The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1898-02-22
HOLE MADE FROM EXTERIOR

New York. Feb. IA dispa,cl tp the
Tribune from Havana sayr
The Maine IL act Ially IA nboofg. but
enough or the vessel remains so make
possible determinl lon Of Eegher the
explosion came from without or yith.n.
The officers Of the Maine d9 not lubllcly
discuss the theory Of Submarine mine
which may have been sel DE IS an ex-
ploslon. but II eyIdsatly has weight with
them. They are 5arlicdlury anxious for
points to be gathered from the examlna-
ton Of the plates II tie hull Their be-
lief Is that these VIII have TO estab.ixh
whether the e1plosIse toFec 'imc from
without or not.
The nature Of the Gamggr u the pert
side has not Oecn fuLy settled. 5Ut the
weight Of opinion seems to .,c that tie
hole was made by al external esplJs,ch.
Captain slgsbee thinks u,at the layesii-
cation 10 be made by him wiz to COM
viii then take testimony regarding the
pleted In three lays ard the result laiu
before the court OF inquiry sDec.ai
pains seem to be taEcn to satler facts
which would help 10 establish whether or
not the destruction toud have been
caused by subn irine mine. The SPAN
iHh authorities have an Advantage on
this point. for they know whether the
torpedo system In the ha. DOR las 0ctuai
existence and whether sL1nafnc mines
they will disclose the secrets Of ;he Ha-
yana detenses TO aid foreign investiga-
ton. Some periols believe that i.oI
were laid. but It $ not expected that
was carried odt by Weylets partisans
and that the s,o,els were 1isc,jseI ,
consplrators y Jhc old5'aIi whe we've
with weyler auG who durhg hii IN, ma
bency through ueir onlcil po.iliol lie.
came possessed oi The iafoi nation. All
this is pure specuiIl.0a without basis Of
account. Its )nly sig,.li j., Inus Is shat tue
matter should De diseased at al.
The Names odicers. while not deny ing
the possibility OF aa accident, conut Il
to show that many theories on whica
statements OF accidents are BASED are
untenable. They 90 not share tie Slpn-
lsh admirals off-hand confidence that
the explosion came from within. II is
well for everybody To- await the vffcidi
investigation before accepting The con-
clusion. Captain-Cen, ,rM Blaucc and the
palace officials show every o'ltisl com-
tesy. Their sincerity is undoubled, so
great is their Anxiety. A special effort Is
being made to discourage tie tsN Of the
explosion being otherwise than aItiGCnt-
al. The newspapers give !, om,nohce TO
dispatches saying that it is recognized in
purely an accident. Prominence is a'so
given to Madrid dispatches quoting So
gasta and other Spin,;n statesmen in2I
the mishap has caused friendly tee''ng
between the United states ard Spain.
Notwithstanding these assurances nom
abroad. painful impression is rtusou
in Cuba by he ku9wle lse hat Cci tain
Spanish classes rejolce with little secrecy
over the disaster. II instances were iso-
lated 1t would not pe ilpporSont. U'n'or-
tunately the diversl1sd cases a'e too
many to support this charitable view,
In several places Spanish array officials
have drunk coasts that other Vessels OF
the American navy may follow tho Meme
In Matanzls, wlere nrti'rinss wtr,
heard at the time cf The Montgomery :
visit, the newspaper La Region pdo'
llshed an article saying in substance that
the calamity to the Mlne VAS Judsmenl
on the United States Ter sending shiI
to Havana us sn lges;'onlte Yen ol
sympathy toward The suffering ana he
roic Spanish nation.
The tone is one of mingled sarcc sn
and mock condoseaGe In a fIeQuehteC
restaurant in Havana last night on III
bill of fare ives Chicken Ia Maine.
This indicates the leeIils of part 4"
the populace, especially of the volunteer
While aware of those manifestations
Captain Sigsbse ana CCusu, General L'
0 concur in advising against sending '1i
ther warships to Ha yanA at preseh