Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-02-25
LITTLE DOUBT EXISTS
More Evidence to Prove That
the Maine Disaster Was an
&. Act OF Treachery.
Believed by Many That the
Younger Spanish Officers
Hatched the Plot.
Said Only a Submarine Mine
Could Produce Such Tre-
mendous Results. f

HAVANA, VIA Key West. Feb. a.
The situation. which may be changed
1t any moment By. fresh discoveries.
may be summed up substantially as
follows: LIKE
The divers having discovered cases Of
brown hexagonAl powder for the 10.
inch guns unexplodsd and believing,
also, that others unexploded will be
found in tho lO.inch maya zine on the
starboard side forward, the conviction
grows that this magazine did not blow
up. II this b %, and many have in
sisted from the first that it il, the
further conviction is forced that the
explosion which wrecked the Maine
came from the outside on tns port bow.
One thing seems certain. if the Maine
was blown up BY an outside agency,
the agent was . mine and not . tor.
pedo, ~ no torpedo known could have
produced such tremendous results.
Believe Younger Omnsrs Guilty.
The highest American officials here
are confident that General Blanco and
the other high Spanish officials had no
knowledge, direct or indirect. OF the
CONCEPTION or execution of q plot to
blow up the Maine, it such plot ex-
listed, but they believe the Junior Span
ish officers, who, from the nature Of
things, are more .conversant with mod.
ern explosives than their elders and
superiors, were 1t the bottom OF the
disaster, it there was any, outside
agency. It il pointed ont that it would
not be impossible to plant q mlne of
wet aud dry gun cotton near where .
foreign war vessel was directed to an.
chor, such q mine communicating with
a. electric battery Oh shore.
First to Anchor There.
It is regarded as an interesting point
thai tho Maine. tor the first Tune dur.
ing her stay in the harbor, lay at tho
partit ular spot whore she was at the
time Of the catastrophe, aud. it is said,
though not officially verified, that the
Maine was the first foreign war vessel
moored to this particular buoy since
the troubles in Cuba grew acute.
9s' Al stories g 70 lax discipline on tia
Maine are without . shadow Of truth.
On the contrary, Captain Sigsbee was
complained Of BY some 1or the rigldity
OF his rules and the stxictness with
which he enforced them. Moreover.
the Maine has been in commission for
years and never had . serious accident
until anchored in this quiet harbor.
subuar'ns Mines >a.d . Ell ct.
An American officer Of rank sufficient
70 entltle him to take command Of q
ship ID authority for the statement that
q Spanish naval officer some time ago
sold to the Washington state depart
msnt map OF Havana harbor showing
submarine mines. The Spanish resi-.
dents deny this statement and say that
the mines exist only in imagination.
Tho Lubans, on the other hand, claim
that there are mine galleries under the
harbor leading from subterranean pas
sages known to have existed tor years
between Fort Cabanas and Moro castle
and this port.
General Blanco, on the night Of the
disaster, was sitting with General
Aarinas in the corridor OF the palace.
When he heard the explosion he
jump ped from his chair, exclaiming:
SAT last they have put q shell into the
paAace." s.'-.
Censorship v~ry Strict.
The censorship is very strict. and,
according to q recent order all dis.
patches must be submitted in Spanish
Is well as English. This doubles the
trouble OF the correspondents aud
Quadruples delay. The means of COM
in Havana, large city. are
ratner primitive, and the work Of visit
ing ships IN the harbor u tedious. At
the palace during the hours when
Leutenant Colonel Mendez, the censor,
IL present. there can always be found
long line Of newspaper men anxiously
awaiting his approval or disapproval Of
their matter and his affixing OF the of.
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