The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-10-18
MAINE BLOWN Up
FROM OUTSIDE
| Report Of Engineer corroborates tho
Opinion Of the Court Of Inquiry
Made In the Year
1898.
NOT TO BE MADE PUBLIC
No smokeless Powder on the Vessel
so Comparison Cannot be Made
With Recent French
Explosion.
NOT TO BE MADE PUBLIC

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1S.-Washing-
ton l.. Capps former chief construc-
tor of the navy, has submitted re-
port to Secretary Meyer tending to
corroborate the opinion of the court
of inquiry that the battle ship Maine
was blown up in Havana Harbor by
an external explosion under her hull.
Capps was sent to Havana by Secre-
tary Meyer to identify certain por-
tions of the wreckage exposed by
lowering of the water in the Golfer
dam.
The testimony before the court of
inquiry in 1898, Immediately follow
ing the destruction of the vessel.
was based upon the reports of naval
and civilian divers who examined the
hull. Capps, however, had much bet
ter opportunity for inspecting the
wreck. He was especially familiar
with the Names construction, and
was selected for this reason.
| While his report will probably not
have read it say Capps confirms the
decision of the court of inquiry that
the condition Of the wreckage leads
to the conclusion that the primary ex-
plosion was beneath the hull of the
Maine at about frame No. Is.
Since the recent destruction of the
French battleship Liberte and the ac
cident to the Jena some years age
1 there have been many references
suggesting an analogy between the
the French disasters and tHe explo
sion which destroyed the Maine
From information obtainable in re
gard to the Jena and Liberte acci
dents, they probably were due to the
decomposition and spontaneous com
bustion of smokeless powder of {
type designated as "B' and of ole
manufacture.
A search of the bureau of Ordnance
made by order of Secretary Meyer de
veloped that no smokeless powder o
this character was in the magazine o
the Maine.
1T is to be deplored," said Secre
tary Meyer, that parallels have beer
drawn between these two Disaster
to French vessels and certain acci
dents which occurred in the United
States navy in which the combustion
, of powder was the knowa or ALLEGED
, cause of the destruction of vessels O
loss of life.
"On February 15, 1898, the Main
was destroyed by an explosion in tn
harbor of Havana The cause of tn
explosion which destroyed her neve
has been definitely ascertained, bu
, the naval court Of inquiry which il
. vestgated the circumstances reporte,
that the internal explosion was du
to a mine or other cause external t
: the ship.
In spite Of these facts statement
, are frequently made that the destrut
tion of the Maine was, or may hav
\ been, due to spontaneous combustion
of smokeless powder on board. Tha
such could not conceivably have bee
! the case is shown by the fact tha
, there was no smokeless powder o
the Maine. This fact is matter {.
, record In the Bureau of Ordnance
; where an accurate record is kept c
, the distribution of all powder belonl
). ing to the navy.
Whether or not examination of tn
q wreck shall disclose the cause of he
destruction it is impossible that
9 would indicate as the cause the d.
, teroration of smokeless powder
1 In other accidents in the Unite
States navy, notably those on tn
Massachusetts, Missouri, Georgia an
y Kearsarge, Meyer said, the ignition {
, powder charges resulted from fault
, in the mechanism of the guns rathe
! than from abnormal action of tn
, powder.