The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 21, 1898, Page 1

The VOLUME LXXXIIL.—NO. 83. SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1898. PRICE FIVE CENTS. TREACHERY OF SPANIARDS MAY SOON BE AVENGED FILLED WITH SUBMARINE EXPLOSIVES Havana Harbor Planted by Weyler With Tor- pedoes and Mines. One of the Butcher’s Officers Told of Arrangements to Blow Up Any Hostile Warship That Might Dare Enter. 20.—I have hest author- what may cause of the ter- he to the Maine, of Havana is and has a long time filled with ne mines and torpedoes fact has been sus: but few army and navy e any definite idea of »n or number of these Before the present in- out visitors to ns, now closed to all the arm in- atam ve sys- had been planted, 11d be exploded tric connections ons on shore. At the of the war the greatest s was imposed upon those % having these mines under thei Feb. upervision, and their presence 2 was forgotten by the public in 2 general. When it red that a United | States war v el would be stationed in the harbor, the attention of one of General Weyler's de-camps was g only to the harbor could against an 1f a warship s the fo entire city would be at its mercy. % 1 of the large the entrance be directed my in open sea, and that cceeded in running past s and entering the harbor, the ., by James Gordon Bennett. gineers entrusted with the most recent fortifications of the harbor had fully considered this question and had arranged that if a vessel ever did enter the harbor she should be blown up at once. This :xplains the seemingly unprotect- ed condition of the bay and har- | bor. = % 8| % I am satisfied that my Information is % | mines was so carefully guarded that | Lieutenant Jenkins, the {ll-fated intelli- "qr-nce officer of the Maine, was really | uncertain as to their presence, and so expressed himself to several friends in Havana. % There is no dispesition here to jump % | at conclusions, and even those who hold %3 | the opinfon that the Maine was blown .f';up by a mine do not believe the au- % | thorities were a party in the most re- 3 | mote way to the diabolical act. They % | do believe, however, that if their worst fears prove true, it will be found to be the work of a fanatical Weylerite, who has two purposes in view: First, to strike a blow at the United States; sec- |ond, to embarrass General Blanco. | Many of those who formerly held the secrets of the submarine mines were strong partisans of Weyler. They were the ones who recently or- ganized disturbances in Havana against the present Government, and who are now secretly circulating small transparent cards upon which is printed a portrait of Weyler, and when held to the light show a picture of Don Carlos. The officer replied that the en-They are not only traitors to their king, correct. All the information about these | their work. F1 1144114114414+ 14 4111411114411ttt tevrrsvsssorrrrrsrry here. but bent upon any kind of mischief that will overthrow the existing Government and restore Weyler to power. Of course, there are all sorts of rumors in Havana about what Spain would do in case of war with the United States, all hased upon the vaporings of rabid Weylerism. One is that Mexico would be a willing ally of Spain so far as to permit the landing in that coun- try of a Spanish army to invade the United States. Many of the lower class of Mexicans in this city are avowed enemies of the United States and open- ly boast of their country’s sympathy for the Spanish cause. Another wild scheme has been put in pamphlet form and extensively circulated. It draws a vivid picture of the Spanish army in the interior of Cuba resisting every as- | | sault by the United States. It admits | that the Spanish navy might be de- | stroyed, but contends that the Spanish | army could hold the island indefinitely. | Just what the insurgents would be do- ing all this time is not related. Brazil Expresses Sympathy. | Copyrighted, 1538, by James Gordon Bennett. | BUENOS AYRES, Feb. 20.—A cable | | Captain Sigsbee, with the R R R R PP S O e a ettt L L D T PRSP PR S SR SENSATIONAL REPORT - MADE BY DIVERS Partial Examination of the Maine’s Magazine Said to Reveal the Fact That the One Supposed to Have Exploded Is Intact. Copyrighted, 1538, by James Gordon Bennett. KEY WEST, FLA, Feb. 20.—I learn from what may be considered a semi- official source that the divers sent down on behalf of the United States to examine the wreck of the battleship Maine have made a preliminary report of the result of Incredible as it may seem | am assured that after a partial examina- tion of the magazines of the Maine the divers report that the one in which the ex- plosion is supposed to have occurred is intact. : According to my informant, the contents of this magazine are unharmed. Therefore, if this report be true, an entirely different aspect is given to the terrific explosion which brought death and destruction to the Maine. This report reaching Key West, it is said, caused members of the court of inquiry to decide to proceed to Havana to-day and begin the investigation at once instead of organizing the court from the Herald's correspondent in Rio Janeiro says: The Brazilian Govern- ment has forwarded a message to Washington expressing its sympathy with the United States in the loss of L}(z’e Maine and its crew in Havana har- r. a A — Oy CIPHER AND CODE OF THE MAINE RECOVERED. Divers Make a Thorough Examina- tion of Captain Sigsbee’s Cabin. Copyrighted, 1898, by James Gordon Bennmett. HAVANA, Feb. 20.—The divers to- day confined their explorations to the captain’s cabin and have recovered important ship’s papers, among them, it is believed, the cipher and code which Captain Sigsbee was anxious to secure. It is said they have not ex- amined any other part of the ship. No bodies were recovered this afternoon. other offi- cers of the Maine, went wreck to-day and made investiga- tions to enable them to report to the aboard the | AR s S R R P e + 16660664+¢+¢+#¢####4¢6¢64666+0¢4¢¢4¢§#4»4##*#00#0*#0#0?0# board of inquiry. There has been considerable correspondence between Consul General Lee and the palace, but General Lee denies that any further friction or obstacles are placed in the way of investigation. Attempts are being made here in certain quarters to exctte public feel- ing, and the reports sent to some American papers to the effect that the Maine was purposely blown up are doing a great deal of harm and are much deplored by Captain Sigsbee and his officers and the Spanish' Govern- ment authorities. If the explosion on the Maine, they say, was not acciden- tal, ‘it is time enough to say so when the truth is made known through the reports of expert officials. This is the feeling of the better foreign element here. It is due to these sensational reports that the Svanish authorities insist on taking part in the investiga- tions below water. In the meantime the wounded men are receiving every attention. Chap- lain Chadwick of the Maine told me to-night that the men safd if they died of any complaint it would be from gout caused by generous treat- ment in the hospitals. MARINE MINES? T i AND CABLE ATTACHMENTS HOW THE M AINE MAY HAVE BEEN View of the city and harbor of Havana from the Regla side, with a section of the water at buoy No. 4, where the' Maine was lying, . —e e —————— e ——————— DESTROYED. showing the arrangement of the system of submarine mines and torpedoes with which the harbor is known to be planted. The dotted line in the channel shows the cable running to Morro Castle at the entrance to the harbor, from which the whole system is operated. It is readily possible to detach any desired mine from the main cable -an or from a boat in the bay, d by a.new connection explode _the -mine -from any -point on- the shore PERKINS NOW - THINKS WAR IS CERTAIN Believes That a Spaniard - Blew Up the Ship Maine. Even Conservative Naval Officers Say That the Explosion Was Caused by a Mine or a Torpedo. Call Office, Riggs House, ‘Washington, D. C., Feb. 20. The President himself has given an assurance to a United States Senator that,the Maine disaster was in no way responsible for the activity in the War and Navy departments. This was said by the President this morning. Three weeks ago a newspaper man who was on very friendly terms with the President returned from Cuba, and President McKinley, knowing him to be a very reliable and conservative correspondent, invited him to the ‘White House and questioned him‘ closely about the condition eof affairs in Cuba. The interview was closed by the following remark of the President: “Well, we do not want war and will hot have any war.” the Maine look upon the charges of lack of discipline published here as too foolish to reply to. I can state of my own knowledge that the discipline on the Maine has been most rigid since the ship has been here. At the time of the accident only one paymaster, clerk and a doctor were ashore. ———— CONDOLENCES FROM THE VIZCAYA’S CAPTAIN. | Expresses Deep Sorrow Over the Disaster to the American Battle-Ship. WASHINGTON, Feb. 20.—The Navy Department to-night received the fol- lowing telegram from Captain Sigs- President McKinley, Secretary of the | bec Navy Long, and indeed every member of theé Cabinet, is inclined to the bellef that the Maine's explosion was acci- | dental. When Secretary Long read in | a morning paper an alleged interview with Captain Sigsbee, cabled from Ha- vana, stating that in his opinion the explosion was not accidental, Secre- tary Long immediately wired him ask- ing whether he had been correctly quoted. Secretary Long to-night re- celved an answér from Captain Sigs- bee saying that he had expressed no opinion as to the cause of the disaster. Secretary Long to-night repeated his declaration made yesterday that there was no unuspal activity in naval cir- cles as a result of this affair. It seems to be pretty generally be- leved in Washington that the work of coast fortification has not been hurried as a result of the disaster to the Maine, but there is scarcely a doubt that the preparations to defend the sea- coasts were begun five or six months ago in contemplation of possible trouble with Spain over Cuba. The theory that a submarine mine destroyed the Maine is growing in na- | val circles. They say there.is no doubt in the world that submarine mines and torpedoes had been planted numerous- ly in the harbor, and they argue that very naturally the Spaniards would have planted them in that part of the harbor where the water is deep enough | for naval vessels, and which is known | as ‘“‘man-of-war anchor.” Not many of the officers incline to the belief that the Spanish Government ordered the firing of such a mine or torpedo under the Maine, or that General Blanco sanctioned it. but that some Spaniard who knew how the wires lay “touched the button.” This geems to be the opinion of Sen- ator Perkins of California. He says that as he is a member of the Naval Affairs Committee he cannot speak his mind for publication as to the author of the explosion, for he may be at any time called upon to act in his official capacity; he does not hesitate to ex- press his belief that the explosion was not accidental, but does not like to be quoted as declaring the opinion that | it was the work of a Spaniard. The inference is plain, however, that this is his opinion, and his friends say that he expects the ultimate result will be the commencement of hostilities be- tween the United States and Spain un- | less something unforeseen occurs | to | turn the tide of public sentiment now setting in so strongly against Spaln. | These views—said to be entertained by | Senator Perkins—may well be regard- ed as significant, for he is known as a conservative man, and rarely, if ever, expresses anything but conservative views. EXCITEMENT IN HAVANA HAS NOT YET ABATED. Report of the Coming of Another Man-of-War Adds to the High Tension. Covyright. 1888, by James Gordon Bennett. HAVANA, Feb. 20.—The reports that another man-of-war is coming to Havana are not calculated to quiet the feeling here. Efforts will be made to recover the bodies of Lieutenants Jehkins and Mer- ritt, supposed to be in the wardroom of the Maine, as soon as the diving lamp arrives. Several more bodies have floated to the surface, but they cannot be ‘identified. . . Cantajn Sigghee and the officers F‘onuwflng is the condition of our wounded in Havana hospitals: Apprentice Koebler, slight improvement, condition still very grave. Holzer, same. Allen, slight improvement, grave. Heffron, Shea and Mattison, favorable. Loftus, convalescent. 5 Cahill, improved, but grave. Mack, Waters and Webber, favorable. The report on the same subject from Captain Forsythe at Key West says: Maine survivors are in good condition this morning. Surgeon reports wounded doing well. The following telegram was received by Secretary Long from New York: When I arrived at New York I heard of the Maine disaster. We feel very deep sorroy and send our condolences for the dead and their families. EULATE, Captain Spanish crulser Vizcaya. The published statement that Sena- tor Proctorfof Vermont, who is now on his way to Florida, was going to the interior of Cuba, as a special agent of President McKinley to report on the conditions on the island, was denied to-night at the White House. It was said that Senator Proctor had not even decided that he would go to Cuba; that he might take a pleasure trip that far, if he succeeded in finding some con- genlal companion, but his visit, if made, would be entirely on his own responsibility. The Machias, en route for the United States from the Asiatic station, has arrived at Madeira. condition ADVERTISEMENTS. A woman’s greatest mission in this world | is'to help baby. Teaching baby to eat, and to waik and to talk. 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