The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-18
THE SUNKEN MAINE.
Why the Water-TiEht Compartments
Did Not Save the Ship.

-
HAVANA, March 17-Ralph d. Paine, an
American correspondent here says: The
extent of the damage 10 the hull of the
Maine has not been revealed to any one out
side of the divers and the court of inquiry
When it was at first reported that the ship
had gone to the bottom like dipsey lead
1t was thought that hole had been blown
in her side or bottom, and there was a
great deal of talk to the effect that mod
ern battle ship was no more than trap,
a floating coffin for her crew in the event
of accident. But these severe structures
were not entirely well founded. The Maine,
as is true of every war vessel, was pro-
tected by many water-tight compartments
dividing the length of the hull into small
sections. The closing of all water-tight
doors in these walls at the order was d
part of the regular ship drill. Had the
Maine knocked hole in her bottom, had
she been rammed or torpedOed it is not
probable that she would have sunk to the
bottom before her crew could get on deck
at least.
But it has been found that the Maine was
not ripped open or even a great hole torn
her chief officers that the whole bow, or
forward part almost to midshps, was lit
orally blown off, shattered to fragments.
1t was almost as ii she had been cut
squarely in two and the sea had filed her
after part, which, of course happened in
stantly. The after. bulkheads were blown
in or driven in by the force of the inrus1l-
ing sea, which filled her just as when one
pushes empty pail below the water sur
race Any iron or steel merchantmAn
would have met exactly the same fate and
been sunk as rapidly had she been shat
| tered IN the same fashion.
In the face of these facts, to argue, be-
cause the Maine sank so soon and her crew
We're drowned in the hammocks, that the
modern war vessel is unduly dangerous to
her company is to argue that the merchant
marine should abandon the ocean liner and
the steamship and return to wooden hulls.
Half of q steel ship Will not stay long
ahoat under any circumstances. The awful
and unprecedented extent of the destrtlc-
ton is an impressive argument in the opiI~
ion now generally accepted here among I'M
Vestigators that the explosion could not
have been within the Ship
1t is true that the big ten-inch magazine
was not exploded. The other three maga-
zines located forward for four and six-inch
| shells were partially exploded. Had all
| this store of powder exploded at once,
which experts say is an absolute impOsSl-
| bility the damage would have been terrific.
| But the direction of force would have been
outward with the radius of destruction ex-
tending from the magazines toward the
deck, sides and bottom 1t would not have
| blown steel plates inward: 1t would not
have blown the bottom plates along the
| keel, which are beneath the magazines, up
ward, in fact, through the very center OF
| the explosion to a resting place twenty-nine
| feet above the original location. This is as
absurd to suppose as that the force of grav-
| ty should suddenly be reversed, repelling
| from instead of attracting toward the CEN
The divers have found, or rather think
| they have found the forward barbette
| in which were mounted two ten-inch guns
weighing twenty-five tons each. The armor
| of the barbette was ten inches thick. This
| massive structure and it's huge rifles were
| blown so far out Of their position that,
after three weeks Of search the divers
| hazard a guess that they have located
| these guns, which the powerful wrecking
ffTur mill aff IN q w
| will attempt to lift the superstructure from
| the mass of wreckage which shows above
| the water but experts doubt the ability
| of the derrick to remove this mass in one
| piece. The only material Of value which
| there is good hope of recovering consists Of
! -four ten-inch rifles on the upper Geek two
sx-inch guns abaft the captains room. the
secondary battery and the machine guns.
When the wreckers have done all that is
possible, there remains only to break tP>
| the poor hulk with dynamite and remove
| the fragments as an obstruction to naviga-
| ton. An attempt will be made to blow out
| the combining decks and bulkheads, where
| many bodies still imprisoned. One
| compartment in the berth deck where many
! bodies are known to be floating the divers
| have been able to enter. But there is nine
| feet of headroom and 1t has been found
| impossible TO pull any of them down, so
| this deck win be blown out of the way to
| release the bodies.
But this search is now only an inspiration
] of sad sentiment. The remains found re-
| Gently are only fragments a head or limb
| or q bit of skull. Several fragments of diff
| TGrent DOOleS nave TO De placed N one
zinc casket and shipped to Key West for
| burial. A barge piled high with pine boxes
| is always anchored little way from the
wreck. A couple of Spanish lab0rers lounge
| and sleep in the sun against these collins
| and wait, while the buZzards sweep in cir
| cles overhead. But there is little for the
| dead barge to do, and scores Of bodies will
| never need the care of the undertaken.
| Their grave is the ship.
One of the young officers of the Maine
| gave a more vivid impression of the sud-
dennesa with which the ship plunged TO the
bottom than have gathered from al the
other stories told. He said: Il had just
turned in. Jenkins, one of my dearest
friends, was sitting just outside my door
when the explosion occurred. ] thought
stunned in my berth for four or five sec
onds. When jumped out CROPPED my way
bow of a ship through the side. The deck
had listed so far that fell over the table.
When ] picked myself up the water was
up to my ankles. l started for the compan-
ionway. and when reached the stairs the
water was gaining very fast and was near
ly up to my waist i got on deck and re-
ported for orders TO help lower the boats
Jenkins started for the same hatehway,
but must have turned and gone for ihe
other which was completely blocked by a
cutter which had been thrown over il by
the explosion. He probably got up the
stairs, found the way closed and tried to
return and get out through the other end
of the room and was drowned before he
could reach the other companionway
All of the officers speak most enthlls-
iastically of the work of Naval Cadet Bron-
son in rescuing the survivors. He has not
received due measure of credit. He Is a
shy, modest boy of twenty-one, who doesn't
like to talk of personalities. He was put
in charge of one of the cutters. and sent
his boat and her brave crew straight into
the burning wreckage. and worked so sieS.
perately and skillfuHy that his cutter
rescued thirty of the survivors or more
than a third of those taken of that night
The sailors idciize the young officer, ana
his comrades think he should receive Of
fetal commendation Every man PLAYED TIE
part of a hero that night, and brave dea6e
by scores have not been told.