Evening star., 1898-02-18
Secretary Longs Efforts to Allay'
Suspicion Of Foul Play.
HAS ALREADY PASSED JUDGMENT
Asserted That the Administrations 5
Attitude Is a Mistaken One.
NOT RESERvING OPINION

NouAiASht 10 SduScQ aOOut congress Dy
the fact that the Navy Department
through every utterance which has ON
cfai sanction is endeavoring to allay sus-
picion that the blowing up of the Maine
was the result of foul play. Particularly
active efforts in that direction are being
made today. In the opinion Of congress-
men who are reserving judgment until the
facts are known. the attitude of the Secre-
tary Is liable to prove embarrassing, and
official or semi-off1cial expressions of opfn-
lon should be reserved. In a semf-oficial
way, they say. the Secretary has already
passed judgment on a case which a court
OF inquiry has been appointed to investi-
gate, and the investigation of which has
not yet begun.
Should that court secure evidence which
circumstantislly led to the conclusion that
tne Maine Was destroyed by design it is be-
heved that this country would be very
already advanced by the department 20
convince the public that the explosion was
accidental.
The Spanish Investigations.
Dispatches from Havana announce that
the Spanish authorities in Cuba have desig-
mated officers to make an Investigation
jointly with the American officials as to
the cause of the accident. The Spanish will
probably make private as well as this
public invo ostigation. Their taking this pre-
caution recognizes that the circumstances
OF thes explosion warrant suspicion, ami
this action is one of self-defense against
the possibility of biased report by Amer
lean officials. 1t is a foregone conclusion
that, no matter what the American board
Of inquiry may discover the report of the
Spanish officials will be that the explosion
was accidental. In the event of a con-
trary report by the court of inquiry ap-
pointed by Admiral Sicard, the contention
Of the Spanish authorities will be sus-
tanned and that of our own officials dis
credited, the congre eSsional critics say, by
the declarations which are emanating from
the Navy Department prejudging the case.
Administrations Mistake.
1t Is held by them that a mistake is being
made by the administration in not main
tanning an absolutely neutral attitude This
mistake is, they say, the more apparent
from the fact that the accident theory ad-
vanced by the Secretary and by express
sions with semi-officIal authority. is not the
universally held theory in the department,
and Is disputed by very eminent authority
The fact Is that 1t is not known what
caused the disaster. Individuals are at
liberty to speculate the matter as much
as they please. and to support their theo-
rles by such facts. scientific or otherwise
as they can. But it is felt to be unwise for
the administration to go further than to
express the hope, which is entertained by
everybody. that the explosion was not the
result of foul play
The departments action in issuing TODAY
typewriter opinion and argument by
Professor Alger, seeking to prove that the
explosion could not have been caused by a
torpedo, and that 1t was the result primari-
ly of an explosion in the magazine is criti-
Clsed. .'.~
Not Charsed to spsnish OmcinIs.
Dispatches from Havana by Associated
PEeSS.4 after ipp 1,ot
have been planted under the Maine, stated
that "all this. however. is regarded as be-
ing unlikely to occur. as being almost inn
possible to occur without the COLLISION of
Spanish officials" ',- - 80
!: The Idea of collusfon of Spanish officials,
4even on their individual responsibility, is
fShunned by, everybody.
locked fT the, discussion of this question is
that before the matter came SO close home
TO us, there was no hesitancy about charg-
ling the Spanish officials and the Spanish
government with. ATROCITIES quite as savage
! brutal and treacherotiss' as the blowing IN
l,pf the Maine. These charges have been
made not oEIy in the press, but in the most
deliberately considered speeches and reso-
lutiops in Congress. and have been referred
to by the President in a message to Con-
!gress. 1t is held that while these charges
publicly made and often repeated do NOT
warrant the assumption that any Spanish
ofnciai even in his private capacity, would
l. connive at such horrible deed as the
treacherous destruction Of an American
battle ship yet the fact that such atroci-
ties were charged in good faith does war
rant the assumption that such thing is
possible and suggests the withholding of
Judgment until the facts are known
The purpose of the administration to pre-
vent. as far as possible, the hasty forming
or public opinion adverse to Spain, is
approved OF by the best men in official life
In Washington, but an official assumption,
in the face of expert testimony to the con-
trary, that the explosion was accidental
Is regarded as unwarranted and unwise. It
Is not regarded as "reserving" sopinion.