Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-29
COURTS FINDINGS.
Submarine Mine Destroyed the
Battleship Maine.
RESPONSIBILITY NOT FIXED
The Officers and Grew Are Re.
lieved OF All Blame.
Keel Plates Forced Above Water Thirty
Four Feet from Original PIace-other
Plates Bent-oiscipine on
Board Good.
RESPONSIBILITY NOT FIXED

Washington, March 2S.-The follow
ing is the full text of the report of the
court of inquiry;
United States Ship Iowa--first rate.
Key West, Fla, Monday, March 81,
1898.
After full and mature consideration Of
all the testimony before it, the court
finds as follows:
THAT the United States battleship
Maine arrived at the harbor Of Havana,
Cuba, on the 25th day of January, 1898,
and was taken to buoy No. 4, in from
51a to fathoms of water, by the regu-
lar government pilot. The United
States consul at Havana had notified
the authorities at that place the previ-
Gus evening Of the intended arrival Of
the Maine
2-The state Of discipline on board the
Maine was excellent and all orders and
regulations In regard to the care and
safety of the ship were strictly carried
out. All ammunition was slowed in ac-
cordance with prescribed Instructions
and proper care was taken whenever
ammunition was handled. Nothing was
slowed in any one of the magazines or
shell rooms which was not permitted to
be slowed there. The magazines and
shell rooms were always locked after
having been opened, and after the de-
struction of the Maine the keys were
found in their proper place in the cap
tain's cabin, everything having been re-
ported secure that evening at D. m.
The temperatures of the magazines
| and shell rooms were taken daily and
reported. The only magazine which had
an undue amount of heat was the after
l0-inch magazine, and that did not ex-
pQode at the time the Maine was de-
stroyed. The torpedo war heads were
all slowed in the after part of the ship,
under. the ward room, and neither
caused nor participated in the destruc-
tion of the Maine.
The dry gun cotton primers and deto-
nators were slowed in the cabin aft and
remote from the scene of the explosion.
waste was carefully looked after on the
Maine to obviate danger. Special orders
in regard to this had been given bv The
commanding officer. Varnishes, dryers,
alcohol and other combustibles of this
nature were slowed on or above the
Maine deck and could not have had any
thing to do with the destruction of the
| Maine.
| The medical stores were stored aft I'M
der the ward room and remote from the
| scene of the explosion. No dangerous
stores of any kind were slowed below In
any of the other store rooms. The coal
| bunkers were inspected daily. OF those
| bunkers adjacent to the forward mag
azfnes and shell rooms, four were empty,
| namely: B 8, B 8, B 8, B6. A Is had
been in use that day, and A 16 was full
or New River coal. This coal had been
carefully inspected before receiving 1t
on board The bunker in which it was
1 II
all times ana the fourth side at this
time on account Of bunkers B 4 and B 6
| being empty. This bunker, A 16 had
| been inspected that day by the engineer
officers on duty. The fire alarms in the
bunkers were in working order and
there had never been a case of sponta-
! neous combustion of coal on board
the Maine
| On the night Of the destruction of the
Maine everything had been reported Sc
cure for the night at s p. M, by relia-
BILE persons, through the proper authori-
ties TO the commanding officer. AT the
time the Maine was destroyed the ship
was quiet, and therefore least liable to
accident caused by movements from
those on board.
3-Explosions-The destruction OF
the Maine occurred at $40 p. M, on the
18th day of February, 1898, in the har-
Dor of Havana, Cuba, she being at the
time moored to the same buoy to which
she had been taken upon her arrival.
There were two explosions of dis
tinctly different character, with a very
short but distinct interval between
Them and the forward part of the ship
was lifted to a marked degree at the
time Of the first explosion The first
explosion was more in the nature Of a
report like that of q gun; While the sec
ond explosion was more open, pro-
longed and OF greater volume This
second explosion was, in the opinion of
the court, caused by the partial expfo-
sion of two or more forward magazines
Of the Maine.
4--Condition of the wreck-The evil
dence bearing upon this, being prin-
cipally obtained from divers, did not
enable the court to form definite con-
clusion as to the condition. of the wreck,
although 1t was established that the
after part of the ship was practically
intact and sank In that condition a very
few minutes after the destruction of
the forward part.
The following facts in regard to the
forward part of the ship are, however,
established by the testimony: That por-
ton of the port side of the protective
deck which extends from about frame
80 to about frame Al was blown up aft
and over to port. The main deck from
about frame 80 to about frame Al was
blown up aft, and slightly over to star
board, folding the forward part Of the
middle superstructure over and on top
of the after part. This was, in the
opinion of the court, caused by the par
tial explosion of two or more of the
forward magazines Of the Maine
Sat frame II the outer shell Of the
ship from point 111a feet from the
middle line of the ship and six feet
above the keel when in its normal posi-
ton, has been forced up SO as to be now
about four feet above the surface Of the
water; therefore, about 81 feet above
where it would be had the ship sunk
uninjured. The outside bottom plating
is bent into a reversed V-shape, the
after wing OF which,, about 16 feet
broad and 80 feet in length Crom frame
II to frame 25), is doubled back upon
itself against the continuation OF the
same plating extending forward.
The two after boilers of the ship were
in use at the time Of the disaster. but
for auxiliary purposes only with a
comparatively low pressure Of steam
and being tended by a reliable watch.
These boilers could not have caused the
ax xnlneion NJ the shin The four forward