Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-02-24


out, as would be the case if the explo-
sion came from the inside, or whether
they were driven in, as would result
from the attack of torpedo or the ex-
plosion of a mine beneath the ship.
The large majority of naval officers
are inclined the belief that the explo-
sion resulted from spontaneous COM
bustion of coal bunker, the overhead
ing of the iron partitions between the
boilers and the magazine, or from the
explosion of boiler, though the last
theory finds little support.
The Maine May be Raised.
The naval constructors, in the light
of the dispatches thus far received, say
it is by no means certain that the
Maine cannot be raised and again carry
the flag. They say that while she is a
big ship, others as large have been
raised, and at Havana the new floating
dry dock would receive her if she could
once be gotten above the water.
Capt. Sigsbee evidently is taking an
interest in the future of the ship, for he
sent telegram to Commander For
sythe, at Key West, that was promptly
transmitted to Secretary Long, sug-
costing that a lighthouse vessel or
some such small craft be stationed in
Havana harbor to watch over the
wreck. The latter, even if beyond
resurrection, contains valuable ord
nance and other property that doubt
less can be secured by divers.
One OF the Greatest Disasters In Naval
History.
It is said at the navy department
that this disaster is the greatest of the
kind in naval history, since the sink
ing of the big British war ship Vic
toria by collision with the Camper
down in the Mediterranean, off Malta,
June, 1898. By that accident the Brit
ish admiral, commanding, % officers
and 336 men lost their lives.
The Spanish legation was early adj
vised of the horror by Capt.-Gen.
Blanco, who expressed his profound re-
greet and added that the occurrence
was a chance accident, the undoubted
cause being an explosion of the boiler
of the dynamo. This was the only
specific cause assigned from an official
source during the day.
Foreign Diplomats Express Regrets.
M. Dubosc, the Spanish charge
called at thestate department to express
his profound regret, and the entire
Spanish staff left their cards at the
navy department as a mark of personal
coincidence. At all the foreign estab-
hshments there was the deepest inter-
est and solicitude over the affair, and
during the day Ambassador Cambon,
of France, Sir Julian Pauncefote of the
British embassy and other foreign rep
resentatives called on the president, or
at the state department, to express
their regrets.
The disaster is remarkable in that
only two officers lost their lives. They
were Lieut.. Friend w. Jenkins and
Assistant Engineer Darwin 3. Merritt.
The former was unmarried, but leaves
a mother and sister. The latter, it is
thought, also was unmarried, but the
department was unadvised concerning
his family.
Hard Work and Harder Waiting.
Hard work and harder waiting and
expectancy marked the evening for
most of the department officials whose
duties connected them in any way with
the Maine disaster. Secretary Long,
who had been aroused at 2:30 a. m,
when the news reached Washington,
was thoroughly tired out, and went to
bed unusually early. He turned over
to Lieut.. Whittelsey the receiving of
all dispatches relating to the disaster,
with orders, following out those of the
president at the cabinet meeting, to
make public everything relating to the
affair.
The state department was on the
alert for news both from Havana and
from Minister Woodford at Madrid,
but beyond a second message from
Gen. Lee expressing the hope that pub
lie excitement in the United States
would be repressed, and detailing adj
ditional courtesies at the hands of the
Spaniards, nothing was received.
Strenuous Efforts to Remain Calm.
The efforts of all government officers
to remain calm in the face of the shock
ing disaster and its attending mystery
was apparent, and a number of naval
officers volunteered theories in favor of
the accident hypothesis, all of which,
in the absence of any facts on which to
base a reasonable opinion, were de-
cidedly unsatisfying.
At the White House the president
spent the evening in his Office. There
was no official conference on the dis
aster, however, and but one caller,
Senator Fairbanks, of Indiana, who
merely discussed the Maine catastrophe
incidentally with the other business
which brought him to the White House.
The president displayed the keenest
interest in the appalling story and the
deepest sympathy for the sufferers, and
it was at his suggestion that the order
half-masting all government flags was
issued. He was kept informed of the
course of events by private dispatches
and those of the press, which were
sent to him through the evening.
Capt. sigsbee's Message to Commandant
Forsythe.
KEY WEST, Fla, Feb. 17.-Capt. Sigs-
bees message to Commandant Forsythe
of the naval station here, received yes
terday, reads:
HAVANA, Feb. IS
Advise sending American vessel at once. The
Maine is submerged except the debris Mostly
work for divers. Jenkins and Merritt are still
missing, and there is but little hope for their
safety. Tho e known to have been saved are
the officers and "a uninjured of the crew.
Eighteen wounded men are now on board the
Ward Line steamer, in the city hospital and at
the Mascotte hotel-59 50 far known. All
the others went down on board or near the
Maine. The total number missing is 25S With
than part of a suit of clothing and that Is wet
with harbor water.
The Ward line steamer leaves for Mexico
Cvera CRUZ ut two O'Clock this afternoon The