The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-07
BLOWN UP FROM WITHIN.

Bixby the unqualified opinion which he
expresses, that the Maine was blowr
up from within; he is in charge OF the
work Of raising the wrecked vessel anc
undoubtedly knows. The last heard
from General Bixby heretofore on thi:
question was that the condition of thu
wreck was such that it would be impos
sible to state definitely whether the
Maine was blown up from within oil
without. But now he is unqualifedly
Of the opinion that the wreck was
caused by the explosion of the Maine :
three magazines. He says that no sucl
effect as is shown in the wreck could
without. A portion of the deck oveI
the magazines was blown upward and
laid backward, and there are numerous
conditions of the hulk which prove IN
the opinion of General Bixby, that nc
explosion from the outside conld' have
caused the result. The primary cause
of the explosion, Of course, can never
be learned, but it is something to have
this much of the riddle solved, that the
Maine was not blown up by Spanish
mine or torpedo, but was blown up by
the explosion of her own magazines.
AS further proof that the Maine was
blown up from within, General, BiIhy
SAYS that the bodies OF the sailors Will
not be found in the wreck, but "rather
probably buried two hundred feet or
more from the wreck in the mud, but
where they are it will be difficult to as
certain.
General Bixby found by his sounding
that at least two thirds of the bow had
been ripped. The sides were practically
blown away, and were buried in the
mud. This, General Bixby said Shows
conclusively that the wreck of the
| Maine was caused by an explosion with
in the vessel. -
1t is only fair to say that the con-
clusion reached by General Bixby af-
ter his examination of that portion OF
the wreck which is exposed through the
pumping of the water out OF the cot
ferdam, comedies with the opinion held
by those who were careful readers of
the events of the time. In Henry Wat
terson s "History of the Spanish-Amer-
lean War it is expressly stated that
passengers on board the City of Wash
ington, on hearing the report OF the ex-
pIosion, rushed to the port-holes ana
..saw an immense fash shoot up in the
air with a horrible, grinding, Kissing
noise, that might have been an earth
quake or cyclone Debris OF all kinds,
and a large number of bodies were
thrown upwards, - At first the specta-
tors thought the Maine was being fred
upon, but this was soon found to be err
roneous. The account proceeds: "A
second explosion took place, and follow
ing it we heard groaus and cries of
Help us, - Thereupon the boats OF
the City Of Washington and those of
the cruiser Alfonso MI, were hur-
riedly launched. and went to the res
cue All this description points nnmls-
takably to an explosion within the ship
itself.
Ii is undoubtedly true that the wreck
Of the Maine, and the idea that the
Spaniards had blown her up, inflamed
the public mind of this country to the
point OF a feverish desire for revenge.
But il is noteworthy that the destruc-
ton of the Maine formed DO part of the
causes alleged by the President for the
war. The causes named were four:
Our intervention In Cuba was IN the
cause Of humanity, to put an end to
barbarities. starvation, and the horri-
BILE miseries inflicted upon the helpless
people: our duty TO the citizens Of Cuba
10 afford them protection; the right TO
intervene through the very serious in
Jury to the commerce. trade, and vari-
Gus interests of our people; and "the
present condition of affairs at Cuba is
a constant menace 10 our peace. and en-
tails upon this government enormous
expenditures.
These, briefly stated, were the official
reasons given for declaration Of war
against Spain. and they were sufficient
without any incitement through the
blowing up of the Maine. Officially the
wreck of the Maine had no part in the
reasons for declaring war. But it had
very strong part in consolidating
American sentiment in support of the
war against Spain. So that. while among
ourselves the rage at the blowing up Of
the vessel had an effect on the public,
internationally it had nothing to do
with the war, and was in no sense
factor in either the declaration or the
carrying on of the war. AS Admiral
Melville said in his recent article in
the North American Review, the navy
never accepted the war-cry, 'ERemem
Der the Maine.n and never cherished
the fallacy that the destruction of that
vessel was decisive factor in bringing
on the war.
LIQUOR LAW ADMINISTRATION
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