The times., 1898-02-22
A DELIBERATE PLOT.
The Maine Was Destroyed BY
Springtng Submarine Mine.

| Mr. George Esgene Bryson, in copy
righted cable dispatch to the New York
Evening JournaiGves the result of his
Investigations a.iavana. Mr.. Bryson
is one of the most careful and painstak-
! ing correspondents in the country. His
dispatch reads as follows:
| Havana, via Key West. Feb. Ill have
made a careful examination of the wreck
of the Maine; have consulted naval eX-
perts and experts on explosions, and | am
at length prepared to make a statement
/ of fact before the great court of the
American people.
A great hole was blown in the bottom
of the Maine-inward-on the port side.
The water rushed through this huge gap
and flooded the lower part of the ship.
Men were aroused where they slept. The
magazines were flooded by the insurg1ng
water.
This proves, in the minds of naval eX-
perts, that neither magazine could nave
exploded. The concussion of the external
explosion 1oosened the doors and the mag
azines filled.
This conclusion is borne out by incon-
testabie proof;
The blow was delivered on the port side,
about third of the way aft.
Because the Maine canted from port to
starboard.
Because the port side, near the forward
boilers. is mass of twisted steel.
Because the starboard is comparatively
uninjured. Even the incandescent lamp
guards on the starboard side are intact.
The paint is fresh-not a blister.
The blow was dealt on the bottom-up-
ward.
Because the cement, used in the bottom
of the ship was blown upward. Some of
this cement fell on the deck of the City
of Washington.
Because a great pillar of waller shot up
in the air from the port side of the
Maine
Because the force of the explosion, as
described by survivors and eye witnesses
was upward
The explosion was not inside the ship.
Because the main magazine aft did not
explode. This is visible to the eye.
Because the forward magazine did not
explode. This also, inferentially. is Wis
bic. The forward turret, over the maga-
zine. is intact. If the magazine had ex-
ploded the cap Of the turret would have
been blown off
Two sailors were sleeping in a cutter
within twenty feet of the magazine An
other sailor was sleeping within three
feet of the magazine. These men are
alive.
Because the gun cotton did not explode.
1t is intact
Because there was nothing outside the
magazines TO wreck the ship by their ex-
plosion-only few small caliber shells
saiuting cartridges and small ammuni-
ton.
Because if the explosion had been in
side the Maine. the ship would have been
split open. The armor plates would have
been torn apart. The main force of the
explosion would have been lateral, not
upward.
Because, If the explosion had been in
side the ship. a great sheet of flame
would have followed. The bodies of the
sailors would have been burned. Few OF
those so far recovered have shown the
effect of fire.
Because not one of the officers or a
member of the crew believes the expIo-
sion was an accident inside the ship The
officers, even from the first, refused to
say that ii might be an accident. They
maintained an ominous reticence
Since then q every discovery has
strengthened their belief that a tremen-
dous blow was dealt to the Maine on the
port side, from the bottom. The eXplo-
sions. like fireerackers. which followed
the great detonation, is thus explained
away by Capt. Sigsbee:
what was proper in the harbor of
friendly power. l always maintained pre-
cautions against attack. and the quarter
watch was ordered TO have ammunition
for the smaller guns ready TO hand, so
that in the improbable event of an attack
on the ship 1t would have been found
ready. Ii was this, ammunition which eX-
ploded as the heat reached it.
The Maine was not wrecked by tor
pedo:
Because experts on explosives state
that no torpedo is of sufficient force to
have wrought the instantaneous ruin that
was visited on the Maine. II torpedoes
were so destructive war ships would be
at their mercy. Five hundred pounds OF
dynamite would have been necessary to
have produced such destruction. No self
nropelling torpedo carries charge of
that magnitude.
The conclusion forces itself that the
Maine was destroyed by large submerg
ed mine:
Because of the tremendous upward
force of the explosion
Because of the great hole torn in the
Names bottom. The battieship did not
sink slowly 1t went down instantly.
Because it is a known fact that Havana
harbor is nest of mines, some of them
very large.
Because two men. who will testify be-
fore the board of investigation while
rowing across the harbor came in con-
tact with wire running apparently from
the Maine TO the arsenal.
To sum up:
The explosion could not nave oeeh IN
side the Maine.
The explosion could not have been from