The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-19
WILD RUMORS PUT TO REST.
OPTICAL DENIlLs OF FALSE RE
PORTS FROM HlsH1NGToM.

&VAhAN 1AsVAA A1n1N3IO
All Dispatches frsn Capt. s,rssee apa Con
lee Are FFonptly 0ivsn % the Pubio-N,
Truth In the Statement That Merchan
Vessels Rave Been vSarnea net % Go seutr
-CenErsns aeias Itseir In Chech Hotuith
standinE the outhrcnh Of Senator Mason
RGsrts to ne made to Raise tire Matte,
WASHINGTON. Feb. Is.-To-day's devotion
ments In Washington have brought no change
in the critical situation growing ont Of the dis
aster to the battleship Maine. III veil has moi
been lifted from the mystery Of the direful OF,
plosion that left wreck ana donkh behind It. and
the mystery 10 as deep az ever.
Capt Sigsbee and ConsulG General Leo at Ha,
vans and the naval officers On duty at Key
West have kept the Administration fully in.
formed by telegraph Of everything Of impor.
TANGO or interest coming. to their knowledge,
and, In accordance with the expressed policy
Of the Administration, this information
has been promptly made public. These
dispatches tell of tho burial of the
dead. of the condition of the wounded, and of
the arrangements being made TO investigate
the cause Of the awful accident. They tell of
the action taken to inaugurate tho work Of the
Board OF Inquiry, Of the probability Of sending
another warship to the harbor Of Havana to
take the place Of the sunken Maine, and of tho
words Of coincidence that continue to como from
every country Of the globe. But tho dispatches
give no answer to the all-important question
that is yet upon the lips Of every citizen of tho
United States.
The semi.weekly session Of tho Cabinet was
held this morning. as usual, and continued for
the ordinary longth Of time. about an hour and
n hale il
Maine was referred to, but In the most casual
manner. In o conversational way, and the only
action taken was tho sending Of o basket of
flowers from tho White House conservatory to
the wife of Capt. Sigsbee, who resides in Wash.
ington. 1t may seem f~ippant to say that this
was the only formal action taken by the Cabinet
Ministers relative to an event that at present
NILS the minds Of the people of the whole civil
lzed world. but the statement is mono tho
less true. and It gives point to the
assertion repeatedly made by the President. the
of the Navy, and the officials Of the
Administration generally. that there 10 little
Tor the Government to do now, except to bury the
dead and care for the wounded and the living of
the wrecked battleship. and to pursue with all
Diligence the inquiry which. It Is hoped, will re-
veal to tho world whether Providence or the
hand of a treacherous Spaniard sent the Maine
" bho OF HAVANA 00r00E and OR0 Of hnr
crew to q tragic death.
The failure of the President and his Cabinet
to confer upon the great event does not mean
negligence on their part. On the contrary. thew
are leaving nothing undone to prepare them.
solves for action at q moments notice sboula
an emergency arise. After the Cabinet meeting
me secretary OF the Navy. who for two days has
been besieged for denials and confirmation of
sensational reports of all kinds, and who has
oeen quoted by irresponsible newspapers as say.
all sorts of impossible things. determined to
put the wild rumors TO rest. He. tberefore-
issued a statement denying categoricalIy many
the talse assertions. paying particular ntten-
ion to the repeated and persistent charge TINT
he Administration lie receiving DISPATCHES
rom Capt Sigsbee that are being withheld from
he public. The candor and simplicity of Secre.
AIRY Longs denial Of the charges against the
administration can hardly fail to be CONVINCING
o all fair-minded men. This is the statement,
lictated by the Secretary in response to the re-
luest of a Sun reporter:
Really no information has been reco,vsd
ince Capt. Sigsbee's first despatch adding any. |
hing to our knowledge of the disaster. All wa
NOW is that the Maine blew up. There IA
'bundant room for speculation of all sorts. hut |
conclusion can be arrived at until an exam.
nation has been made by the divers and more |
acts obtained. 1t is o simple fact to say hat
uch a thing might happen by design or It might
.appen by accident. AS yet there Is no indica. |
ION OF design. Therefore,. my impression has
cen al along. and / rather think the general
pinion preponderates in the Same direction.
hat 1t must have been accidental. At the Cab. |
ct meeting to-day the matter was not dis.
used except as any body of men talk about
n event OF that kind. and most of that talk
elated to the terrible loss OF life and to express.
ions of sympathy for the sufferers.
You may say absolutely that there has been
o secret Cabinet meeting; that nothing has
'Ken place In Cabinet that the public have not
cen informed about; that the whole policy Of
'is department has been to give the public all
10 dispatches; that the department has no
lore knowledge on the subject of tho cause of
10 disaster, or even of the circumstances at.
'nding 1t. than have the public; and that the
port which was to the effect that Cant. Sies-
20 had warned the department that the Maine
as In danger from submarine mines or tor
'does 10 utterly without foundation, no such
ever having been received from him or
ON anybody else"
In response to q question. Secretary Long
Id:
= think I express the feeling of the President.
well as my own. when I say that Capt. Sigsbco
Is conducted himself as an ohlcer of our navy
ould. He was the last to leave his ship when
70 went down.. His despatch to me that night
ns 30 complete that. since then. have thought
no question of fact to ask him which is essen.
Il TO the situation and which he could answer
hich Is not coverod by that despatch. Its tone.
o. 10 that OF q discreet and level-headed man,
no realized the impression any word from
at that time, would have on the public
Nothing 10 harder than for q naval ofB.
r to lose his ship. so that l have great sympa.
= for him.. I await. with confidence. further
ports"
It disposes of the fakes printed In untrust-
'rthy journals. A statement that Assistant
cretary Roosevelt had said that a torpedo
used the disaster has received wide circulation
account of the prominent way it was dis.
Ayed In the headlines of a newspaper. When
Roosevelt saw this canard he went to Sec.
tary Long and asked II the statement were
'rth denying, and the Secretary said emphati.
lily that 1t was not worthy of the dignity of a
ntradiction.