Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-28

unianpoftant."
1t was too late, however. The Maine had
already sailed. She arrived next day and
Lee reported her arrival to the State De-
partment.
Engineer Bowers.
Passed Assistant Engineer Bowers,
senior assistant engineer to the chief, was
examined particularly as to the precau-
lions taken on board the Maine against
spontaneous combustion. He said the or
der had been to inspect the bunkers every
day and log 1t. In the case of the bunkers
that had an escape door they had always
opened those doors. He was on duty on
the day before the explosion. The coal in
b, mixer A, he said. had been stored either
in Norfolk or Newport News There was
about forty tons Of 1t, and 1t was soft coal.
The bunkers Immediately aft were empty.
The door leading from the bunker to the
1O-inch loading room was kept closed.
Asked his opinion as to what effect heat
generated in a bunker which had become
lighted by spontaneous combustion in the
bottom would have upon the upper part of
the bottom and the bulkheads, MIR. Bowers
said it could be very materially noticed.
AS to the condition of the after boilers.
he said they were practically banked and
slider that there was any danger of their
having too m, CHI pressure in for safety on
the evening of the explosion. The safety
valves blow, he said, at about 100 pounds,
and only 80 to 100 was carried for auxiliary
purposes. They had the usual tnermostats
in the bunkers, but as these instruments
did not work very well, the bunkers were
examined daily by feeling.
Mr. Royorc said there had never been a
fire from spontaneous combustion in the
brnkers. They had once thought they had
such a fire, but it was from a leaky exhaust
pipe from the ice rachine.
Chief Gunner's Mate Olsen.
Chief Gunners Mate Olsen of the United
Stete Iowa, told how he had been sent
to Havana for the purpose of doing diving
duty ON the wreck. He hadrascended four
times, making about eight or nine hours
of total examination.
Olsen told how en- his first descent he
went over the forward part of the ship.
To use his own expression. he said, Il found
the wreck all blowed up. 1 found a lot of
CRATE bars down there"
The second time he went down further
forward. and there located a lot of 1O-inch
shells. Forward of these the plates were
bent irboard over them.
Asked if he imagined himself looking
forward. he stated that he did. Going over
the plates. he struck into 4 lot Of six-inch
shells with the sings on them. Going to
the right, witness stated he found a lot of
wreckage. 1t seemed to have been blown
over the starboard. Olsen stated that he
Put his hand into the cranks and brought
out several six-pounder shells.
The next time he went down, Olsen testi-
fed he went outside the ship, forward Of
the crane on the port side. He followed
the bottom along, and found that the ships
side was blown outward, and alongside the
crane it could be walked on.
Bottom Plates Turned Up.
"At the part where she is blown up COM
Plates are turned up. Then you follow the
bottom from there up and the plates are
blown cupboard. AT the top and Under
meath the bottom they are blown inboard
ard bent in. About three feet forward Of
that spot there is a piece of iron laid along
the bulkhead. The skin of the inside of the
double bottoms is curled like a sheet of
paper inboard from stem to stern.
"Amidships on the same place there is an
al NOR plate, one plate complete, the top of
the plate standing Up. The plate Is in
clined over the starbOard completely. 1t
stands up, with the thick part of the plate
down. 1t is inclined forward and over to
siarboard.
Chief Engineer Howell.
The first witness en- the third day of the
inquiry was Chief Engineer Chas. p How
ELL U. s. NJ who joined the Maine in De-
cember. 1895. He described the location of
ha na no nj
the coal bunkcrs; he showed by diagrams
their proximity to each other. Two bunk
ers were adjacent to the 1O-inch magazine
One of these bunkers, A Is, was difficult to
put coal into or take it out of. A 16 was
also difficult in the same way, as four 9TH
er bunkers had to be emptied before they
&C uld be reached, two bunkers each being
in the way. There had never been any
s,grs of any kind of spontaneous combus-
ton in the Names bunkers since he had
been chief engineer. Witness never found
any signs of heating in the bunkers.
Bunker Is was half full of coal at the
time of the explosion, and A 10 full. Any
spontaneous combustion in the bunker
would have been undoubtedly felt by peo-
pie going to and fro in the passing room
There was no steam piping in dangerous
PIC ximity to the Names magazines. The
two aftcrmost boilers were in use while In
port, carrying about 80 to 100 pounds of
steam fer auxiliary purposes. They car
r;ed 120 pounds at sea.
Assistant Engineer Morris and q watch
of reliable men were on duty when the
Maine was wrecked. Witness described the
explosion. He was In the ward room mess
room when the explosion occurred.
Il was suddenly startled with an unsual
shock. There was then a continued series
OF commissions and noise like the tearing
OF the ship to pieces then a tremendous
crash; then apparently the sound of falling
debris. Then the ship felt as If 1t was
waving and unsteady on the deck"
Witness did not notice any list Of the
ship at the first shock. He did not notice
1t until after the series Of shocks. when he
started to so on deck. Then the ship ap-
peared to be listed over about As degrees to
port.
Witness saw no upshoot of flame or any,
thing Of that sort when he reached the
deck. Now and then there would be a
small explosion, like the explosion of a G.
inch shell perhaps.
Examined in detail by. Capt. Sigsbee. Chief
Engineer Howell further explained the i'm