The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-02-19
The Cabinet Has Held No Secret
Meetings Over the Affair.
All DISPATCHES Received at the Navy De-
uartment Given to the PuhIc-Ihe
Disaster Believed to Be Due
to Accident.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1S.-The feature
Of the day at the Navy Department.
was the large number of rumors OF
warlike tendency that came to the at
tention of the officials as requiring at
tention, and, in every case contraulc-
ton. So formidable had grown the list
that at the close of office hours Secre-
tary Long was induced to make the
following statement as the easier man
ner of disposing at one time of all these
stories:
Really no information has been re-
ceived since Captain Sigbee's hrst dls-
patch adding anything to our knoWl-
edge of the disaster. All We know Is
that the Maine blew up. There Is
abundant room for speculation Of all
rived at until an examination has been
made by the divers and more facts
obtained. 1t is a simple fact 10 say
that such thing might happen py
design or it might happen by accident.
AS yet there is no indication of design.
Therefore. my impression has been ali
along. and l rather think the general
opinion preponderates in the same Oh
rection that il must have been acct
dental.
AT the Cabinet meeting to-day the
matter was rot discussed, except as any
body Of men talk about an event Oh
that kind. and most Of the talk related
to the terrible loss of life and TO ex-
pressions of sympathy for the sufferers.
at certainly was a very kind thought
in the President to send flowers to the
families of Captain Sigsbee, of the ex-
ecutive officer, Wainwright, and of the
lost seamen whose residences are IN
Washington.
You may say absolutely that there
has been no secret Cabinet meeting;
that nothing has taken place in the
Cabinet that the public have not been
informed about: that the whole poIcy
OF this department has been to give
the public all the dispatches; that the
denartment has no more knowledge on
the subject Oh the CAUSE VI hAAC ,
OF even of the circumstances attending
1t than have the public; and that the
report which was to the effect that
CAPTAIN Sigsbee had been warned that
the Maine was in danger from sub
marine mines or torpedoes is utterly
without foundation, no such report ever
having been received from him or from
anybody else"
The Secretary also denied briefly and
eomprehensively wild rumors that he
had requested the Chief OF Police or
New York to guard the Viseaya, ana
that he had selected Constructor Bowles
To go to Havana and raise the Maine.
The last work of the day for him was
to consult the representatives. or the
wrecking companies who will probably
have charge of this work. and endeavor
TO arrange for both of them TO work
together so as to secure the use of each
peculiar plant and to save time.
The Secretary, when asked what was
the departments estimate Of the con-
duct of Captain Sigsbee in the trying
situation in which he had been placed,
replied:
Il think / express the feeling of the
President as we'll as my own when /
say that Captain Sigsbee has conducted
himself as an officer of our navy should.
He was the last 10 leave his ship when
she went down. His dispatch to me
that night was so complete that, since
then / have thought of no question or
fact to ask him which is essential to the
situation, and which he could answer,
which is not covered by that dispatch.
It's tone, too. is that OF a discreet and
level-headed man. who realized the i'm
preston any word from him at that
time would have on the public mind
Nothing is harder than for a naval off,
Ger TO lose his ship, SO that have grea,
sympathy for him. l await with conf
dence further reports"
During the day the department was