The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-03-05
COURT KNOWS enough
All the Main Facts In Possession
Of the Board.
COULD MAKE REPORT NOW.
VIII Oniy Investigate to Confirm What
They Have Found-spanl.h OniolAis
Doing but Little Invsstiy cation
Into TIM Wreck.

New York, March A dispatch 10
The Tribune from Havana says:
The leading facts Of the Maine disas-
ter are all In the possession Of the naval
board. The divers have continued their
work during the absence Of the board al
Key West They have discovered moth.
ing 10 change the evidences first gath.
cred, which show, apparently, that the
explosion was external. Their examina.
tion this week has extended alongside
the plates, and they have penetrated
forward well into the bow. All they
find Is merely oonhrmatory Of what was
previously discovered. Captain Samp-
son and his assistants were especially
anxious 20 await further work by the
divers 20 determine whether or not mis-
takes had been made in any particular
Nothing has been found 20 indicate
mistake. On the contrary, the more
thoroughly the hull has been examined,
the more convincing appear the origi.
nal evidences Of explosion from with.
out. How long the board will take TO
formulate is conclusions on this point
can b. better judged in Washington than
In Havana
Notwithstanding the permission Civ.
en- by the United States government for
Spa nish divers 10 examine the wreck,
the investigation by the Spanish au.
thoritics Of the condition Of the ship AZ
II lies In the water proceeds slowly.
They seem 10 BE- in no hurry TO learn
the facts about the hull, magazines and
other matters which were fret 20 en-.
gage the attention Of the naval board.
The government has, however, taken
testimony Of those who were in the
harbor on the night Of the explosion. Il
gives much weight 70 the testimony u
those who say they saw flames issuing
from the Maine before the ship was
wrecked by the explosion
The understanding in Havana Is that
the naval boarl will be emphatic in cx.
onerating Captain Sigshee and the o..
fcers n the Maine from the implication
Of negligence, lack Of discipline or ~.
spondbility ior the disaster II has been
almost forgotten that until the board re-
ports on the subject Captain Sigsbeo IL
noininally under n cloud-that Is, the
inquiry must determine whether or not
the commander % the Maine was In any
possible way responsible for her loss.
The secrecy with which the inyestiga.
ton has been conducted has not pre-.
vented the testimony on this subject
from becoming known.
The board will be able 10 go further
and show not only that there was no ac-
ci lent which could have been prevented,
but also no basis for the theories Of ac.
cident from an unknown cause. How
far IL will go In the assertion oi positive
proof that the Maine was blown up Is
for the present a speculative question
The prevalent impression j. that the
board has evidence Of the deed, without
the means of finding out who committed
a. IL Is incumbent upon the Spanish
government, 10 find that out
The denial credited TO Scnor du Bose,
IN Washington, that mines do not exist
in Havana hArbor does not receive the
weight that would b. given 20 the Of.
fetal declaration from Captain General
Blanco on the same subject II Is the
purpose 20 combat the finding Of the
naval board. but not aggressiyely. The
Spanish attitude seems 10 be that an nc
cident was possible, and that the United
States Is not justified In making de
mand for rcparation when the proof Of
foul play Is not positive. The assump
tion would "a that the two governments
after the evidence wee unable TO agre,
In their conclusions. There has beer
nothing In the nature Of joint investi
CATION.
For the present outlook Madrid anC
Washington are the places where th,
consequences Of the Maine explosion
will be determined. Little moro than 4
already known can be learned. Th'
wreck promises TO remain In the harbo
for an indefinite period. The wreckinI
companies will he able TO raise IN,
wreck Of the Maine The hull Is an as
set Of no value TO any government
The temper Of the Spanish classes 10
ward the United States is In nowis
demonstmtiye.
The Vizcaya has caused an outpourinI
Of the loyal spirit, though II was not cI
actly spontaneous, for the dcmonstu
tion was arranged in advance AppaI
emily large proportion Of the populac
nre gntihed 10 see the Vizcaya anchorc
not far from the wreck Of the Maine
They believe that with the other wal
ships which are to come and with th
torpedo fotllla, Havana and the othc
| ,,,rta ~ Httha arn IN Ia frntu an Amor