The herald., 1898-02-20
SPAIN'S AGENT
Permitted to Examine The
Maine Wreck
NAVAL MEN AGREED
THAT THE PLAN WILL DEVELOP
THE TRUTH
SOME MEASURES NECESSARY
To Provide Relief For Victims ami
lies-Talk of Attempts to
Raise the Vessel
NAVAL MEN AGREED
SOME MEASURES NECESSARY
Associated Press Special Wire


WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.-The interest,"
ing feature of the days news at the navy
department was the decision of the gov
ernment to allow concurrent investigation
of the cause of the Maine disaster. for its
own part making an Independent inquiry
through the naval court of inquiry already
appointed while permitting the Spanish
authorities to make such investigation as
they DESIRE This arrangement COM
mended itself to naval men as fair TO all,
and at the same time as calculated to oe-
ye,op the exact facts in a manner that could
not be questioned.
RELIEF FOR VICTIMS FAMILIES
| There was good deal of talk among the
officials of the need of speedy relief meas
ures for the benefit of the families of the
| explosion victims. Under the treasury
rules the allotment of portions of pay tA
members of their families made by the mesa
who persisted in the wreck must stop at
once. 1t is not doubted that congress will
do as it did in the case of the Samoan dis
| aster, provide for a years pay to the fam
| lilies of the sailors who died at their posts.
The difficulty, however, is that such
measure cannot be passed at once, and
meantime some of the families of the dead
sailors may be in great distress. The mat
| ter has been taken up by Mr. Long, and he
has called a meeting Tor Monday to initiate
| the movement. 1t happens that by the
rare chance of an unexpected change Of
paymasters recently, very little of the
savings of the Names sailors went down in
the vessel. About two weeks ago Pay
| 7 ;tt1 toll Oft Mofr rali
by Paymaster Ray. The former came to
| Was ashington, and has settled the accounts
| of the ship up to the time he left. The
| record shows that Paymaster Ray had on
| hand in his safe only about $500 in cash.
probably gold, and check for $4,000 which,
| of course, is safe enough, without his en-
dorsement, against loss.
| SEARCHING FOR PARALLEL CASES
Since the spontaneous combustion theory
has come SO prominently to the front as
accounting for the disaster the officials
| have been looking over the records to find
| parallel case, as near as may be.
The flagship New York was discovered to
be on fire March 0. 1896. Smoke was issu-
ing from her main magazine. This was
cleared of powder Immediately, and it was
| found that the woodwork had been charred
deeply. The cause was not at first per-
| ceptible but it was soon discovered that an
| adjoining coal bunker was burning.
| When the bunker was opened, the coal
| on top was not hot, but as the men dug
| down, it was found to be red hot inside.
| There was no manifestation of heat on top
of the bunker, nor on any side save the
| one next the magazine. That startled
| naval officers. and the constructors made
| considerable air space between the
| bunkers and the magazine. In the de-
| signing of the new battleship now on the
stocks the lesson was kept in mind, and
| everything possible was done to isolate
| coal bunkers from magazines.
RAISING THE WRECK
There is no abatement of the talk OF the
| eXpediency of raising the Maine.
Chief Constructor Hichborn is one of the
| most earnest advocates of the resurrection
| of the ship. He points out that the ship
lies in a land-locked harbor, easy for the
| wreckers to operate in, and that if she can
| be rebuilt al cost of a million dollars the
government will save $4,000, 900, the first
| cost of such battleship, with al lher equip
| ment. Great Britain he said never
| abandoned a ship If there was the least
| chance to save her, and has not yet even
| abandoned the hope of raising the Inflated
| Victoria, sunk in collision with the Cam
| perdown off the coast of Syria, several
years ago.
| of the bureau of navigation, and Secretary
| Longs right hand man in the present
| emergency, said: THE Maine must be
| taken to an American port if there is
enough of her bones holding together to