The Bowbells tribune. [volume] (Bowbells, Ward Co., N.D.) 1899-1969, 1910-10-21
THE Maine MAY
FLOAT AGAIN
President Taft Authorizes Raising Of the
Wreck by February IS Next and Asks
That Spain Have Representatives
Present to Determine Cause
of Disaster.

oOSOAAy, OSCoOSA Ao' WI
dent Taft today finally approved
plans for raising the wreck Of
the battleship Maine from Ha-
vana Harbor, which calls for the
completion of the work on or be-
fore the thirteenth anniversary
of the destruction of the war ves-
sci, February Is next. The work
is to be done according to plans
made by army engineers and to
be under direction of an engineer
officer.
The President believes that the
paramount question in the raising
of the Maine is the determining
for all time of the cause of the
explosion, and whether the source
of destruction was from the out
side or inside the vessel. For
this reason he desires that the
work shall be retained in the
hands Of the army engineers and
not let out by contract.
By direction of the President.
Spain has been invited to send a
representative to Havana to be
present during the work of ex-
posing and removing the wreck.
The disposition of the old hulk
remains to be settled. The army
engineers believe it will be pos
sible to float the after two-thirds
of the vessel. The foreward
third, where the explosion played
the greatest havoc and killed the
greatest number of the crew
while they were asleep in their
quarters, is believed to be too far
gone ever to be taken as whole
and the wreckage will be remoy-
ed d;piecemeal.
If Congress approves the re-
commentator of the engineers,
the wreck will be taken out to
sea and given a ceremonial burial
in deep water, there to remain
until the end of time.
Various plans have been sug-
gested of exhibiting the wreck
and preserving it, but none of
these find favor with the author
tiles at Washington.
The wreck is now in Is feet Of
water. It has sunk but one foot
in the 123 years since it went
down. Underneath the wreck
soft mud had been found to a
depth of five to eight feet and be-
meath this there is hard clay.
Congress has already appropriate
ed 100000 for the work.
Twenty or more plans were SUBJ
mitted for raising t he wreck.
None was quite so simple as that
adopted by the Army officers.
When General Bixby was asked
today whose plan had been final
ly determined upon, he replied:
It Is best to call it simply the
common sense plan."
The endorsement of the Presi-
dent is as follows: + =
Beverly, October 13, 1910. l
fully concur in the recommends
tions of the board and of the
chief engineers and the Acting
Secretary of War, and I approve
not only the plan, but also the
method of doing the work by hir-
ed labor and purchase of mater
ials in open market in order to
secure due speed. I believe Con-
gress intended that this work,
should be done as promptly as
possible and also under such con-
ditions that information as exact.
as possible should be secured in
respect to the cause Of the explos-
ion and that these considerations
should have more weight in de-
termining the plan Of procedure
than even those Of economy. To
retain complete control Of the
work in the hands of the army
engineers will strengthen public
confidence in the result shown.
("Signed) VIM. H. TAFT. = J.
Hoarseness in child subject to Group
is a sure indication of the approach of
tie tie disease. If Chamberlain's Cough
Remedy is given at once. or even after
the croupy cough has appeared, it will