The San Francisco call., 1898-02-17
Did Not WuDt to Load Coal in the Hurbor of
 Havana.
His Dread Was Tbut Some DeDon Would Put q Stick of DyDuDite in the Ships
 BuDkers.

of treachery and foul play that ran through all minds had sobering effect upon public men Of all shades of politi- cal opinion. The fact stands forth, and IS little less than remarkable, that not a single resolution was introduced or a single speech made in either House of Congress, save one of condolence with the families of the killed, offered by MT. Boutelle and adopted by the House Public men expressed their opinions with reserve when approached, but everywhere there was a demand for an investigation and full details in the light of which the horror may be justly viewed. Secretary Long undoubtedly summarized the general opinion of the majority of the naval experts in finding It impossible just now to state the cause of the destruction of the Maine There are great number of theories, but most of them are of character that makes 1t easy to prove or upset them by single investigation by diver.
 Secretary Long has taken immediate steps to make an investigation. Late this afternoon he telegraphed to Ad- miral Sicard at Key West to appoint a board of naval officers to proceed at once to Havana, employ divers and generally to make such inquiries as the regulations of the Navy Department de- mand shall be made in the case of loss Of ship. It IS expected that this work will take some time, and while there are officers who say that in their opinion 1t will not be possible, owing to the probable disrupted condition of the hull Of the ship, to make out the cause of the explosion, the opinion of the majority is that the question will be easily settled by a simple observation of the condition Of the ships hull plates in the nelghborhood of the hole which sunk her, whether or not they are bulged out, as would be the case if the explosion came from the inside, or whether they are driven in, as would result from the attack of a torpedo or the explosion of mine beneath the ship.
 The majority of naval officers are inclined to the belief that the explo- sion resulted from spontaneous com bustion of a coal bunker, the over heating of the iron partitions between the boilers and the magazine or from the explosion of a boiler, though the last theory finds little support. The list of the survivors that came to the Navy Department this afternoon in answer to a telegram was inaccurate and made out the loss of life eight more than the summary originally given by Captain Sigsbee in the earlier telegram, so Secretary Long telegraph ed for corrected list and also one that should show who were and who were not wounded of the survivors.
 It was found necessary to do this owing to the great number of pitiful appeals for information as to the safety of unfortunates on the Maine that came from all parts of the coun- try.
 The naval constructors, in the light of the dispatches thus far received. say 1t is by no means certain that the Maine cannot be raised and again carry the flag. They say that while she is big ship, others as large have been raised, and at Havana the new floating drydock would receive her if she could be at once got above water.
 Captain Sigsbee evidently is taking an interest in the future of the ship for he sent telegram to Commander Forsythe at Key West that was two %4N1
 Long suggesting that lighthouse ves- sel or some such small craft be sta- tioned in Havana harbor to watch over the wreck. The latter, even if beyond resurrection, contains valuable ord- nance and other property that doubt less can be secured by divers.
 It is said at the Navy Department that this disaster is the greatest of the kind in naval history since the sinking of the big British warship Victoria. by collision with the Camperdown. in the Mediterranean, off Malta, in June, 1893. By that accident the British ad- miral commanding, twenty-two officers and 336 men lost their lives
 The Spanish legation was early ad- vised of the horror by Captain General Blanco, who expressed his profound re- gret and added that the occurrence was chance accident, the undoubted cause being an explosion of the boiler of the dynamo. This was the only specific cause assigned from an official source during the day.
 M. Dubosie, the Spanish Charge d'Affaires, called at the State Depart ment to express his profound regret, and the entire Spanish staff left their cards at the Navy Department as a mark of personal condolence. At all the foreign establishments there was the deepest interest and solicitude over the affair, and during the day Embas- sador Cambon of France, Sir Julian Pauncefote of the British Embassy and other foreign representatives called on the President or at the State Depart ment to express their regrets
 The disaster is remarkable in that only two officers lost their lives, and these were of the junior grades. They were Lieutenant Friend w. Jenkins and Assistant Engineer Darwin R. Merritt. The former was unmarried.