Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-06-13
WHAT'S TO Be Done With
DISMANTLED WARSHIP?
Question AFOuSGS Interest at
This Time

the navy III 4Su-, a year DeIOFe MS re-
ex-Speaker Reed of the
House OF Representatives, who had
never believd that the battleship
Maine had been destroyed in the harbor
OF Havana with the knowledge and
consent Of the Spanish authorities,
wrote to him for an expression OF his
views as to the cause OF the disaster.
Rear Admiral Melville's letter in reply
since buried in ten archives of the
Navy Department, is published with
the consent of Secretary Meyer in the
current number of the North American
Review. The writer said that tine
terrific havoc that was wrought to the
ship could only have been caused by
an internal explosion"
At the outset Admiral Melville said
that year previous a distinguished
Admiral OF the American navy had in
terviewed naval authorities in the
leading disinterested foreign countries
and found that practically no experts
on the Continent and but few in Eng
land believed that the Maine had been
destroyed by the Spaniards. The high
standard of honor among the commits
stoned personnel of every naval ser
vice is such that when a visiting war
ship enters harbor the naval officials
regard the ships compliment as
guests and not visitors, and there is
probably no act that will so humiliate
naval officers as the subsection of any
of their guests to personal violence,
even from irresponsible persons"
For twenty years previous to the Wis
it of the Maine, Rear Admiral Melville
said, the Spanish officials had sub
stantially informed both our diplomat
ic and naval representatives that visits
Iof our worships We're not particularly
desired, but when it became necessary
: ou rour warships to enter Spanish
ports it was the invariable experience
that the Spanish officers tried in every
way to make the visitors welcome. The
leading cause of friction was the Span
ish belief that Cuban revolutionists for
years had been supplied with arms and
ammunition by flibustering expedi-
. tons fitted out in the United States.
/ There is every reason to believe that
in the winter of 1898 neither the Mad
rid nor Hanana authorities believed
WAY was imminent, since the Viscaya
| had been ordered to proceed to New
York at a time when the Spanish rep
/ Representatives had no intimation that
/ this Government would send a vessel
to Havana. The official correspond
/ enca of Spanish civil and military Of
ficials, written prior to the Maine cpl
sode, shows conclusively that Spain
did not regard herself as match for
US on the ocean"
Admiral Melville says that the Maine
steamed into Havana harbor before
the Spanish officials had consented to
welcome her.
The Spaniards were too proud and
too courteous to show any expression
of regret, but too Inundated to extend
any other than the most formal of Of
ticlal courtesies." The buoy used by
the Maine was very desirable because
the harbor is so small and Spanish
merchant vessels had been secured to
II up to the time the Maine arrived.
CAS- only a massive mine could have
blown up the Maine, some longshore-
mems work would have been required
to lay it down. If either soldiers or
sailors had done the work the under
taking would have attracted attention.
1t is remarkable that no evidence has
ever been presented that any work of
this kind was done either by laborers,
soldiers or sailors around this BUOY
previous to the destruction of the
Maine"
The writer remarks that powerful
financial forces had been working for
peace in Cuba, including nearly all in
official authority in the United States.
The Spanish officials knew this and
even if they had had no higher motives
i the loss of their salaries and substan-
tlal perquisites would have impelled
them to continue existing conditions.
Inc laying down of a mine could only
have been accomplished by some mil
itary or naval expert. Admiral Mel
vile thought it significant that with
| all the enemies that Gen. Weyler and
his associates had in Cuba, the Ameri-
can army officers, who had been in the
island for tire years at the time the
letter was written, had not been able %
get even an indirect accusation against
a single Spanish official. If the Maine
was destroyed by a mine our divers
never found a trace of the fragments
| of the she'll
Admiral Melville concluded after a
minute study Of the wreck of the
Maine and Of the effects of explosive
forces upon a battleship that the de-
struction must have been due to an
internal cause, and wrote:
" Extended Investigation shows shat
there have been explosions of maya