The San Francisco call., 1898-02-17
OF NAVAL OFFICERS Various Theories to Ac- count for the Maine
 Disaster.
Rear Admiral Kirkland Not Yet Ready to Hazard an
 Opinion.
Says the Cause of the Catastrophe Will Be Known Whom Divers
 Examine the Hull
Special Dispatch to The Call.

VALLEJO. Feb. 16.-Admiral Kirk land, Captain Glass, Captain Kempff and all officers at the navy-yard have expressed their utmost regret for The terrible misfortune that has befallen the officers and crew of the Maine. They are at a loss to find reasonable solution for the accident that has be- fallen one of the finest warships in the navy. No dispatch of any kind reach ed the hayward to-day from head quarters at Washington.
 T cannot express an opinion as to the cause of the disaster until 1 know something more definite" said Admiral Beardslee The truth of the matter will probably not be ascertained until the divers get at work Then 1t will be easy to determine whether or not the explosion occurred on board. If the ships plates in the main hull are blown out it follows that the explosion occurred on board: but should the plates be bent inward, then it must have come from the outside"
 Captain Henry Glass said: While of course I can only conjecture the cause
 
 caused by spontaneous combustion in the coal bunkers adjacent to the maga- zine. These warships use bituminous coal, which Is very dangerous. A leak from the fireroom might have occasion ed the explosion. Just such an accident was narrowly averted on board the cruiser Cincinnati in the harbor of Key West two years ago. A fire broke out in the coal bunkers from spontaneous combustion, and the steel bulkhead be- tween the bunkers and the magazine became red hot before it was discover ed. Fortunately there was not enough air to admit of a free blaze, and when a thin stream of smoke was seen issu- ing from the magazine head the nre was detected and both magazine and bunkers were promptly flooded When the ammunition was removed from the magazine the heads of many Of the shells were found to have been charred, and 1t was a miracle that the ship was not blown to pieces.
 Naval Constructor William Baxter, upon learning that nothing def1- nite was known as to the cause of the disaster, declined to express a de- cided opinion. He said, however:
 ''The loss of the Maine leaves the At Iantic coast only three battle-ships, and in the event of war being declared with Spain I suppose the Philadelphia, Charleston and Yorktown, now lying at the navy-yard here, would be order ed to the Atlantic, as there Is no Span ish cruiser on this coast. and all action would be confined to the Eastern coast"
 When asked as to whether or not the United States was in a condition to en- ter upon such a war, he said:
 That is a very serious question. In the first place, there Is shortage Of powder. and the manufacture of such nowder as is used in the big guns cf our modern navy Is difficult under taking, for after a quantity or poWoer has been made 1t sometimes happens that 1t will not stand the required test and has to be destroyed. Still as our fleet Is very small, comparatively speaking, the mills could supply enough for our ships by doubling their ca nacitv for few months.
 Naval Constructor Baxter said it was a very serious blow to this country, whether the lOSS OL ehc oAiAP '" through accident or otherwise. Such a thing as sinking a ship with torpedo while in a friendly port was unheard CT, he said. It was not plausible that the Maine was sunk by Spanish orders or directions. If done at all by outsiders, if must have been on their own respon- sibility, but the Spanish Government would be responsible for 1t. The Ha- vana authorities were supposed to see that such things were not possible.
 All of the naval officials point to the fact that on board a man-of-war the nowder magazine is one of the most guarded parts, and that it would be an almost utter impossibility for one to obtain keys to the magazine matches.
 Gunner Cronin, attached to the re- ceiving ship Independence, w1o has had much experience with high explosives, expresses the opinion that only fa- natic would have caused the explosion by lighting the powder magazine, and sacrificing his own life with those Of his victims In his opinion, 1t Is pos sible the explosion may have been caused by decomposed gun-cotton. All ships carry certain quantity for use in boat torpedoes, and 1t has to be carefully watched for fear of its decom- 4 A 4 4 4 4 A A A A A