The Lamar register., 1898-04-02


For sorne rir8e prior 10 The visit q the
Maine 10 Havana hartsor ctr consular
Representatives pointed 5ui the adyan-
taSes 10 follow visits Of national ships
10 the Cuhan waters. in aecastozning
the G--ople 10 The presence of cur Tag
A. the symbol o. good wiB and of oRr
shlTis IN the fulnllnl-ur of the mission
{ - pratectiGn 70 American interests
! even though No immediate nssd there
Tor might exiss.
AccordlnE8y. on Tie 2ath - Jam
AIRY last. after cynfsreBce with the
spanish minister. in which the renewal
q visits Of cur war vessels 70 Spanish
waters was distressed and accepted,
the peninsular authorities At Madrid
and Havana were advised Of the pur-
pose OF this government 10 resume
friendly naval visits al Cuban ports,
and that In that view the Maine would
forthwith call Al the port Of Havana
This announcement Was received by
the SIianlsh government with appreci-
ation Of the friendly character Of ne
rislt of the Maine and with noubes-
u0n Of inieufioa 10 return the cOur-
tssy by sending spanish ships 70 the
PRINCIPAL T.0rts q The tinted States
Meanwhile the Maine entered the port
Of Havana on ths 25th Of JanUzry-
her arrival s,eluE marked with nc
special incident besides the exchange
q customary salutes and errcmo1lal
visits
The Maine coDunued IN The hart.ar
of Havana during the ilrs-. weeks f0l-
lowing her arrival No sGprecIas,l.s
excItesDeut attended beE stay; on tte
coutrzry. 4 feeling of relief and eonf-
denee tollous-l tlls resuznEticn 81 the
long interrupted friendly iHrereourse-
SO noticeable was thc immediate sf-
ferr Of be.r yESsz that the cansul gen
erai stronEiy urged that the presence
~ our ships IN Cuban waters should
be Kept NJ ly retaining the Maine At
Havana or Ia the event q her recaIi,
by sending another vessel there TO take
ber place
AT forty minutes past 2 in the even
Ing o. the 18th OF February. the Maine
was destroyed by an explosion 10
which the entire forward part os the
slip WIS utterly wrecked II this Ga
tAstruphe two oticers and 2SO Of her
crew persisted. tb0se who were not
Killed outright ~ her explosion being
penDed between decks hy the tanEle
Of urrekace and drowned by the inn
mediate sinking Of the huh Prompt
assistance was rendered BY the neigh
boring vessels anchored IN the harl,or-
aid being especially given by The bosts
Of the Spanish cruiser Alpaa8so MI
and the Ward line stesmsr City Of
Washington which lay not far distant
The wounded were generously cared
for by the authorities Of Havana. the
hospitals being freely opened to theEa-
while the earliest recovered bodies Of
the dead were inferred hy the mum
cipaliTy in the public eemeteFy IN the
city. Tributes Of grief and sympathy
were offered from an official quarters
OF the Island
The appalling calamity fell upon the
people Of our country with crushing
force and for brief time an intense
excitement prevailed. which in a com
munity less just and seIf-controfled
than ours must have led to hasry acts
OF blind resentment This spirit, how
ever, soon gave way TO the caImer pro
cesses Of reason and to the resolve TO
investigate the facts and await the
material proof before forming a Iudg-
ment as TO the canse, the responsibility
and, II the facts warranted. the reTne-
dy due This course necessarily rec
commended itself from the outset to the
executive, for only in the light OF a
dispassionately ascertained certainty
could ii determine the nature and
measure Of its fun duty in the matter
The usual procedure was followed,
as in all cases Of casualty or disaster
10 national vessels Of any maritime
state. A naval court or inquiry was
at once organized, composed OF officers
wei qualified by rank and practical
experience to discharge the onerous
duty Imposed upon them. Aided by
4 strong force Of wreckers and divers.
the court proceeded TO make thor
ough investigation on the spot en-
ployins every available means for the
impartial and exact discrimination of
the causes of the explosion. Its opera
lions have been conducted with the
utInust deliberat5on and Judgment. and
while independently uursuei no