The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 7, 1898, Page 1

The VOLUME LXXXIIL—NO. 97. SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, MARCH 7, 1898. PRICE FIVE CEN WAR CLOUDS HANG LOW OVER THE LAND AMERICA’S POWELSON'S CLEAR PROOF SHOWS T EXPLOSION UNDERNEATH Court of Inquiry Certain to Report the D to De Drawings and Re Not an A ON BOARD the Herald-Call dispatch boat Alfred F. Dewey, between Havana and Key West, March 6.—It is not saying too much to-day to assert that the conclusions to be officially in- corporated in the report of the naval court of inquiry will rest on the evidence first presented by Ensign Powelson. I do not mean that a verdict so impor- tant will be rested upon the tes- timony of any single individual, but.rather upon the cumulative and convincing structure of cor- roborative facts which the court has now built up on the founda- tion laid by the important dis- coverfes which that officer first brought to its notice. The Herald-Call | no desire to magnify Ensign Powel- | son’s part in the international drama now being played in the neighboring harbors of two friendly powers. I have | never met Powelson personally and do | not know him by sight, but th: fact re- mains that the court’s chief purpose in returning to Hav vesterday was to | clinch beyond peradventure of doubt | ! 2 2 8 = 2 & % =2 % 3 Lol by A % & 2 % % correspondent has this ve: 1d record it so conclusiv accuracy can never be f questioned. No other witness was summoned yesterday, | though the court held its u al two sessions and they were busy ones, too. In all probability no other witness than Powelson will be heard to-morrow or | Tuesday, and if any other testimony fis | taken hereafter in Havana than that of the ensign it will be of incidental rather than of vital character. The Herald and Call in their reports | of the inquiry task have indulged in no | fiights of imagination nor have they | given credence to wild reports emanat- ing from irresponsible or prejudiced | sources. They were the first to ex- plain the nature of Powelson’s discov- | erfes and were quick to realize thelr | vast import. That the court itsslf‘ places a like value upon this particular | evidence is pretty well established by the fact that it has already given Pow- | eison more of its time than has been | devoted to any other flve witnesses combined, except, perhaps, to Captain | Bigsbee. ! I learned to-day that when the Court of Inquiry left here nearly a week ago for Key West it realized thoroughly | that in Powelson’s report at last lay the true key to the problem. It re-| quested that a portion of the divers at work on the wreck should be kept busy | exclusively in verifying or disproving | the deductions. Lieutenant Command- er Wainwright readily assented, and it was agreed that the reports of these ! livers should be made to the court in writing and presented by Powelson. Wainwright, being Powelson’s superior in rank, has retained supervision of the divers’ movements, but one of the most efficient corps of submarine experts has acted for nearly a week practically un- der orders of the ensign, making their written reports through him. Ensign Powelson meanwhile has found time to perfect new and elaborate drawings showing the bottom plates from the | Maine, which were forced upward twen- ty-nine feet from their normal position, illustrating the condition of the keel, the magazines and their contents, and indicating evidences that the greatest force of the explosion was exerted up- ward and in the direction from port to starboard. All the discoveries the @ivers have made since Monday have %2 | tended to corroborate his positive state- | of the court to hear and sift all the ev: | will actually report S TO CAUSE HE isaster Due sign. | searches of Div-| ccident. ment that the explosion had origin in force exerted externally. The ensign’s position now appears to be impregna- ble. The written reports of divers cover- ing their week’s work and further care- ful study of Powelson’s drawings, I un- derstand, were the subject matter ex- clusively at yesterday’s session of the court. They will probably keep the court busy at least one more day, and | possibly two. It is not gertain that the court will close its case at that point, however. New witnesses, whose stories appear important, at least to them- selves, are continually cropping up. Some of them come before this digni- fied body to repeat some wildly absurd | tale that has already been hawked | about the streets and whispered to cor- respondents for days or weeks, but it is the policy of the court to give even such cheap newsmongers as these a conscientious hearing, provided they seem to be sincere, for It is the purpose dence that seems to bear directly or in- directly upon its task. A Without assuming to forecast what this conservative court of naval experts when the time comes to formulate its conclusions I do not think it presumptuous in the light of the evidence already presented to Continued cn Second Page. |o |0 ©0000000000000000 o COURTESY OF & NAVAL MEN. o O Copyright, 189, by James Gordon o Bennett. o © HAVANA, March 6.—The Court O of Inquiry held no formal ses- O sion to-day aboard the Man- O grove, but spent several hours © this morning over the drawings O and diagrams and O consultation with Ensign Powel- in informal O son and Diver Andrew Olsen, O who remained aboard the light- O house tender until noon. Havana O Harbor presented a brilliant hol- o | © dreds of boatloads | © from the shore visited the Span- ish cruisers, Vizcaya and Almi- iday spectacle to-day, and hun- of visitors o rante Oquendo. The Spanish O officers held open house all day, O and .recefved courteously the O great troops of Spaniards and 0 Cubans, who strolled at will over | © the decks and admired the spick ers Establish the Fact That | the Loss of the Maine Was O and span appearance of every- O thing about the two fine | o sister ships ‘of Spain. At | © 4 o'clock the captain's gig © was ordered off from the Al- © mirante Oquendo, and Captain © Juan Batista Lazaga y Cary © paid his officfal visit of courte- O sy to Captain Cowles and Cap- O taln Sigsbee on board the dis- O patch boat Fern. The Oquendo’s captain remained about ten min- O utes.. During that time he ex- O pressed warmly to Captain Sigs- O bee his sympathy and sorrow at O the loss of the Maine. Only one O body was recovered to-day. It O was identified as that of Ser- O geant Wagner of the Maine’'s O marine guard. [} 0000000 0O0OD00OD0000O0O WILL SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT Prominent Congressmen Agree to the Purchase of Foreign Warships, NEW YORK, March 6.—The Herald’s Washington corre- spondent telegraphs: There is a disposition on the part of Con- gress; Democrats and Republi- cans alike, to support any course in this crisis which the President may determine to pursue. | It was reported to-night that there | was a meeting of prominent Senators at the home of Senator Hoar of Massa- chusetts this afternoon, and that they agreed that if the President desired to | buy foreign-built men-of-war they | would pledge their votes to sustain his action. Members of the House Naval | Committee are equally hearty in their statements that they will vote the nec- | essary appropriations should the Presi- dent decide to purchase foreign built ships. | 1 learned to-day that Secretary Long | 60060606006 POPOOOOOS 000000000 CO00000000000 has given telegraphic instructions to | | place the cruisers Minneapolis and Gol- | umbia in commission immediately. It | is admitted by the authorities that | | there are no men to form the crews for | | these ships, but it is proposed to enlist | | additional men and ask Congress to grant the necessary authority. It is probable that only half crews will be | placed on board each ship for the pres- | | ent. The remainder can be recruited | | and placed on board without delay. | The department issued orders to sev- | | eral officers to report at League Island | during this week for duty on board the 1 cruisers. Both ships have been placed in condition for service. Their supplies, with the exception of coal, have been placed on board by their reserve crews, and coal can be put in the bunkers within a week. It is the purpose to continrue Captain J. H. Sands in com- mand of the Columbia. Captain G. H. ‘Wadleigh, who relinquished command of the Minneapolis last May when that vessel entered. into reserve, may re- ceive orders to return to her. It is ex- pected the department will announce the details of officers for these ships | probably to-morrow. As the Herald has stated, the Columbia and Minne- apolis, when placed in commission, will | be attached to the North .Atlantic | squadron, and when the time comes | will probably form, with the Brooklyn and New Y rk, a flying squadron to de- o ] o o [} o o o o o [} o o o o o o o [ [} [} [} ] o =] o [} [} ] o o o o o [} o o o o o ] o o o o o o [} o o o ] 000000000000000000 stroy commerce. RIACHUEL O > 'CHALLENGE 0000000000000000C0 DONE BY DEFT DUPUY de LOME. NEW YORK, March 6.—The Herald’s Washington corre- spondent telegraphs: In the suggestion of Spain is recog- nized the deft hand of Senor de Lome, late Minister of Spain to the United States. It comes co- incident with his arrival at home. As he was known to have advised his Government to take this course while he was Minis- ter here, it is naturally assumed by the authorities that he has repeated his advice upon his ar- rival in Madrid. When the State Department first contemplated sending relief supplies to suffer- ers in Cuba, Senor de Lome was very prompt to protest against a war vessel being used for the purpose. He also, on more than one qccasion, spoke unofficially to officials of the State Depart- ment about what he considered the impropriety of Consul-Gen- eral Lee's conduct in Havana. He complained of the latter’s al- leged close relations with the in- surgent leaders, and official con- duct toward Spanish officials in Havana. He did not ask for Consul-General Lee's recall be- cause he was not authorized to do so by his Government, but he hinted that it would be much more advantageous to all con- cerned if the President would send a Consul-General to Ha- vana of his own political party. (] o o 00CC00000C0000000000000000000C000000000000000000 0CO00000 000000000000 0000Q Memorial Services in Mexico. CITY OF MEXICO, March 6.—The | memorial services to-night at the Methodist Episcopal Church in honor | of the Maine's dead was attended by | the American Minister and all promi- nent Americans. ©Q0000000 - TO SPAIN REQUEST FOR LEE'S RECALL IS REFUSED Blunt and Unequivocal An- swer to the Madrid Government. Neither Will This Nation Refrain From Sending Cuban Relief Supplies in War Vessels. © Call Office, Riggs House, 0] ‘Washington, March 6. The Spanish situation devel- oped two new phases to-day, when it became known that the Spanish Government had form- ally requested the recall of Consul-General Lee from his post at Havana with which re- quest the United States had courteously but firmly refused to comply; also that the Spanish Government has suggested the impropriety of sendingreliefsup- plies to the Cuban reconcentra- dos on the cruiser Montgomery and the gunboat Nashville, to which suggestion the United States had given a non-concur- rent answer. The first intimation of these steps | came in a brief and explicit cablegram from Madrid. Prior to its receipt, how- (] Q| (] [+] [ (] o (3 00000000000 | White House would 3 00 e®99°ca o ever, the authorities here had been | fully conversant with the facts, al- | though no intimation has been allowed |to get to the public on either subject. | The disclosures from Madrid left no | further ground for reticence in Wash- ington, and after a conference at the | White' House between the President, | Assistant Secretary Day of the State Department and Secretary Long of the Navy Department the following au- thorized statement was handed to the | press by Judge Day as comprising | everything that was to be said by the | administration on the subject: The President will not consider | | | | | ‘aé.o 513 ) the recall of General Lee. He has borne himself throughout this crisis with judgment, fidelity and courage, to the President’s entire satisfaction. As to the supplies for the relief of the Cuban people all arrangements have been made to ecarry a consign- ment from Key West by one of the naval vessels—whichever may be most adapted for the purpose—to Ma- tanzas and Sagua. Beyond the foregoing those who had participated in the conference at the not discuss the subject, and it was stated positively that the authorized statement com- prised everything that would be given to any one. The advices from Madrid, together with the authoritative statdment here, left no room for doubt as to what had occurred. The request for General Lee's recall is understood to have come within the last few days, and doubtless since the last Cabinet meet- ing on Friday, as no reference to it was made at that time. It came through Minister Woodford—a some- what unusual proceeding as the com- mon mode of requesting the with- drawal of a Minister or Consul is through the representative of the Gov- ernment making the request, which in v ADVERTISEMENTS. Many women have good reason to dread the ap- roach of the our of mater- nity. All too fre- quently it is a time of almost unbearable in - and suffering and extreme danger. Women who are wise know that this is unnecessary. They know that the woman who takes proper care of her womanly self, who looks after the health of the orgaus that make motherhood ible, need have no fear of approaching maternity. They know that there is a sure and safe cure for all weakness and disease of these organs. Over 90,000 of these women have testified in writing to the virtues of Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription. 2 »It is the discovery of Dr. R. V. Pierce, a regularly graduated physician and an eminent and skillful specialist, who isand for thirty years has been chief consulting physician to the Invalids’ Hotel and Sur- ;iml Institute, at Buffalo, N. Y. The “ Favorite Prescription’’ makes the or- of womanhood strong and healthy. ft‘:srzs all weakness and disease. It pares for approaching maternity. It does away with discomforts of the expect- ant peri It alleviates the pains of par- turition and makes baby’s advent easy and safe. Druggists sell more of it than of all other remedies for these troubles ‘Woman should know herself. She should not B P physician, ohe mould be familiar With ‘her ows physical make-up. Sense Medical Adviser wordof t truths to the woman who is {gnorant upon these points. It contains many Hapters and iliustra - . The book con- THESE SHIPS ARE IN. THE MARKET. ain, 3 0y T M senda {wenty-one one-cent ~m 1o cover the m mal andy, to na'vl falo, N. ¥. * \nfi acnd ten