The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-02-25
AT NAVY DEPARTMENT.
Know No More Now Than Five Min
utes After the Disaster.


startling discoveries in the wreck of the
Maine were less frequent, but there
were enough of them still afioat today
to warrant Secretary Long in making
this statement to the newspaper men
as he left his office:
Summing up the situation, I should
say that the navy department knows
today nothing more abou: the cause of
the disaster than it did five minutes af-
ter the receipt of the first dispatches
from Captain SigSbee.''
The only exact information received
by the navy department from Havana
during the day was conveyed in Cap
tain Sigsbee's telegram and chiefly re-
lated to a request to have the recovered
salvage disinfected.
DISINFECTING SALVAGE.
Secretary Long Immediately answer
ed Captain Sigsbee. approving all his
recommendations. He was directed to
have Lieutenant Wainwright, the exc
cutive officer of the Maine. make ar
rangements with the wreckers for the
disinfection of everything sent to the
United States.
The recommendation that all the
clothing be abandoned and, If need be.
given to the acclimated poor. was ap-
proved without comment. The same ap-
proVal was given to the suggestion that
useless fittings and equipment be lowed
TO sea and thrown overheard, it being
left to Captain Sigsbee's judgment TO
determine how far this destruction
should be carried on. To the captains
inquiry as 20 the saving of old metal
and parts of the spperstructure, the
answer was given that such material
was of no use to the bureau of equip
merit. II was left 10 Captain Sigsbee to
say what of this shattered material was
worth preserving. His statement that
much blasting would be required to
clear away encumbering material indi-
Gates that 1t is essential further to de-
stroy the upper portions of the wreck
in order 70 get at what is more valuable
beneath.
ZONE OF EXPLOSION.
CAPTAIN sigsbee's statement that the
divers have been down aft seven days
and forward four days, gave the navy
department the first information of the
time that the divers had been in the vi
cinity of the zone of the explosion"
as he has termed it.
Until the conclusion of the investiga-
ton OF the court of inquiry at Havana.
the principal business of the navy de-
partment in connection with the Maine
will relate TO the conduct of the wreck
ing operations.
LIBERTY OF ACTION.
The navy department has not been
informed of the probable length of
time to be occupied by the court of in
CURRY in its work. Such a court, it is
said, has the greatest liberty of &C
ton, much greater than a court-mar-
tial, which is strictly limited by the
naval regulations. OF course, it is pos
sible that the court will leave Havana
in the course of a day or two for Key
West, in order TO take there the testi-
mony of such of the surviving officers
and men as are now quartered at Key
West. The latter are not subject to re-
lease from their position until the court
has declared that it has concluded
their testimony, and as many of these
survivors are anxious to secure short
leaves of absence in order to see their
families and friends, it may be that the
court will cut short its stay at Havana
in order TO accommodate them. It is
believed however. that in case there
should be unexpectedly significant de-
velopments before the court leaves Ha-
vana, il win return to that place later
on in order to ascertain from the work
of the divers the cause Of the explo-
SiOn