The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-04-12
WAS It WORTH
THE MONEY?
RAISING OF THE MAINE WILL DE-
eide QUERY C-TASk NEARLY
FINISHED.

Havana, Monday, April lin the
driving of the last few interlocking
| piles of the twenty caissons forming
the enclosing wall of the huge basin
of the battleship Maine, the first stage
in the work of removing the shatter-
ed remains of the warship has been
brought to a successful conclusion.
The work was accomplished with
rapidity and its progress was unmark-
ed by a single mishap or hitch until
the introduction of the final pile, which
failed to interlock properly with those
on either side.
This gave rise to a rumor that the
stability of the caisson was endanger-
ed, but examination showed the trou
BILE resulted from the pile being slight
ly deformed by an accidental blow
from the iron bucket of dredge work
ing alongside. The extraction and re-
placing of three piles served to re.
pair the damage.
The second stage of the work, that
of filling the caissons. as fast as COM
peted, with mud, clay and rock dredg
ed from the harbor bottom, has been
going on for some time, and now that
the ring is completed, is being push
ed forward with the utmost rapidity.
The steam dredge Norman Davis"
loaned to the government by the Hus
ton-Trumbo Dredging company, and
the United States army dredge Barn
ard" are dumping hundreds of tons
OF material into the caisson.
It is expected that the filling of
the cassons will be completed by the
end of April, and after that the most
interesting stage of the work-that of
pumping out the great basin and leav-
ing exposed the hull of the battleship
in precisely the condition she was on
the morning after her destruction
thirteen years ago, will begin.
AS a guarantee of the security Of
the retaining wall around the basin
it is probable rip-rap will be dumped
around the exterior of the ellipse of
caissons before the pumping begins.
The wreck itself will have to be
carefully watched as the water lever
falls, there being some danger that,
as the support of the water and the
mud in which its rests, is withdrawn
the hull may careen. just as ships
have been known to do in dry dock
when insufficiently secured.
AS soon as the wreck is fully ex-
posed the work of exploration in
search of human bodies will take pre-
cedence.
1t is practically certain when this
stage OF the work is reached a United
States man of war will be ordered to
Havana and will lie close to the wreck
to receive the bodies as fast as they
are recovered and transport them to
their final resting place.
After that will come an exhaustive
scrutiny of the shattered wreck by
experts, who, in the opinion of engi-
neer officers, will be able to deter
mine beyond all question precisely the
character of the agency whereby the
destruction of the Maine was effected.
Probably many months will elapse
before the final stage of the work.
the extraction and disposition Of the
wreck.
It is known that the forward part
of the ship, about one-third Of her
length, is practically detached from
the rest, and is so shattered it will
have to be extracted piece meal.
When the afterpart has been stripped
as far as possible of all heavy weights
including the two turrets, Weighing
with their pairs of 10-inch guns about
200 tons each, it is hoped it will be
possible to build a bulkhead across
the shattered end and float the hulk
out of the basin, to be sunk in all
probability hundreds of fathoms deep
in the straits of Florida.
Finally will come the extraction OF
the thousands of steel piles compos-
ing the twenty caissons.
r,,,1apt ic oIUnyE IN the