The Portland daily press., 1898-02-25


| squelching Rumors.
| Washington, February 24.-Rumors Of
the Maine were less frequent today, but
there were enough of them still afloat to-
day to warrant Secretary Long in max
ing this statement to the newspaper men
as he left his office:
| Summing up the situation, / should
| say that the navy department. knows to-
day nothing more about the cause Of the
disaster than 1 did five minutes after
the receipt of the first despatch from
Capt. Sigsbee"
| The secretary's attention was drawn to
the published STATE ment that Capt.
Crowinshield, chief of the bureau of nayi-
CATION had just arrived at Tampa, Fla,
on the Montgomery from trip to Cuba,
where he had been inspecting pros
pective ooaling stations near Matanzas.
The secretary's comment was simply this:
"Capt. Crowninshield has not been to
Cuba. He has been off with his boy on
matters not in any wise connected VIII
the business Of the navy"
Secretary Long futher said that he
rather expected to see Capt. Crownln-
shield tomorrow.
] Until the conclusion Of the inyestlga-
tion of the court of inquiry at Havana
the principal business of the navy de-
partment in connection with the Maine
| will relate to the conduct Of the wreck
| ing operat ons. Capt. Lemly the judge
advocate general, who has this branch OF
the work Immediately in charge, today
received kilograms from the Merritt and
| Chapman wrecking company at New
| York stating that the steamer Merritt
and the wrecking lighter Sharpe had
sailed for Havana and that the tug I'm
derwriter with the chief, would leave
| New York Sunday for the same place.
| The assistant wrecking master was go
| ing to Havana on the Ward line steamer
| Saturday and it was suggested to the
department. that Its inspector should
| take the same steamer.
| Inasmuch as Lieut.. Commander KIM
ball, now in Havana, has been assigned
| to the duty of inspecting the wrecking
| O. erations, it will not be necessary to
observe this suggestion.
| The only exact information received by
the navy department from Havana dur
| ing the day was conveyed in Capt. Slgs-
| bees telegram as follows:
| Havana, February "a
| Long, Secretary of the Navy:
| Wreeking tug Right Arm arrived yes
| terday. Begins work today. Much en-
cumberiny metal must be blasted away
| in detail. Navy divers down aft seven
days, forward four days. Bodies of
jenkins and Merritt not found. Two
unidentified bodies of crew found yester-
day. Aft compai tment filled with &C.
taohed, broken and buoyant furniture
and fittings, mud and confusion. Span
| ish authorities continue offers of assis-
tanoe and care for wounded and dead.
Everything that goes from the wreck
to the United States should be disinfect-
ed. Wrecking company should provide
| for this. Surgeon of the Maine, after
consulting with Others, recommends that
all bedding and clothing should be aban-
doned or might go to acclimated poor.
| Useless fitting and equipments might be
| towed towed to sea and thrown overheard.
| Will take all immediate responsibility
| but invite department wishes. Shall old
metal of superstructure and like be
sayea2 Friends of dead should under
stand that we are IN the tropics. Chap
| lain Chidwick, charged with all patters
relative to dead. His conduct is beyond
praise. Don't know what reports being
printed. bit the intensely active repre-
sentatIves of the press here have been
very considerate of me and my position.
| .(Signed)
Sigsbee.
Secretary Long Immediately answered
Capt. Sigbee, approving all his recon-
| mendations. He was directed to have
Lieut.. Wainwright. the executive officer
| of the Maine, make arrangements With
tho wreckers for the disinfection of every
thing sent to the United States. The
recommendation that all the bedding
and clothing be abandoned. and II need
be, given to the acclimated poor. was ap-
proved without comment. Inc same ap-
proval was given to the suggestion that
useless fittings and equipment be 5owed
to sea and thrown overheard. III being
left to Capt. Sigsbee's Judgment to de-
| termine how far this destruction should
be carried on.
To the captains inquiry as to the saw
ing of old metal and parts OF the super
material was of no use to The bureau OF
equipment 1t was left to Capt S1gsbse
| to say what of this shattered material
was worth preserving. His statement
that much blasting would be required
to clear away encumberlng materlal IN
dicates that 1t is essential further to de-
stroy the upper portions OF the wreck IN
order to get at what is more valuable
beneath.
Capt Sigsbees' statement that the di.
vers have been down aft seven days and
forward four days, gave the department
the first Information of the time that the
/ divers had been in the vicinity OF the
zone of the explosion. This zone IS con-
fined to the forward part of the ship.
The statement in the Sigsbee despatch
that 'sfriends of the dead should under
stand we are in the tropics" Is under
stood at the navy department. TO refer tc
tho urgent pleas OF relatives Of the dead
that the latter be brought to the United
States. These appeals continue to be re-
ceived here, but while they excite the
deepest sympathy Of officials. no hope
can be held out that the dead can an DC DC
brought pack. There are circumstances
which il they could be made known,
would end such appeals and would show
that the department. had not been end want s5
tivss from the pain which would be
caused by fun disclosure aof the effect
of the explosion. The press reports: have
given in part the terrible mutliat1on OF
the bodies, but it is feared that this has
not been realized by friends and rela
tives.