Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-17

thracite. which. said Captain Bradford, ''is
no more subject to spontaneous combus
ton than pile of stones.
The Maine took on $50 tons of this coal
in December. and in January. before she
left for Havana. she loaded up with 27l
tons more. This coal at Key West is kept
behind a picket fence. very much exposed
to any evil-Tninded person who might de-
sire TO conceal a bomb therein, something
which could only be effected with great
difficulty after the coal was stored in the
bunkers.
In spite of the British reflections upon
the discipline on American warships, the
officers here do not hesitate to say tha
in the matter of careful inspection of the
coal bunkers. the magazines and the like,
our navy is second to none in the world.
But these obscure fires arising from spon-
taneous combustion very difficult cf de-
lection. Such fires have been known It
sTnoider undiscovered in piles Of coal a
the Washington navy yard here for many
days before breaking out. and this, too,
Notwithstanding the fact that the piles
visited almost daily. Aboard ship the tax
ing of the temperature of the magazine:
daily is one of the precautions to guard
against such fires.
Custom on the Maine.
In the case of the Maine this observa-
tion was usually taken at 8 o'clock in tho
morning so that it was entirely possibl
for bunker fire to have developed suffi-
cient heat during the twelve hours tha
elapsed before the explosion to have igniteC
the ammunition. While the Brown powder
used for the 10-inch guns is difficult TO ig
ton OF heat in excess of COO degrees fol
some time will cause the explosion which
the application of match would fail tt
bring about.
Trying to Reach SiSs6ee.
Secretary Long is making repeated ef-
forts to obtain from Captain Sigsbee more
accurate data respecting the dead and
wounded than has heretofore been tele
graphed. Half a dozen messages have been
sent to the captain this subject, but
nothing on the subject has yet been re-
ceived from him by the Navy Department,
nor had it been able to hear from Key
West, owing to the unfavorable weather
conditions. and the wires in the south
said to be in trouble, which the naval Off
cials think is the reason for the delay in
receiving further advices. though the prob
able exhaustion Of Captain Sigsbee and his
officers after yesterdays work may also
offer some explanation.
Board Has Ample Authority.
Admiral Sicard's board has ample au-
thorIty to make the most searching inves-
tiga ton into the causes of the disaster.
The Fern and the ManErove reported ar
rival at Havana last evening. The former
is provided with diving apparatus, and as
every warship company includes at least
several exert divers there Will be TO
l2ck of men to make the necessary search
These men can BE depefded upon to re-
port the exact facts. They, moreover will
be subject to orders of the court of in
uuiry In every particular, and as they are
familiar with the bottom of a warshlp OF
the type of the Maine they are not likely
TO be led into the mistake Of sup2osing the
outlet hole or pipe from The interior TO be
a torpedo hole.
Flags Ordered at Hnif-Mast.
The adjutant general of the army today
| telegraphed the commanding generals OF all
the military departments as follows
"As appropriate honors to the deceased
In the recent disaster to the battleship
Maine the President directs that flags at
all army headquarters, military posts and
on army buildings be displayed from sun
rise to sunsc, al half mast until further or
ders'
Divers Offer Their Services.
4 number of kilograms have been re-
ceivcd Al the Navy Department from per-
sons engaging in the diving business, Of
ferinS their services in the effort to recover
the valuables that arr in the sunken ship,
and to assist in ascertaining the causes
which led to the explosion. Secretary Long
had. however, already taken the initiative
in the matter. and is in correspondence
with several wrecking companies, inviting
propositions from them to undertake the
work. Ii is not likely, however, that any
OF the offers will be accepted until soma
report is received from Admiral Sicard,
transmitting the report of the board of in
qulry which he has appointed to determine
the exact situation respecting the possi-
hility OF wing any portion of the vessel.
When the cruiser Detroit sailed for the
south February 5 she carried few men
destined for the Maine. The names Of
| these men are: w. r. Hines first-class ap-
prentice: Eppa Lovett, seaman; E. j.
Noble, third class gunner's mate and Geo
| 7. Starr, seaman The commanding officer
| OF ths Detroit telegraphed the Navy De-