Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-13
REPLY TO PERAL.
An Expert in High Explosives
Picks Many Flaws.
No Fish Live in Havana Harbor-Mine
Might Not Throw Up Column
of Water

Havana, via Key West, Fla, March 12.
In reply to Capt. Perars statement re-
garding the views of the Spanish court
of inquiry on the Maine disaster, an AM
erican officer, who is an expert says I'M
effect: 81 am a graduate of the torpedo
school and have studied the effects OF
torpedoes or mines, from observation
and experiments.
"A torpedo exploded at a depth of
feet would throw a column Of water 100
feet into the air; at 20 feet deep, 20 feet
in the air, and at 80 feet would barely
raise a small wave. A dictionary of gun
cotton in the open air makes a mark its
own size in steel or blows stone to fraE-
ments. In the water a torpedo would not
be felt at amy great distance. 1t re-
quires the resistance of a solid body, and
its effect would be dissi pated in water
or mud. This disposes of the wave
theory, and the affecting of the shore
or boats in the harbor.
AS to the hole in the Maine, the ex-
pert in question make the most impor-
tant statement that the Maine drew 90
to 30 feet at the time of the explosion,
and had about 10 feet-of water below
her bottom, to the surface of the bar
Dor mud. On the port side, where the
United States divers are now at work,
there is at present Al feet of water.
May not this be the hole which the
captain said could have been found. The
hole must have been more than seven
feet deep when the explosion took place,
and has been greatly filled with mud
since. AS to the finding of dead fish, the
United States court of inquiry has made
a careful investigation. Not a single
has a q r@xy fich eli he,
began work on the wreck. The bodies
recovered from the Maine have not been
touchd by fishes. Some of the fisher
men in Havana testified that there
were no fish inside the harbor, the
waters being too foul for them, Some
times they came part way In during the
day, but all go out at night.
Further as to the alleged discoveries
of Spanish divers reported to Capt. Pc
raj, five American divers have been
working on the port side Of the wreck
an average of over seven hours each
per day, for nearly three weeks, in a
space so feet long and 20 feet wide The
Spanish divers have never been inside
the wreck at all, neither have they ever
been on the port side, devo.ing the short
hours which they have spent under wa
ter to the starboard side forward, and
outside the hull. Recently, to their own
surprise, they brought up two cans of
ammunition for the six-inch guns not
exploded. They dropped them back
when the light of the surface showed
they were unexploded and what their
nature was. Further, the Spanish divers
often only go down long enough to wet
their suits and then come UP and hide
behind blanket on the barge where
they sleep or rest for a couple of hours,
and then SO ashore and report that thew
cannot see anything in the mud or wa
ter
They could not have found the ram
Of the Maine, since they have not been
down near that part of the wreck They
have not located the turret with the ten
inch guns, though the spot has been
pointed out by Capt. Sharp, in charge
of the Wreckers. This spot is outside
the hull on the starboard side 1t is
probable that the turret Is there, partly
buried in mud. All of these facts are
known by the United States court of
inquiry. having been elected in the ex-
animation of those in position to
know
The expert interviewed expresses the
belief that the Maine was blown UP by
what is known as a Newport torpedo
station torpedo, or something of the
same nature. This engine of destruc-
ton is the joint product of the labors
of Commander Converse, commander Of
the Montgomery; Lieutenant Command
er Mclean, now in command of the tor
pedo station at Newport. and Senior
Lieutenant Holman, ordnance officer Of
the Maine at the time Of the explosion.
The Newport torpedo can be planted
from a small boat, and the expert be-
lieves that this one was exploded by
being struck by the port side of the
Maine forward of amidships as she
swung to her moorings. He thinks
this more likely than that wires were
laid from the shore, as the wires, IL laid
for any length of time. would sink deep
in the loose harbor mud. 1t would he
singular if it should prove that the
Maine was blown up by torpedo in the
the invention of which one of her prirl-
cipal officers, Lieut.. Holman, bore a
notable part
All the above statements of fact and
surmises come from authority on which
the court depends for much of its evil
dence, and is given to the correspond
ents without reservation, except as to
the name ana rank of the giver. The
expert further believes that the de-
stroyed mine was made up Of four tor
pedoes of 36 pounds each of wet and
dry gun cotton-or LA pounds in all.
This amount was ample to blow the en-
tire forward part of the Maine clear
to starboard, as has undoubtedly been
done.