The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-02-22
5dAu ~ SdyH
NJ. NJ. MURDOCH. Editor.
ITLOOKS BLACK.

1T LOOKS BLACK
1t is now being asserted that Cap
tain Sigsbee was not only expecting
trouble in the harbor of Havana, but
that he was using every precaution
against possible surprise; that he was
convinced that trap of some sort had
been prepared for any foreign vessel
which might enter that harbor. But
that is not all. It is also asserted that
the navy department had been notified
of the. character Of the danger which
might be expected in the event Of any
United States man Of war being or
dered TO those waters. Following these
assurances the special and other cor
respondents on the ground declare that
there is no doubt that the Maine was
blown up from the outside, some Of
them going so far as to assert that the
divers who have been hunting for the
bodies Of the drowned and slain found
both magazines intact and uninjured.
OF course if the magazines remain IN
exploded, then Spain will be compelled
to explain. Accepting these accounts
rs true and there remains but one pos
Eible conclusion and that is that the
Maine was blow up by a Spanish sub
marine mine, that the great battle ship
was not torn to pieces by an accident
TO her own magazines, nor by a tor
pedo, but a mine planted by the gov
ernment and exploded by authority.
The naval court of inquiry, appoint
ed to officially investigate and report
left Key West Sunday and entered
upon their work yesterday morning.
In the mean time there is great activ-
sty in all the navy yards and sea forti-
fcations from one end of the land to
the other as also at all the army posts
and military stations and forts.
As for the theories of accident, the
longer the matter is discussed the fewer
are the officers and experts who be-
Iieve that an accident was possible. 1t
may be said that the navy is prac-
ticaIIy unanimous in the conclusion
that it was no accident. The author
ities and expert opinions have been
gathered together and summarized.
There is a practical unanmity in the
conclusions that a donkey boiler of
the Maine could not have exploded, as
steam was only used to run the dyna-
mo. Only one of the battery Of boilers
was used and that at such a low pres
sure that no explosion could have oc-
a.
being so constructed that the seams
part under a heavy pressure Of steam,
thus averting the danger Of explosion.
There was no spontaneous explosion
I'm the magazine. Each charge of am
munition was kept in Theoretically
sealed canister and chemical changes
could not affect. Changes of climatic
temperature do not affect powder
Torpedoes stored in the forward deck
could not explode as they were kept
packed in perfectly safe condition I'M
til prepared for use. A fire sufficient to
heat them to the firing point would
have first charred the men sleeping
over the torpedo magazine
No lamps were used, lubricating oil
IS not explosive and matches that can
only be ignited on the box were used,
hence there could have been no oil ex-
plosion or carelessness in the use of
matches.
Spontaneous combustion in the coal |
box would have generated so much |
odor that attention would have been |
directed Immediately and the bunzers
flooded.
The magazine was locked up. heat |
could not penetrate the solid steel |
plates, with Theoretically sealed doors. |
without first burning the men aboard
and no one was handling cartridges at
the time. Even if a cartridge had been
dropped, the primer cap is sunk below
the level Of the cartridge face and |
rould not have exploded
All the rapid-fire ammunition was Sc
purely stored in boxes and could not
get adrift, especially in a dead calm.
while the vessel was riding at anchor.
No electric wires run into the maya
zine exploded the deck would have
been blown into the air, hundreds of
Shells would have gone skyward and in
bursting destroyed part of Havana and
The vessel would have sunk at once.
The separation of the nitro-gIycerine
In the gun cotton was impossible under
the conditions prevailing and this COM
position is SO carefully made and thor
oughly tested that there is no record Of
It's spontaneous explosion during its
long use in the navy.