The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1898-03-31

invoked.
WILLIAM MCKINLEY,
Executive Mansion, March %, 1898.
FINDING OF THE COURT.
The First Explosion Caused 10y q
Mine Under the Ship.
The following is the full text of the
report of the court of inquiry:
U. s. 5. Iowa, LIST rate. Key West, Fla,
Monday, March p, 1S9S.-After full and
mature consideration of all the testimony
before it,, the court finds as follows:
1. That the United States battleship
Maine arrived in the Harbor of Havana,
Cuba, on the 25th day of January, 1898,
and was taken to buoy No. 4, in from
five and one-half to six fathoms of water,
by the regular government pilot. The
United States consul-general at Havana
had notified the authorities at that place,
the previous evening, of the intended ar
rival of the Maine
?. The state of discipline on board the
Maine was excellent, and all orders and
regulations in regard to the care and
safety of the ship were strictly carried
out. All ammunition was slowed away
in accordance with instructions, and
proper care was taken whenever ammu-
milton was handled. Nothing was slowed
in any one of the magazines or shell
rooms which was not permitted to be
slowed there. The magazines and shell
rooms were always locked after having
been opened land after the destruction of
the Maine the keys were found in their
proper place in the captains cabin, every
thing having been reported secure that
evening at D. m.
The temperatures of the magazines and
she'll rooms were taken daily and re-
ported. The only magazine which had an
undue amount of heat was the after ten
at the time the Maine was destroyed. The
torpedo war heads were all stored in the
after part of the ship under the ward
room, and neither caused nor participated
in the destruction of the Maine.
The gun cotton primers and intonaters
were stored in the cabin aft and remote
from the scene OF the explosion. The
waste was carefully looked after on board
the Maine to obviate danger. Special or
derS in regard to this had been given by
the commanding officer. Varnishes dry
ers, alcohol and other combustiles Of this
nature were slowed on or above the main
deck and could not had anything to
do with the
Destruction of the Maine
The medical stores were slowed aft I'M
der the ward room, and remote from the
zone of the explosion. No dangerous
stores of any kind were slowed below in
any of the other store rooms.
The coal bunkers were inspected. OF
those bunkers adjoining the forward ma
gaines and shell rooms four were empty
namely B 3, B 4, B 5, B g. ga ~ hSd
been in use that day and "a 49, was full
of new river coal. This coal had been
carefully inspected before receiving it on
board. The bunker in which it was slowed
was accessible on three sides at all times,
and the fourth side at this time on ac-
count of bunkers "B f. and 'B g. being
empty. This bunker "a 49, had chen in
spected that day by the engineer officer
on duty
The fire alarms in the bunkers were in
working order, and there had never been
a case Of spontaneous combustion of coal
on board the Maine.
The two after boilers of the ship were
in use at the time Of the disaster but for
auxiliary purposes only with COMPARE
lively low pressure of steam, and being
tended by a reliable watch. These boil
ers could not have caused the explosion
of the ship. The four forward boilers
have since been found by the divers and
are in a fair condition.
On the night of the destruction of the
Maine everything had been reported Sc
cure for the night at p. M, by reliable
to the commanding officer. At the time
the Maine was destroyed the ship was
quiet, and therefore least liable to acct
dent caused by movements from those on
board.
The destruction of the Maine occurred
at $40 D. M, on the 18th day of Febru-
airy, 1898, in the harbOr of Havana, Cuba
being at the time moored in the same
buoy to which she had been taken upon
her arrival.
There were two explosions of distinctly
different character, with a very short
but distinct interval between them, and
the forward part of the ship was lifted to
a marked degree at the time of the first
explosion.
The first explosion was more in the nat
ure of a report, like that of a gun;
while the second explosion was more
open, prolonged and of greater volume,
The second explosion was in the opinion
of the court. caused by the partial ex-
plosion of two or more of the forward
magazines Of the Maine.
Condition of the Wreck.
4. The evidence bearing on this, being
principally obtained from divers, did not
enable the court to form definite con-
clusion as to the condition of the wreck,
although it was established that the after
part of the ship was practically intact
and sank in that condition a very few
minutes after the destruction of the for
ward part.
The following facts in regard to the
forward part of the ship are, however,
esta blished by the testimony: That por-
ton of the port side of the protective
deck. which extends from about frame
3d. to about frame II, was blown up aft
and over to port. The main deck from
about frame 20 to about frame Al was
blown up aft and slightly over to star
board. folding the forward part of the
middle superstructure over and on top of
the after part. This was, in the opinion
of the court, caused by the partial ex-
Dlosion of two or more of the forward
MAGAZINES of the Maine.
& At frame H. the outer shell of Tho
ship, from point eleven and one-half
feet from the middle line Of the ship and
six feet above the keel when in it's nor
NAL position, has been forced up so as to
be now about four feet above where it
would be had the ship sunk uninjured.
The outside bottom plating is bent into a
reversed 'V' shape, the after wing of
which about Is feet broad and 80 feet
in length from frame IL to frame 25) is
doubled back upon itself against the con-
tinuation Of the same plating extending
forward.
At frame 1s the vertical keel is
broken in two and the fiat keel bent
into an angle similar to the angle formed
by the outside bottom plating. This