The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1898-03-29

IN nosition now occupied by the Fern
about % yards to the northward "l inc
wre.kayr of the Maine. The ucrmah
shin Gricsenau was anchored at the Derth
now occupied by the spanish mnh-oi,""I
Legaspc, which is about lWo yards aoo"'
due north from the Maine. he men 10
Gated the Germa man-of-war tharIot'e'
which came into tho harb"r Il Gay OF 'wo
later, which was anchored to the so'l'"-
ward of the Names berth aOout 4voo
500 yards. In describing the surr"uhoinSS
ut the time of the explosion, Captain "'ee,
bee stated that the night was calm an"
still. The Alphonse XIII. was at .ne
same berth. The small Spanish disp''cn
boat Legaspe had moved thedny bclore"''"
taken the berth occupied by tho uerhI'"
man.of-war Griesenau, which had lel'.
The City of Washington was anch"r'"
about 200 yards east of the Maine $ s'e'"'
slightly on the port quarter:
The Maine coaled at Key West, taking
on about 1870 tons, the coal being regularly
inspected and taken from the government
| coal pile. This coal was placed generally
in the forward hunkcrS. No report WAS
| received from the chief engineer that any
coal had been too long in the hunkcrs'
and th, fire alarms in the bunkcrs were
sensitive.
In so far as the regulations regarding
T! intlammableS and paints ON board, zap
| tain Sissbes testified that the regulations
were strictly carried out in regard to stor-
age, and that the waste also was subject
| to the same careful disposition. AS
situation of the paint room, he fixed 1t as
in the eyes of the ship just below the
b,ct u .1,,,l- thn NV wa, !, forward colnItlTt-
ment. AS for the disposition of inilaln'
mahles, they were slowed away according
to the regulations, and when intlamma-
| blcs were i'm excess of chest capacity they
were kept in the bath room of the cab
in. Regarding the electric plant OF the
| Maine, Captain Sigsbee stated that there
was no serious grounding nor u snou'h
| up of the lights before the explosion, but
Il sudden and total eclipse. As for z
! lations affecting the taking of temporal
| turc of the magazines. etc, captain SlGs-
| bee said there were no special regulations
other than the usual regulations required
by the department. He examined the
temperature himself and conversed Wlth
| with the ordnance officer as To thcNarlous
temperatures and the contentS"f the mag
azineS, and according to the opinion "i
the officer, the temperatures We're never
at the danger point. Il Ct" not ihlnh
| there was any laxity in this direction,
said the captain in reply toa question oi
Judge Advocate Mark.
He had no recollection of ny work 90
ing on in the magazine or she'll ronin> ON
the day of the explosion. The keys We're
called for in the usual way on the day in
question and Were properly returned, AT
the time of the disaster the two after boil
ers in the after fire room were in use be-
cause the hydraulic system was somewhat
leaking. Speaking generally of his rcla-
tons with the spanish authorities, Cap
tain Sig>hcc stated that with the
officials they We're outwardly cordial.
| The members Of the autonomlSt council
of the government, however, seem To have
brought to the attention Of the navy
department the fact that he did not visit
them and that fact brought c;mbarra>~-
mcnt to the government at Washington.
He took the ground To the department
that ii was unknown etiquette IL call on
the civil member OF the colonial govern
mrnt other than the governor Without
| waiting for such an order Captain Si.s
bee made a visit afterwards and, as he
states, was Pleasantly received and his
| visit promptly returned by certain mem
bcrs of the council. Later "A party Of
ladies inc gentlemen called and the pres
ident Of the rouncil made Il speech which
Captain Sig>i,ce could not understand but
which was interpreted To hIm briefly. t.
which he replied.
My reply said Captain Sig-brc. was
afterwards printed in at least Two paper,
in Havana. but the terms made me favor
autonomistic government in the island. |
am informed that the autonomistic GOV
ernln.nt in Havana is unpopular among
II large number of spanish and Cuban res
ldentS. haze no means Of knowing
whether my apparent interference in the
political concerns of the island had any
relation to the destruction of the Maine.