The San Francisco call., 1898-03-12


 oanera1lv believed tonight that as carly as last Sunday the Navy De- nartment received, through captain semnson and Judge Advocate Mark, information that the Maine had been hlown up by a submarine mine e2- ploded by Spanish officials from a connection on shore, and fixing upon roe spanish Government the full re- sponsibility for the deed.
 This information comes rom source which cannot be questioned III snite of the fact of Secretary Long denial.
 It is believed that every act of the President. his Cabinet and Congress since that time has been based upon this information The haste with which Congress on Monday following the day this information was re- ceived appropriated fifty mil lions of dollars for the national defense. the preparations for war, the steps for recruiting the army ana navy and for the purchase or war ships, all indicate it.
 There are a great many explana- lions offered at the Navy Depart ment that do not bear analysis. II has been given out that it would be violation of the rules for any mem bers of the Board of Inquiry to give any information whatever concern ing the Maine disaster or the test1- mony in advance of the finding of the board, and yet there is no con- cealment made of the fact that let ters are now on file at the Navy De- nartment which have been received from Captain Sampson and other members of the board since the 1n- vestigation began giving 1ntorma- tion Of the developments. Some or these letters have been given to the press when their tone was Of such character as to alIay publ1c alarm.
 This appears to be sufficient an swer to the statement that the regu- lations would not permit the giving of such information by any member of the board to the proper official au- thority. Besides, the rules ana reg
  ance of courts of inquiry would not be permitted to stand in the way of high official action III a great emer- gency. The President of the United States is commander-in-chief of the army and navy, and it is hardly like ly if he intimated that he desired certain information from court of inquiry in an emergency which might mean war he would be denied it.
 This position is maintained by nearly all the competent authorities in the Navy Department. There is the best of authority for stating that all the material facts are in the posses sion of the President, and he has been kept advised day by day of the proceedings of the Board of Inquiry
 Lieutenant Jenkins, it is learned had located the submarine mine which caused the explosion, discov- cred it's shore connection and held this knowledge when he perished or the Maine. This fact has been off. cially communicated to the President
 The information, it is said, shows that by the complicity of the SpanlsI officials the Maine was directed tc change her anchorage and was placed in such a position that she swung di rectly over the mine, and when she was in the proper position for the work to be effective the mine was ex ploded by means of the shore con nection.
 There seems to be no reasonable es cape from these facts, in view of tn, source of information. Official de nials are to be expected under tn, circumstances. Usually they ar, technical. They have been put fortl at every point in the Maine investi gation to aI4ay public feeling, bu have been swept away one after an other by the developments of the in quiry. On Wednesday afternoon i was officially denied that Sir Juliar Pauncefote had made the visit he dit to the White House carrying Britisl assurances, but the significance ant importance of the visit have sine been confirmed even by the admin istration. It is said and believed that the work of the Board of In quiry has been closed for severa days, so far as all important result are concerned, and that the Presiden Is not without single essential poin upon which to base official action.