The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-02-22
THINK nj ACCIDENT.


n,,,t,ment as to the Cause ofths hains
n,,.Jsr-Baals Of Claim shown,
washington dispatch to tho Chicago
,,,o,d, In the absence OF definite In
,srp,a,lon, the drift OF opinion at the
.,yy department and among ordnance
.,srr,s is that the Maine was destroy
.1by The explosion OF a powder maya
.ius which was caused byispontancous
combustion in her coal bunkers. The
pta,Ideu, and members OF the cabinet
,od 10 iiu, view. Secretary Long said
,bIS afternoon: t4t
~ have believed from the first that II
xas an accident. and It will require very
,o.l,iyc evidence TO convince me to the
,on,rary. do not think there Is any
dItercrce Of opln!on In the cabinet on
,hs subject
"" paymaster Llttlefeld. who was de-
,,csed from the Maine only ten days
40 and arrived In Washington the
DC, Of the week. Is very positive In his
ooJnlon that the explosion was due to 4
S,c In The coal bunkers, and II Is an In
,sto.,ing coincidence. In this connection
nat the last Important duty performed
by Lieutenant Commander Wainwright.
who was recently detached from the
bureau OF military intelligence and sent
A The Maine, was &c. prepare memoir
Ssdum for the secretary OF the navy
setting forth the precautions taken by
,hs other governmental to protect their
men.of.was against Just such calamit-
,Ss This memorandum. which Is lying
man The table OF Assistant Secretary
Pooseyel, to-day. suggested the ap-
noIntmcnt OF a board OF officers to In
yss,lga,c the subject and make recon-
msndatlons for the use OF the bureau of
construction In designing future cruis-
.rs and battleships.
Mr. Wa!nwright's memorandum
shows that England protects the maya
zines OF her ships from heat by Innings
~ asbestos. air spaces between the
walls, which are packed with sllicate
az cotton and other noncombustible and
ponconductlng substances, by the use
Of yent.latlng fans and ammonia.
France uses refrlgeratlng machines,
double floors and walls and asbestos lin
tbcs. The French experts declare that It
/. moi only necessary TO discharge cold
afr into the ma gazines, but TO have the
chambers between their walls and floors
20 arranged that It can pass over and
around them. Ia.
In German ships there are ventllating
corlults 10 pump cold air into the
magazines and expel the warm air from
them. They have also special cooling
machines for the purpose OF protecting
the coal bunkers against spontaneous
combustion.
The italian naval constructors pro-
vide particularly for the escape OF gas
that is apt to generate In any alright
chamber In which explosives are kept.
They also have refrigeratins machines
and recommend that the air in maya
zines cannot be changed too frequently.
Both the ITALIAN and the French con-
s,ructors describe the danger from the
iuxtaposIt!on OF coal bunkers and mag
azlnes and advise that chambers pack
ed with s!lcate OF cotton, asbestos and
other uoncombustible material should
be placed between the coal bunkers and
the magazines.
Everybody at the navy department
knows that the cruiser Cincinnati and
the flagship New York have, both re.
Gently had very narrow escapes from
destruction from the same cause that Is
,uDposed 10 have wrecked the Maine.
q both these vessels, as In the Maine
ard most of the other ships in the navy.
the ammunition magazines are sur
rounded by coal bunkers on all sides.
This provision was intended. and was
made for their protection against shots
from the enemy. But Ia planning to cs-
cape from one danger the constructors
have exposed the ships to another that
IS even more serious, as was demonstra-
ted by the experience Of the New York
and the Cincinnati. In the case OF the
latter the fires In the bunkers from
spontaneous combustion were SO fierce
that tae steel bulkheads that separa-
ted them from the ammunition maga-
zines were red hot and the wooden cases
In which TIE ammunition was stored
were actually In flames when the dan
ger was discovered. Nor was the fire
discovered By airy outward sign. The
officers on duty reported everything oil
rish,, b::t TIE unnatural temperature
Inside the ship caused an inquiry. which
disclosed the fact that both the bunkers
and the magazines were on fire. The
experience on the New York was siml-
lar. although the fire was discovered. .
before /. had reached such dangerous
stage. l-s .sa
The board Of officers detailed to report
upon the subject OF spontaneous COM
busiion and It's prevention made their
repor, only two weeks ago, and their
recommendations call for 4 radical re-
construction OF the coal bunkers OF the,
ships OF on. navy. They contend that
all hituminous and soft coal Is subject
TO this danger, especially when 1t Is
Fat" and that the conditions for CONF
buston are high external temperature.
broken condition Of the coal, afford
Ing surfaces FOR absorbing oxygen. q
supply of air sufficient 10 penetrate the
coal pile, but not adequate 10 carry off
the heat. and the presence OF volatile
combustlble matter among tho fuel. In
former days. In the old-fnshioned ships.
before there was omuchmachInery ana
So many Compartments, spontaneous
combustion was unknown. but In mod.
ern war vessels all the conditions are
changed, and sufficiently high eXter-
nal temperature will cause spontaneous
ignition at any time.
The board reports that there a:e
some bunkers In which the fir, will In.
FolVe great danser-namely. those ad
1acent 10 magazines. On the New York
andCincinnati there were fires in bunk
eFs next 10 the magazine, which caused
caafriHs OF the woodwork In the lat
Ter, and II they fortunately had not
oeen discovered In time therem!ghthave
oeen IN each a terrible disaster. For
slcn cases We consider structural! pro-
ViS'on an absolute necessity, and no
magazine should ever be separated
rom o coal bunker by single bulk
mead with at least four inches between
me walls of the bunkers and the maga-t
zi1e. and with provision for a good Cir
CUldt.nn Of air "a Curry nG my hnnl