The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-09-11
sY SIDNEY EsPEY.

Washington. Sept 10.-Will the
raising the United States battleship
Maine. now buried in twenty-seven
feet of slime and filth that has been
pouring into the harbor of Havana
for centuries cause an epidemic of
yellow fever in Havana and spread to
the southern gulf cities?
This question war department off,
Gals refuse to discuss at length, pre-
ferring to make this a minor consid-
Grafton to the all important one Of
raising the Maine to determine wheth-
er or not the was with Spain was jus
titled
Since the city Of Havana assumed
the proportions Of city centuries
ago. its sewage has emptied into the
harbor. AS there is practically no
tide, the slime and filth settle to the
bottom of the bay. Until American
occupation OF the island Cuba was an
nually visited with the deadly scourge
of yellow fever and rigorous quaran-
tine was observed by all cities of the
United States against the Queen Of
the Antilles" Particularly was this
true of the southern gulf cities where
trading with the island was heavy.
Notwithstanding this, yellow fever
was brought into the United States
and epidemics of the disease were
prevalent through the southern states.
Following the American occupation
sanitary conditions on the island were
much improved, although by no means
made perfect Havana harbor is still
the reservoir for the disposition of the
city's sewage. lid
When the Maine was blown up,
twelve years ago, by what is now
thought to have been Spanish tor
pedo or mine, the wreck began. to
slowly disappear in the mud of Ha-
vana harbor until one mast and some
twisted steel junk are the only visible
signs that an American battleship and
it's crew have paid the price of war.
Since that time American citizens
have been calling for the raising OF
the Maine and recovering the bodies
of the brave crew who have been so
ANONYMOUSLY neglected by the gov
eminent, and through tardy legisla-
ton by congress appropriations have
at last been made which will make
this undertaking a reality.
To do this two plans which strike
officials as practical have been sub
mitted. One calls for the building OF
a cofferdam around the vessel and the
other for constructing two wharves,
one on either side of the battleship
and raising 1t by means of cables. In
either case, however, 1t will be neces
sary to dig through the mud and filth
which now cover the wreck. In the
| former case, should that plan be more
, acceptable, more than 100000 cubic
feet of offensive mud and slime will
have to be pumped from the bottom Of
the harbor. What amount of disease
may spread over the city OF Havana
or even cities of the United States, az
a result, no one connected with the ar.
my will say. In the latter plan hun
dreds of United States sailors or sol
diers are to be used, and while the
bed of the harbor will not be nearly
as much disturbed, the men who will
be called upon to worg there, run the
chances of imminent death from ex'
posure to the disease breeding mud.
Colonel L. A. LIE Garde and Major
M. w. Ireland of the surgeon generals
staff. now on duty at the war depart
ment, express themselves as unfamil
lar with the conditions obtaining in
the harbor of Havana. From a medical
standpoint, however, regarding the
sanitation of the island during the pc.
Rod OF raising the vessel both are Of
the opinion that some disease may be
spread to the city of Havana if tons
of sea mud are exposed to the winds
They do not regard it as improbable
that germs of yellow jack" could be
transported to the United States.
| Just what steps the war department
will take in guarding the health of the
citizens of Havana as well as of the
United States is not now known, az
the problem has not been seriously
considered. The matter, however, ii
lis said, will be taken into considcra