The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1898-03-10
)ye, U. Kitagata, T. Nagamine and <

port that the Maine was DlOWn up
rom the outside. A partial report to
his effect has also been received, it is
stated by high authority, from the
BOARD of inquiry. Nothing has as yet
)een developed, however, according to
his information, which connects Span
sh officials with the crime.
The information that such IA mes
sage has been received was gained
Thursday from an official who says
ne read it. 1t is from IL source re-
yarded as reliable as an official state
nent.
1t was said that the policy o. the
, administration might be perfected and
"eady for immediate application, if
| necessary. when the full official report
of the board is made public. 1t is be-
ieved to be the basis of the action now
being taken by the administration in
certifying the coasts, assembling the
warships, purchasing supplies and am
nunition, and securing options on
| cruisers being built abroad.
The government has employed an ex-
| pert photogra phcr, now in Havana,
| Who will send to the naval department
| IN Washington photographs OF armor
plates and different portions of the
| wreck Immediately upon recovery from
| The water.
If the Spanish court of inquiry un-
| Ter Capt Peral has a definite plan of
| action. which seems doubtful, it has
not been made public. The Spani sh
| livers will. of course. report the re-
| suits of their observation to the Span
| sh court of inquiry. but when or
| where has not been known.
It is believed now that the body re-
covered last Friday and buried here
was that of Quartcrlnaster Robt.
| Burllhardt. a German 1t was identi-
fed from a description by a piece of
| cloth and a paper bearing his name.
1t is possible but not certain. that an
other Uody buried last week was tnat
of Chas. A. Scott, of Orange, n. j.,
carnenters mate. 1t had odd fellow
links tattooed on the arm
| The Spanish divers did not go down
| Thursday. but the American divers
rot some fixed ammunition out of the
forward part of the wreck
| KEY WEST. Fla. March 5.-After two
| postponements of it's departure the
court of inquiry left for Havana Fri
day evening on the lighthouse tender
| Mangrove. 1t is believed by the best
Informed here that the court will COM
| plete its labors in the Cuban capital
within ten days
| Only three of the six days the court
| was. here were devoted to the work of
| investigation. The inactivity of Thurs
day and Friday is still unexplained,
except by a semi-official statement that
Rr. Adm. Sicard was awaiting instruc-
tions from Washington.
The sessions, it is generally UNDER
stood, developed no evidence by which
the court could definitely determine
the cause of explosion.
| A naval officer in close touch with
the members of the court said to this
correspondent:
with one exception the witnesses
who testified here were Maine sur
vivors. The evidence though in most
cases taking longer to tell, can be
summed up in the words of an enlisted
man who, when Judge Advocate Mark
| asked him what he knew about the eX-
plosion, replied, Sir, l was blowed up.
l was saved and I'm here. That was
| all he could swear to-"
| One important fact has been learned,
however 1t is this. although members
| of the court may have their individual
| theories, they are by no means pre-
| pared as a body to render decisive
verdict. The officer already quoted
| said: 'lf the court has yet heard any
testimony which would enable it to
decide intelligently that the Maine
was blown up from external
causes, | am the most mistaken
man in the world. Before the
| coming Havana sessions are over it
may secure some evidence and possibly
find the blowing up was Intentional.
1t will learn from the divers the actual
condition Of the ship after the explo-
sion as it has already learned from the
survivors most of the details OF the
| ships condition before the explosion
| With these bases thoroughly estab.
lished the court will hear more expert
theoretical testimony and then reach a
| verdict.
| This statement can be taken as mo-e
worthy of reliance than that of the
| Maine officer who said the other day
| he believed the court was bound on
evidence already heard to find the
cause of the explosion external, It's
| conservatism is also at variance with
the opinions of many other naval
officers here, especially those of the
| younger set, and directly contrary 10
the belief of most of the Maine sur.
vivors that their ship was Intentional
ly blown UP.
Before sailing Friday night Capt.
Sampson had long consultation with
Adm. Sicard.
HAVANA, March 5.-The American
divers, having examined more or less
thoroughly the ward room of the Maine
and the senior and junior officers mess
rooms, were Friday trying to effect an
entrance into the petty officers COM
partment in the hope of finding bodies
there. How ever, each day the belief