The San Francisco call., 1898-02-17
THE SHIP AT HER ANCHORAGE Close to Her Was the Spanish Cruiser
 Alfonso XII.
Commander Dickins Chary ot Giving Out an Expression
 of Opinion.
Divers Must Examine the Wreck and a Board of Inquiry Must Be
 Held.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1s.-"We have no definite information as to the num- Der of war vessels in Havana harbor last night" said Commander Dickins of the navy to-day. "Of course, there were the usual number of merchant men, but they were somewhat remote from the man-of-war anchorage. We are under the impression that the Ger man and French war vessels had left the harbor as reported in the press dis patches. If this was the case (and we believe it to be correct), the only other war vessel near the Maine was the Spanish man-of-war Alfonso XII
 She probably lay near the Maine, a little further inside the harbor, for re- ports We received some time ago said that the Alfonso had saluted the Maine as she passed into the harbor The ves- sels were, of course, some distance apart. for the harbor regulations pre- scribe a certain distance, so that other vessels may have easy ingress and egress, but as far as we know, in the absence of fuller advices, the Alfonso was the only war vessel near the Maine at the time of the explosion. You must not infer from my statement, that we suspect the Spanish vessel.
 Tt will be impossible to determine the cause of the explosion until an ex- animation has been made by divers. The people are naturally excitable, and because the Maine was in Spanish wa ters. they suspect some Spanish devil try. T. goes without saying that Presi- dent Mckinley and his Cabinet sincerely hope that the court of inquiry, soon to be held. will establish the fact that the explosion was due to an accident"
 Where will the court be held?"
 That is not fully determined, but 1t will probably be in Key West or in Havana It may be considered advisa- be to hold 1t in Havana, 50 that the members Of the court will have greater facility in making a thorough investi- gation at the port where the Maine now lies Our understanding Is that the vessel is entirely submerged She drew twenty-two feet and sank in thirty-six feet of water.''
 What is your own opinion of the cause of the explogion?"
 You can guess as we'll as I can, and one guess is as good as another Moth ing will be known until a thorough in vestigation is made
 Do you think that the explosion could have resulted from spontaneous combustion?"
 Possibly. While the magazines con- tained brown powder chiefly, which Is incapable of combustion, there was some gun cotton aboard. This was kept wet constantly, for the very pur- pose of preventing combustion
 What do you think of the theory that the powder was ignited from com bustion in the coal bunkers?'
 That is possible also, for the coal ounkers surrounded the magazine. A fire started on the New York from this cause and British man-of-war was blown up at Punta Arena in the Straits of Magellan from combustion in the coal bunkers. A fire was started in the United States ship Atlanta from the combustion of fresh paint. It Is idle to speculate about the cause of the Maine's explosion until a thorough ex- animation is made by divers and tn. result of the court of inquiry is made known"
 Do you think it possible that any part of the Maine's machinery or eouip- ment can be saved7"
 T think 1t very probable At least we are going to save all we can and have already made arrangements for wrecking vessel
 Chief Naval Constructor Hichborn said; Tt seems difficult to account for the disaster except upon the theory of outside contact. The Maine was lying quietly at anchor, under perfect dis cipline and double watch. She has been in commission several years and little or no trouble was ever experi- enced with any of her appliances. The constant surveillance under which all her compartments and quarters are kept would seem to preclude the possi- bility of trouble from the inside.