The San Francisco call., 1898-03-26
The President and Cabinet Now Feel That War Is
 Drawing Near.
Report of the Naval Court of In- quiry That Spanish Officers Are Implicated May Hast
 en the Conflict.

is the war spirit more rampant than at the armorieS of the District of Co., lumbia militia companies. The District has nearly three thousand militia men, including her High School Cadets, and they are all under high pressure. ex- pecting and hoping for an early call to garrison some of the ports which will be vacated by the regulars when they are called to the front. Secretary of War Alger said this afternoon that the directions to move all the troops east of Denver to the Atlantic Seaboard when made would not emanate directly from Washington, but would be issued by the department commanders. If the Government >ecides to send troops from the interior to the seacoast the department commanders will be in- Structed to forward a certain number, but will be given full discretion as to the garriSonS from which they will be detailed. The War Department will have no advices of orders issued to the different regiments until the depart ment commanders make their reports to Washington detailing the instruc- tions issued from their headquarters.
 The revenue cutters, including the I'boats now being completed, are all to be brought down to tide water as speedily as possible. Naval officials are very much pleased with the acquisition of the new revenue cutters, as they will supply a deficiency in torpedo-boat de- stroyers which are needed more than any other class of vessels at this time. All of these vessels are equipped for torpedo tubes and secondary batteries of rapid-fire guns, and their speed ranges from fourteen to twenty knots. They will be fitted for naval service at the Norfolk navy yard, where their armamentS are now being sent. They will be employed at the outset as scout or picket boats, but in action will turn their attention to rendering the small Spanish torpedo boats helpless. The cutter McCulloch. now in the vicinity of Singapore. will be used as dis patch boat on the Asiatic station. and her commanding officer will be directed to report to Commodore Dewey, now commanding the naval forces on the Asiatic station, with headquarters at Hongkong, where the fleet is assem- bling presumably for the purpose of making a demonstration against the Philippine Islands in case of war
 Viewed in detail the finding of the Court of Inquiry was the most vital feature. Lieutenant-Command Ma rix, Judge Advocate of the Court of h. quiry, delivered the report to Secretary Long early this morning and shortly afterward 1t was carried to the White House and placed in the hands Of the President At 10:30 the Cabinet as sembled half an hour earlier than us- ual. and began consideration of the
 
 rules of secrecy which prevail at Cabi- net meetings were made doubly strict in this case, and no intimation of the result reached by the court was known until o'clock, when a bulletin gave an information to the country. as we'll as to the eagerly waiting officials.
 These results briefly stated are that the loss of the Maine was due to an explosion from the outside, the court being unable to fix the responsibility for the explosion. The court does not express an opinion as to the character of the explosion, but the testimony goes to show that it was a powerful submarine mine, the exact character of which is not determined by the testi- mony though the belief was expressed that it was a floating submarine mine. There were two explosions, the court finds The first was from the outside and that set off one of the smaller mag azines. It was this result, expressed in detail. and with the precision of court deeply cognizant of his respon- sibility, together with the evidence upon which it was based, that occu- pied the attention of the Cabinet throughout it's extended sessions of the morning and afternoon. All other sub- jects gave way to this foremost ques- ton.