Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-17
inquiry ORDERED
Naval Board Appointed to InVesi-
gate The Faile Disaster.
PROMINENT OFFICERS NAMED
They Will Convene at Scene of Wreck
in Few Days.
THEORIES ABOUT The ACCIDENT
Captain Bradford Says Names
Goa Was Of Good Quality.
trRNINI, To Pc hCII SIGSREE
THEORIES ABOUT The ACCIDENT
TRYING To REACH SIGSBEE

The Navy Department received dispatch
this morning from Admiral Sicard IN COM
Rand of the North Atlantic squadron, CIV
ing the detail of the court of Inquiry to in :
VestiSate the Maine disaster, fellows:
Capt. Sampson, president of the court
Capt. Chadwick. Lieut.. Commander
Schroeder. Lieut. Commander Mark.
Capt Sampson. the president of the
court. is commander of the battle ship
Iowa. now at the Tortugas: Capt. Chad
wick is commander of the New York, at
Key West: Lieut.. Commander Schroeder
Is executive officer of thu battle ship Mass
achusetts. now at the Tortugas: Lieut..
Commander Mark Is executive officer Of
the Vermont. He was formerly with the
Maine as executive officer before the detail
of Lieut.. Commander Wainwright, who
relieved him
VIII Take Several Days.
II is believed tLat under the most favor
able circumstances this investigation can
not be made for several days. Arrange
Ttnts must be rade for the proper work
ing of the diving outfits and the board of
inquiry must determine upon a line of
action. Besides. Lieut.. Commander Mark
who will be a member of the court of
inquiry. has just been released from duty
with the Billings court-martial in this
city. He left Washington at II O'Clock
today by train for Key West, and he is
supposed to be assigned to duty as Judge
advocate of the court. Probably the board
Will be conveyed from Havana to Key
West by the Olivette or one of the light
house tenders, as 1t is again stated today
that the Navy Department has no inten-
mot thar
Havana Immediately
General fear is expressed by the older
ofieers of the Navy Department that the
destruction of the Maine had been SO com.
plete. at least in the forward portion of
the snip where the explosion Is believed TO
nave occurred, that 1t would be perhaps
impossible to find sufficient evidence in
tAt wreck or the hull to be able to de-
clare With certainty the cause of the dis
Aster- The reports coming from Havana
ana printed this morning descriptive of
the occurrence of the wreck Yesterday
strengthen these doubts
Inc fallen smokestack the disappear
ance OF the big tUrret guns. the overturn
h'S OF the decks forward. all seem To in
C!cate that an enormous destruction ha,
occurred below.
sunk by Internal Explosion.
1t may be said however. that notbirs
has yet developed in the news from Ha
NaAd as TO the appearance of the wr.cL
or IN the conflicting stories of the sur
NiNors 10 change the opinion of the ma.
J.ilty o. the ofncers stationed in the Nav,
department that the Maine sunk as th.
result OF ali internal explosion. As tc
'Hs origin OF this explosion there is still a
VICE difference OF opinion but the Goa;
bunker theory today fiEds very manv more
strong supporters than any other theory
Inns throry Is based on the supposition thai
spontaneous combustion in one of The
bCnkers. which in the Maine are separatec
IRON the magazine forward by a sInsI.
thin iron partition. ignited the magazin,
ana caused the destruction OF the vessel
Proofs Of similar fires on other vessels o
the navy are being produced in profusior
q, the Navy Department today
II Is said that on the battle ship indiana
no less than seven fires have occurred i.
the coal bunkers. The PHILADELPHIA ha.
had at least one within the past year
while in the case of the flagship OF tn.
i"rth Atlantic squadron. the New York
the 'iepartmen Mt was obliged to order tn,
discontinuance of the use Of the maca
zine in the center OF the ship because o
Ill
subject 10 a high degree of heat by radia
tion from the furnaces.
Character of Coal Supplied,
In connection with the theory Of spon.
taHeous combustion the character of the
Goa! supplied to the Indiana assumed some
Importance This is supplied at present &c
the bureau Of equipment. and the head OF
that bureau. Captain Royal Bradford. this
mt rning asserted positively that coal was
of the very best. lie produced the quarter
" report required by regulations to show
exactly the state of the Names coal sun.
ply and the quality OF the coal. AT the end
o. December the vessel had ffty-two tons
Of coal cnly in her bunkers. This was made
up of foCa hontas and New River coal
Captain Bradford said that Pocahontas Is
standard naval coal and is rated at 100
New River follows next and is set down al
NJ per cent These are semi mi-b!tuminous
Goals OF a quality closely approaching thai
OF the celebrated Welsh navigation coal the
British naval standard
In the opinion Of Captain Bradford
neither of these Goals is particularly sub
Ject TO spontaneous combustion. Since tn,
Maine has been in the Gulf of Mexico how
ever, she probably has consumed a goos
part Of this coal and has repIenished he
stock from the naval store at the Kew wes
station. The coal = taken on was An