The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-21
BOARD OF INQUIRY SAILS.
EXPECTED TO BEGIN ITS WORK ON
THE MAINE TO-DAY.

Composing the Board. aud will Accept ITS
Findinss as F~inal-Nanitary ana Naval
Preparations Are BeisG MADE In Accord
nnce with q LouE Understood Programme.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20.-With tho sailing Of
the Naval Board Of Inquiry from Key West to
Havana to-day, rs announced in n despatch to
the Navy Department from Admiral Sicard. the
President and Secretary Long and official WASH
ington generally have been partly relieved from
the tension Of the last few days. Nobody knows.
not even the members OF the board, how soon
their report will be in the possession Of the
Government, but the general understanding is
that, while O careful investigation will be made,
the board will expedite its work and furnish
the Navy Department with all the information
It Obtains within q very short period. Tho seri.
BUSINESS Of the duty to which the board has been
assigned is fully appreciated by the department..
Secretary Long has. however, thorough conf
denoe In the mon composing the board, and
naval officers generally are agreed that moro
capable and reliable selections could not have
been made. and that the Government viii mako
no mistake In accepting without question every
finding reported.
On the report to be submitted by Capt. Samp-
son and his associates may depend tho continu-
ance of friendly relations between Spain and
tho United States. This fact 10 recognized hero
In every branch OF official life, and the gravity
OF the result dependent on tho inquiry of the
four naval officers is fully appreciated.
The knowledge that tho relations of this coun.
try and Spain are in q more critical condition
than at any time since the beginning of the
Cuban war has sobered oven those persons con-
nected with the Government who have been in
clined to express their hostility without reserve.
Everybody has become serious, and there 10
q general obedience to the request Of Capt.
Sigsbee that judgment be suspended.
To-day has not been marked by any unusual
happening. and the lack Of excitement has given
people a chance to think over the situation
calmly. Tonight there In every evidence that
everybody connected with the Government is
willing to await, as calmly as they can,
tho verdict Of tho Board Of Inquiry. That
this feeling will continue there 10 little
doubt, although rumors Of foul play are in the
air and are accepted without question even by
some Of those who do not want the Administra-
ton to act without being firmly convinced that
tho sinking of the Maine was tho result of
treachery.
The photographs of the shattered remains Of
the once magnificent battleship have been ex-
amined with the greatest interest to-day by
naval officers, who have not, however. been able
to base any now theories as to the cause of
the disaster on these views Of the dis
mantled wreck. The fact that the forebody
of the vessel is entirely under water, while
the after part projects above the water. is ac-
counted for by q difference in the depth Of
the channel beneath the wreck. According to
the accounts from Havana the Maine sank stern
foremost. and when the keel touched bottom
the bow began to sink until 1t gradually disap-
penred. Another theory Is that the whole
forebody has collapsed. and thus left moth
ing of that section of the Maine to
show above the surface. Until full de-
scriptions are received from officers OF the
Maine. showing the effect Of the explosion. the
direction OF the blast, and the condition of the
interior Of the ship. experts in ordnance and
construction can form no definite conclusions as
to the causes which brought about the ships
destruction.
The torpedo expert in the Naval Bureau of
Ordnance is authority for tho interesting state
ment that, even II a torpedo had been fired
under the Maine. not a vestige Of 1t will be
found, thus removing the hope Of those who
hold the torpedo theory that an exploded casing
would be discovered.
How readily a great battleship can be sunk
with a comparatively small charge OF high ex-
plosive is shown in the official report, on file Mt
the Navy Department. in regard to the sinking
of the Brazilian rebel ship Aquidaban. the only
modern war vessel of her size yet known to
hoNO bCht W Al thtoubh IhO "a
fective agency of a torpedo explosion. She
was q much heavier ship in displacement
than the Maine. and. in fact. carried
a more formidable battery. At tho time
Admiral BenhRm cleared his ship for action In
Rio bay and announced that he would escort
two American merchant vessels through the
rebel fleet to their wharves. the New York was
assigned to look to the Aquidaban, and after
the affair there WINS much discussion regarding
the ability Of the armored cruiser to take care
OF the big battleship.
The report on the sinking Of the Aquidaban
says that 1875 pounds Of guncotton, In q
Schwartzkopf type of torpedo. exploded under
her bow and sent her to the bottom in shallow
water, where the Brazilian Government after
ward closed the hole and towed the ship to dry
dock. Tho Aquidaban was struck between the
sixth and seventh frames. the injuries extending
from the bow to the twelfth frame and below
the protective deck, which was apparently unin-
jured. All plates and frames on that side were
crushed inward. denoting an external explosion.
The watertight bulkhead at the sixth frame was
entirely carried away. as were other frames aft
to the watertight bulkhead at the twelfth frame,
which stood intact with doors closed. and only
two forward compartments were flooded. On
the starboard bow. about two feet above the
keel. was a hole two feet In diameter. tho
ragged edges of which were Hanged outward
and aft, the frames much twisted and curled,
but the remainder Of the hull was In good con-
dition.
That the Maine was destroyed by an explosion
Of a magazine caused by fire In tho coal bunkers
In n theory which has some believers among
officers. The board appointed to investigate
the subject Of spontaneous combustion of coal
on war vessels recently reported that during
the past three and q half years there had been
fires in twenty bunkers from this cause. of
which the Wilmington had had Ave and another
vessel four. Tho fires on the Wilmington
were In every instance traced to tho
proximity of one OF the bunkers to the
furnace. and when high speed was required
and the coal feed lively. one bunker was almost
certain to tako fire. On the other vessel the
same causes were assigned. The San Francisco
during seven years Of active service, has never
had a fire Of any sort in her bunkers. Several
other vessels OF the navy have also escaped. In
the whole service. excluding the Wilmington
and Olympia. only four other vessels have had