The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-04-02

| the court deduceS that Il mine was exploded
under the ship on the port side.
SiXth-The explosion was due to no Fault
of those on board
! Seventh-This section contains the opinion
Of the court stating that the explosion of the
mine caused the explosion of the ships two
magazines.
Eighth-The court declares that it cannot
find evidence to fix the responsibility.
The report is unanimous and is signed by
/ all the members Of the court. 1t does moi
| refer TO the existence or non existence OF
! mines in the harbor Of Havana except in the
| specific finding that mine was exploded
under the ship and the opinion that the eX-
! plosion of the two magazines was caused by
/ the explosion of a mine.
The report. as :: whole, is Il formal. dis
! passionate recital Of facts and bears the stamp
/ of that strict otiicialiSm which marks naval
/ procedure. 1t Is brief. not exceeding 800
/ words. and among the eight parts goes 10 the
/ greatest length under the second heading.
/ which deals with the discipline and ORDER Of
/ the ship. This the court specifies with eN-
/ IRENE mimutcneSS. the least detail of the con
ditlon of everything on board being given.
+ MAGAZINES NOT THE SOURCE.
The normal temperature of the large for
ward magazines at & o'c!ock-omly AN hour
said TO dispose of the question of accidental
combustion within these magazines. The
court holds that these ma. aZines did not cN
plode from internal causes, but that the eX
posion of the mine under the port side of the
ship caused them to explode. This will eX
plain the remarkable destruction wrought, the
explosion thus being shown to have combined
the force of "a mine without and two magi-
zines within.
The finding that the ship was lifted on the
first explosion indicates an external source
and one Of tremendous power 10 he able to
lift battle ship weighing thousands of tons.
The character of the wreckage, technically
described in the fifth part of the report from
which the court deduce that a mine was ex
ploded under the ship on the port side. suS
tainS the view taken by some experts soon
after the disaster that the force of the eXplo-
sion was rxerted from port to starboard.
The inability of the court TO find evidence
10 fix responsibility makes the report eN-
tremey guarded in expression. Neither
Spain nor the Spanish are mentioned in the
document.
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
Mr.. Mckinley,s message was Il recital of
the reason for sending the Maine to Havana
and IL summary of the finding of the court of
inquiry. The reason for sending the Maine
To Havana The President states as follows:
For some time prior to the visit of the
Maine to Havana harbor our consular repre-
SentatveS pointed out the advantages to flow
from the visit of national ships To the Cuban
waters, in accuSoming the people to the pres
cnce ot our flag as the symbol of good will
and of our ships in the tulflment of the mis-
sion OF protection to American interests, even
though no immediate need therefor might
exist
The President makes no recommendations
10 Congress on the subject, but states that
copy of the report Of the board of inquiry had
been forwarded to Spain, in the last para
graph of the message, as follows
Il have directed that the finding of the
court of inquiry and the views of this govern
ment thereon be communicated to the gov
crnment of her Majesty, the Queen Regent.
and | do not permit myself to doubt that the
sense Of justice Of the Spanish nation will
dictate i course of action suggested by honor
and the friendly relations oil the Two govern
mentS.
The message and report were referred to
appropriate committees in each house with
out debate or comment.
THE SPANISH VIEW.
WASHINGTON, March 2S.-A full synopsis
of the report of the Spanish naval commission
tie ship Maine was given out tonight. 1t is
taken from Il copy Of the original report,
which is now on its way here from Havana,
the synopsis being cabled in the meantime
and today placed i'll the hands of this govern
ment. The conclusions reached are directly
opposite to those i'll the report of the court OF
inquiry submitted to Congress today. The
synopsis is as follows:
1.-The report contains declarations made by
ocular witnesses and experts. From these
statements it clearly deduces and proves the
absence of all those attendant circumstances
which are invariably present on the occasion
of the explosion of a torpedo.
The evidence of witnesses comparatively
close to the Maine at the moment is TO the
effect that only one explosion occurred; that
no column of water was thrown in the air;
that no shock to the side Of the nearest yes
sci was telt nor oh land was any Vibration
noticed. and that no dead fish were found.
'''rhs evidence of the senior pilot of the
harbor states that there is abundance of fish
in the harb0r, and this is corroborated by
other witnesses. The assistant eng neer of
works states that after explosions made during
the execution of works in the harbor he has
always found dead fish.
''I'he divers were unable to examine the
bottom of the Maine, which was buried in the
mud. but careful examination of the sides
of the vessel, the rents and breaks in which
all point outward, shows without doubt that
the explosion was from the inside.
"a minute examination of the bottom OF
the harbor around the vessel shows absolutely
no sign of the explosion of torpedo, and the
fiscal (iudge advocate) of the commission can
find no precedent for the explosion of the
storage magazine of vessel by a torpedo.
''1he report makes clear that, owing to the
special nature Of the proceedings followed
and the absolute respect shown for the extra
territorial idea of the Maine, the commission
has been prevented from making such an ex
animation of the inside of the vessel as would
determine even the hypothesis of the internal
origin of the accident. This is to be attrib-
uted TO the regretable refusal to permit of the
necessary cooperation of the Spanish COM
mission, both with the commander and crew
of the Maine and the different American Off
eials commissioned to investigate the causes
of the accident, and later on with those en-
pleyed in salvage work.
The report finishes by stating that an ex-
animation of the inside and outside of the
Maine, as soon as such examination may be
possible, also of the bottom where the vessel
rests, will prove that, supposing TIE remains
of the wreck will not be totally or partially
altered in the process Of extraction, the ex-
plosion was undoubtedly due to some interior
cause.