Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-03-29
'CIofI.iI s REPORT
I Board Of Inquiry Is Positive
That tho Maine Was Blown
Up by a Mine.
First Shock Lifted the Ship,
Two Magazines Exploding
Afterwards.
OFFICERS ARE EXONERATED
Discipline Was Excellent and
Conditions on Board We're
j.. Satisfactory.
No Evidence Found Sufficient
to Fix Responsibility for
the Disaster.

the OISdStoTs
1.-THE Associated Press abstract Of the
court Of inquiry report. Copyright,
1898, by the Associated Prcss].
..t,. WASHINGTON, March %. The Asso-
dated Press presents herewith q com.
plete abstract of the report of the court
Of inquiry which investigated the
WI. cklng Of the battleship Maine.
The abstract is made from the report
itself. The report is made up Of eight
parts, as follows:
First-The court finds that at the time
Of the explosion the battleship was lying
In five and one-half to six fatholns Of
water.
Second-The discipline aboard the ship
was excellent; everything slowed accord
Inc to DISCRIMINATION guns, stores,
etc. The temperature Of the magazines
Ut p. m. was normal, except in the after
l0-inch magazine, and that did not ex-
plode.
Ihird-The explosion occurred at 9:4O
O'Clock on the evening Of Feb. 15 There
were two explosions, with very short in.
teryal between them. The ship lifted on
first explosion.
Fourth-Tho court can form no definite
opinion of the condition of tho wreck from
the divers evidence.
Eifth-Technical details Of wreckage
from which court deduces that mine
Wa exploded under the ship on the port
aide.
Sixth-The explosion was duo to no
fault Of those on board.
Seventh-Opinion of the court stating
that tho explosion Of the mine caused tho
OK lesion OF two magazines.
Eighth-The court declares that it can
not find evidence to fix the responsibility.
Formal and Dt.pxss. onate.
The report is unanimous and is
signed by all the members of the court.
1t does not refer to the existence or
non.ex.stence OF the mine in the harbor
OF Havana except in the specific finding
that q mine was exploded under the
ship and the opinion thut the explosion
81 the two magazines was caused by
explosion of a NINE.
Tue report az q whole is @ formal, dis.
passionate recital Of tucts aud bears
the stamp Of that strict officialism
wuicn marks naval procedure. It ia
brief, not exceeding 1880 words, aud
among tho eight parts goes to the great.
est length under the second heading
watch deals with the discipline and or.
der of the ship. This the court speoi.
fies with extreme minuteness, tho least
detail of the satisfactory condition of
every thing OH board being given. The
normal temperature of the large for.
ward magazines at = o'clock only an
hour and forty minutes before the ex.
plosion-disposes of the question Of
accidental com bustlon within these
magazines. While the court holds that
these magazines did not explode from
internal causes, they never theless are Of
tie opinion that the explosion of the
m l.- un or the port side of the ship
oaused the
Expi osion Of tho Two Magazines.
To-, will exp.ain the remarkable de.
structlon wrought, the expression thus
bein. shown to have con blned the force
Of mine without and two magazines
wl,u.n. The two. xp4Csions. which the
CT uri finds to have occurred. with
very short interval between them, is
an additional detail showing that two
forces operated in causing the destruc-
ton. The finding that tho ship lifted
on tho first explosion indicates al tx
ternal source aud one Of tremendous
spower to be able to lift battleship of
thousands OF tons. The character of
the wreckage, technically described in
the fifth part Of the report, from which
the court deduces that mine was ex.
ploded under the ship on the port side,
susta,ns the view taken by some ex.
perts shortly after the disaster that the
force OF the explosion was exerted from
port to starboard.
The inability of the court to find evi.
aenoe to tx responsibility, a. stated in
the eighth part, makes the report 20
guarded in expression Of blame that
neither Spain nor the Spanish are men.
tinned throuQhOut