experts will be held and the American public should remain tranquil until the result of that investigation can be made known. He cannot at present accept the theory that the first explosion came from underneath the ship. The Municipal Council of the Colon Government to-day visited Lee and ex pressed condolence. A number of the men at San Am- brosia Hospital are destined to carry to the grave some, I fear, very soon, the marks of to-night’s disaster. Whenever a man could speak he said: “The first explosion occurred amidships.” “What was there amidships to ex- plode?” 1 asked. “Nothing on board,” was the inva- riable reply, “but God knows what was underneath the ship.” From seventeen swathed men lying between life and death I heard re- peated those same words, “The first ex plosion took place amidships.” The officers of the City of Washing- ton wiil also make statements to this effect when they arrjve in New York. It {s worthy of notice'that fifteen min- utes after the explosion on the Maine the Alfonso XIII was heing towed out of the reach of danger. = OFFICIALS AT SEA ABOUT THE DISASTER. But There Is a Clear Idea That Spain Is at Fault for the Catas- trophe. WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.—Just what caused the accident that sent the United States warship Maine to the bottom of Havana harbor last night is still. unknown in Washington, al- though it is gradually coming to be be- lieved that the explosion was the work of some person, either Cuban or Span- fard. Dispatches from Havana to this Gov- ernment to-day were not specific upon the accident. General Lee, United States Consul, was apparently as much at sea as anybody; and it is likely to be some time before the truth of the matter comes out. The feeling in Washington was intense, and it is the general bellef that the Spaniards are responsible for the loss of the Maine, although it is frequently suggested that the work may have been done by Cubans, who would like to get this country embroiled in a war with Spain. Still this-is not generally ac- cepted. It was noticed this morning that the Spanish Government was remarkably prompt in getting a message of sym- pathy to the United States Govern- ment. The unusual promptness ex- cited the suspicion thaet if the Maine was sunk by Spaniards the Govern- ment at Madrid had previous knowl- edge of the plot. Becretary Long was urged by pretty nearly all of his associates to send warships to Havana immediately. The Secretary, on the other hand, was urg- ed by General Lee at Havana not to send warships there, whatever else he aid. This signifies that the feeling at Ha- vana must be at a tremendous high pitch, and General Lee feels that great trouble would be sure to follow the ap- pearance of American warships in the | harbor. His dispatches did not indicate that ships were ~not needed, but that he i!eared the consequences If they were sent. The department within recent years has been greatly troubled with reports of spontaneous combustion of coal in | the ships’ bunkers, which have endan- gered the lives of the crews and the safety of the ships. The Cincinnati, twice at least, has been obliged to flood her magazines to prevent their blowing up during fires of this kind, and the cruiser Boston has been in the same condition. In some of these cases shelving in the magazines which sepa- rated the powder have been charred by the heat caused by the burning coal in the adjacent bunkers. Although the bunkers are inspected under the regu- lations at frequent Intervals, so nu- mercus have been these cases of spon- taneous combustion that the Navy De- partment only recently had the special board Investigate the subjeat with the view of applving preventive measures. Unfortunately, this board was pre- vented from making the thorough in- vestigation necessary because no funds werq applicable to, the purpose. Even empty bunkers have exploded. In the Atlanta some years ago, the bunker ex- ploded with great vivlence and the only explanation that could be given was that it probably was caused by the ig- niting of the vapors arising from the new paint applied to the lining of the bunkers. The theory advanced by the Spanish authorities that the disaster might have been caused by the explosion of the boiler is accepted at the Navy De- partment as within the bounds of credibllity. The Maine's boiler was separated from the powder magazines at the nearest point by a space of about four feet, usually filled with coal. At least one boiler undoubtedly was kept under almost full steam in order to run the dynamo and move the ship in case of need. The explosion of such a boiler might easily drive through the bulk- head and fire the magazine. Inasmuch as suspicion exists in some quarters that a torpedo was used against the Maine, it may be said that the majority of naval officers believe that the character of the explosion was hardly such as could be attributed to a torpedo. The latter, charged with about 100 pounds of powder or gun-cot- ton, it is belleved, would have torn a large hole in the bottom or side of the Maine, but was scarcely likely to fire the magazine, which is not near the bottom. S MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HESITATE TO SPEAK. | And Yet It Is Apparent That There Is Among Them More Than a Suspicion of Spain. WASHINGTON, Feb, 16.—The great- ast interest prevailed among Senators and Representatives as to the extent therefore many vulnerable points ex- posed. A battle-ship is little less than a volcano under the most favorable circumstances, and when Ilegislating for the Increase of the navy I always feel that a war vessel may prove as dangerous to those -on board as to those to whom it may engage in con- tests.” The Senator expressed the opinion that Congress would take steps to pre- vent the decrease of the navy, but would not undertake to say there would be immediate efforts to replace ‘the Maine. He said whatever could have caused the catastrophe he was sure no friend of Spain could have been guilty of such conduct for the reason that the act would have been a very foolish and foolhardy one. Senator Fairbanks said: “A thor- ough investigation doubtless will be instituted by the proper authorities. It is a most deplorable accident and one which will awaken general sympathy.” Senator Warren of Wyoming: “If it should develop that the Spanish had anything to do with the occurrence both the United States navy and army ought to be summoned to take the mat- ter up in earnest. If it should prove an accident it should be carefully investi- gated, for it is high time such accidents were prevented. It has apparently come to be true that our naval vessels cannot make any move, cannot go up a stream or down a stream or out to sea, without grounding or having some other accident befall them. I hope, therefore, that no time will be lost in determining the cause and placing the responsibility for the occurrence.” Senators Chandler, Mason and Carter of the Senate Committee on Postoffices in size and equipment to the Maine and costing not a dollar less than the ill- fated Maine cost. Action of that kind by us would indicate to the world that whenever or wherever one of our ten- tacles was cut off two would at once grow in its place. “It seems almost out of question that it was the result of an accident. It is usual for a ship of the Maine’s class to carry her magazines in her bow, where the explosion seems to have occurred. |- But I can say nothing of that now. I cannot guess and cannot speculate. It is an awful calamity. Let us await the particulars.” Senator Perking of California, who has been a navigator all his life and knows thoroughly every detail in the construction and handling of great ships, said: “I cannot conceive that such an ex- plosion as that which is reported to have wrecked the Maine could have re- sulted from an accident. The chances, it seems to me, are 999 in 1000 that the calamity did not result from accident. It has been suggested that the explo- sion might have occurred while ammu- nition was being handled, but that is scarcely credible, as ammunition on a warship at anchor is not handled at 10 o'clock at night. Then, too, the ammu- nition on a warship is fixed ammuni- tion, which is not in contact with any- thing at all likely to produce an ex- plosion. Every electric wire and ev- ery spark of fire on board the ship is far distant from the magazines, and there is no possibility of danger by those means being communicated to the ammunition. The discipline of both officers and men on the Maine, as well as on every other vessel, is such that the explosion could not have been caused by any action of any one of them. The magazines of the Maine and other ships of her class, and the mech- anism which operates them, are con- strueted with all the nicety of a watch. “By the simple pressure of an electric button any magazine on board the ves- AN AMERICAN TORPEDO BOAT. »f the Maine disaster. The gravity of the situation, in case later advices should show the disaster was not pure- ly accidental, was admitted by all pub- lic men, Many public men, in the face of the appalling catastrophe, the mea- ger information at hand and the possi- ble consequences, therefore declined to express any opinion at this time. Chairman Hitt of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman Dingley of the Ways and Means, and members of the Naval Committee of the House all said they preferred to await further infor- mation before expressing themselves. Hitt said it would be well for the pub- lic to follow the cue given by Captain Sigsbee and suspend judgment until the cause was ascertained. Senator Platt of Connecticut express- ed the belief that the explosion would be found to be the result of an accident from within. Ex-Senator Butler of South Carolina, a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate during his service, was of the opinion that some bold man had gone aboard the Maine and placed a grenade with a slow match where it would explode the mag- azine. Senator Hale, chairman of the Com- mittee on Naval Affairs. said he had just come from an interview with the Secretary of the Navy and he felt con- fident the Navy Department would in- stitute a thorough investigation. “There is no occasion,” said the Sen- ator, “for Congress to take the matter up. It js, of course, impossible from the information received to say how the aceident occurred, but I feel confl- dent the facts when developed will show that it was an accident. The Maine was prepared for action in case action should be necessary, and had and Postroads were talking about the accident. Senator Chandler said no one could tell how the accident had oc- curred as yet. It might have been a torpedo under the bows of the ship or it might have been an accident while handling ammunition. “But they are not likely to have been handling ammunition at 10 o'clock at night,” put in Senator Mason. “Oh, they might have been,” con- tinued Senator Chandler. “If the ex- plosion was from within it was no doubt an accident; if from without, then no doubt it was by design.” Senator Carter expressed the opinion that no amount of investigation would clear up the mystery. The explosion would leave no trace 'of what took place before, and the burning ship would obliterate all possibility of knowledge. Senators Pascoe of Florida and Clay of Georgla thought the matter should be fully investigated and a full report made. If necessary Congressshouldthen act. Senator Clay said: ‘“‘There is no proof that the Spanish are in any way responsible for this serious calamity, and we should be slow to make charges without proof to substantiate them.” Senator Morgan of Alabama, a mem- ber of the Committee on Foreign Af- falrs, said: “In the absence of definite information as to the cause and results of the Maine catastrophe, I would not venture an opinion upon it. If it was an accident, as the first dispatches seem to indicate, it was most deplor- able; if it was due to treachery, as some are inclined to believe, it was most heinous, and no penalty would be too severe for those responsible for it. But whether the calamity was due to accident or treachery, I should like to see introduced in Congress a joint res- olution providing for the Immedlate construction of two battle-ships equal sel could be instantly submerged and no fire could gain such headway as to endanger any of the magazines with- out dfscovery. I am firmly of the be- lief that the horror in Havana harbor last night was not due to accident. 7 can scarcely conceive efther that it was due to the treachery of Spanish official: or was brought about through thel cognizance. However, the situation ir Havana is so critical and the Spanish feel so keenly what appears to many o’ them an affront that the Maine shoulc have been in the harbor, that it seems not unlikely the catastrophe was dur to the action of Spanish sympathizers That it was not an accident I feel as- sured, and that it was due to treachery I am convinced.” Senator Mills of the Committee or Foreign Relations expressed the opin fon that the occurrence was the work of a torpedo. “I would not say,” hc said, “that the Spanish were respon- sible for it, but some one it must have been who had free access to the waters of the bay. I don’t think it could have been due to accident and I think sus- picions, but no clew, seem to offer evidence sufficient to warrant ar- rests. Efforts are belng made to appre- hend the guilty parties.” Representative Newlands of Nevada. member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, sald it would be very hard to convince the American people that the explosion was an accident. He woulg not wish to express an opinion until further information was received. Representative Mercer of Nebraska said this afternoon: “If the death of 253 American sailors can, upon investigation, be traced to Spanish origin, nothing will satisty the American people except war.” Representative Cousins of Towa. member of the Foreign Affairs Com- mittee, declared that if the Maine had been wrecked by torpedoes by outside agency, investigation was und to develop that fact. “The fragments could not be destroved.” said he. *“7 understand that no high explosive is allowed to enter the harbor of Havana 'GENERAL A \ HAS AD “ AN - e AR went to Old Point Comfort and w General Alger earnestly asked Havana harbor could have caused ed a quantity of dynamite or oth remained concealed for some tim General Alger also discussed ship. If the magazine exploded the pla R R R SR T R PR DO PGS except that intended for the Spanish authorities, so that if it developed that a torpedo was used, Spain will have to account for it.” General Joseph Wheeler, the ex-Con- federate cavalry commander, now a sent the following message to the Pres- ident to-day: “To the Honorable President: In case of any trouble with Spain, remem- ber that my tender of services is on file at the War Department. JOSEPH WHEELER.” Representative Hilborn of California, who is a member of the Naval Commit- tee, sald: “It is improbabie that the explosion occurred from within. The magazine may have exploded, but if so, that was probably the result of a first explosion from the outside. There was nothing in the magazine to cause an ex- plosion. There was nothing but brown powder, of which there were 50,000 pounds, which burns, but will not ex- plode, except under peculiar conditions which did not exist here. It is incap- able of belief that this nowder exploded. The powder is in metallic cases. If a man got in the magazine he would have to tear open the cases and build a fire to set the powder off.” FORMER DISASTERS IN VARIOUS NAVIES. Great Ships of War Are Peculiarly Liable to Accidents That Lead to Their Destruction. There have been several apparently narrow escapes of vessels of the new navy from destruction from causes such as have been surmised as leading to the destruction of the Maine. Wet coal and badly ventilated bunkers have set fire to the coal in several ships with more or less serious results. Two years 1go the Cincinnati’s bunkers were dis- covered to be on fire, and in the ad- jolning ammunition room separated from the bunkers by a thin steel bulk- nead the boxes containing live shells were already scorched. The prompt ldooding of the ammunition room saved the ship. About six months ago the Jregon’s crew had a fire practice from similar causes—wet coal and neglected sbservation of temperature. The economy necessary to be prac-| ticed in allotment of spaces in a mod- | srn ship-of-war places elements of langer which singly are bad enough, but when combined require but slight -auses to send the whole fabric to lestruction. The magazine and shell ooms for the main battery, the sec- ndary battery and small arms ammu- Jition are necessarily close together; the storeroom containing torpedo heads, | sun cotton and other high explosives ire in close proximity, and to make matters still more uncomfortable the iynamo room is located above juite close to the common center of jestructive forces. ~With tempera- _ures in the hold as high as 120 degrees | ind with coal bunkers red hot from :0al undergoing spontaneous combus- fon it is a miracle that the adjoining immunition rooms do not explode their | ‘ontents. - Other navies have experienced seri- jus disasters from the cause of bad sentilation, and ignited coal in bunk- .rs, and fourteen years ago the British sloop-of-war Doterel sank in the jtraits of Magellan, drowning most of her crew. The catastrophe was due o generated gas in the store room con- :aining paints, etc.,, which blew out he ship’s bow. A few months ago a lucky discovery was made of a bomb in the coal in- tended for use of the monitor Terror. The explosion -of this bomb in the fur- hace of the ship’s boilers would have sent the Terror sky high, and she would have added one more to the long ist of mysterious missing ships. The loss of the Maine and the sacri- dce of lives is the most serious one in American naval history. The losses of ships and lives since the rebellion closed foots up to a large sum of money and great loss of life. The aggregate number of deaths from casualties in the navy during the rebellion of 1861-65 was 2272, including 373 incidental cas- nalties and 95 deaths in rebel prisons. Russell A. Alger, Secretary of War. General Alger has been seriously troubled for about eight weeks past with a severe case of grip, but is feeling somewhat improved. He and Mrs. Alger are stopping at the Chamberlin. aster to the United States battle-ship Maine, but the count in the morning papers had not yet been supplemented by the later bulletins, which, when they came, shed light on the catastrophe. Asked as to his idea of how the explosion could have General Alger said that it was perfectly inexplicable to him. The statement that the shock of the explosion shattered windows in buildings all over Havana he regarded with undisguised incredul- ity, saying he did not see how an explosion of a battle-ship out in To a question, if it were not possible that some one of the ultra- Spanish element had been concealed on board the Maine and explod- of the contents of the ship’s magazine, he said that such a thing as the coming aboard of one of the Spanish spies disguised as a United States sailor was not impossible, and that once aboard he might have from within or without the ship. He stated that probably no intelligent opinion could be formed until the divers make an examination of the The position and fracture of the armor plates and curvatures, whether flaring outward or depressed inward, will have to be noted. destroying force came from without, the reverse would be expected. g O et e ettt R L2 T T SO member of the House from Alabama, | but | LGER VANCED EW THEORY Perhaps a spanish Spy Came on Board in Disguise and Put Dynamite in the Ship’s Magazine. NORFOLK, Va, Feb. 16.—To- day a representative of The Call vas granted an interview by General for the latest news of the awful dis- meager ac- occurred, such havoc. . er explosive, or caused an explosion e. the matter of the explosion, whether tes will be pressed outward; if the B e R e e s S S T e | Since the close of that war, wrecks, tidal waves, collisions, etc., have taken | many lives, as follows: ‘Wateree and Fredonia, destroyed by a tidal dave on the coast of Chile August 13, 1868, and 28 lives were lost. Oneida, sunk by collision January 24, 1870, in Yokohama Bay and 116 lives | were lost. | Saginaw run ashore on Midway Is- lands, in the Pacific, October 29, 1871, and 4 lives were lost. Huron, stranded November 24, 1877, on the coast of North Carolina, and 98 | were drowned. | . _Ashuelot, sunk on Chinese coast in 1883, sacrificing 11 lives. Trenton and Vandalia, driven ashore in the harbor of Apia March 16, 1889, resulting in the death of 51 officers and men. | _ Including 20 lives lost in minor acci- dents the total up to the Maine catas- trophe is 328 in all, likely to be now increased to over 575. This record in- dicates that life on shipboard has its | perils in time of peace as well as dur- | ing war, and it may further show that | the modern ship-of-war, whatever may | be her merits as a fighting machine, is also to be dreaded by the people who | man her. e THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. | History of the Vessel Whose Bones Now Lie at the Bottom or Havana Harbor. The. ill-fated Maine was built in ac- cordance with an act of Congress of August 3, 1886. She was an enlarged | copy of the design of the Brazilian armored cruiser Riachuello, built in | England in 1883, and which has proved a very superior ship of war. The Maine | was designed by the late Chief Con- structor Theodore D. Wilson, at that iume chief of the Bureau of Construc+ | tion. | The ship was begun October 17, 1888, { when her keel was laid, at the Brook- |1lyn Navy-yard. She was launched No- | vember 18, 1880, and placed in commis- | sion September 17, 1895. The appropri= ated limit of cost, $2,500,000, was only | for hull and machinery, and her total | cost without stores is given at $3,732,- | 155, including armor and guns. She was | credited with a trial speed of 17.45knots on 9293 horsepower, which exceeded the calculations, but the actual maximum sea speed was very much less. The ship was well built and with strong scantling, and was superior in its con- struction to the Texas, built simiul- taneously with the Maine from modi- fled plans of British design. ‘When the Maine was fitted out for her first commission the disagreeable fact developed itself that with her bunkers full the ship was drawing two feet four inches more forward than aft, a condftion which s usually reversed | in other ships, and with such a trim the vessel would be unmanageable. She also showed a considerable list to | starboard, and this defect, as well as that of proper trim, necessitated a | shifting of weights, removal of heavy weights forward and ballast in ‘the shape of pig iron was put down aft. These alterations took money and time, and it was not until December 25, or more than three months after the nom- inal completion of the ship, that she was actually ready for service, and made a trip to Fortress Monroe. The Maine has been attached to the North Atlantic station during her brief existence; her cruising has been very limited, and her total steaming | record for twenty-two months, up to | July last year, is only 9102 miles. Her time' since then has been chiefly spent at the New York Navy-yard under- going alterations, on which objects $241,279 were expended, besides $37,000 in_repairs. | " Uneventful as her career has been, up to her first and final mishap, the ship never developed any of the defects such as other ships of the new navy are charged with. ‘The surgeons re- ported her as being comfortable for officers and crew, the interior not being entirely monopolized by machinery, and as a consequence the ventilation was all that could be desired and the temperature in all parts of the ship l much below that in later ships. =1 - = === S A D D S 9 Y B 9 R 11 Il | ) ) b ) N w‘ T e e 1 b o 1 \Se§/ Wael s B dl 000@ ) | = ) S— [T T T rEE LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE BATTLE-SHIP MAINE.