The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-03-31
Full Text of the Report of the Court
of Inquiry.
UNABLE TO FIX RESPONSIBILITY
A Shock from the Outside ExpIOleS
Two Magazines.
Captain Sigsbee and Other Officers of the
Battleship Exouerated From All
Blame. AJealous Nation the
Principal Cause of De-
struction.

WASHINGTON, D. c., March 2S.-
The following is the full text of the
report of the Court of Inquiry in the
case of the destruction of the United
States battle ship Maine in the har-
Dor of Havana February 10:
U. S. S. Iowa, 1st RATE
KEY WEST, FLA, Mon, March 81, 1898.
After full and mature considera-
tion of all the testimony before it, the
Court finds as follows:
/. That the United States battle
ship Maine arrived in the harbor of
HaYana, Cuba, on the 25th day of
January, 1898, and was taken to buoy
No. 4, in from 81 to 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 arrival of the Maine.
EVERY PRECAUTION TAKEN.
2. 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 in ac-
cordance with prescribed instruc-
tions, and proper care was taken
whenever ammunition 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, and after the destruction of
the Maine the keys were found in
their proper place, in the captains
cabinet, everything having been
reported secure that evening at p.
N. The temperature of the maya
zines and shell rooms were taken and
reported. The only magazine which
had an undue amount of heat was the
after 10 inch magazine, and that did
not explode at the time the Maine
was destroyed.
CARE WITH EXPLOSIVES.
The torpedo war heads were all
slowed in the after-part of the ship
under the wardroom, and neither
caused nor participated in the de-
struction of the Maine.
The dry gun cotton primes and
denotaries were slowed in the cabin
aft, and remote from the scene of the
explosion. Waste was carefully look
ed after on board the Maine to obviate
danger. Special orders in regard to
this had been given by the command
ing officer.
Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and other
combustibles of this nature were
slowed on or above the main deck,
and could not have had anything to
do with the destruction of the Maine.
The medical stores were stored aft
under the wardroom and remote from
the scene of the explosion.
No dangerous stores of any kind
were stored below in any of the store
rooms.
INSPECTION OF COAL BUNKERS.
The coal bunkers were inspected
daily. OF those bunkers adjacent to
the forward magazines and shell
rooms, four were empty, namely: "B
8, B a. B 5, B g." "a 15'' had been in
use that day, and ga 16' was full of
New river coal. This coal had been
carefully inspected before received on
board. The bunker in which it was
slowed was accessible on three sides
at all times on account of bunkers
"B 4" and 'B 6" being empty. This
bunker, ga 16" had been inspected
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.
BOILERS NOT THE CAUSE.
The two after boilers of the ship
were in use at the time of the disaster
but for auxiliary purposes only, with
comparatively low pressure of steam
and being tended by "a reliable watch.
These boilers could not have caused
the explosion of the ship. The four
forward boilers have since been found
by the divers and are in fair condi-
tion.
ALL RIGHT AT 81. M.
On the night of the destruction of
the Maine everything had been re-