The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-03-13
ARTILLERY UNDER ORDERS.
THEORIES OF THE EXPLOSION.
An Unnamed Expert Gives His Reasons
for Believing in an External Cause.

An Unnamed Expert Gives His Reasons
for Believing in an External Cause.
Havana, via. Key West, March 49,
1t is impossible to send direct from Hal
wanna anything in refutal of Captain
Peral's statement of yesterday regard
ing the views of the Spanish Court OF
Inquiry as to the Maine disaster. How
ever. an American officer. who is an eX-
PERT. says in effect. and his words are
worthy of weight. as he knows absolutely
of what he is talking:
Il am u graduate of the torpedo
school. and thave studied the effects of
tOrpedceS or mines from observation and
experiments.
a torpedo exploded at depth of six
feet would throw column of water one
hundred feet into the air: at twelve
feet deep. ten feet i'm the air. and at
thnty feet would hardly raise a small
wave. \ decorator of gun cotton il,
the OEen air makes a mark its own size
in steel or blows stone to fragments. In
the water Il torpedo itself would not
he felt at any great distance. 1t re-
quires the resistance of a solid body
and would he dissipated in water or
mud. This d.spcses of the wave theory
and the affecting of the shore or boats
in the harbor."
As to f.e hole in the Maine tho ex-
pert in question makes the most impor-
tant statement that the Maine drew %
to 30 feet at the time of the explosion
and had about ten feet Of water below
her bottom to the surface Of the harbor
mud. On the port side, where the Uni
ted States divers are now at work,
there is at present forty-seyen feet of
wafer May not this be the hole which
Captain peral says could not be found
If it is. the hole was more than seven
feet deep when the explosion took place,
and has been greatly filled with mud
since. As to the finding of the fish, tho
United States Court of Inquiry has not
seen q solitary fish since work began OF
the wreck. The bodies received from the
Maine have not been touched by fishes.
Some of the fishermen in Havana tes
tilted that there were no fish inside the
lslrli5r. the waters being too foul for
them. Some times they come part Way
in during the day but all go not at
night.
Further. as to the alleged discoveries
Of Spanish divers reported tn Captain
Peral. five American divers have been
working en- the port side of the wreck
an average of seven hours each ger day
for nearly three weeks in space nifty
feet long and twenty feet wide. The
Spanish divers have never been inside
the wreck at ALL neither have they
ever been on the port side, deyoting the
short hours which they have spenr un-
der water to the star-board side for
ward and outside the hull Recently. To
Their own surprise. they brought up two
cans of ammunition for the six inch
guns. rot exploded. They droppa th"m
hack when the light of the surface
showed they were une Exploded and what
their nature was. Further the Spanish
divers often go down only long enough
to wet their suits and then come up
and hide behind blanket on the barge.
where they sleep or rest for couple or
hours and then go ashore AMI report
that they canp1t see anything i'll the
mud and water. They could not have
found the ram of the Maine, since they
have not been in the locality of that
part of the wreck. They nave no To-
Gated the turret with the ten inch guns,
though the spot has been pointed out
by Captain Sharp. in charge Of the
wreckers where there is only sixteen
feet and should be twenty six feet
This spot is outside the hull on the
starIboard side. 1t is probable that the
turret is there. partly buried i'll the mud.
All of these facts are known by the UNI
ted States Court Of Inquiry, having been
elected in the examination of those in
a position to know. The expert inter-
viewed by the correspondent expresses
the belief that the Maine was blown up
4 - l., N.AxK anuft nt la
station torpedo or something Of the same
nature This engine of destruction IS
the Joint product of the labors of Com
mander Mclean, now in command Of
the torpedo station at Newport, and
! Senior Lieutenant Holman. Ordnance
officer Of the Maine at the time of the
explosion. The Newport torpedo can be
planfed from small boat, and the eX-
merit believes that this one was exploded
by :heing struck on the side of the Maine
forward of amid ships as she swung to
her moorings. He thinks this more
likely than that wires were laid from
the shore. as tie wires. if laid. for any
length of time would sink deep in the
| loose harbor mud. 1t would be singular
/ If it should prove that the Maine was
| blown up by a torpedo in the invention
of which one of her principal officers,
/ Lieutenant Holman, bore notable part.
All Of the above statements of fact
| and surmises come from authority upon
! which the court depends for much of it's
, evidence and is given to the c0rrespon-
dent without reservation except as to
, the the name and rank of the givpr The
expert further believes that the DESTROY
ing mine was made up of four torpedoes
Oh thirty-siX pounds each of wet and
dry gun cotton, or IA pounds in ali.
This amount would have been ample Ia