The Saint Paul globe., 1898-02-25
LONG KNOWS NOTHING
EXPLOSION ON THE MAINE COM
PLETE MYSTERY To HIM
The Secretary of the Navy ExpIains
That He Has Received No Official
News Throwing Light ON the
Cause of the Terrible Disaster at
Havana Harbor.

| News Throwing Light tn ?
Cause of the Terrible Disaster at
Havana Harbor.
WASHINGTON, Feb 24-Rumors Of
startling discoveries in the wreck of
the Maine were less frequent today,
but there were enough of them still
afloat to warrant Secretary Long in
making this statement as he left his
/ Office:
Summing up the situation. I should say
that the navy department knows today
nothing mere about the cause of the dis
aster than it did five minutes after the re-
eeipt CT the first dispatch from Capt Sigs-
bee
| The secretary's attention was called
/ to the published statement that Capt.
! Crowninshield. chief of the bureau OF
navigation, had just arrived at Tampa,
/ Fla, on the Montgomery, from a trip
/ to Cuba, where he had been inspecting
{ prospective coaling stations near Mat
/ anZas- The secretary's comment was
/ simply this:
| Capt. CrowninshieId has not been to
| Cuba. He has been off with his boy on
| matters not in any wise connected with
! the business of the navy
Secretary Long further said that he
rather expected to see Capt. Crownil-
| shield tomorrow
| Until the conclusion of the investi-
| cation of the court of inquiry at Hava-
na, the principal business Of the navy
! department in connection with the
! Maine will relate to the conduct of the
/ Wrecktng operations. Capt. Lemley,
! the judge advocate general, who has
| this branch of the work Immediately
| in charge, today received telegrems
| from the Merritt & Chapman Wreck
| ing company, at New York, stating
! that the steamer Merritt and the
| Wrecking lighter Sharp had sailed for
Havana, and that the tug Underwater,
| with the chief, would leave New York
! saturday for the same place The
assistant wrecking master was going
| 70 Havana on the Ward Line steamer
| Saturday and it was suggested to the
! department that its inspector should
| take the same steamer. Inasmuch as
| Lieutenant Commander KfmbaU. who
/ IS now at Havana. has been assigned
TO the duty of inspecting the wrecking
| operations, II will not be necessary to
| observe this suggestion
Message From sigsbee.
| The only exact information received
| by the navy department from Havana
| during the day was conveyed in tel
egram from Capt Sigsbee as follows:
Wrecking tug Right Arm arrived veSter
day Begins work today. Much eneumber-
Ing 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 yesterday. Aft compartment filed
wltn detached broken and buoyant furniture
ntungs' mud and confusion. Spanish au-
thortues continue offer Of care and assist
ance for the wounded and dead. Everything
that goes from the wreck to the limited
States should be dislnfected Wreckfng com
pany should be provided for this
Surgeon Of Maine, after consulting with
clothing should be abandoned. Might go to
acclimated poor. Useless fittings and equip
ments might be towed to sea and thrown
overheard. VIII take all immed late resuou-
stbrltty, but invite department's wishes
Shall old metal OF superstructure and like
be saved?
Friends Of dead should understand that
we are IN the tropics Chaplain Chidwick
charged with all matters relative to the
dead His conduct is beyond praise.
Don't know what reports are being print
ed, but the intensely active representatives
OF the press here have been very considerate
Of me and my position. -Sigsbee.
Secretary Long Immediately answer
ed Capt. sigsbee, approving all his rec
have Lieut.. Wainwright, the executive
officer of the Maine, make arrange
ments with the wreckers for the dis
Infection of everything sent to the
United States. The recommendation
that all bedding and clothing be
abandoned, and If need be, given to
the acclimated poor, was approved
without comment. The same approval
was given to the suggestion that use
less fittings and equipment be towed
to sea and thrown overheard. 1t 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
saving Of old metal and parts of the
gil he
| that such material was Of no use to
the bureau Of equipment. It was left
to Capt. Sigsbee to say what Of this
shattered material was worth preserv-
ing.
His statement that much blasting
will be required to clear away en-
cumbering material indicates that IT
is essential further to destroy the up-
per portions of the wreck in order to
get at what is more valuable beneath.
Zone of Explosion.
Capt. Sigsbee's statement that divers
have been down aft seven days and
forward four days, gives the navy de-
| partment the first information of the
time that the divers have been in the
| vicinity Of the zone of explosion" as
he termed it. This zone is confined to
| the forward part of the ship and while
| the divers have been down aft for the
| last week, their work forward in the
vicinity Of the large forward magazine
| has been in progress only four days,
which presumably began on Monday
| and included today.
The statement in the Sigsbee dis
| patch that friends of the dead should
understand we are in the tropics is
understood at the navy department TO
refer to the urgent pleas of relatives
| Of the dead that they be brought TO
| the United States. These appeals con-
| tinue to be received here. and while