Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-02-24
WHO Is TO BLAME?
Three Theories Regarding Cause
of Maine Disaster.
a Torpedo an Internal Machine an Ac-
oident-which Was It?-The Many
Safeguards Employed on Men
of-Wnr to Prevent Such
Catastrophes.

Washington, Feb. 17.-Naval officers
cannot agree upon any theory to ac-
count for the destruction of the Maine.
Perhaps a aiority are inclined to the
belief that the explosion was purely
accidental; another considerable num-
Der feel that torpedo was exploded
under the vessel, and third theory is
that some Internal machine was SNUG
gled aboard the ship and set off. An
examination by diver of the hull OF
the Maine would demonstrate instant
ly whether or not torpedo had been
used. for in case it had the plates of
the hull would surely be driven in. On
the other hand. protruding plates
would be an evidence that the eXplo-
sion was purely internal.
Capt. Sigsbee's brief report, as well
as Gen. Lees dispatch, indicates that
they now incline strongly to the belief
that the explosion was of internal
origin. Both agree that the force of it
was in the forward part of the ship
and this is borne out by the escape of
the ma aiority of officers whose quar-
ters are aft, and the heavy casualties
among the crew sleeping forward.
Probably in the latter case the death
list would have been even larger, but
for the fact that the Maine, having
superstructure forward on the main
deck, portion of the crew were quar-
tered there and SO escaped the greater
violence of the explosion as felt on the
berth deck below them. The Maine
had three magazines. The one for
ward was used for the storage of am
munition, weighing 1000 pounds.
There was no smokeless powder on
board the ship, and the ten-inch am
munition was made up of brown pris-
matte powders. Not only is this powder
carefully packed in Theoretically sealed
copper cases, but its heat resisting
qualities are SO great that it cannot be
ignited by the flame of a match, 600 de-
grees Fahrenheit being the amount of
heat that must be applied for some
time to set off the powder. On the
other hand it is readily ignited, as in
the case of the charge in a gun, by the
explosion of good quantity of fulmin-
ate. Every precaution is adopted
aboard ship to safeguard the magazine.
In its vicinity sentry stands on duty
continually. The doors are closed her
metically except when the ship is
cleared for action. At o'clock every
night the temperature is taken and the
keys of the locked door are placed in
the captains hands for the night.
The records of the navy department
show that 81 degrees was the maximum
temperature in the Names magazine
during the past month, a very low and
safe temperature. These facts make
it extremely difficult to account for
the explosion, particularly as no visit
ors are admitted under any circum-
stances to the magazine. OF course it
is possible that there was spontaneous
combustion of some illuminate or gun
cotton intended for use in torpedoeS.
There were no steam pipes or furnaces
near enough to the magazine to cause
the belief that they might have eX-
ploded the powder. The coal bunkers
there We're in the neighborhood, and it
is Just possible that in them might be
found the origin of the accident.
1t depends on whether they were
empty or contained coal. 1t is said to
be the practice of commanders to
empty the fore -bunkers of the ship
first in which case the Names bunk
ers in that quarter were probably
emptied, owing to the length of her
stay.
If, however, the bunkers We're not
entirely empty they undoubtedly con-
tanned elements of danger that might
account for the explosion. The depart
ment has been greatly troubled by
spontaneous combustion of coal in the
ships bunkers which have endangered
the lives of the crews and the safety of
the ships. The Cincinnati twice at
least has been obliged to flood her
magazines to prevent their blowing up
during fires of this kind, and the crui-
ser Boston has been in the same condi-
ton. In some of these cases shelving
in the magazines which separate the
powder charges have been charred by
the intense heat caused by the burning
coal in the adjacent bunkers.
The theory advanced by the Spanish
authorities that the disaster might
have been caused by the explosion of
the boiler. is asserted at the navy de-
partment as within the bounds of Gre
dulity. The Names boiler was sepa-
rated from the powder magazine at the
nearest point by space of about four
feet usually filed with coal. At least
one boiler undoubtedly was kept un-
der almost full steam in order to run
the dynamos and move the ship in case
of need. The explosion of such boil
er might easily drive through the bulk
head and fire the magazine.
Inasmuch as suspicion exists in some
quarters that a torpedo was used
against the Maine, it may be said that
the majority of naval officers believe
that the character of the explosion was
hardly such as could be attributed to
torpedo. The latter, charged with
about 100 pounds of powder or gun cot
ton, it is believed would have torn a