Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-03

sNhe searcn the mystery remaIna n,
uVep as ever, and the court does no
'nlnk the Spanish will reach concluslo,
where the Americans have failed.
any close inspection OF The parts o
shs snip Is not possible until the guns an,
uepris nave been removed from the hull
80 that II can be examined thoroughly
some good authorities think 1t win b,
necessary TO build a Golfer dam arount
tue wreck, piles being driven, etc.
NO IMPORTATION OUT.
Ihat any important testimony befor,
the court has found its way to the public
IS Very unlikely. Some of the witnesse.
nave told certain correspondents OF al
ieged testimony. but in every case I'm.
Vestigation has shown their stories to be
wildly impossible and controverted by
known facts, or else absolutely irrele.
want.
Some Of the correspondents have tried
70 extract information from members OF
'he court and from naval witnesses by
putting what were deemed by the ones.
TONERS clever hypothetical Inquiries. but
the questioners were not experts IN naval
architecture, so the results were un.
satisfactory. Probably the court knew
before II left Habana for Kew West
whether the 10-inch magazine on the
starDoard forward deck did or did not
explode, but they gave no sign, and the
uivers give no ouGide information.
certainly, the tug Right Arm has ocen
OF nttle value thus far. her captain NOT
having sufhcient authority until MONDAY
10 hlre the needed lighters But while
crluclsing the naval divers for their slow-
ness, II must be remembered that theirs
Is grim dangerous, and difficult work. In
muddy, foul water, through a mass OF
rlVen steel bent iron. shattered gratinss
ana LADDERS, over upturned matches. heap
ca up coal scattered ammunition, guns,
chests. machinery. and electric wires
they must make or cut their way. They
must exercise great care. lest their air.
tubes be severed by sharp projections.
ALREADY, many have had bad falls in the
uncertain light and difficult passages. No
thlng need be retracted. however. from
the former statement that all the haste
possible Us greatly to be desired The
huge weight of the wreck causes IT to
sink daily deeper into the soft mud of
the hal0or, making the task of raising
the vessel the more herculean.
While no outsider is allowed on the
wreck, the patrol lines are not so rigid
as formerly, and the boats Of visitors are
allowed to sail close to the upheaved
mass of debris.
ARE AMERICANS IN DANGER?
The question is frequently asked: Are
Americans in danger in Habana?" The
only truthful answer ever given by n
well-informed resident or American. Off
cial or layman. is: 1--WE think not we
don't know" OF course, Spanish officials
who Will talk on the subject deprecate
any idea of danger; but they are as much
in the dark as the rest.
A well-informed Cuban of high social
position, and on good terms with the
government. said to the correspondent of
the Associated Press: "Of course in the
low dives and saloons there are constant
boasts by irresponsible persons as to
what they intend to do TO Americans; but
these people are only dangerous in case
riotous demonstrations come from other
quarters. such. for instance. as the vol
unteers In the Ten-Years' War the vol
unteers shot many innocent people. and
dissatisfaction is more likely to be mani
tested later against the Autonomists, or
against General Blanco and his staff,
than against the Americans. The impress
sion is strong that only short time will
elapse ere Cuba will be annexed to, or
be under the protection of. the United
States. There are no signs Of a demon
stration against the Americans. and
stories 20 the contrary thus far are with
out foundation. Still. Habana is no place
just now for those without calls of busi-
ness or duty. The season is inclement,
and the variations Of temperature are
sudden and violent. causing much sick
ness, and especially the grip"
All idea of censorship is so foreign to
the American mind that an American can
scarcely appreciate the difficulty of send
ing news from Habana. The Spaniards
seem equally unable to understand why
censorship is not exercised in the United
States.
SPANISH NEWS CENSORSHIP.
Our experience will serve as an illustra-
lion of others of daily occurrence. A cor
appeared at an early hour
with a bulletin for cabling, giving rou-
line facts, etc. Sickness deprived the cor
respondent of his Interpreter, and he
ried to get his dispatch stamped by the
censor in the original English. Command
ant Norana was acting in the censor's
place. Commandant Norana, who does not
English, declined to give his
approval until the dispatch was shown
lim in Spanish. The correspondent hunted
some one up whom he could trust, and
inally secured a Spanish version. Norana
;crutinized it carefully, crossed out SEN
ences perfectly harmless but which APP
,eared to him TO contain double mean
ng, and after emasculating the dispatch,
the Spanish version.
The correspondent took the English and
;panish copies TO the cable office where
hey were compared BY operators, who
ire held responsible for their perfect
agreement. The dispatch finally approved,
IS bu'tchered, was then sent.
Time consumed: Two hours and forty
minutes.
Later in the day, the same correspond
nt NAV lose two hours OF valuaDle ume
n waiting for the censor, who happens
o be at lunch: while at night, me cersor
nav put in an appearance nan an hour
,efore the cable office closes
Greater demonstrations OF welcome
ouId not have been accorded the Vizcaya
,ad she been the most powerful battle
hin In the world. Her officers and crew
CiI he the objects of constant and gene
ous social attentions. 1t has been pro-
hesied that her arrival would be Sig
al for demonstrations against thls' that'
r. the other party or oihclal, Dut, as
sual. this was nothing but preulc'ioh.
|, few shouted for Weyler but not |
nough TO attract the slightest attention
rom the police.
NEWS FROM INSURGENTS.
Nevs as 10 the movements OF the IN
ureents is scarcer here since the Maine |
xnIosion than usual No official declara-
on has been received from General |
Iaximo Gomez as to the disaster. so far
9 is known. hut, of course. he and his
oilowers regard the affair as due 10
anish treachery The fight in Puerto |
'rincipe. already announced by cable,
,as probahly one Of the hottest since ne
pening of the trouble. 1t is thought
hat when the facts are known. the re-
erses will be Spanish, rather than