The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-03-04
TO TEST OLD Wan SHIPS
COURT OF lNoRY SILENT AS 70 CAUSE
Progress Of Inquiry al Havana Depends Upon
Work Of Weekers Inquiry from Ma.
tons as 10 Their Subjects on
Board the Maine,
Board the Maine,

bNc8& NtC Wn8tfCF
Washington. II. c., March 3-Sccreta-
~ Long said al the close Of his day
at the Navy Department that no word
had been received from tho Court OF
Inquiry and that no orders had been or
woald be given as to tho movements Of
tho court from Key West. rs the court
il fally authorized to shape ITS own
movements. The original orders to the
court were issued by Admiral Sicard, as
commander OF the fleet TO which the
Maine belonged, and it has the technical
status Of an admiral'S court, reporting
directly to him, both as to its move
nlcnfs and az 10 its final report ON
the cause of the disaster. The under
standing here Is that the court has not
concluded its work bat viii return TO
Havana to take testimony which has
been delayed by the difficulties in the
way of the divers That Admiral Sicarl
expects this move back To Havana was
shown 10y a despatch from him a few
DAYS ago suggesting that arrangements
he made for a vessels 10 take the court
back. As the light house tender Man
grove had been doing this service. the
Treasury Department was asked 10 ars-
sign the Mangrove for the return Of the
court 10 Kew West and this was done.
With these arrangements concluded il Is
said at the Navy Department that the
court will proceed without consulting of
fcials here.
~
Arrangements are being made for the
trip of the cruiser Montgomery and
gunboat Nashville to Cuban ports with
relief supplies The Navy Department
was advised to-day that the Mallory
line steamer leaving New York next
Saturday would carry. free of charge,
seventy-fve tons of supplies TO he trans
ferred to the Montgomery and Nash
vile at Key West. The Mallory steam
.er is expected TO take about four days
in the run down the coast, so that the
transfer to the war ships and their start
TO Cuba cannot be made before next
Thursday The two war ships are poor
w adapted for carrying supplies, having
ccant quarters for their own supplies of
cordage. provisions, canvas and SHIPS
eouipment. 1t is only because they can
make the run in day light that any at
tenpt is made to carry the % tons of
supplies. These will he stored on the
spar deck and with good weather the
day light run will not subject them to
any damage.
The relief measures are proving uneX-
pectedly successful. the supplies running
into the car loads and hundreds OF tons.
The State Department has had notice
CY1I1a Raiinf aangm1ffpp nt
New York that there were shipped on,
March first from New York to Santiago
100000 pounds of relief supplies: on the
md to Havana $4,000 pounds; to-day
to Matanzas 100000 pounds and TO
Sael,a la Grande 10000 pounds. In
these shipments are 100000 grains of
ouinine consigned to each of the ports
except Havana.
The Maine relief fund under Mr..
Iong's management reached a total of
s3,113
The only telegram relating to the
Maine disaster that came to the Navy
Department during the day was the fol
lowing from Commander Forsyth at Key
West:
TO REPAIR OLD MONITORS.
sBache arrived. Brought one body
unidentified, and Paul leoftus, private
marine, jeremiah Shea, coal passef'
John Heffner, ordinary seaman, lnoilas
J. Waters, ordinary seaman, wounded
from Tortugas The wounded VIII De
sent to the Army Hospital. The FUN
eral of the body has started for the
cemetery
In the course of the inquiry into the
Naval resources of the United States
an order has been issued TO make test
of the machinery of the old war mohI-
tors at the League Island Navy 1afd.
These are single turreted craft that are
armed 9Th big mo)th-bore guns IN tur-
rets that could likely be pierced by the
modern high powered rifles on the bat
tleships, but they would still be of ser
vice in an emergency. There are eight
of these monitors at League Island and
the government owns several others that
are now loaned to the Naval Militia or
carnations of some Of the States.
Those at League Island are the follow
ing:
Canonicus, Mah0pac. Manhattan, Cat
skill, Jason, Lehigh, Montauk and Ma
hant. They are all between 1,S00 and
2,10) tons Displacement and draw very
little water, so that they can take up
advantageous positions on shoals com
manding channel approaches. The in-
tention is to turn over the old engines
and work the machinery that is made to
turn the turrets if it can be made to
work az all.
During the course of the day simiIa,
inquiries to that made by the Japanese
legation, as to the number of her sub
iects ON board the Maine. came to the
Navy Department from the German and
the Swedish legations, and it expected
that others viii follow Nearly every ma
tionality was represented in the Maine.
big crew.
Secretary Long to-day authorized an
absolute and positive denial of "A repor'
asserting that partial or preliminary
report had been received by the gov
eminent from the Maine Inquiry Board
indicating or declaring that the loss Of the
Maine was due to an external eXplo-
sion. He said that no report Of any
kind had been received and that tn