The herald., 1898-02-22
NO NEW DEVELOPMENTS
MORE DIVERS ARE NEEDED
EAGERLY EXPECTED BUT FAIL
TO MATERIALIZE
Senior SobraPs Loquacity No Longer
Interests Official Circles-Sigs-
bee Asks for More Divers

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21.-Todays devel-
opments in the Maine disaster were Of O
negative character, greatly to the disap-
pointment of a considerable number of
persons who were looking for some start
ling discovery by the divers working In
the sunken hull
THE SOBRAL INCIDENT
The state department, after learning that
Lieut.. Commander Sobral was no longer
recognized as an attache of the Spanish
legation, decided to ignore the interview
attributed to him, which 1t was at first
disposed to resent. 1t is now learned that
Secretary Long, late on Saturday, called
upon Assistant Secretary Day of the state
department and laid before him newspaper
clippings containing the reported inter-
view. Acting Secretary Day agreed with
Secretary Long that there was warrant for
looking into the matter and called the at
tention of the Spanish charge d'affaires to
the publications. The latter, however,
promptly declared that the naval officer
was no longer an attache of the legation,
his successor having been appointed and
gazetted December oath. He further ex-
planned that 1t was owing entirely to the
more important and pressing matters of
business before 1t that the legation had
fication of the change to the state depart
ment. 1t is said that, as a matter of fact,
there frequently are great delays in the re-
ceipt of such information of changes
among attaches at the state department.
A new York dispatch says that Lieut.. Com
mander Sobral stated today that he is still
the naval attache of the Spanish legation
in Washington.
MORE DIVERS NEEDED
10
at Havana is making the most strenuous
efforts to hasten the recovery of the bodies.
probably nearly 100 in number, still inn
prisoned in the wreck of the Maine. 1t was
a knowledge of the captains desire that
probably led Consul General Lee to inform
the navy department of the need for more
divers. This had the desired effect, for the
navy department. took action to send more
help. Admiral Sicard telegraphed from
Key West this afternoon that he had sent
five divers to Capt. Sigsbee and asked IL
those were sufficient. The acting chief of
the navigation bureau, Capt. Dickens. at
once took the sensible course of directing
the admiral to put himself in communica-
ton with Capt. Sigsbee and learn his needs
at first hand.
BULLETINS STOPPED
The business of the navy department is
getting back to it's normal condition, as
is evidenced by the fact that an order has
been issued to discontinue the special tele-
graph service which was established with
Key West, and hereafter the office at that
place will close at 10 o'clock at night, as
formerly.
Commander Forsythe, the commandant
at Key West, has also asked permission of
the department to stop his daily bulletins,
and this has been granted, with an UNDER
standing that he will report any deaths
that may occur among the sufferers in the
hospital there. Today he reported that they
were all getting along nicely. The ex-
change of official condolences still con-
tinues.
Today Secretary Long sent Telegram as
| follows to Capt Eulate:
THANKS FOR SYMPATHY
Commanding officer of the Spanish
Cruiser. Tompkinsville, N. Y: have the
honor to acknowledge the receipt of your
telegram Of coincidence for the loss of the
| Maine, and to thank you for the express
| sion of sympathy"
| A similar response was made to a cable
gram from Vice Admiral Spann at Vienna,
expressive of sympathy for the terrible
disaster to the Maine.