The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 2, 1898, Page 1

K < %x“ & S Call —NO. 92. VOLUME LXXXIII SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1898. PRICE FIVE CENTS. KEEL OF THE MAINE WAS BROKEN IN HALF DIVERS HAVE POSITIVE EVIDENCE THAT A MINE DESTROYED THE SHIP 0000000000000 000000000NCO00A00000000 0000000000000 00000CO0O0K0000000000000 | NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO DOUBT Only a Question of Fiend Who Fired the Explosive. Spanish Authorities Realizing the Gravity of the Situation Have Thrown Obstacles in the i 88 0000000000000 000000020020 0000000000000000000000000 0000000¢C lare discussing the position in | Way of Newsgathers. Copyrighted, 1898, by James Gordon Bennett. 4 HAVANA, Cuba, March 1, via the Herald-Call dispatch boat Albert F. Dewey.—The Maine’s back was broken. | The latest discoveries made by the divers not only support the information printed by the Herald and The Call con- cerning the disclosures of paramount importance made by Ensign Powelson, but convince those in charge of the sub- marine investigation beyond a doubt that a mine rent the United States battleship asunder. I am able to write positively. The keel of the ship has been found in two pieces, the nearest ends of which are now separated by a distance of from two and a haif to three feet. The sections are no longer lying in one straight line, but show the effect of the force exerted from port to star- board. It is evident from the discovery of the present condi- tion of the keel that the section of the ship’s bottom found twenty-nine feet from its natural position was wrenched from the keel by the first explosion and driven upward. The keel itself was forced in the middle until it was broken in two, and then collapsed in two sections, which fell in the position in which the divers found them yesterday. I am assured by reliable persons, familiar with the re- sults of high explosives and with wrecks above and under water, that the breaking of the keel as now disclosed could not possibly have been done by an inside explosion. In fact, this last discovery of the manner in which the Maine’s back was broken, taken together with the earlier disclosures made public by the Herald, has convinced the men working about the wreck that further investigation as to the manner in which the ship was blown up is perfectly useless and they consider the question solved beyond doubt. The court of inquiry will, of course, hear evidence of the wrenching apart of the keel. The divers and the offi- cers in charge will testify, but the feeling among the American naval officers in Havana is that beyond the re- covery of the dead remaining in the wreck all useful work in connection with the Mairfe wreck has been done. | know that letters have been sent from here to several Rep- resentatives and Senators in Washington warning them against voting for an appropriation for raising the Maine, saying that the work would not only cost millions, but would not add anything to the information regarding the nature of the explosion. A photograph, which is in itself evidence of the nature of the explosion, was taken yesterday. It shows the Maine’s @ dog standing on that part of the wreckage still above water. The fact is that the plate on which the dog stands came from the keel of the ship and was the lowest part of the 1bremendous mass of material thrown upward and to star- oard. : Americans in Havana now ,and especially naval officers,, the & 00 X 22 ALL HAVANA WELCOMES ae. [ oo THE CRUISER VIZCAYA oo o0 ) 00 (<] 00 <opyrighted, 1898, by James Gordor Bennett. o0 o0 - = co o0 HAVANA, March 1.—The arrival of the Vizcaya created enthu- a g © © siasm in_ all parts of the city, and © O battle-ship was sighted at 5 o’clock o0 All this - time cheers: followed oo emonstration. 0000000 0C00 © © but they were not, © O signification. 00 © © than at two-thirds their capacity. o0 The Equendo is expected daily. which Spain will stand if thei report of the court of inquiry | |is that a submarine mine de-| stroyed the Maine, but does | not say whether the Spanish authorities are responsible. It has been | said by many who have suspended judg- ment that no government can be held responsible for the act of a fanatic, | which all admit. In speaking of this yesterday a naval officer said to me that when a friendly harbor is mined, and the battleship of a friendly nation is anchored over the mine and so great | a loss of life results as to make the dis- | aster a national calamity, the queslioni then arises how is it that secrets re-| garding mines and the means of explod- ing them are known to a.fanatic or to evil disposed persons. Such informa- tion, he added, is in possession of only the engineer corps, whose business it is to place mines, keep them in order an fire them in time of war. Obviously it | could not be public property. He referred again to the bearing of the fact, now daily discussed by Ameri- cans here, that the Maine had not swung | to port until the night of the explosion, and, so, presumably, had not until that time been brought exactly over a mine by the conditions of wind and tide. In Havana one cannot buy powder, gun- cotton, dynamite, or even arms, there- fore this officer could not see how a fanatic could have done the awful work unless he were one of a body that knew the location of the explosives in the harbor and the means of firing them. There has been much talk along this line by Americans in Havana. I think they do not regard as trustworthy the reports that certain men were heard to say the Maire would be blown up, for the reason that any one who might have had 2n intimation to that effect would not be the sort of person to talk about it in advance of the event. Such reports are rather an evidence of the strong feeling against Americans on the part of the population generally. The position of Americans in Havana to-day is difficult to estimate accurately. An attempt was made to hold a meeting of foreign residents last night, at which it was intended to adopt resolutions de- precating the sensational reports regard- ing the outlook and to thank the au- thorities for their considerate treatment so far, but the meeting was not held. Some Americans, while realizing that much alarmist matter has been printed without cause by unreliable newspapers, felt that the proposed meeting was an attempt to entrap them into an expres- sion of opinion against having the United States Government provide proper protection, and the meeting fell through. Havana to-day is quiet and all resi- dents are allowed to go their way in peace. But Americans feel that- any cause of excitement, such as the arrival of another United States ship, or even of the Spanish fleet, might cause a demonstration, and once excited no man ©© La Punta, the Caballeria San Francisco and Machina wharf. The g © © © rockets and- guns fired in all parts of the city. © © were filled with prople, who began to race for La Punta. © O hid the Vizcaya from view for half an hour. © O sight, thousands went wild, throwing their hats in the aif and shout- © O ing, ““Viva Espana, viva El Vizcaya.” Slowly the Vizcaya turned ‘into the channel and under full steam co OO came to Morro. Opposite the: castle eleven guns were fired by the [+ X+ cruiser and at each one renewed cheers ‘were given for the. ship, and 2 the Vizcaya’s crew- at quarters answered with cheers for Cuba. - Pro- 99 ceeding down the harbor the Vizcaya gave the usual salutes to the commanding general and others, and then came to anchor in the berth © made vacant for her by the Alfonso XIII eople racing from La Punta to Machina wharf to re-engage in the 1t had been expected that cries for Weyler would have been given, as the great demonstration was without politica] @ The Vizcaya reports all well, with the weather fine after leaving © © New York. Captain Eulate told me the engines had not been run more | pathy of the volunteers is with the mob | Consular attaches for an opinion regard- there was a great demonstration at Pl and the fact was announced by @ Q Immediately the streets @ © Morro Castle 0 © Then, as she came into © © 00 00 the Vizcaya down the harbor, the 000000000 00000000000 00000 . 60 HKpocwos knows what hot-blooded people might o. Experience has shown that the mili- tary police are slow to interfere with rioters. A disturbance which, in an American city, would be nipped in the bud, is in Havana likely to assume pro- portions making it impossible of con- trol before the authorities show an’iron hand and charging cavalry and loaded cannon are in the streets. The sym- and their ~disaffection with' General Blanco must be reckoned in consider- ing a possible disturbance, When I left Havana on board the Herald-Call steamer Albert F. Dewey to-day, the city had seldom been quieter, and there was absolutely no visible sign of demonstration. The bull fight on Sunday was a most brutalizing spectacle, arousing the mad enthusiasm of thous- ands. Senator Proctor was among the Americans who visited the ring for the first time, and was disgusted. Americans who have asked recently of ing the danger of remaining in Havana have been told there is always more or less danger in a country under military law, but that Spain must protect foreign residents if she hopes to keep her place in the concert of civilized nations, and will, no doubt, attempt to do so. The Bache leit Havana at noon to-day to carry the four wounded Maine sur- vivors to Dry Tortugas. These are the last of the injured. I saw them taken alongside in the doctors’ cutter. The harbor was rough to-day and the little boat tossed a great deal, but there was never a moan from the sufferers, Two were assisted and two were carried up the side of the Bache, and tenderly as the men tried to handle them they must have suffered agony, but the wounded made no sign, displaying the same forti- tude as did the wounded on the night of the disaster and the morning follow- ing. A new move on the part of the Ha- vana authorities was made known to me to-day, the meaning of which is not yet quite clear. In future they will demand two hours’ notice of the departure of the Herald-Call dispatch steamer Albert F. Dewey. The pretense is that this action is taken because of a suspicion that the boat carries passengers, which, of course, is absurd, as she clears regularly with the regular number of the crew only. It may be that the new precaution is due to the opinion at the palace that the situation is becoming grave because of the presence of American ships at Key West. It is well-known, of course, both at Havana and at Key West that the Dewey's mission is simply to carry. news. Passengers would find her wet and wild in weather like to-day. Big Strut for the Dupont. BRISTOL, R. L, March 1.—A new 10,000-pound strut for the torpedo-boat Dupont was shipped from Herreshoffs ‘Works to-day by rail to Mobile Ala., The Double-Turreted Monitor Puritan, One of the Most Powerful Warships Afloat. FUTURE POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION UNDER CONSIDERATION Not Yet Ready to Admit It Officially; but Nobody Expects the Finding That the Explosion Came From Within. Copyrighted, 189, by James Gordon Benuett. NEW YORK, March 1.—The Her- ald’s Washington correspondent sends the following: report of the Court of Inquiry in- vestigating the Maine disaster is re- ceived in Washington there will be | no delay on the part of the President in formulating his demand upon Spain for whatever degree of repara- tion that report may make necessary. Whether the administration as- sumes that Spain was responsible or not, it is a fact that the authorities are now engaged in considering the | law and precedents which will be ap- plicable in case Spain’s responsibility | is established. It will not be officially admitted, but there is ample evidence to jus- tify the statement that the authori- ties are not expecting that the find- ings of the Court of Inquiry will af- ford any basis for the theory of an explosion from within. The careful consideration which has been given t6 international law in the ques- tion would, of itself, justify this con- clusion. The starting point of the present deliberations of the President is the likelihood that the report of theCourt of Inquiry will show that an exter- nal explosion destroyed the Maine. 1'ne President has held from the be- ginning the view that war is not to be thought of, except as a cure for or an alternative of some greater evil. Thiswas also the view, it maybe said, of Washington, Jefferson, of Monroe, of Jackson. It is admitted that the President has no power to do any- thing else in the direction of repara- tion for the injury but to demand in- | demnity. Other expedients are for Congress. It is an undeniable his- torical fact that in James Monroe's day, and since, the aim of our Gov- ernment has invariably been to ob- tain redress by measures that stop short of war. Precedents show a broad’ range of injuries for which indemnity, whether voluntarily paid by the of- fending nation or extracted from it by measures of reprisal, has been re- garded as proper reparation. The methods have been almost as various as the occasions. In demanding in- demnity two purposes have always been consulted, to compensate thesuf- ferer and prevent a repetition of the | the forms in | offense. Naturally, which indemnity has been rendered have been determincd by the relative | importance of these objects in the particular cases, and, of course, by conditions which have made one pro- where the boat has been lying disabled for some time. A similar piece of steel was shipped on Friday last for the torpedo-boat. Porter, also lying at Mo- bile: cedure practicable and another im- practicable. Congress, if it chooses, may exact When the | under Havana harbor while ceived a number of letters passage. He stated in a letter that They were very close to the ropon intended. 0680 o 15 15 1 10 20 20010 106 06 0 K A I SUGQQALO RNV V0000T compensation for injury to American citizens or insults to the American nation by a method not so friendly; that is, by reprisals on the offending nation and its citizens or subjects. Reprisals are not war, but they lead so naturally to war that our constitution has confided to Congress the granting of letters of marque and reprisal. If Congress, therefore, is content to have the Maine disaster expiated in any other way than by war; if, in | other words, it cares to support the | without an actual infraction of the peace of nations, it will arm him with | authority to act. This, of course, on the assumption that the result of the pending investigation will fix on Spain the responsibility for the dis- aster. SPANISH DiVERS MAY ALSO WORK. From This Fact it Is Believed the Court of Inquiry Is Ready to Make a Report. | Copyrighted, 158, by James Gordon Bennott | HAVANA, March 1.—The Spanish | divers to-day received from Captain Sigsbee the plans of the Maine to aid them in the work which begins to- morrow. The report that American divers had withdrawn from the work is untrue. The divers of the two Governments will work side by side, but independently. Many believe the Court of Inquiry is ready to re- PASSAGE UNDER HAVANA HARBOR. SAN ANTONIO, Tex., March 1.—The late Dr. G. L. Hunter of this city, a noted medical man and scientist, ex~ plored the secret underground passages which wind around His widow, Mrs. Lucy Y. Hunter, has in her possession a photograph of a section of the secret passage which her husband took at the time of his explorations. the waters of the harbor from Morro Castle and that soon after the harbor was reached it branched out into a num- ber of lateral passages which formed a network under the entire harbor and aggregated many miles in length. sages were a part of the fortifications, but he did not state in his letters the exact object for which they were fated GOB R OaG President in obtaining full redress | in Cuba thirty-two years ago. &he also re- at the time describing the the main passage led under bed of the bay. The pas- paged eged g fegeg=-11 ] GROHD FLEET THREATENS THE PHILIPPINES. pudel LONDON, March 2.—A spe- cialdispatch from Shanghai says: The Unlted States squadron is concentrated at Hongkong, with a view to operations against Maniia, Philippine Islands, in the event of an outbreak of war between the United States and Spain. The squadron, which is very powerful, includes the cruisers Oiympia, Boston, Ra- leigh, Concord and Petrel. 53 o | 2% £ Ik | & | |o o o 3088 208 106 08 508 06 108 06 108 06 308 10X 108 08 0% 0% Gt k=3 =3 =3 308 308 308 30k 308 0% O£ 4CR 50 308 308 308 X0F 0% 30 308 0K Xk | port, or consent would not be given | the Spanish divers. Captains Sigsbee was on the wreck i of the Maine when the Vizcaya came Ttu anchor. He was recognized and | saluted. Senator Proctor is going to Matanzas to-morrow. Later he will go as far east as the military zone | permits. He leaves for Washington a week from to-morrow. A riot last night among substi- tutes was quieted by the civil guard after seven rioters were wounded. It !had no political meaning. Enthusi- | asm over the Vizcaya continues. The city is doubly policed. The divers expect to clear the | wreckage from the marines’ compart- ments to-morrow morning, when the work of recovering the bodies will proceed rapidly, and it is hoped to have all out by Saturday. At sunrise to-morrow the Vizcaya