Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-03-18
Fixing the Responsibility.

Fixing the Responsibility.
A dispatch from Key West says; 1.-The
shattered section of the submarine cable,
containing seven conductors for setting
of inquiry. The cable led to a mine
under the Maine. The discovery was
made by divers at the Maine wreck.
This proves that the mine which blew
up the Maine Vas connected with a
switch board ashore, which was in
charge of a trusted and responsible
agent"
This fact comes nearer fixing the re-
sponsibility of the destruction of the
Maine, on the Spanish government, than
any which has preceded it. The pro-
found secrecy which surrounds the ex-
act location of the mines and torpedoes
which guard the ports of the United
| States is indicative of the jealousy with
which these terrible agents are guarded
by other governments. Imam elaborate
article on the defenses which have made
New York impregnable, the New York
| Sun has this to say:
In addition to all these things that
| have been told about, there is not an
! anchorage in the Lower Bay that is not
! underlaid with torpedoes, and any BOAT
I that attempted to come to anchor, once
it got in, would be blown sky high by
| them. T%orpedoes, while they are load
ed with dynamite, are harmless until
they are actually fired from the shore.
This is an interesting point in connec-
ton with the disaster to the Maine. II
a boat bumped against 20 of them at the
same time they would not explode. 1t
requires an electric current to make
them active and dangerous, and the cur
rent is managed entirely from the shore.
The operator sits with a glass watching
an approaching boat. When she Is ovel
a torpedo he presses a button, and the
torpedo does the rest. In time OF peace,
if the torpedoes are laid ready for bust
ness, the keys that explode them arc
guarded with more care than the vaults
of q bank. There is no such thing as
their being touched off accidentally or
without the full knowledge of the OIL
cials in charge.
This must be so, otherwise torpedoes
would lose all their tcrrors. In no way
except by the treason of the officers In
whose bosoms these secrets are hidden
can they be revealed to others. Tn
Maine was directed by the Spanish au'
thorities to anchor at a certain spot
They knew that right under her keel {
mine, or torpedo, had been placed, ant
they knew that it could only be eX
ploded by one of their own officers
There is no escaping these damning cir
cumstances. Now if the facts as ascer
tanned by the government divers, actln'
under the direction of an able and hon
orable commission appointed by the sec
rotary of the navy, %coroborate these Gil
c cumstances, the case is proved, and
will avail Spain nothing to assert tina
e the explosion was caused by an unau
thorized person, for the means OF eX
ploding the mine was known only to he
: officers and by them only could thos'
l means be made known to irresponsible
f, persons. What then is there to arb
' trate? Nothing. No matter what Span
ish divers may say to the contrary W
1 must trust the government agents. The,
were selected because of their abilit,
, and integrity, and their report will b
t absolutely conclusive to the Unite
: States. TO discredit them will be
discredit this country. In short, the al
. thorities cannot permit a shadow Q
, doubt to be thrown on them wlthou
: abandonment of ma tional dignity
1t follows then that the United State
cannot permit foreigners to interfere i
a matter which is dearer to the peopl
than life itself. 1t is clearly a questio
: between this nation and Spain and tn
country only cal settle it, %peaceably
It Spain will, but wal to the bitter end,
G she chooses that alternative. Befor
(" throwing down the gauntlet Spai
" should stop a moment to consider tn
magnitude of the task before her. Yer
n little consideration will show her tina
n Great Britain was driven from Americ
by $500. 600 people. and in the yer
+ prime of her greatness, that power wa
again defeated in 1872 when the inhab
d tants of the states barely numbered 10
II OOO OOO. and further. Spain will find thS
II in every foreign war which has bee
waged by this country, we have bee
gloriously victorious. The people d
not desire war with Spain but ii
Is comes they will see to 1t that the clos
h of that wal will see Spain bereft OF tn
e last vestige of all her vast transatlantl
q possessions.