Arizona republican., 1898-02-17
The Civilized World Stops to Consider the Cause of the Havana HarbOr
 Disaster.
THE TREACHERY OF SPAIN.

hood Of the nOle Wn1cn Sdnk her, whether or not they are bulged out. as would be the case if the explosion came from the inside, or whether they were driven in, as would result from the attack of a torpedo or the eX plosion of a mine beneath the ship.
 The large majority of the naval of ficers are inclined to the belief that the explosion resulted from spon- the overheating of the partitions be- tween the boilers and the magazine, or from the explosion of a boiler, though the last theory finds little support.
 OTHER EXPLOSIONS.
 The department within recent years has been greatly troubled with reports of spontaneous combustion of coal in ships bunkers which have endangered the lives of the crews and the safety of ships The Cincinnati twice at least has been obliged to flood her magazines to prevent their blowing up during fires of this kind, and the cruiser Boston has been in the same condition. In some of these cases the shelving in magazines which sepa- rates the power have been charred by heat caused by burning coal in adjacent bunkers. Although bunkers are inspected under the regulations at frequent intervals so numerous have been these cases of spontaneous com- bustion, that the navy department only recently had a special board in vestigate the subject with a view to applying preventive measures. Un- fortunately this board was prevented from making the thorough investiga- tion necessary because no funds were applyable to the purpose. Even empty bunkers have exploded.
 THE SPANISH THEORY.
 The theory advanced by the Span have been caused by the explosion of boiler is accepted at the navy de- partment as within the bounds of credibility. The magazine boilers were separated from the powder mag azines at the nearest point by a space of about four feet, usually filled with coal. At least one boiler undoubtedly was kept under almost full steam in order to run the dynamos and move the ship in case of need. The ex- plosion of such a boiler might easily drive through the bulkhead and fire the magazine.
 Inasmuch as suspicion exists in some quarters that torpedo was used against the Maine, it may be said that a majority of the naval officers believe that the character of the ex- plosion was hardly such as could be attributed to torpedo. The latter charged with about 100 pounds of powder or gun cotton, it is believed, would have torn a large hole in the bottom or side of the Maine, but was scarcely likely to fire the magazine, which is not near the bottom. It is said at the navy department that there is no lack of precedent for such dis asters as that sustained by the Maine, all of which can be traced to acci- dental causes. In 1885 the United States man-of-war Missouri, then ly- ing at Gibraltar, was totally wrecked by the explosion of her magazines Another case famous in naval history is that of her majesty's ship Doterel In 1887 she was lying at anchor of Puenta Arenas in the Straits of Ma gellan. An explosion occurred ant
 left almost none of her crew alive
 This was another case of magazine 1 explosion, though it may have origi
 mated in the coal bunkers or tn, boilers.