Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-04-01
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
ACCOMPANYING TRANSMlSSIO ON
OF MAINE REPORT.

VT MT Sbt
4 Review of Considerations Which
Resulted i'm the Names Presence
i'm Cuban Watcrs-A Brief His.
tory of the Disaster and the Sum.
mary of the Report.
WASHINGTON, March 2S.-The Prcsi.
dents message to-day simply trans
mits the Names court OF inquiry re-
port, giving its findings. 1t was de-
cidcd this morning to send to the
Senate the testimony taken by the
court, of which there are an hundred
thousand words. The message is as
follows:
"To the Congress of the United
States: For some time prior to the
visit of the Maine to Havana harbor,
our consular representatives pointed
out the advantages to follow Il visit of
our naval ships to Cuban waters, in
accustoming people to the presence of
our flag as symbol of good will and
of our ships in fulIillment of a mission
of protection to American interests,
even though no immediate need there
for might exist.
Accordingly, on the 25th of Janu-
AIRY last, after conference with the
Spanish minister, in which renewal
of the visits of our war vessels to Span
ish waters was discussed and accepted,
the peninsular authorities at Madrid
and Havana were advised of the pur-
pose of this government to assume
friendly naval visits at Cuban ports
and with that view the Maine would
forthwith call at the port of Ha-
vana.
by the Spanish government with the
appreciation of the friendly character
of the visit of the Maine and with the
notification of the intention to return
the courtesy by sending Spanish
ships to the principal ports of the
United States.
meanwhile, the Maine entered the
port of Havana on the 25th of Janu-
airy, her arrival being marked with no
special incident besides an exchange
of the customary salutes and cere-
monial visits.
"The Maine continued in the har-
Dor of Havana during the three weeks
following her arrival. No appreciate
excitement attended her stay. On the
contrary, feeling of relief and con-
fidence followed the resumption of the
long interrupted friendly intercourse.
So noticeable was this immediate ef-
feet of her visit that our consul gen.
eral strongly urged that the presence
of our ships in Cuban waters should
be kept up by retaining the Maine at
Havana, or in the event of her recall
by sending another vessel there to
take her place.
"At forty minutes past 9 on the
evening of February Is, the Maine was
destroyed by an explosion by which
the entire forward part of the ship was
utterly wrecked. In this catastrophe,
two officers and 26O men persisted,
those who were not killed outright by
her explosion being penned between
decks by the tangle of wreckage and
drowned by the immediate sinking of
the hull.
Prompt assistance. was rendered by
neighboring vessels anchored in the
harbOr, aid being especially given by
the boats of the Spanish cruiser,
Alphonso KILL, and the Ward line
steamer City of Washington, which
lay not far distant. The wounded
we're generously cared for by the
authorities of Havana, hospitals being
freely opened to them, while the
earliest recovered bodies were inferred
by the municipality in the public
cemetery in the city. Tributes of
grief and sympathy were offered from
all official quarters of the island.
"The appalling calamity fell upon
the people of our country with crush.
ing force, and for brief time intense
excitement prevailed, which in a COM
munity less just and we'll controlled
must have led to hasty acts of blind
resentment. This spirit, however,
soon gave way to calmer processes of
reason and to q resolve to investigate
the facts and await material proof be-
fore the forming of judgment as to
the cause, responsibility, and, if the
facts warranted, the remedy due.
"This course necessarily recon-
mended itself from the outset to the
executive, for only in the light of a
dispassionately ascertained certainty
could it determine the nature and
measure of its full duty in the matter.
"The usual procedure was followed
as in the cases of the casualty or disas.
ter to national vessels of a maritime
state. A naval court OF inquiry was
at once organized, composed of officers
we'll qualified by rank and practical
Experience to discharge the onerous
duty imposed upon them. Aided by
a strong force of wreckers and divers,
the court proceeded to make thor
ough investigation on the spot, en-
ploying every available means for an
impartial and exact determination of
the cause of the explosion. Its opera
tions have been conducted with the
utmost deliberation and judgment,
and, while it was independently pur-
sued, no source of information was
neglected, and the fullest opportunity
was allowed for simultaneous investi-
cation by the Spanish authorities.
The finding of the court of inquiry
was reached after twenty-three days of
continuous labor, on the 21st of March,
and having been approved on the 22d
by the Commander-in.Chief of the
naval force of the North Atlantic sta.
ton, was transmitted to the executive.
at is herewith laid before Congress
together with the voluminous testi-
mony taken before the court.
ats purport is in brief as follows:
"When the Maine arrived at Ha.
vana she was conducted by regular
government pilot to buoy No. 4, to
which she was moored in from five
and one-half to six fathoms.
"The state of discipline on board