Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-04-07
The Presidents Message.

dent sent the following message to
congress:
To THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
For some time prior to the visit OF the Maine to
Havana harbor our consular representatives
pointed out the advantages to flow from the
visit of national ships to the Cuban waters In
sccuStoming the people to the presence Of our
flag as the symbol Of good will, and Of our ships
in the fulfllment OF the mission OF protection
to American interests, even though no immedi I.
ate need therefor might exist.
Accordingly, on the 24th Of January last, after
conference with the Spanish minister, in which
the renewal Of visits of our warShips to
Spanish waters was discussed and accept
rid and Havana were advised Of the purpose
OF this government to resume friendly
naval visits at Cuban ports, and that in that
view the Maine would forthwith call at the port
of Havana. This announcement was received
by the Spanish government by appreciation Of
the friendly character OF the visit of the Maine
and with notification Of intention to return the
courtesy by sending Spanish ships to the prin-
cipal ports of the United States. Meanwhile
the Maine entered the port of Havana on the
18th of January, her arrival being marked with
no special incident besides the exchange Of
customary saluteS and ceremonial visits
The Maine continued in the harbor of Ha-
vana uring the three weeks following her ar
rival No apprecIable excitement attended
her stay; on the contrary, a feeling OF relief
and confidence followed the resumption of the
long-interrupted friendly intercourse. So no.
ticeable was this immediate effect OF her visit
that the consul general strongly urged that the
presence Of our ship in Cuban waters should be
Kept up by retaining it at Havana or. in the
event of her recall, by sending another vessel
there to take her place. At forty minutes past
ntne in the evening of the 18th of February the
Maine was destroyed by explosion by which
the entire forward part of the ship was
utterly wrecked In this catastrophe two
Officers and 260 OF her crew persisted. those who
lnH hui holm
penned between de ks by the tangle OF wreck
age and drowned by the immediate sinking Of
the hull. Prompt assistance was rendered by
the nefghbOring vessels anchored in the harbor
aid being especially given by the boats of the
Spanish cruiser Alphonse XII. and the Ward
line steamer City of Washington, which lay not
far distant The wounded were generously
cared for by the authorities of Havana. the hos
pitfalls being freely opened to them, while the
earliest recovered bodies OF the dead were in
TERED by the municipality in public cemetery
in the city. Tributes OF grief and sympathy
were offered from all official quarters Of the is
land.
The appalling calamity fell on our people
with crushing force, and for brief time n
tense excitement prevailed which, in a COM
munity less just and self-controlled than ours
might have led to hasty acts Of blind resent
ment. This spirit, however, soon gave way to
Caluler processes of reason and the resolve to in
veStigate the facts and await the material proof
before forming judgment to the cause
the responsibility and, if the facts warranted
the remedy due. This course necessarily recon-
mended itself from the outset to the executive
for only in the light of dispassionately aScer-
tanned certainty could it determine the nature
and measure of its full duty in the matter The
usual procedure was followed. as in all cases OF
casualty or disaster to national vessels of any
maritime state. A naval court of inquiry was
at once organized, composed of officers well
qualified by rank and practical e1-
perience to discharge the onerous
duty imposed upon them. Aided
by strong force of wreckers and divers, the
court proceeded to make a thorough investiga-
ton on the spot, employing every available
means for the impartial and exact determine
ton of the cause of the explosion. Its opera
Jions have been conducted with the utmost de-
liberation and judgment, and, while indepen-
IDENTIFY pursued, no source of information was
neglected, and the fullest opportunity was al
lowed for simultaneous investigation by the
Spanish authorities
The finding Of the court OF inquiry was
reached. after twenty three days of continuous
labor on the 21st of March, instant, and having
been approved on the 22d by the commander-in-
chief of the United States naval force on the
North Atlantic station. was transmitted to the
executive.
1t is herewith laid before the congress to-day
with the volumiuous testimony taken before
the court. Its purport is, in brief, as follows:
When the Maine arrived at Havana she was
conducted by the regular government pilot to
buoy No. l. to which she was mOored in from
five and one-half to six fathoms of water. The
state of discipline on board and the condition
OF her magazines, boilers, coal bunlSers and
storage compartments are passed in review,
with the conclusion that excellent order pre-
vailed, and that no Indication of any cause for
an internal explosion existed in any quarter.
At eight o'clock in the evening of February
Is everything had been reported secure and all
was quiet.
At forty minutes past nine o'clock the vessel
was suddenly destroyed
There were two distinct explosions, with a
brief interval between them. The first lifted
the forward part OF the ship very perceptibly;
the second, which was more prolonged, is at
tributed by the court to the partial explosion of
two or more of the forward magazines.
The evidence of the divers establishes that
the after part of the ship was practically intact
and sank in that condition very few minutes
after the explosion. The forward part was
completely demolished
Upon evidence of concurrent external cause
the finding Of the court is as follows:
At frame Ia the outer shell of the ship from
point eleven and one-half feet from the mt5-
die line of the ship and six feet above the keel
when in its normal position, has been forced up
80 rs to be now about four feet above the sur
face of the water; therefore. about thirty-four
feet above where 1t would be had the ship sunk
uniniured
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 Qrom frame IL to frame 25), is doubled
back upon itself against the continuation OF the
same plating extending forward.
At frame Is the vertical keel is broken in two
and the keel bent into an angle Simailr to the
angle formed for the outside plates This
break is about six feet below the surface of the
water and about thirty feet above its normal
position
In the opinion Of the court this effect could
have been produced only by the explosion of
mine situated under the bottom of the ship at
about frame Is, and somewhat on the port side
q the ship
The conclusions OF the court are:
That the loss of the Maine was not in any re-
spcct due to fault or negligence on the part Of
any of the officers members Of her crew.
That the ship was destroyed by the explosion
OF a submarine mine, which caused the partial
explosion of two or more Of her forward maya
zines; and,
That no evidence has been obtainable fixing
the responsibility for the destruction Of the
Maine upon any person persons.
have directed that the finding of the court
of inquiry and the views of this government
thereon be communicated to the government of
her majesty. the queen, and do not perm
myself to doubt that the sense OF justice OF the
Spanish nation will dictate a course OF action
the two governments.
It was the duty of the executive to advise the
congress Of the result, and in the meantime de-
uberate consideration is invoked
ISigned1 WILLIAM MCKINLEY.
Executive Mansion, March % 1898
Report of the Court of Inquiry.
The following is the full text of the
report of the court of inquiry: