Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-04-15
GROUND MINE DID IT.
MAINE BLOWED UP BY MACHINE
WORKED FROM SHORE.

VOhNCO FhOm S1OnEs
Testimony of an Electrician-He
Supplied Spain With Mines and
Believes That Government Dc.
liberately Destroyed the Battle.
ship.
Joseph Paul Libbens, the electrician
who supplied submarine mines to the
Spanish government, cables from Lon.
don to the World:
The only submarine mines which
have been supplied to the Spanish
government since 1SSG-S7 were manu-
facturcd under my own patents. I
then supplied them with Sc ground
mines, % buoyant mines, each with a
charge of $40 pounds of gun cotton,
and 10 electro contact mines, exploded
either on contact or by service from
shore, each containing charge of 100
pounds of gun cotton.
The mines sent to Havana would
still retain full effectiveness. They
will last under water for an indefinite
period.
In 1867 the Spanish government
ordered a fresh supply of my patent
mines. Whether they went to Ha-
vana or not is immaterial.
One of the mines supplied in 1886 is
still fully capable of causing the de-
struction of the Maine.
In fact, 1 am convinced, from all
surrounding circumstances, that no
other agency could have caused it.
In direct contradiction of the asser-
tions of the Secretary of the Spanish
legation at Washington and of Gen.
eral Weyler that there are no subma-
rine mines in Havana harbor, abso-
lutely affirm that l shipped the above
mines for Havana and Ferrol in
Spanish ship, the property of the Span
ish government and officered by Span
ish naval officers, with two captains,
at the West India dock, London.
My mines are in electrical connec-
ton with the shore and it is quite i'm
possible that they could be exploded
except by design.
am convinced also that the explo-
sion of the mine which destroyed the
Maine was the work of one or two
men, for these reasons:
First-A vessel swinging, either an
chored or moored, upon striking the
circuit close case, would merely drop
shutter on the key board ON shore,
warning the officer in charge that she
was in contact with the mine.
Second-Before the officer is in
position to fire the mine, he must OBJ
tain one of two keys. One is gener.
ally kept by the commandant, the
other by the officer in charge of the
firing station.
He then must unlock the glass door
over which the shutter has fallen and
insert a red danger plug in the insu.
lated switch.
Third-He must insert plug in the
switch of the firing battery earth
plate.
Fourth-The firing key hammer
must be placed on to the contact to
complete the circuit that explodes the
detonator, by which the mine in turn
is exploded.
l have not the slightest hesitation
in saying that the Maine was deliber-
ately destroyed with 5OO.pound
ground mine as invented and supplied
by me.
There is concensus of opinion that
the first explosion was external. This
was established on the following
grounds:
The forward magazine contained
$500 pounds of gunpowder which
might blow up the decks, but it is
problematical whether it would be ca
pable of igniting the $500 pounds of
powder in the middle magazine. Even
if it did the explosion of both would
be quite incapable of detonating the
5000 pounds of wet gun cotton in the
after magazine. Had that quantity of
gun cotton been detonated, not a ves-
tige of the Maine would remain.
The only practicable way Of discov.
ering the mine that sunk the Maine is
by undermining the cable from shore
to the junction box, and from thence
undermining each individual cable to
the mine, until one was found without
a mine attached.
/ am satisfied that the explosion
was caused by ground .mine-not a
buoyant mine-for Havana harbor is
too shallow to admit of the use of the
latter.
1 am prepared to satisfy by demon
stration any jury of reasonable men
that this is true explanation of the
destruction of the Maine.
A YOUNG married woman in Chicago
wants divorce on the ground that the