The times., 1898-02-24
THE FORWARD HALF GONE
Sicard's Report on the Names
Destruction.
AFTER HALF is INTACT
He Says That Powerful wrecking
Apparatus Is Necessary to Re-
claim This Part of the Ship
The Cable Censorship Becoming
More Stringent Hourly.

| The cable censorship in Havana is be-
coming more strigent every hour. and
even the newspapers that have been able
| to tell the truth up to this time may be
obliged to depend on the mail hereafter
for all valuable Information. This would
put the country twenty-four hours be-
| hind the real situation. This monstrous
| usurpation of power on the part of the
| Spanish authorities is as much proof
| against the accident theory as the Gov
| ernment should desire The correspon-
dents at Havana have been remarkably
! fair and Just to the Spanish government
| in all their reports since the catastrophe
to the Maine. Even for the papers that
| believed there was no accident from the
| beginning there haze come only reports
of facts and very little of theoriZing. If
| the Spanish government is not guilty and
does not know all about the accident
there should be no objection 10 the truth
| being told fully.
There is no question now that the Gov
ernment here is editing the Official tele-
grams from Sfgsbee and Lee. No one
doubts that number of the most i'm
portant messages have been entirely sup,
pressed There is the best possible evil
dence that Capt. Sigsbee on Friday sent
| TO Secretary Long q statement of his be-
| lief that there was no accident in the
Maine catastrophe. Other dispatches
from General Lee have been supp: :essed
by Judge Day. it is believed
Important letters were received 10y
Judge Day yesterday from General Lee
| and their contents are as yet known only
10 Judge Day himself. 'Tand possibly To
the President and Secretary Long. Ali
this is entirely at variance with the pro-
gram announced by the Administration
on Wednesday. when there had not been
time to consider the probable conse-
quences of the Maine disaster.
Notwithstanding This censorship at
Havana and in the Administration, the
whole public has no doubt as to the
Spaniards being the cause of the Maine
disaster. The result OF the report of the
investigating committee is awaited as
matter of form but no one has any
doubt as to the verdict. 1t is believed
also by those who have the opportunity
to talk with, the Administration people
Win any dtsEEeE pl iEdtlNLtSS tiich AA'N
accident theory has been abandoned by
the Government as wei as the people,
and that the Administration is preparing
for action in exactly the same way that
it would if the report of the investigat-
ing committee were in its hands. The
policy of silence does not mean in any
way inactivity Whatever the reasons
of the Administration may be, however,
for keeping the public in the dark they
are approved by very few people if any.
There was an absolute denial yester
day of the report that the vessels of the
North Athlantie squadron. which have
been at Galveston and New Orleans, had
been ordered back to Admiral Sicards
rendezvous at Dry Tortugas- The state
ment was made that all of these vessels
had left the station a week before with
orders 10 return on Feb. % The fact
that they returned yesterday was said 10
he of no significance. This is simply an
evasion. They were all ordered yester-
day to proceed to Dry Torgugas with all
haste, and one of them at least, against
the request Of her commander, that she
he allowed to extend her visit. The yes
sells of the North Atlantic squadron are
now all at the station with the eXcep-
tion of the Brooklyn, which is at Santa
Cruz with orders to be in readiness for
immediate departure.
The following telegram was received
from Admiral Sicard yesterday afternoon:
Key West, Fla. Feb. %, 1898.
Secretary Of Navy:
Merritt { hapman tug Right Arm arrives
Havana this morning; her captain, Niece seems
experienced man. who will be able TO give good
advice. Capt. Sampson wires condition of
wreck is such as 10 require most powerful APP
plances Government secure. Court rec
ommends contract with best-equipped wrocking
company to remove material and lift ship without
delay Forward half completely destroyed; after
half apparently intact except in minor matters.
(Signed) SICARD.
The naval officers in commenting on
the last sentence of this message last
night said that the complete destruction
of the forward half of the Maine. if this
condition proves TO be a fact, will s-ery
likely impede the court of inquiry in ar
irving, at proof of the cause of the dis
aster. According TO the latest advices,
however. the magazines are al intact.
This will prove conclusively that what
ever the cause of the disaster it Sas not
inside the Maine herself No one cares
much for information beyond that fact
Gen. Lee has advised every American
i'm Cuba to leave Immediately Vt is be-
leved that Gen. Lee himself and the
court of inquiry and Capt. Sigsbee will
not remain not more than two days long
er. There are two reasons why they
should come away in addition to other
possible ones that the Government has
not disclosed: The court of inquiry will
have discovered the proof it needs by
that time. even if it has not already. and
viii wish to report to Secretary Long.
II will be afraid to make any report by
telegraph, and will be afraid also to
remain In Havana after the report is
made. An uprising is expected at any
moment.
When the American officers are out of
Havana, and the report has been de-
livered the North Atlantic squadron will
be ordered to move on the port.
DENOUNCED BY MR. MAHANY.