Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-02-18
CAUSENOT YET KNOWN
The Maine Disaster Still a
Mystery
UGLY STORIES AFLoAT
Startling Words Attributed to DR. Con.
E"sto. Washington on ials Await
ing the Result of am Envestiga-
ton. Funeral OF Sailors
CBy TeleCraph)

(By Telecraph)
Nv WASHINGTON. Feb. 17.-The gov
iiszrnE3ent has settled back into a waiting
Iss'tt tsSfea in respect 40 The terrible ma
rsEe d!sas ter in Havana harbor. The
great shock caused by the news has
gwen way to q calmer and more Judi
c!cL state of mind. and realizing from
the events OF the day that the court of
inquiry Is the sole dependence in the
search for the cause of the Names
loss. the naval officials are now re-
signed to await the results of that in
dulry by court ordered today by the
Navy Department.. Inera was ,u,..
new to ADJ to the sum of information
as to the disaster during the forenoon
No kilograms came and all that could
De CLEANED was a denial of some alb
surd story or other that had crept into
PRINT or become current gossip. The
news of the day all came in the late
afternoon in the shape of Captain Siss-
bees report of The authorization of the
funeral of his dead sailors and General
Lees graphic story of the terrible
struggle for life in the dark hull of the
Maine.
The officials at the Navy Department
devoted the day to the effort to correct
the lists of living and dead: to answer
ing frantic Geographic appeals from
relatives OF men on the battleship, and
last, but not least, in meeting with I'M
acting demands upon their time OF the
press representatives. The disposition
Of the survivors, Captain Dickens, act
ing chief of the navigation bureau mas
arranged for as We'll as could be from
This distance. The wounded sailors in
me Havana hospitals. on the Spanish
flagship and elsewhere, when not in
condition to be brought back to Key
West, will be carefully looked after by
Miss Clara Barton. who has been given
carte blanche to buy any and every
thing necessary, food, clothing deiica-
cies and hire nurses and physicians
The wounded able to get across to Key
West Will be taken care of at the ma
rine hospital there. The sound survlv-
ors Will be quartered in the spare army
.oarra cks there. AS for the Maine her
self. notwiths standing discouraging re-
ports from Lieutenant Hood as to her
condition. the Navy Department will
make an effort to raise her: While this
is required by every credit BILE senti-
ment they say they are bound to remove
the hull from the small harbor in any
case, and it may be as easy or easier
to raise htr as it would be to destroy
the hull and machinery slowly by the
use of divers and dynamite. It is be
lieEed that this work can be done by
private wrecking corporations and ne
gotiations are now afoot for placing
the contract, based on work by the day
at a n estimated cost OF 100000
At the Navy Department specific de-
NAL was given Of the report from Mad
rid that torpedo totilla was about to
leave Key West for Cuba. Il was stat
ed that only two torpedo bCats. the
Gushing and the Ericsson. are at Key
West. and that these have not been
ordered and will not be ordered. accord
ing to present plans. to Cuba. 1t was
strongly asserted that no present pur-
pose existed of sending any warship
there.
Senior du Bose. the Spanish charge,
had received no instructions up to 6
p. M, as TO going to New York and
stopping the Spanish ship ViZcaya from
entering the port, and reports to this
effect We're discredited.
The air of suppressed excitement
which chara cterZed the movement Of
the employees and visitors at the White
House yesterday was not noticeable to-
day. There were comparatively few
visitors during the morning hours, and
for a considtra BILE time in the middle
of the day the White House bore an
almost deserted appearance. Only a
limited number of members of Congress
called during the morning and the in
-erviews were brief. Postmaster Gen
erai Gary was the only member Of the
cabinet who called, and his business
related entirely to departmental mat
tiers. Assistant Secretary Day saw the
President for few minutes, but he had
| until after 4 o'clock, when he carried
TO the White House official informa-
ton of the closing of the De Lone in
cident.
So far as could be learned. the only
informa ton as to the situation in Ha-
vana that reached the President direct
came through the Associated Press. On
| the streets there was noticeably less
excitement than yesterday, when the
people were 10th to believe that under
the circumstances the loss of the Maine
| could be traced to other than Spanish
sources.
All the flags throughout the city. in
Guiding those on the capitol and the
department buildings were flying at
| half mast today, and among others is
conspicuous that Of Cuba Libre. which
| flies from the staff OF the Hotel Raj
agh, the headquarters of the Cuban
junta.
! A bulletin from Key West was re-
ceived here this morning to the effect
that divers had found an eight-inch
percussion hole in the bottom Of the
| Maine.
Also that all proofs of the torpedo
work will be removed.
The Navy Department absolutely dis
| credits this story.
| Secretary Long says that there Is nc
such thing as a percussion hole: that
| there is no eiS'At-inch torpedo. and there
| IS no other way in which such holS
! could be accounted for. II is, of course
possible that a shell exploding inside OF
| r'he snip pierced a hole of that kind in
| the outer skin. but that would be readily
| revealed by the character of the angle
and whether or not the skin was bulged
IN or out around the punctures. 1t is
| more likely if there is any hole at al
of the kind that il is simply the outlet
of one of the numerous pieces FROM
the inside of the Maine.
Secretary Long positively denies tina
Captain SigSbee has in any suppressed
| kilograms expressed the opinion that
a torpedo caused the disaster or that
it came from an external cause. The
fcaptain said. on the contrary. that he
could not venture to express an opn-
on.
The Key West bulletin regarding the
finding of a hole in the bottom of 6
plate of the Maine and referring to the
work OF a torpedo, was sent to the
White House by the Associated Pres:
and was shown TO President Mckinley