Evening star., 1898-04-14
The Responsibility Fixed.

There is ground for substantial gratifca-
ton In the manner in which the Senate
committee on foreign relations treated the
Main, disaster in it's mastery report SUBJ
mitted and published yesterday. That re-
port, whether viewed from the literary or
political standpoint. must be regarded as
one of the most notable state papers ever
recorded in'the history of this republic.
The verdict of the committee in the case
of the Maine is unmistakabe. There is no
uncertain sound in. it's utterances which
point squareiy to Spain as the responsible
or at least the accountable agency of the
disaster The reasoning along this line is
clear and irrefntable The committee wise
iy disresards al reference tosthe individual
person whose direct act caused the explo-
sion beneath the hull of the vessel 1t
shows that there is in such a case as in all
mysterious and plotted crimes, serious
dlfhculty in ascertaining by conclusive PROOF
the personal agent of the action But there
Is no such difficulty in ascertaning the otil-
cial and responsible cause
The result of all the facts and logical
surmises to which the committee had ac-
cess is that 1.-The destruction of the Maine
was compassed either by the official act of
the Spanish authorities or was made DOS
sible by negligence on their part so will
Ing and gross to be equivalent in culpa-
bility to positive criminal action" There
is no avoidance Of the fcrc. and justice of
this conclusion. 1t is established by chain
OF reasoning so strong that not even Span
ish proceedings in so-called investigation
can weaken it. The moorng of the Maine
over a certain spot in the harbor, the ex-
cited state Of public feeling against the
snip, the utter lack of any form of protec-
tiOn ct ion,
and violence-and this in city where the
system of police and military espionage
has been developed to an unprecedented ex-
tent-these facts are plainly established and
not denied. 1t is lik awise shown that the
only available means of producing the ef-
feet palpably revealed by the wreck 10 have
been produced on the Maine are such as
pertain solely to governmental enterprises,
and used by governments only under
such conditions that access TO them in Ha-
vana could have been possible only by vr-
tue of gross carelessness culpable con-
nivance.
The committee rejects with good reason
| the findings of the Spanish court, which are
| not to be compared for a moment with
| those of the American court of inquiry,
| having lacked the slightest element of thor
| oughness and efficiency. Thus the Senate
committee does not take into even brief con-
| sideration the possibility that the Maine
| was destroyed by interior explosion. 1t
very properly regards the fact of an ex-
| terror cause too firmly established to
| admit of the slightest question.
| The Senate committee had access to facts
| and surmises that could not well have been
| utilized by the naval court. The latter
| body was bound by certain established
| precedents OF procedure and could not leave
| the beaten track of investigation prescribed
| by the regulations and customs OF the naval
| service. The function of the naval court
| ended when it ascertained that the vessel
| was destroyed by an exterior explosion.
| Thus the committee took up the work
| where the court was forced to leave it and
| lis report must be considered as the Amer
| ican verdict, from which there is so far as
| We are concerned no appeal.