New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1898-03-30
COURT REPORT
Board 81. Inquiry IS Positive.
That the Maine Was Blown
Up bya Mine.
First Shock Lifted the Ship,
Two Magazines Exploding
Afterwards.
OFFICERS AREExoNERATED
Discipline Was Excellent and
Conditions on Eoard Were
Satisfactory.
OFFICERS AREExONERATED
No Evidence Found Sufficient
to Fix Responsibility for
the Disaster. :

The Associated Press abstract of the
court Of inquiry report. Copyright,
1898, by the Associated Press] 80
WASHINGTON, March 20. The Asso-
ciated Press presents herewith com.
plete abstract of the report of the court
of inquiry which Investigated the
wrecking of the battleship Maine.
The abstract is made from the report
itself. The report is made up Of eight
parts, as follows:
First-The court finds that at the time
of the explosion the battleship was lying
in five and one-half to six fathoms of
water.
Second-The discipline aboard the ship
was excellent; everything slowed accord
sine to orders ammunition, guns, stores,
etc. The temperature Of the magazines
at 8 p m. was normal, except in the after
lO-lnch magazine, and that did not ex-
plode.
Third-The explosion occurred at $40
o'clock on the evening of Feb. 15 There
were two explosions, with a very short in
terval between them. The ship lifted on
first explosion.
| Fourth-The court can form no definite
opinion of the condition OF the wreck from
the divers evidence
Fifth-Technical details of Wreckage
from which court deduces that a mine
was exploded under the ship on the port
side
| Sixth-The explosion was due to no
| fault of those on board
STANDARDIZATION of the court stating
| that the explosion Of the mine caused the
explosion of two magazines.
Eighth-The court declares that it can
not lind evidence to fix the responsibility.
Formal and Dispassionate.
The report is unanimous and is
signed by all the members of the court.
1t does not refer to the existence or
non-existence of the mine in the harbor
of Havana except in the specific finding
that mine was exploded under the
ship and the opinion that the explosion
| of the two magazines was caused by
explosion Of q mine.
The report as whole is formal, dis
passionate recital of facts and bears
the stamp Of that strict oficialism
which marks naval procedure. It is
brief, not exceeding 1900 words, and
among the eight parts goes to the great
est length under the second heading
which deals with the discipline and Or
der of the ship. This the court speci.
fies with extreme minuteness, the least
detail of the satisfactory condition of
everything on board being given. The
normal temperature of the large for.
ward magazines at = o'clock only an
hour and forty minutes before the ex-
plosion-disposes of the question Of
accidental com bustion within these
magazines. While the court holds that
these magazines did not explode from
internal causes, they nevertheless are Of
the opinion that the explosion Of the
NINE under the port side of the ship
caused the +, = ..ss +.
Explosion Of the Two Magazines. a...
This will explain the remarkable de-
struction wrought, the explosion thus
being shown to have con bined the force
of a mine without and two magazines
within. The two explosions. which the
court finds to have occurred, with
very short interval between them, is
an additional detail showing that two
forces operated in causing the destruc-
ton. The finding that the ship lifted
on the first explosion indicates an ex-
ternal source and one Of tremendous
power to be able to lift battleship of
thousands Of tons. The character OF
the wreckage, technically described in
the fifth part Of the report, from which
the court deduces that mine was ex-
ploded under the ship on the port s;de,<
sustains the view taken by some ex-
perts shortly after the disaster that the
force Of the explosion was exerted from
port to star board.
The inability Of the court to find evil
dence to fix possibility, as stated in
the eighth part, makes the report So
guarded in expression Of blame that
neither Spain nor the Spanish are mem
toned throug ].