The San Francisco call., 1898-02-18
SUSPICION OF
 MAINE'S MEN Lieutenant Jenkins Made a Search for Planted
 Torpedoes. Failed to Find Any Evidence of Mines of Explosives in
 the Harbor. In Her Sheltered Position at Anchorage the Maine Had Havana at
 Her Mercy.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

NEW YORK, Feb. 17.-A correspond ent of the Herald, who has just re- turned from Havana, said to-day: When the Maine entered the harbor ot Havana one of the first officers I met was Lieutenant Jenkins, the represen- tative of the bureau of naval intelli- gence, who asked me for information relative to the defenses of the place which l gladly furnished him.
 The point on which Lieutenant Jen- kins was most anxious to secure ac- curate information was whether the harbor had been planted with torpedoes or fixed with submarine mines. The lieutenant made many inquiries on this subject in quarters which I suggested and when l asked him some days later what had been the result of his in- vestigation, he said:
 l am under the impression that the harbor has not been planted with toy pedoes, but 1t Is impossible to be ab- solutely certain on this point. If any torpedoes exist it is probable that they have been placed in the channel near the entrance of the harbor, where they could be exploded either by contact by electrical connection with one of the forts so as to destroy a ship attempt ing to force an entrance.
 Situated as the Maine is, she is abso- lutely sheltered from the fire of all the forts and batteries, and holds the city absolutely at her mercy. It is, of course, possible that the Spanish engi- neers may have taken into considera- tion the contingency of a vessel being ok 1A to T. l. as far up as the man-of-war anchor age and have planted torpedoes there I am disposed, however, to think this has not been done. If it has, all we car do is to keep a bright lookout and take our chances. Luckily we don't lie ir very deep water, and if we sink we car still work our guns
 Captain Sigsbee said to me: I have given this question of torpedoes the most careful consideration, and my in telligence officer, Lieutenant Jenkins agrees with me that it is improbable that torpedoes are planted in the har- bor or at any rate in our vicinity. There is one thing that gives me confidence That is this-the Maine only has five feet of water under her keel and If a hole is blown in her bottom she can only be down to that extent That will leave our main deck above water. and with our ten-inch turret guns capable of being pointed in any direction. we can still have Havana at our mercy and can utterly destroy the city with our ship resting on the bottom.'
 When the Maine came in she was IT charge of Spanish pilot, who, if there were any torpedoes or mines placed 1T the harbor, must unQuestionably have been informed with absolute accuracy as to their location. Under charge ol this pilot the ship was conducted tC buoy No. 4, adjoining the berth occu- pied by the Spanish flagship Alfonso XIII. No particular reason has beer advanced for the selection of this buoy which was not used by the German wal ship Stein, which came to Havana be fore the Maine. The nearest vessel wa: the Alfonso XIII, which is only supplied with bow and stern tubes, which could not be brought to bear against tht Maine unless the force of the tide hap pened to cause the flagship to drif either~bow or stern on toward tn, American. The only other Spanish warshp in the harbor was a torpedo gunboat lying up the harbor off tn, arsenal and more than half a mil, away. Like the flagship she had nc motive power, her boilers being dis abled and awaiting repair. At the ar senal wharves lay three or four small torpedo gunboats, but all out of com mission and undergoing repairs"