The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-02-18

thnfolzts .1resss&A1scG and 1lis3l4re0 taA%
the reason he sent the Survivors 20 Key
West was snas he feared more trouble.
The Washington correspondent CT the
Herald says THAI he stood on tire bridge OF
the Maine with Capt Slzsbee week ago
yes.ercay and tas captain sasd to him:
II do not want 10 be orlsgec 10 take any
coal aboard from Havana !. would De
risky exp<dient. Not Iaat I suspect any
ore IN authority. bgi there II such al ire
sponsioia rabbl@ here In Havana, and II
would Dc ar easy matter TO get ccsspie OF
sfscks ~ dynamite tn the coal ounkers
without Cur knowing il"
Denial at Washington
WASHINGTON. Feb. i7.-Seeressry Long
positively deniea tina; Capt. S.gsb~e has in
any suppressed telegram expressed the
opinion that a torpedo caused the disaster.
- that 81 came from an external cause
Tho captain sId. or the contrary, that
ne could not venture 10 express an opinion
Explosion Came From without.
NEW YORK Feb. fT.-Csps Edmund Ia
iinxk1, inventor Of the dynamite gun. de-
ciares that the Maine was not blown np
from -ithin.
Accidents. carelessnezs aud spontans-
Gus combinations" he said last night,
have been eliminated from the navy and
army srmy There vas tine s whe MINT ,hs s ssvs
blown a vessel into atoms, but that tine u
past. Then. this theory IL wiped away al
ones when ~ IS known that ali magazines
were under Jock and key at the tire OF the
occurrance The boat wss not In action.
but lying peacefully at anchor In Still wat
ers. The theory Of carelessness must also
be dismissed at once. / KNOW the disel-
pllne on board warship too well 10 mag
Inc any possible CARELESS act tina, would
ignite magazine al that hour Of the
could pass beyond the guards and enter
them WAY a member OF the Names
crew would not dare TO handle those ex-
ploslveS at that hour.
AS to spontaneous combustion. that
theory must also be dismissed at once.
There Is no such thing known today In the
manufacture and handling OF explosives
as spontaneous combustion, because or
the Perfection in material and the thor
ougf tests II must undergo before being
accepted by the government
Ten years ago minor accidents were nu-
mercus. but they were principally due to
the infariority OF the metal manufactured
or In the handling OF II. ! can recall one
or two terrible accidents In those days, but
II is Useless 10 speak Of them. as he causes
do not enter at all into the consideration
OF what has befallen the Maine.
II imagine some effort may be made by
the Spanish to conceal the real cause of
the explosion by blaming the gun cotton in
the magazines. This theory will not do.
The uses and abuses of CUR cotton are as
well understood today on board OF a man
of-war AZ In the laboratory.
There was no great heat IN the maya
zines OF the Maine The thermometers tell
Of no greater heat than 81. and gun cot
ton will not explode under twenty degrees
above that. But II must be remembered
that the gun cotton stored In the Maine
was mostly water soaked kept thus for
the cake Of preservation and safety OF
course there Is little always kept dry
for decorating purposes; 10 act sort
OF illuminate or cap. In settling of the
damp cotton. But the drv cotton is such
hiEh-class material and kept under per-
fectiy safe conditions that ii could not ig-
mite by itself The same can be said OF
every other ounce Of explosives on board
~ torpedo from below the water line
might have easily turned in the plates and
e.t IRE 10 magazine, or-but am theo-
OF the hull will tell the story. But | re-
peat. and l am firm In my conviction the
Maine did not blow up from within. The
blow came from the outside of her maya
zines
Tho Journal and Advertiser quotes As
sis,ant Secretary Of the Navy Theodore
Roosevelt as saying;
II am convinced that the destruction Of
tho Maine was not accident
Said Ia Have B~ea n Torpedo.
One OF the regular star correspondents
OF the Associated Press at Key West ca
bled from there at II Is this morning that
the report OF finding hole in the huh of
the Maine. evidently caused by a tor
pedo was sent from Havana just before
tho Oiisette sailed. and from a source re-
guried az reliable. but cannot ae verified.
owing To strict censorship ut Havana. The
report Is not verified by the officers Of the
Maine who have arrived al Key West
from Havana.
Accident Theory Improbable.
WASHINGTON. Feb i5.-Naval Con-
structor Hichtnrn said:
Under all the circumstances IL does not
seem to me The Names disaster could
have resulted from an accident Every
thlnK Was quiet and orderly about the
ehip. 40 far as We have any knowledge,
And the probabilities are that only one OF
the Tour engines was being used. With all
the safeguards imaginable. and lying az
anchor as quiet "a possible. /, seems un-
likely that such accident could have oc-
Cured. Men were about the ship every
where. but none OF the machinery was
In motion, with the possible exception Of
one % the smaller engines for necessary
work aboard. n the Maine had been a,
sea OF IN action there might have been
some valid reason for such an explosion.
such as occurred, but not under condition.
surrounding Il In Havana. Then. too.
mere Was no pNSshi manner for the am
nunitien IN the rnaxsEins 70 ha exploded.
Here was vessel as staunch ard we'll
built "a anything taai ever left 8 shsfy-
yard, and III an instant almost the work
OF years goes for nausht. and ara told
that there was an accident az the bottom
or the auair. Baf I viii never believe
anything OF the kind and have the hes,
reasons for entertaining such opinion :
from my knowledge OF the manner IN
which the Maine was constructed
Haw IL Nlaht Nave Occurred
WTT.LlMANTiC. Gem. Feb i7-Cap.
Pau! Boynton. the swimmer believes that
the blowing UP Of ihc Maine was the work
OF spaaiards
lie said torpedo could have been float
81 from skin with a lire and a catch
that would stop Il on the anchor chain
Ihrn. by paying Ga, the line attached 70
the torpedo Ter the distance that rad al
ready been determined between the anchor
ehaia ard oaas. The torpedo could be
srongst alongside or tire vessel ard ex-
pioded ih two Different WAYS Tharr mlgn,
nave Deem "a screw attached similar "a the
screw OF a propeller ard the noun, The
torpedo stopped moving and vas brought
With the head . the current. the screw
would revolve ana after making a certain,
number Of revelations woald release a
pin wisa'H The terpcto and rsuse the sx-
rsex'on. Another method would he bv
clock mechanism. tbs eoala 10 tore "a
most Innocent appearing Nay
Inspection Of Coal
KEY WEST Feb, If-The story tha, 4,
;orrsG0 may have been concealed f., fhe
eeS furnished q the Maine IA secuted
here u s-ss az