The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 24, 1898, Page 1

all " VOLUMF. L3 SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1898. PRICE FIVE CE NTS. EVIDENCE OF TREACHERY IS CONCLUSIVE OFFICIALS NOW ALMOST CONCEDE IT Grave Fear Spain Will Not Be Able to Punish the Guilty. Upon the Strength of the Sagasta Ministry Will Depend the Con- tingdency of War Between the Two Nations. Copyrighted, 1598, by James Gordon Bennett. HAVANA, Feb. 28.—There is now little loubt that the report of the board of in- juiry investigating the cause of the wreck of the Maine will be to the effect that the prime cause of the explosion was a sub- marine mine or torpedo dragged under her keel. The board can hardly come to any other decision from the evidence that will be placed before it. The unofficial testi- mony of those officers who gave it as their belief that something from beneath had caused the ‘explosion of the forward magazine has been borne out by the re- ports of the divers from the first day they went down into the forward part of the ship. Operations yesterday were conducted under im- proved conditions and the evidence gathered was more convincing. Of course, the deliberations of the board of inquiry are in absolute secrecy, but I am in a posi- tion to portant evidence. state that they yesterday obtained most im- Among other things found at the bottom of the harbor were several cans of powder, perfectly intact. Had the explosion first occurred in either of the for- ward magazines every grain of powder, it is argued, would have disappeared, but if the explosion first came from the outside the cans might easily reach water without exploding. Besides powder cans the board may have other evidence. It is impossible to say just what evidence they do obtain, for the Spanish officials are constantly at the wreck and jealously watch what the divers may bring up and eagerly hear what they have to say. The divers, however, make all their reports on board the Fern, and all suspicious finds are merely located and not brought to the surface yet. At the bottom of the harbor they are waist deep in mud and searching is slow work. There is only one diver's lamp at present available. The mah at . the bow of the Maine used this yesterday. He was below fully three hours in the afternoon. Part of that time was spent in examining the hull of the ship. The investigations are being watched here. with sveat interest, and in some guarters with alarm. The ©00000000000000000 AN ABSURD RUMOR. NEW YORK, Feb. 23.—A Washington special to the Herald says: Reports that Sen- ator Proctor had gone to Cuba on a special mission for the President are officially and em- phatically denied at the White House and the State Depart- ment. The Senator left here about a week ago for a fishing trip in Florida waters. He said at that time he might go to Hav- ana if he could find some con- genial friend to go with him. The authorities here do not know whether he has gone to Havana, and pronounce as ab- surd the statement that he is to meet General Lee for the pur- pose of bringing confidential re- ports to Washington. They can see no reason for making mes- senger-boys out of United States Senators, especially when Con- sul-General Lee could readily secure the detail of a naval of- ficer if he wished to send any- thing he was afraid to trust to the regular channels. 000000000000000000 official and conservative ele- ment - prefers to mot talk | of war openly—at any rate, till there is proven good |excuse for it, but Wey-| ler’s old officers and friends | |would welcome war with the United States. Captain- General Blanco wants peace, but he is placed in a very trying position. If foul play to the Maine is proved he may have to bear the | responsibility, without hav- ing been in any way to blame. I do not suppose| he knew there was a mine in the harbor. If there are mines they were laid in Weyler’s time, and, as I cabled the Herald on Sunday, when Weyler left Cuba he carried away all the plans and records from the palace. Judging from reports re- ceived from the country towns some of the Spanish officers stationed there are eager to fight the United States. They fimly believe they could easily down the stars and stripes both on land and sea. ‘“If Spain could send 200,000 men to a small island like Cuba,” they say, ‘‘how many could she send to the United States?” Most of these officers ser- ved under Weyler, and were promised promotion by him before he left. While there may be but little danger of conflict between Spain and the = United States, yet Americans residing here take the matter seriously, and all the more so for the reason that now they are ab- solutely unprotected shonld there be any outbreak of the mob. The naval court of inquiry into th:" Maine disaster, on whose deliberation: CO000000000 [A] (] (] o 0000000000000000000 ©00000000000000000000000C00CCCO00000 Rt R R R R R R R R | advocate, il 4 AN OUTSIDE EXPLOSION WRECKED THE MAINE The United States Lighthouse Tender Mangrove, on Board of Which the Maine Board of Inquiry Is Conducting Its Investigations in Havana Harbor. THE MONTGOMERY partment. PUOUPOPTSS S TIPS S EOP PSS GO PP RETIRED OFFICERS SUMMONED. PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 23.—Following the report that an order had been received at the United States Embassy at London, directing all officers of the United States at present in England on leave to return to their ships at once, it was learned to-day that all retired naval of- cers of the United Stateshadreceived notice from Secretary Long, di- recting them to place themselves in communication with the Navy De- A retired naval officer of this city, who has served under Admiral Farragut, said that the notice applied to about throughout the country.on the retired list. ture, but its provisions were 30 the effect that officers under 62 years of age who could pass & physial exsmination showing themselves to be fit for duty would be required to hold thémselves in readinessforserv- ice at a moment’s notice from Washington. All who received the communication were asked to acknowledge its receipt immediately, giving any prospective change of address,andplac- ing themselves unreservedly at the disposal of the Government. 300 naval officers It was of a confidentialna- ‘ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + B e R R R R R R R D S S e are centered the eyes of the civilized world, will probably conclude its work in Havana to-morrow night, or Friday at the latest. Its conclusion will be unanimous, the court being composed of three members apart from its judge- Lieutenant - Commander Marix, who, under the prevailing naval custom, will not have a vdice in the decision, Under the evidence there is no possi- bility of so inclusive a result as a dead- lock, "such as might occur where the verdict depended on the votes of four men. But it is possibie to-night to state not only that no deadlock is possible, but that there is not the slightest probability of there being a dissenting minority re- port filed in behalf of even one member of the board. The work of the naval experts ap- pointed by the Secretary of the Navy to probe the Maine disaster has been done thus far thoroughly and expeditiously. There has been no undue or unseemly haste. A detailed stenographic report of each day’s proceedings has been read carefully at the opening of each suc- ceeding day, and full time has been given to the hearing of the evidence of every witness. But the number of wit- nesses whose testimony is pertinent to a just conclusion is limited, and most of them have been heard already. It is for this reason, and this only, that the court sessions in Havana are not likely to be so protracted as the general pub- lic was prone to believe. The probabili- ties are that all the members of the Board of Inquiry will go to Key West within forty-eight hours. Its sittings will be resumed there, but the testimony there elicited, it is believed, will not be of a character either to add materially to the facts already established or to alter the conclusions already practically reached. It is just possible that the court’s stay in Havana may be ex- tended a few days longer should impor- tant discoveries be made by the expert divers of the Merritt-Chapman wreck- ing tug, the Right Arm, who arrived with their vessel from Key West and began work this morning. The men of the Right Arm have one great advantage over the Government divers who have done all'the submarine work hitherto.. The big wrecking tug is thoroughly equipped with apparatus for excavating and .pumping out the grave of mud in which all now left of the once proud battleship lies buried. This will make it practicable for-them to obtain a much better view of the Maine’s shat- tered bottom and bows than has been possibie for the naval divers of the Maine, the New York and the Iowa. who have had to work without such ap- pliances. . It is not believed. however, that the work of excavating willadd ma- terially to the information .already in possession of the’ court, though it will probably : tend i to . confirm.it. - In.any case. the court’s report is far more likely 4 to be heard on the report already made by divers who are regularly enlisted men in the naval arm of the Govern- ment service than upon any sestimony that might be given by men who, how- ever expert they may be, are the em- ployes of a private corporation uncon- nected with the naval department except through a business contract. The magnitude of the 1ssue involved in the finding of the board and the im- portance of the results which hinge largely on evidence given by these div- ers is so great that the naval board pre- fers to rest its case practically on the testimony given by those attached to the Government service. Unfortunately for the public, eager for the settlement of the vexed question of who caused the Maine’s loss, it is not certain that the public announcement of conclusions reached by the court will follow imme- diately upon the report of these con- clusions made to the Secretary of the Navy. In the discretion of the depart- ment, it is not unlikely that the publica- tion may be somewhat delayed. It is even possible that, for prudent reasons, the filing of the court’s report may itself be delayed beyond the date when its ex- peditious work would seem to bear out the conclusion of its labors. There were four witnesses before the board to-day. The same strict secrecy is maintained over the deliberations, but I can assert on high authority that lit- tle new light was thrown on the dis- aster by those examined to-day. Chief Engineer C. P. Powell of the Maine testified as to the condition of the boilers and engines, and also de- tailed his personal experience after the disaster, but since the theory of boiler explosion having caused the calamity has been long since dismissed as un- tenable, his evidence was not materially important. Other witnesses labted from 10:30 o’clock this morning until 3 o'clock in the afternoon. None of the divers testified to-day. - Captain Magee of the Merritt-Chap- man wrecking tug said to me. yester- day in Key West that he was confident that by means of a cofferdam he could succeed in raising the wrecked battle- ship and could ultimately tow her to Key West. . At that time Captain Magee had not actually seen the tangled mass of rubbish that was once the gallant ship. To-day, since he has: seen it, he was inclined to believe that all that he or anybody can do is perhaps recover the gums and some other valuable ap- purtenances of the Maine, and then, with dynamite drags and derricks, clear from Havana harbor, where it now me- nacés navigation, the smoke begrimed wreck, above which still floats patheti- cally the ensign of the United States. . There is, indeed, little left to save. The 0000000000000 00000 great ship is literally riven apart from her keel up, and from her sharp spurred prow to a point far aft her midship sec- ORDERED TO SAIL TO CUBA’S CAPITAL She Will Take the Place of the Ill- Fated Maine in the Harbor of the Hostile City of Havana. TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 23.—The United States cruiser Montgomery, Commander Converse, arrived at Port Tampa at 9 o’clock this morn- ing and Captain Crowninshield, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, who was on board, left at once for Wash- ington, shortly after Commander Converse notified the department of the arrival of the vessel. He re- ceived orders to coal at once and leave as soon as possible for Key West and then proceed to Havana, unless otherwise ordered upon ar- rival at Key West. While the vessel was coaling | went on board and talked with the officers. They soid the vessel left Key West three weeks ago for Matanzas, Cuba. Captain Crownin- shield was on board, and the object of the cruise was to ascertain the most available point for a coaling station. From Matanzas the Montgomery proceeded to Santiago, and the officers say that at both places they were received with the utmost courtesy by the Spanish officials and the citizens generally. They left Santiago on the night of the disaster on the Maine, but heard nothing of it until they arrived in San Domingo last Friday, when the United States Consul in- formed Commander Converse he had been advised that the Maine had been blown up in Havana harbor. None of the officers were disposed to be- lieve the report, and they knew nothing of the particulars until they arrived here to- day. While Commander Converse and the other officers are not disposed to express an opinion as to the cause of the disaster, the men talk freely and express the opinion that it was the work of Spaniards. All of the men are anxious for a fight. Captain Crowninshield was the first commander of the Maine after she was commissioned, and was shocked this morning when he heard the story of the accident -and the large number of men killed. «f am thoroughly familiar with every detail of the construction of the Maine,” said he, “but | do not care. to express an opinion as to how the casualty occurred, as Captain Sigsbee has declined to express an opinion. | do not believe any other officer of the navy will venture one. The Maine was a fine vessel and her loss is a severe blow to the navy, but the loss of so many brave men is a far greater blow."" On board- the Montgomery are ten men transferred from the Maine just before that vessel sailed for- Havana. These men shed tears when they learned the fate of so many of their former comrades. The Montgomery will leave for Key West at 5 o'clock to- morrow afternoon. In entering the bay of a Continued on Second Page. _ | small port on the coast of Hayti she ran i 000000CQ0000000000Q aground on a sand bar, but was got off with= out sustaining any damage. WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.—Simultaneously with the departure of the Texas and Nash- ville from Galveston for Key West the Mar- blehead will leave New Orleans and the De- troit will leave Mobile for Key West. These movements are partof the orders given early this month before the Maine disaster. The Navy Department has received no notifica~ tion of the actual sailing of the four ships up to noon, but this was expected to come during the day in view of the definite or- ders heretofore given for their sailing on | the 23d. The result will be to bring together agaim a large number of vessels under Admiral Sicard at Key West and the immediate vicin~ ity. They will be the New York, Indiana, Massachusetts, Texas, lowa, Marblebead, Detroit, Nashville, Montgomery, Ericsson and Cushing. The torpedo-boats Porter and Dupont are in the dry dock at Mobile, and are not ex- pected to be ready to go to Key West fon several days. The Brooklyn is cruising in the West Indies, at present en route from St. Thomas to Vera Cruz. TERROR AWAITING ORDERS TO SAIL Remains at Her Dock at the Norw folk Navy-Yard Under Full Steam. NEW YORK, Feb. 23.—A Richmon® (Va.) special to the Herald says: A} state of expectancy, not to say sure prise, pervades the Norfolk navy-yard, At noon to-day the Secretary of the: Navy was notified that the Terror was ready for sea, and an immediate re-, sponse was expected that she would bey notified to sail for New York. The ves« sel lay at her dock the whole after= noon under full steam, momentarilyt expecting orders that did not come. Captain Ludlow, her commander, was on the dock most of the time, and, while supervising tests that were be- ing made of the ammunition hoist, was asked when he would sail. “I would like very much to knowy myself,” was his response. “The ves~ sel is ready to move at a moment’s| notice and you know as much about it as I do.” Commodore Farquhar, the commanda. ant, said: “Yes, I have reported the Terror: ready for sea. Her orders to leave the yard will come through me, though any sealed orders may be sent direct to her commander. At this time no one here knows what the orders will be or whither the vessel will be sent. She may leave this afternoon, or she may not leave this week.” Referring to the fighting qualities of the Terror and ships of her class, Com- modore Farquhar said: “] have the highest confidence in the ability of monitors as defenders. In still water they are splendidly effec- tive. The Puritan is, I consider, un- dar favorable conditions the flnest 4 a