The National tribune., 1909-05-27

the proscenium arch was hung on each
| side with Garrison Flags. It is said
that the decorations are the handsome
est ever seen in the theater.
/ The lecture was given by special re-
quest of the members of the Maine
Monument Association, of which Ad-
miraI Sigsbee was induced to become
President. He dislikes to talk much of
| the affair, because he enters so largely
into the story, and 1t cannot be told
without his own name appearing in al
most every paragraph. The lecture was
profusely decorated with pictures Of
the beautiful battleship, most Of them
in colors. They showed the ship as she
| lay at anchor just before the explosion.
| and as she was dressed with flags sig
mailing for pilot, and greetings to the
| flags in the harbor. There were half q
| dozen different views of the ship taken
after the explosion. There were views
Of Havana Harbor. MORO Castle. the
cemetery where the dead OF the Maine
were inferred in Havana before their
| bodies were brought back to the United
States, and many others Of equal beauty
and interest The lecture itself was
plain. unvarnished narrative of what
happened just before. at the time and
| following the explosion, and Admiral
Sigsbee declares unqualifiedly that the
Maine was blown up from the outside.
He also stated that 1t was folly to talk
dCOut TdiSlHS TIE WEcCh VI lHS XhdihC,
| as it was simply mass of broken
wreckage, and the minute that 1t was
disturbed will really go all to pieces.
! There was nothing to raise, he declared,
and the mass would have to be dyna-
nited 10 get rid Of it. This, he thought,
would arouse criticism, as there were
people who would say at once that we
| had something to conceal, and it might
| be very poor policy to dynamite the
ipile Of warped, shattered steel and splin-
/ tered wood. He did not say what is
best to do with the wreck, but it might
be inferred from his lecture that he is
of the opinion that the wreck should
| lie just as it is, in itself monument to
the memory of the bodies that lie under
| it, men of the Maine who were in
peaceful harhor, doing their duty to the
| Flag, when they were murdered. It
should be stated that Admiral Sigsbee
did not use the word murdered" but
| he Is so exact in his use of English that
one can easily spell murder"
The lecture was given to start the
fund for the dead of the Maine, who
| lie without memorial, 165 of them in
| Arlington and some 25 of them under
| the debris of the Maine in Havana Har-
Dor. Admiral Sigsbee stated in his lec-
| ture that those bodies could not be re-
covered: that it is improbable if they
| ever could have been recovered even at
| the very first. If they were pinioned
| below the wreck, the bones are now
buried deep in the mud of the harbor.
! 1t is possible that many of them were
blown to the four winds of heaven at
the time of the explosion. That there
should be a monument to their mem.
| ory every one believes. It should be
remembered that this will not be a
monument to the dead of the Spanish
War. Not gun had been fired, not a
real war note sounded. when the Maine,
on mission of peace, sailed into Ha-
vana Harbor and was ruthlessly blown
up. and over 200 of the flower of our
Navy and marines were sent to eternity,
unshrived and many of them unknown
The proposition is to erect here in
Washington monument that will show
by its beauty and size what we think of
those who carry our Flag upon the high
seas and imperil their lives every hour
in so doing.
The Association which has been
formed consists of men in high official
position, members of the House and
Senate, of the Grand Army of the Re-
public, the Sons of the American Revo-
luton. Sons of Veterans, Woman's Re-
lief Corps, Ladies of the Grand Army
of the Republic, United Spanish War
Veterans. their auxiliary and many 9TH
er patriotic organizations. The MEM
| bership fee has been fixed at 81. ANY,
body who will pay 81 to become a MEM
DER VIII nave HIS name inscribed IN the
books, and be given a certificate of
membership as soon as it has been de-
cided just what form this shall take
| 1t is thought that a certificate of men,
bership and also badge will be adopt
| ed. Subscriptions can be sent in at any
time. and will be acknowledged a, once,
and the certificate forwarded later.
The President of the Association is
Admiral Sigsbee; Vice Presidents are
Gen. Andrew A. Burt and former Rep
resentative Lee Gage Pratt: Treasurer,
Maj. Lewis Merriam; Secretary, Chris
tine Walton Dunlap. Col. John McEl-
roy is Chairman of the Advisory Board
Mrs. Isabel WOrrell Ball is Chairman
of the Committee on Badges and Ger
tificates, and the associate members are
Mrs. Annie W. Johnson, Mrs. Annie E.
Hoagland and Mrs. Laura " McCul-
Tough.
The-National Tribune believes that
this monument ought to be built, and
expects to see contributions pouring in,
now that the Society is actually formed
and in working order. All communica-
tions sent to The National Tribune will
be promptly acknowledged and for
warded.