The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 29, 1898, Page 2

SAN FRANCISCO, TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 1898 — TWENTY PAGES. CON i b ESS IN OPEN AGAINST THE PEACE POLICY (NERY(S) :Cfiz‘éfi,@\‘h C.K.DAVYTS OFMINNESOTA R.R. HITT oF [LLINOIS /||| CHATRMAN, HOUSE COMMITTEE 0N FOREIGN AFFAIR THESE MAY SPEAK FOR PEACE OR WAR. CONGRESS HAS WON ITS FIRST GREAT VICTORY That Is the Result of the Day’s Skirmish Between the Legis- lative and the Executive. NEW YORK, March 28 —Far more gerious than any one anticipated has the Cuban-Spanish situation grown to- day. Far threatening beneath the surface than on the surface is the aspect of airairs in Washington, Mad- rid and Havana, though on the surface it is bad enough to make men gravely apprehensive of the developments of the next twenty-four hours. This change has come since noon to- day, when President McKinley sent to Congress his message on the destruc tion of the Maine. The plan of the President to have the Maine question laid away in committee while diplomacy dealt with the disaster succeeded be- yond the expectations of the adminis- tration. Not a dissenting voice was raised. Men of all shades of opinion and political faith acquiesced. But there the success of the Presi- dent’s plan for easing the Cuban fric- tion, so far as he has any plan, halted The reception given the President's message was, perhaps, ominous. In perfect silence it was received by the ~rowded galleries in both houses. Not 2 hand was clapped, not a handkerchiei was fluttered. In absolute silence was it accepted by the members of the Sen- more ate. The applause on the floor of the House scemed to be limited to about one man in every ten It was when the message came to be discussed that fhe popular verdict was rendered’ Only the staunch and confi- dential friends of the administration gave it unstinted praise. Compared with the men who gave outspoken opinions against it, these were few. Instead of forth, as they did when the $50,- going : 000,000 bill was passed, and calling Mc- Kinley blessed, the Washington popu- lace in and out of Congress gave vent sfaction. advanced was the afternoon when it became apparent that Congress was disappointed in the message and | that immediate and aggressive opposi- tion to his plan for peacefully feeding the reconcentrados had sprung into life. The jingoes became rampant. The war spirit burst forth. The feel- ings of the men who voted money for relief as well as for war preparatiofs, so long restrained, took the slant in the direction of blood and gunpowder. jingo Sentators and jingo Kepresenta- tives declared that the President had had his say on the Maine matter, and Congress had restrained from declaring war, but it was now time for him to I:‘4+4¢+¢4+++¢‘44¢ SPAIN HAS YET MADE NO REPLY. Copyright, 188, by James Gordon Bennett. MADRID, March 28.—There has ‘been absolutely no mention of intervention in the reply of the Spanish Government to Mc- Kinley’s note. She answers that upon the spur of the moment it was impossible to reply and that the matter would be considered in the usual course, that is to say, at the council of ministers, which will be held to-morrow. There are means suggested which may, as I said before, sim- plify matters and lead all parties to a satisfactory conclusion. Minister Woodford at 2 o’clock this morning received a long ci- pher message from the State De- partment at Washington which, it is stated, caused great ex- pressions of joy in his house- hold. E At 4 o'clock this afternoon General Woodford called upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs and after communicating the Maine finding, which was al- ready known, asked for an inter- view with the Minister of State, Senor Sagasta. This interview will take place to-morrow, be- fore the Cabinet Council meets. The interview with Senor Gullon 1osted an hour and a half. It is needless to accentuate the im- portance of this interview, after what I said previously. It is only one degree less important than the one which will be held with the President of the Coun- cil to-morrow. That one will be < A 2 + + + + £ ¥ + 34 34 i + % 28 2% + 24 34 + + + + + + + + + + + + + - + + + + + + 4 o4 pé + pé + o P + historical. + % B O R D O R R R S D NP + P R b o s intervene and end the war in Cuba. They took the ground that his talk about “feeding or fighting” was all right and brave enough, but what they wanted were assurances that he would fight first and feed afterwards. Many mem- bers of both houses declared that they would not vote one dollar for relief in Cuba to be expended by the President unless it was specified in the bill that the supplies were to be sent to Cuba in warships and distributed by the army and navy. Their object in this is to force the President to change his plan and adopt armed intervention, or else have him send the relief in such a way Continued on Second Page. REPORT OF THE SPANISH COURT IS MADE PUBLIC In Direct Contradiction to the Findings of the American Na- val Officers on the Maine. WASHINGTON, March 28.—A full synopsis of the report of the Spanish naval commission which in- | vestigated the destruction of the| battleship Maine is here given by the Associated Press. It is taken from a copy of the original report, which is now on its way here from Havana, the synopsis being cabled in the meantime, and to-day placed | in the hands of this Government. The conclusions are directly opposite to those in the report of the Court of Inquiry submitted to Congress to- day. The synopsis is as follows: “The report contains declarations | made by ocular witnesses and ex- perts. From these statements it de- duces and proves the absence of all those attendant circumstances which are invariably present on the occa- sion of the explosion of a torpedo. “The evidence of witnesses com- paratively close to the Maine at the | moment is to the effect that only one .explosion occurred; that no col- umn of water was thrown into the | air; that no shock to the side of the | nearest vessel was felt, nor on land | was any vibration noticed, and that | no dead fish were found. “The evidence of the senior pilot of the harbor states that there is| abundance of fish in the harbor, and | this is corroborated by other wit- nesses. The assistant engineer of works states that after explosions made during the execution of works in the harbor he has always found dead fish. “The divers were unable to ex- amine the bottom of the * Maine, which was buried in the mud, but a careful examination of the sides of the vessel, the rents and breaks, which all point outward, shows with- out a doubt that the explosion was from the inside. “A minute examination of the bottom of the harbor around the ves- sel shows absolutely no sign of the action of a torpedo and the fiscal (judge-advocate) of the commission can find no precedent for the explo- sion of the storage magazine of the vessel by a torpedo. “The report makes clear that ow- ing to the special nature of the pro- ceedings followed and the absolute respect, shown for the extraterritor- ialidad of the Maine, the commission has been prevented frommakingsuch an examination of the inside of the 0000000000000000000000060000000000000000000000 PPOOOOPOOOOPOICIOIOOSES LONDON, March 28.—The Ma- drid correspondent of the Daily Malil gives a version of the ne- gotiations between United States Minister Woodford and the Span- ish Cabinet last week differing somewhat from that given yes- terday by the Standard's Ma- drid correspondent. He says: “The, note which General ‘Woodford presented on Wednes- day was of a comminatory na- ture. It demanded that Spain put an end to the war in Cuba immediately, recapitulating the damage to American interests and further hinting that the war was a danger to the public health of the United States, the contin- ual smuggling between the coasts of Cuba and Florida be- ing the means of conveying the yellow fever. “Spain’s reply was energetic. It declares that the war would have ended long ago but for the material and moral help and support the rebels were contin- ually receiving from the United States. The Spanish note com- plains of the policy followed by the United States in demanding from Spain the termination of a war which the United States were virtually maintain- ing by the presence of a squad- ron in the neighborhood of Cuba and by organizing succor for the reconcentrados in a manner that would be offensive to any nation, as well as by keeping in Havana a consul who is publicly the agent and representative of the rebels. 0900990909000 909000094 0009000090000 90900008PPE00000000 POOOOOPOO090000000 0 hypothesis of the internal origin of the accident. This is to be attribut- ed to the regretable refusal to per- mit necessary co-operation of the Spanish commission, both with the commander and crew of the Maine, and the different American officials commissioned to investigate the cause of the accident, and later on with those employed on salvage work “The report finishes by stating that an examination of the inside and outside of the Maine as soon as such examination may be possible, as also of the bottom where the ves- sel rests, will prove that, supposing that the remains (of the wreck) be not totally or partially altered inm | the process of extrication the explo- vessel as would determine even the sion was undoubtedly due to some in- J terior cause.” + * * * * * * * * * * * EVOLT PRICE FIVE CEN THE PRESIDENT IS CALLED TO CONFRONT A GRAVE SITUATION Report of the Maine Court of Inquiry Made Public With a Message Too Pleasing to Premier Sagasta. THE FULL REPORT OF THE NAVAL COURT OF INQUIRY. WASHINGTON, March 28.—The following is the full text of the report of the Court of Inquiry: United States Steamship Iowa, First-rate. KEY WEST, Florida, Monday, March 21, 1898. After a full and mature consideration of all the testimony before it, the court finds as follows: First—That the United States battleship Maine arrived in the Harbor of Havana, Cuba, on the 21st day of January, 1898, and was taken to buoy No. 4, in from five and a half to six fathoms of water, by the regular Government pilot. The United States Consul-General had notified the authorities at that place the previous evening of the intended arrival of the Maine. Second—The state of discipline on board the Maine was excel- lent, and all orders and regulations in regard to the care and safe- ty of the ship were strictly carried out. All ammunition was stowed away in accordance with instructions, and proper care was taken whenever ammunition was handled. Notking was stored in any one of the magazines or shell rooms which was not permitted to Maine the keys were found in their proper place in the captain’s cabin, everything having been reported secure that evening at 8 o'clock. - The temperatures of the magazines and shell rooms were taken daily and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat was the after ten-inch magazine, and that did not explode at the time the Maine was destroyed. The torpedo war heads were all stowed in the after part of the ship under the ward room, and neither caused nor participated in the destruction of the Maine. The dry gun cotton primers and detonators were stowed in the cabin aft and remote from the scene of the explosion. The waste was carefully looked after on board the Maine to obviate danger. Special orders in regard to this had been given by the commanding officer. Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and 4 other combustibles of this nature were stowed on or above the main deck, and could not have had anything to do with the destruction % of the Maine. * The medical stores were stowed aft under the ward room and % remote from the scene of the explosion. No dangerous stores of * any kind were stowed below in any of the other store rooms. . The coal bunkers were inspected. Of those bunkers adjoin- : ing the forward magazines and shell rooms, four were empty, % namely: B3, B4, B5, B6. A15 had been used that date, and Al6 % was full of New River coal. This coal had been carefully inspected % before receiving it on board. The bunker in which it was stored % was accessible on three sides at all times, and the fourth side at % this time on account of bunkers B4 and B6 being empty. This * punker, A16, had been inspected that day by the engineer officer on duty. The fire alarms in the bunkers were in working order, and there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the Maine. The two after boilers of the ship were in use at the time of « the disaster, but for auxiliary purposes only, with a comparatively % low pressure of steam, and being tended by a reliable watch. These * boilers could not have caused the explosion of the ship. The for- % ward boilers of the ship have since been found by the divers, and * are in a fair condition. * On the night of the destruction of the Maine, everything had : been reported secure for the night at 8 o’clock by reliable persons, % through proper authorities, to the commanding officer. At the time % the Maine was destroyed, the ship was quiet, and, therefore, the % Jeast liable to accident caused by movements from those on board. EXPLOSIONS. Third—The destruction of the Maine occurred at 8:40 p. m., 4 on the 15th day of February, 1898, in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, 4 being at the time moored on the very same buoy to which she had % been taken upon her arrival. * There were two explosions of a dlstinctly different character, * ith a very short, but distinct, interval between them, and the for- % ward part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at the time of * the first explosion. The first explosion was more in the nature of a report, like that of a gun, while the second explosion was more open, prolonged and of a greater volume. The second explosion was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. CONDITION OF THE WRECK. Fourth—The evidence bearing on this, being principally ob- 4 tained from divers, did not enable the court to form a definite con- % clusion as to the condition of the wreck, although it was estab- % lished that the after part of the ship was practically intact, and * gank in that condition a very few minutes after the destruction of * the forward part. The following facts in regard to the forward part of the ship are, however, established by the testimony. That portion of the protective deck which extends from about frame thirty to about g frame forty-one, was blown up aft and over to port. The main deck, % from about frame thirty to about frame forty-one, was blown up % aft, and slightly over to starboard, folding the forward part of the % middle superstructure over and on top of the floor part. This was % in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or * more of the forward magazines of the Maine. Fifth—At frame fifteen, the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and one-half feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be about four feet above the surface of the water; there- fore, about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed «“V” shape, the after wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thir- FR KK KKK R KK R R E R R KKK KK KRR KRR KRR K R * kX KK * X ¥ X KR KRS KX * KKK * * * * * * locked after having been open; and after the destruction of the B R R R S A A A AR AR AR XK K K X K W * % 5 B R L R L o T e B CONTINUED-ON SECOND PAGE, Call Office, Riggs House, Washington, D. C., March 28, The Republicans of the House are in open revolt and the indica- tions are that when the resolution appropriating $500,000 for the re- lief of the Cubans is reported the recalcitrants will seek to amend it by tacking on a rider recognizing the belligerent rights of the Cubans. They may even go so far as to attempt recognition of the independence of Cuba. It is the general expectation that the resolution will not be consid- ered until Wednesday, although Representative Hopkins of lilinois, leader of the rebellious Repub- licans in the House, gaid to the Call correspondent to-night that the explosion might take place to- MOrrow. Hopkins was at one time prom-’ inently mentioned as a candidate to oppose Reed for the Speaker- ship, and has since then been re- garded as the leader of those Re- publicans who are inclined to rebel against Reed’s dictatorial and auto- cratic rulings. Therefore the in- terview with Mr. Hopkins to-night, after his talk with a number of leading Republicans, is significant. “There’s a ‘mine’ under the House chamber,” said he, ‘“‘and as I view the situation all we have to do is to touch the button and Czar Reed’s arbitrary policy will be blown to atoms. The ex- pectation is that on to-morrow or Wednesday the Committee on Rules will-bring in a resolution for POP9000090000000000 NEWS OF THE DAY. ‘Weather forecast for San Fran- clsco: Fair on Tuesday; northerly changing to westerly winds. Maximum temperature for the past twenty-four hours; FIRST PAGH. Congress Revolts Against Peace. Report of Court of Inquiry. Spanish Court Reports. Congress Wins First Battle. SECOND PAGE. Message of President McKinley, Fake Stories Alarm Wall Street. The Wreck of the Maine. Press Opinions on the Message. THIRD PAGE. Testimony on the Maine Wreck, Fear a Riot at Havana. Congress Hears the Message FOURTH PAGE. % Time for England to Act. Much Gold From Klondike. & San Rafael Flower Show. & San Pedro's Battle Won. Fighting San Jose Boodlers, ‘Anton Seidl Dead. Clark to Die in June. Railway Men at San Jose. Alfred Austin’s Poem. FIFTH PAGE. Blackguard Methods of Rea’s Organ. Justice Fees to Be Paid Rack. A Great Ranch Suit Ended. Protest Against Slow Cars. More Guns for the Harbor, SIXTH PAGE., Editorial. y Some Alaskan Problems. 3 Protect the Unwary. o San Mateo Highways. The Value of Forests. Put Down by Plain Facta, ™~ The Cattle Quarantine. Hymn of the Gold-Seekers. Personals and Queries. SEVENTH PAGE. Work of the City Fathers. Hofr's Defense Declared. = News Along the Water Front. Charter Election Date Fixed. ‘Wasted All Her Fortupe. * s NINTH PAGE. Births, Marriages and Deaths, % TENTH PAGE. i Another Queer Saving Job. % Racing at Ingleside. Ferry Depot Scandal. - ELEVENTH PAGH. Variety at Two Theaters. | Electric Light Competition. Judge Slack’s Successor. TWELFTH PAGE. The New Charter. NINETEENTH PAGB. The Commerical World. TWENTIETH PAGE. Bad Blood in a Mission Army. News From Across the Bay. 9909900000900 090009990090900990099090900909999909000090000990009000000090000OP® 99 P090000000000000000000000000000000009009090000000990909000909000900000090900009000 0@ 290000000000 00000