Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1898-03-31
slgsbee aud His Men Fully Exonerated,
But tho Responsibility for the DIsaS-
ter Is Not Placed-AS Had Been
Anticipated, the Wreck of tho
Maine Was OccaslOned By
q Floating Nine


testimony before it. the court finds as fol-
lows:
1. That the United States battle ship
Maine arrived in the harbor of Havana,
Cuba upon the twenty fifth day OF January.
1898, AMI was taken to buoy No. 4, in from
ave and half to six fathOms of water, by
the regular government pilot
The United States consul general at Ha-
vana had notified the authorities at that
place the previous evening of the intended
arrival of the Maine,
THE DISCIPLINE EXCELLENT.
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 away in ac-
cordance with instructions, 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 she'll rooms we're al
ways locked after having been opened; and
after the destruction of the Maine the
keys were found in their proper place in
the captains cabin, everything having
been reported secure that evening at 8
O'Clock.
The temperatures of the magazines and
shell rooms were taken daily and reported
The only magazine which had an undue
amount of heat was the after ten-inch
magazine and that did not explode at the
time the Maine was destroyed.
The torpedo war-h ads were all slowed
In the after pIrt of the ship, under the
ward room, and neither caused nor particle
pated in the destruction of the Maine.
The dry gun cotton primers and deton-
ators were slowed in the cabin aft and re-
mote from the scene of the explosion
SPECIAL CARE WAS TAKEN.
The waste was carefully looked after on
board the ,iaine to obvlate danger. Spe-
cial orders in regard to this had been given
by the commanding officer.
Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and other COM
bustlbles of this nature were slowed on
board the main deck and could not have
had anything t. do with the destruction of
the Maine.
The medical stores were slowed aft,
under the ward room and remote from the
scene of the explosion.
No dangerous stores of any kind were
stored below in any OF the other store
rooms
AS TO THE COAL BUNKERS.
The coal bunkers were inspected Of
luOSC DulhClS duJOlhlllR Tic lOL W al meg
azines and shell rooms four were empty,
namely: B3. B4. B5, BIG. AIS had been in
use that day and Al6 was full of New River
coal This coal had been carefully inspect
ed before receiving it on board The
bunker in which 1t was slowed was Access
slble on three sides at all times. and the
fourth side at this time on account of
Bunkers B4 and BIG being empty This
bunker A16, 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
case of spontaneous combustion of coal on
board the Maine
AFTER BOILERS WITH LOW PRESSURE
The two after boilers of the ship were in
use at the time of the disaster, bui for aux
Hilary purposes only, W. tn a comparatively
low pressure of steam and being tended by
a reliable watch Those boilers could not
have caused the explo ion of the hir The
four forward boilers have since been found
b. the divers, and are in fair condition.
On the night of the destruction of the
Main, everything had been reported secure
for the night, at O'Clock, by reliable per-
sons, through the proper authorities, to the
commanding offcer. At the time the Maine
was destroyed, the ship was quiet and,
therefore, least liable to accident caused
by movem ,nts from those on board
g. The destruction of the Maine occurred
at 9:4O p. m of the 18th day of February,
1898 in the Harbor of Havana, Cuba. being
at that time moored to the same buoy TO
which she had been taken upon her arrival.
There we're two explosions of distinctly
different character, with very short but
distinct interval between them, and the for
ward part of the ship was lifted to marked
degree at the time of the first explosion
THE FIRST EXPLOSION LIGHT
The first explosion was more in the ma
ture OF a repor like that of gun, while
the second explosion was more open, pro-
louged and of greater volume. This second
explosion was, in the opinion of the court,
caused by the partial explosion 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 a definite couclu-
sion as to the condition of the wreck. al
though 1t was established that the after
part of the ship was pra :tically intact and
sank in that condition a very few minutes
after the destruction of the forward part
The follow ng facts in regard to the for
ward part of the ship are, however, estab-
lished by the testimony:
WHAT THE MAGAZINE EXPLOSIONS DID.
THAT portion of the port side of the pro-
tective deck which extends from about
frame 81. to about frame Al was blown up
aft and slightly over 10 starbOard. folding
the forward part of the middle super
structure over and on top of the after part
This was. in the opinion of the court
caused by the partial explosion of two or
more OF the forward magazines of the
Maine.
.. At frame II. the outer she'll of the ship
from point eleven aud one-haf feet from
the middle line of the ship and six feet
above the keel when in its normal position,
has been forced up so as TO be now about
four feet above the surface of the water;
therefore about thirty-four feet above
where it would be had the ship sunk unin-
jured. The outside. bottom plating is bent
into a reversed V shape, the after wing Of
which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty
two feet in length Cfrom frame II 10 frame
25), is doubled back upon itself against the
continuation of the same plating extending
forward.
At frame eighteen the vertical keel is
broken in Two, and the fat keel bent into
an angle similar to the angle formed BY the
outside bottom plating This break Is now
about six feet below the surface of the wa
! ter. and about thirty feet above its normal
; position.