Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-28
Says His Explosive May Have
Blown Up the Maine.
TELLS STRANGE STORY
BATTLESHIP WAS DESTROYED
THROUGH AN ERROR.
Planned to Go Along With Band Of
Cuban Conspirators to De-
stroy Ships.

NEW YORK. March 2S.-That the battle
ship Maine, through an error. was de-
stroyed by bomb Of his manufa cture. was
the statement made by Gessler Rosseau In
the Tombs prison today. Rosseau was con-
victed yesterday of having sent explosives
to the Cunard Line pier. this city. in May,
1903 He made the following statement to-
day:
For several years, while the Cuban pa
triots were struggling against Weyler.
watched the contest with deep interest and
sympathy. l decided to go to Jacksonville
and do what l could to assist the revolu-
tionsts / started for st. Louis, where L
had been living during the early part Of
1897
Before taking a train for the south
got together the material for the construc-
ton of two exploding machines of tremen-
dous power, SO arranged that they could be
wound up and left in a selected place, with
the certainty that they would go off with
terrible destruction within few hours.
Met Cuban Leaders.
'At New Orleans 1 rented a room and put
the boxes together after which l went to
Jacksonville. There 1 became acquainted
with a party of Cuban leaders. who were
planning a filbustering expedition They
had engaged the Destroyer, a small vessel,
to take them to Cuba along with a number
of American and Europeon Adventures
who We're anxious to strike blow for Gu
ban freedom.
Several of the leaders of the party are
men now we'll known and l will not men,
ton their names, although l have among
my papers list of them ALL
Il suggested to them that they use my
machines to destroy Spanish warships in
the harbor of Havana and in other ports
the of the island They readily
seized upon the idea, and when the De-
stroyer sailed with the filibusters they took
my two machines with them
Planned to Go to Cuba.
1T was my intention to go along with the
party so as to direct the work of sinking
the Spanish ships. but they dissuaded me,
urging that 1 could be of greater use in
Jacksonville preparing other machines If
the first proved successful.
ut was planned to have some members
of the revolutionary party join the Spanish
navy so as to get the machines aboard.
If that failed it was decided to fasten one
of the boxes to the hull of a ship under
the water line. for 1 had constructed my
machines they could be exploded under
the water.
That. was late in the fall of 1897 The
next spring the Maine was destroyed.
only one of the men in the secret of the
machines ever returned to America. 1 saw
him some time after the war with Spain
had begun.
Told of the Mistake.
He told me he had nothing to do with
the boxes after reaching Cuba. but had
been told a mistake had been made.
The man who had been instructed with
the task of destroying Spanish vessel at
tempted to fasten a box during the night
to one of Alfonso's warships and blundered
into blowing up the Maine.
Il was told that the man, Immediately
after learning of the error he had made,
committed suicide"
Rosseau said he had attempted to blow
up the statue of Frederick the Great in
Washington because he did not wish to
see the statue of a king in America He
added that he was not an anarchist or a
nihilist. and that he had made no effort 10
supply exploding machines to the Russians.