The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-17


action is necessary, Congress should take
| the matter In hand. For the present. how
ever, II Is fair 70 presume that the Presi-
dent and Navy Department viii take the
proper steps IN the matter"
Senators Chandler Mason and Carter
were in the Senate committee on Dostoffices
and post roads and, OF course, were talking
about tho accident. Senator Chandler said
that no one could tell now how the acci-
dent occurred. II might have been tor
pedo under the bows of the ship. or it might
have been an accident while handling am
But they are not likely to have been
handling ammunition at 10 o'clock ar
night" put in. Senator Mason.
'Oh. they might have been" continued
Senator Chandler. If the explosion was
from within it was no doubt an accident:
If from. without. then no doubt IT was by
Senator Carter said it was a most serious
and awful disaster. he expressed the opin-
The explosion would leave 10 trace Of what
took place before and the burning of the
ship would obliterate all possibility OF
learning much of what took place.
A DEPLORABLE ACCIDENT.
Senator Fairbanks said: THE reports are
so meager that it is impossible to deter
mine the cause of the explosion to locate
the responsibility, if any one is at fault. A
thorough investigation doubtless win be In
sttuted by the proper authorities. 1t is
most deplorable accideYt, and one which
will awaken the most general sympathy"
Senator Morgan, OF Alabama, member
of the committee on foreign affairs. said:
'In the absence of definite information as to
the causes and results of the Maine catas-
| trophe / would not venture an opinion upon
it. If it was an accident. as the first dis
patches seem to Indicate, IT was most de-
some are inclined TO believe. it was most
heinous. and no penalty would be too severe
for those responsible for it. But whether
the calamity was due to accident or tFeach-
cry, should like TO see introduced in Con-
greSS a joint resolution providing for tho
| immediate construction of two battle ships
equal IN size ana equipment to the Maine,
and costing not dollar less than the ILL
fated Maine cost. Action of that kind by
us would Indicate to the world that when
ever or wherever one of our tentacleS was
cut off, two would at once grow in its
place. IL seems almost out of the question
that 1t was the result of an accident. il is
usual for ship OF the Names class to
carry her magazine in her bow, where the
explosion seems to have occurred. But I
can say nothing of that now. | cannot
guess and cannot speculate 1t is an awful
calamity. Let us await the particulars
Senator Perkins, Of California, who has
been a navigator all his life and knows
thoroughly every detail in the construction
and handling of great ships, said: Il cam
not conceive that such an explosion as that
Maine could have resulted from an acct
dent. TIE chances, 1t seems to me, are
999 in 1000 that the calamity did not result
from accident. 1t has been suggested that
the explosion might have occurred while
ammunition was being handled, but that Is
scarcely credible, as ammunition
snip lying at anchor Is not handled at 10
o'clock at night Then, too, the amnu-
milton war ship is fixed ammunition,
which Is not in contact with anything at
all likely to produce an explosion. Every
electric wire and every spark of fire on
board the ship is far distant from the
magazines, and there is no possibility of
danger by those means being communicated
to the ammunition. The discipline of both
officers and men on the Maine, as well as
on every other vessel, is such that the eX-
plosion could not have been caused by any
action of any of them. The magazines
of the Maine and other ships of her class
and the mechanism which operates them
are constructed with all the nicely of a
watch. By the simple pressure of an cleo
trio button any magazine on board the YES
sci could be instantly submerged and no
fire could gain such Roadway as to en-
danger any of the magazines without dis
covery. am firmly of the belief that the
horror in Havana harbor last night was
not due to accident. 1 can scarcely con-
ceive either that it was due to the treach-
cry of Spanish officials or was brought
about by their cognizance. However, the
situation in Havana is so critical anu the
Spanish feel so keeny what appears TO
many Of them an affront that the Maine
should have been in the harbor that it
seems not unlikely the catastrophe was due
to the action of Spanish ,sympathlzers.
and that it was due to treachery ann con-
WORK OF A TORPEDO"
Senator M1lIS, or the conlnlLtee on IOT-
eign relations expressed the opinion that
the occurrence was the work Of a torpedo.
II would not say" he said, chat the Span
ish were responsible for it. but some
must have been who had free access to
the waters of the bay. / don't think it
could have been due tosan accident, and I
think Congress should Immediately take the
matter up for a thorough investigation. IL
the vessel had gone into the Havana har-
Dor in a time of hostiities between this
country and Spain precautions would, OF
course have been taken, but there was no
more reason TO expect anything of the Kind
there than there would be in one of our
own harbors. Yes, we should probe the
matter TO the bottom.
Senator German, of Maryland: ut is a
most appalling disaster, but no one at
tempts at this distance and before any
more facts are given, to place the response
Senator Morrill,: "In my opinion. the oc-
curreace is the result of accident.
have no idea that any Spaniard had any
thing whatever to do with it,"
Representative Newlands, of Nevada,
member of the committee on foreign affairs,
said ii would be very hard to convince the
American people that the explosion was an
accident. He would not WIsn 10 e1pless
an opinion until further information was re-
Representative Cummings, of New York,
a member of the naval committee, unhesi.
tatingly gave it as his opinion that the ship
had been blown up by floating torpedo.
some one to have floated a torpedo down
torpedo would explode as it swung against
the ship. j believe the Maine was blown
up" Mr.. Cummings said it was more rea-
sonable to suppose that the Maine had been
blown up than for the first time i'm our
history one of our war ships had blown
up without external agency. Ia speaking
of the ease with which torpedo could have
been placed under the Maine, he recalled
the occasion when Capt. Paul BOynton. as
a joke, swan alongside British war ship
in New York harbor and attached bogus
torpedo to her protecting netting.
Representative Mercer, of Nebraska, said
this afternoon: III the death of 253 Ameri-
can sailors can, upon investigation, be
isfy the American people except war.
Representative Cousins, of Iowa, 4 mem
Der Of the foreign affairs committee. de-
clared that If the Maine had been torpe-
doed by outside agency investigation was
bound to develop that fact The frag-
ments could not be destroyed said he Il
understand that no high explosive Is al
lowed to enter the harOOr OF Havana except
that intended for the Spanish authorities,
so that II it developed that torpedo was
used Spain will have to account for It.
Gen. Joseph Wheeler, the ex-Confederate
cavalry commander, now member of the
House from Alabama, sent the following
message to the President this afternoon:
..'ro the Honorable, the President In case
of any trouble with Spain, remember that
my tender of services is on file ut tho War
Department"
Representative HilbOrn. of California, who
is a member of the naval committee said
Oft is improbable that the explosion &C..