The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1911-12-14
New Board to Inspect
The Wreck of the Maine
Five Army and Navy Officers
Instructed to Learn Cause
of Explosion

n BOARD OF FIVE army and navy
~ officers has been appointed to
IA inspect the wreck Of the bat
tleship Maine and report all
possible data which It can gather, in
Guiding the cause Of the destruction of
the vessel. The members of the board
are Rear Admiral Charles r. Vreeland,
aid for inspections; Chief Constructor
Richard NJ. Watt, Colonel William
Black, engineer corps; Commander
Charles r. Hughes. member of the
board Of inspection and survey. and
Commander Joseph Strauss, on duty
In the Office of the aid for material
This will be the second formal in
vestigation Of the cause Of the wreck
of the battleship
The personnel of the board Is sig
nifcant None Of the members was
identified with the first Investigation.
which Immediately followed the de-
struction of the vessel. Admiral Yree-
land and Commander Hughes are
members of the board of inspection
and were selected because Of their
familiarity with this sort Of work
Chief Constructor Watt is chief OF the
bureau of construction and repair and
an expert on the structural features Of
naval vessels Commander Strauss is
a powder expert and was formerly In
charge of the naval proving ground at
Indian Head. Md. Colonel Black was
chosen because of the fact that he was
the president of the army board which
decided TO raise the Maine by means
of a cofferdam. He is the senior en-
eineer officer in charge of the work Of
raising and removing the Maine from
Havana harbor IN accordance with
legislation passed several years ago.
100000 Already Spent.
About $4,000 has already been
spent in raising the Maine. A large
cofferdam was constructed around the
vessel and the mud cleared away. For
the last few weeks no work has been
done, as the hurricane season was
threatening. All danger of an acct
dent of this sort is now over and the
army engineers are ready to remove all
the water from the cofferdam and dis
close the hulk of the Maine for the in
vestigation of the board.
Immediately after the wrecking OF
the Maine on Feb. 10. 1898, court of
INQUIRY was appointed, consisting OF
Captain William T. Sampson. presi-
dent; Captain French E. Chadwick and
Lieutenant Commander william F. Pot
ter, and Lieutenant Commander Adolpb
Marx, Judge advocate After hearing
testimony for about three weeks the
court found that the loss of the Maine
was not due to any fault or negligence
on the part OF any of the officers or
members OF her crew; that the ship
was destroyed by the explosion of a
mine which caused the par
tial explosion Of two or more of her
forward magazines and that no evil |
dence was obtainabIe to fix the respon- !
sibility for the destruction Of the |
Maine on any person or persons Much |
of the testimony on which this report |
was based was from naval and civilian |
divers who investigated the condition
Of the wreck below the water line.
The new board. however, will have
better facilities for studying the prob |
able causes Of the wreck The water
will be entirely removed from the cof-
ferdam. which will give the naval and |
army experts an opportunity of gather
ing FIRST hand information. and they |
will not have to rely on the reports OF
divers.
There has always been good deal
Of comment not only in navy circles.
but also In the American and foreign
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