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tJUti H# jif I &$i 'i« I if ik I ijf H, ,H M'fi »K,r li lYi ft W fe 4i'\ fffi St pa' Mi $ wn £h 4* President Transmits the Report of the Maine Board of Inquiry, Accompanying It With a Formal Message Without Recom mendations. WASHINGTON, March 20.—Except on the occasion of the inauguration of a president, no such crowds as surged through the corridors and stormed the galleries for admission have been seen at the Capitol in a quarter of a century. Public interest in the findings of the board of inquiry appointed to investi gate the disaster which sent one of Unole Sam's noblest vessels to the bot tom of Havana harbor and sacrificed the lives of 260 brave American sailors, was at white heat. At day light people were already seeking entrance to the Capitol and hours before noon, when the house convened, the hallways were choked with push ing, jostling people, pressing toward the galleries. Not an inch of space re mained in the public galleries at 9 o'clock, though long lines of people stretching down the stair ways to the lower corridors continued press forwarcL Within a few min utes after the reserved galleries were thrown open, they were completely filled, with the exception of those re served for the diplomatic corps and the families of the president and cabinet Admission to these galleries was strict ly by card. Many distinguished per sonages were in the galleries. The hall buzzed like a beehive with the sound of myriads of voices. On the floor there was almost as much excitement as in the galleries. Immediately after the assembling of the house a message from the president accompanying the report of the Maine board of inquiry, was presented and read. It was as follows: To the Congress of the United States: For some time prior to the visit of the Maine to Havana harbor oar con sular reports pointed out the advan tages to follow from the visit of na tional ships to the Cuban waters in ao customing the people to our flag as the symbol of good will and of our ships in the fulfillment of the mission of pro tection to American interests, even though no immediate need therefor Slight exist. Accordingly, on the 84th of January last, after conference with the Spanish minister in which the renewal of visits of our war vessels to Spanish waters was discussed and accepted, the penin sular authorities at Madrid and Havana were advised of the purpose of this gov ernment to resume friendly naval vis its at Cuban ports, and that in that "view the Maine wonld forthwith call at the port of Havana. This announce ment was received by the Spanish gov «rnmen with appreciation of the lnendly character of the visit of the Maine and with notification of the in tention to return the courtesy by send ing Spanish ships to the principal ports of the United States. Meanwhile the Maine entered the port of Havana on the 25th of January, her arrival being marked with no special incident and besides the exohange of customary sal utes and ceremonial visits. The Maine continued in the harbor of Havana during the three weeks fol lowing her anaval. No appreciable excitement attended her stay, on the contrary a feeling of relief and confi dence followed the resumption of the long interrupted friendly intercourse. So noticeable was this immediate effect of her visit that the consnl general rongly nrged that the presence of our snips in Cuban waters shodld be kept up by retaining the Mianeat Havana or in the event of h«r recall, by sending other vessels then to take her place. At 40 minutes I?', i'l past 9 in ally given !flw™ the evening of the 15th of February the Maine was destroyed by an explosion, by which the entire former part of the hull was utterly wrecked. In this catastrophe 3 officers and 200 of her crew perished, those who were not killed outright by her explosion being penned between decks by the tangle of wreckage and drowned by the immediate sinking of the bull. Prompt assistance was ren dered by the neighboring vessels an chored in the harbor, aid being especi by the boats of the Spanish cruiser Alphonso XII and the Ward Bit itismrr City of Washington, vrhich lay not far distant. The irooadod war* luoorqusly owed for by v-* :i Pd tv the authorities of Havana, tne hospit als being freely opened to them, while the earliest recovered bodies of the dead were interred by the municipality in a publio cemetery in the city. Trib utes of grief and sympathy were of fered from all official quarters of the island. The appalling calamity fell npod the people of our country with crushing force, and for a brief time an intense excitement prevailed, which, in a com munity less just and self-controlled than ours, might have led to haBty aots in resentment. This spirit, however, soon gave way to the calmer processes of reason and to the resolve to investi gate the facts and await the material proof before forming judgment as to the cause, the responsibility, and, if the facts warranted, the remedy due. This course necessarily recommended itself from the outset to the executive, for only in the light of a dispassionately ascertained certainty could it deter mine the nature and measure of its full duty in the matter. The usual procedure was followed, as in all cases of casualty or disaster to national vessels of any maratime state. A naval court of inquiry was at once organized, composed of officers well qualified by rank and practical Jexpe rience to discharge the onerous duty imposed upon them. Aided by a strong force of wreckers and divers the court proceeded to make a thorough investi gation on the spot, employing every available means for the impartial and exact determination of the causes of the explosion. Its operations have been conducted with the utmost deliberation and judgment, and while independently pursued no source of information was neglected and the fullest opportunity was allowed for a simultaneous investigation by the Spanish authorities. The finding of the court of inquiry was reached after 23 days of continuous labor, on the 21st of March and having been approved on the 22d by the com mander-in-chief of the United States naval force on the North Atlantic sta tion, was transmitted to the executive. It is herewith laid before the con gress, together with the voluminous testimony taken before the court. Its purport is in brief as follows: When the Maine arrived at Havana she was conducted by the regular gov ernment pilot to Buoy No. 4, to which she whs moored in from five and one half to six fathoms af water. The state of discipline on board and the condition of her magazines, boilers, ooal bunkers and storage compartments •re passed in review with the conclu sion that exoellent order prevailed, and that no indication of any cause for an internal explosion existed in any quar ter. At 8 o'clock in the evening of Feb. 15 everything had been reported secure and all was quiet. At 40 minutes past 9 o'clock the ves sel was suddenly destroyed. There were two distinct explosions, with a brief interval between them. The first lifted the forward part of the ship very perceptibly the second, which was more prolonged, is attrib uted by the court to the partial explo sion of two or more of the forward magazines. The evidence of the divers establishes that the after part of the ship was prac tically intact and sank in in that condi tion a very few minutes after the ex plosion. The forward part was com pletely demolished. Upon the evidence of concurrent ex ternal cause the finding of the court is as follows: "At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship from a point 11% feet from the middle line of the ship and 6 feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forted up so as to be now about 4 feet above the surface of the water therefore about 34 feet above where it should be had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed "V" shape, the after wing of which, about 16 feet broad and 32 feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25) is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating extending forward. At frame the vertical keel is broken in two and keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed for the outside plates. This break is about 6 feet below the surface of the Waiter and about 30 feet above its normal position. In the opin ion of the oourt, this effect could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18 and some* what on the port side of the ship. The conclusions of the court are: That the loss of the Msine was not in any respect due to fault or negli gence on the part of any officers or members of hercrevt M:*i 1 OROTIC? ..^4. erf 3 I have directed that, the finding of the court of inquiry and the views of this government thereon be commnn' icaied to the government of her maj esty, the que3n, and 1 do not permit myself t« ubt. that the sense of jus tice of th» Spanish nation will dic at3 a course of action suggested »y honor and the friendly relations of the two governments. It was the duty of the executive to advise the congress of the result, and in the meantime deliberate considera tion is invoked. 1 [Signed] WILLIAM McKINLEY. Executive Mansion, March "«s8, 1898. The president's message was referred without debate to the committee on foreign affairs, under the rules. No motion was made. Immediately after the announcement of Representative Simpkins' death, the house at 12:23 p. m., adjourned. The session of the senate was similar to that of the house. The message was read almost immediately after devo tional exercises. At the coiic.usion of the reading Sen ator Davis moved that the message of the president, the findings of the oourt of inquiry and the testimony taken be fore the court be referred to the com mittee on foreign relations and ordered printed. It was so ordered. Senator Lodge introduced a resolu tion that 2,030 additional copies of the message, findings and testimony be primel for use of the senate. The res olution was agreed to. REPORT OF THE COURT. T«lt of thu Findings of the Maine Board of Inquiry. The following is a full text of the re port of the court of inquiry: United States steamship Iowa, 1st rate. Key West, Fia., Monday, March 21, 1898. After full and mature consideration of all the testimony before it, the court finds as follows: 1. That the United States battleship Maine arrived in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on the 25th day of January, 1898, and was taken to buoy No. 4, in from five and a half to six fathoms of water, by the regular government pilot. The United States consul general at Havana had notified the authorities at that place, the previous evening, of the intended arrival of the Maine. 3. The state of discipline on board the Maine was excellent and all orders and regulations in regard to the care and safety of the ship were strictly car ried out. All ammudition was stowed away in accordance with instructions, and proper care was taken whenever am munition was handled. Nothing was stowed in any one of the magazines or shell rooms which was not permitted to be stowed there. The magazines and shell rooms were always locked after having been opened and after the destruction of the Maine the keys were found in their proper place in the captain's cabin, everything having been reported se cure that eve at 8 p. m. The temperatures of the magazines and shell rooms were taken daily and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat was the after 10-inch magazine and that did not explodo at the time the Maine was destroyed. The torpedo war heads were all stored in the after part of the ship under the ward room and neither caused nor participated in the destruo tion oi the Maine. The gun cotton primers and deton ators were stored in the cabin aft and remote from the scene of the explosion. The waste was carefully looked after on board the Maine to obviate danger. Special orders in regard to this had been given by the commanding officer. Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and other combustiles of this nature were stowed on or above the main deck and could not have had anything to do with the destruction of the Maine. The medical stores were stowed aft under the ward room and remote from the zone of the explosion. No dangerous stores of any kind were stowed below in any of the other store rooms. The ooal bunkers were inspected. Of those bunkers adjoining the forward piagazines and shell rooms, four were •mpty, namely B8, B4, B6, Btt. "A16" had neen in om that day, and "A 1 1 it A SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of a su Dinar me mine whicu caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines and, that no evidence has been obtainable fixing the responsibility for the de struction of the Maine upon any per son or persons. \K ceiving it on board. The bnnker in which it was stowed was accessible on three sides at all times and the fourth side at this time on account of bunkers "B4" and "Btt" being empty. This bunker "A16" had been inspected that day by the engineer officer on duty. The fire alarmB in the bunkers were in working order, and there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the Maine. The two after boilers of the ship were in use at the time of the disaster, but for auxilHry purposes only with a com paratively low pressure of steam, and being tended by a reliable watch. These boilers could not have caused the ex plosion of the ship. The four forward boilers have since been found by the divers and are in fair condition. On the night of the destruction of the Maine everything had been report ed seenre for the night at 8 p. m., by reliable persons, through the proper authorities, to the commanding officer. At the time the Maine was destroyed the ship was qniet and therefore least liable to accident caused by movements from those on board. Explosion*. 3. The destruction of the Maine oc curred at 9:40 p. m., on the 15th day of February, 1898, in the harbor of Ha vana, Cuba, being at the time moored to the same buoy to which she had been taken upon her arrival. There were two explosions of dis tinctly different character, with a very short but distinot interval between them, and the forward part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at the time of the first explosion. The first explosion was more in the nature of a report, like that of a gun while the second explosion was more open, prolonged, and of greater volume. The second explosion was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the par tial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. Condition of the Wreck. 4. The evidence bearing on this, be ing principally obtained from divers, did not enable the court to' form a defi nate conclusion as to the condition of the wreck, although it was established that the after part of the ship was prac tically intact, and sank in that condi tion a very ftw minutes after the de struction of the forward part. The following facts in regard to the forward part of the ship are, however, established by the testimony. That portion of the port side of the protective deck, which extends from about frame 30 to about frame 41, was blown up aft and over to port The main deck from about frame 30 to about frame 41 was blown up aft and slightly over to starboard, folding the forward part of the middle superstruc ture over and on top of the after part This was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. 5. At frame 17, the outer shell of the ship, from a point 11)£ feet from the middle line of the ship and 6 feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about 4 feet above the surface of the water therefore, about 34 feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed "V" shape, the after wing of which is about 15 feet broad and 32 feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25), is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating extending forward. At frame 18 the vertical keel is brok en in two and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plating. This break is now about six feet below the surface of the water, about 30 feet above its normal position. In the opinion of the court this effect could have been pro duced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18 and somewhat on the port side of the *hio. 6. The court finds that the loss of the Maine on the occasion named was not in any respect due to fame of neg ligence on the part of any of the of ficers or members of the crew of said vessel. 7. In the opinion of the court the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines. 8. The court has been unable to ob tain evidenoe fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons. W. T. SAMPSON, 16" was full of New River coal. This ooal had been carefully inspected before re Captain U. 8. N., President A. MARIX, Lieutenant Commander U. 8. N., Judge Advocate. The oourt having finished th* la* •••kfcjp• •'•c. $ I I I I 'I O— TURRET LAMP MOM BERTH DECK MMPN*M|siMG MAfGASlNC ,'•- ''•. r« DECK CHUM iHSJMEST STORES MKUAD6M Tomm'uM qniry it was ordered to make, ad journed at 11 a. m., to await the action of the convening authority. W. T. SAMPSON, Captain U. S. N. CAPTAIN SIGSBKI. in position now occupied by the Fern about 25 yards to the northward of the wreckage of the Maine. The German ship Griesenau was anchored at the berth now occupied by the Spanish man-of-war Legaspe, which is about 400 yards about due north from the Maine. He then lo cated the German man-of-war Charlotte, which came into the harbor a day or two later, which was anchored to the south ward of the Maine's berth about 400 or 500 yards. In describing the surroundings at the time of the explosion, Captain Sigs bee st&Md that the night was calm and still. The Alphonse XIU. wa$ at the same berth. The small Spanish dispatch boat Legaspe had moved the day before and taken the berth occupied by the German man-of-war Griesenau, which had left. The City of Washington was anchored about 200 yards east of the Maine's stern, slightly on the port quarter. The Maine coaled at Key West, taking on about ISO tons, the coal being regularly inspected and taken from the government coal pile. This coal was placed generally in the forward bunkers. No report was received from the chief engineer that any coal had been too long in the bunkers, and the fire alarms in the bunkers were sensitive. In so far as the regulations regarding inflammables and paints on board, Cap tain Sigsbed testified that the regulations were strictly carried out In regard to stor age, and that the waste also was subject to the same careful disposition. As to the situation of the paint room, he fixed it as in the "eyes of the Ship," just below the berth deck, the extreme forward compart ment. As for the disposition of inflam mables, they were stowed away according to the regulations, and when inflamma bles were In excess of chest capacity they were kept In the bath room of the cab in. Regarding the electric plant of the Maine, Captain Sigsbee stated that there was no serious grounding nor a sudden up pf the lights before the explosion, but 1HR KNtApNE JeOQOQOOgggP* President. A. MARIX, Lieutenant Commander, U. S. N. Judge Advocate. U. S. flagship New York, March 22, 1898, off Key West, Fla. The proceedings and findings of the oourt cf inquiry in the above case are approved. M. E. SICARD, Rear Admiral, Com mander-in-Chief of the U. S. naval force on the North Atlantio station. SIGSBEE'S TESTIMONY. Commander of the Main* Tells What He Knows of the Disaster. Captain Sigsbee, in testifying before the court of inquiry which convened in the harbor of Havana, Monday, Feb. 21, said that he assumed command of the Maine on April 10, 1897, and that his ship arrived in the harbor of Havana the last time. Jan. 25, 1898. The authorities at Havana knew of the Maine's coining, Consul Gen eral Lee having informed the authorities, according to official custom. He took in the pilot sent bv the captain of the port of Havana and the ship was berthed in the man-of-war anchorage off the Machina, or the Shears, and according to his under standing, was one of the regular buoys fci! the place. He then stated that he had boon in Havana in 1872, and again in 1898. He could not state whether the Maine was placed in the usual berth for men-of war, but said that he had heard remarks since the explosion, using Captain Stev ens', temporarily in charge of the Ward liner City of Washington, authority for the statement that he had never known in all his experience, which covers visits to Havana for five or six years, a vessel of war to be anchored at that buoy that he had rarely known merchant vessels to be anchored thera and that it was the least used buoy in the harbor. In describing the surroundings when first moored to this buoy, Captain Sigsbee stated that the Spanish man of-war Alfonso XIU was moored a sudden and total eollpse. As lor regu lations affecting the taking of tempera ture of the magazines, etc., Captain Sigs bee said there were no special regulations other than the usual regulations required by the department. He examined the temperature himself and conversed with with the ordnance officer as to the various temperatures and the contents of the mag azines, and according to the opinion of the officer, the temperatures were never at the danger point. "I do not think there was any laxity in this direction," said the captain in reply to a question of Judge Advocate Marix. He had no recollection of any work go ing on in the magazine or shell rooms on the day of the explosion. The keys' were called for in the usual way on the day in question and were properly returned. At the time of the disaster the two after boil ers in the after fire room were in use be cause the hydraulic system was somewhat leaking. Speaking generally of his rela tions with the Spanish authorities, Cap tain Sigsbee stated that with the officials they were outwardly cordial. The members of the autonomist council of the government, however, seem to have brought to the attention of the navy department the fact that he did not visit them and that fact brought embarrass ment to the government at Washington. He took the ground to the department that it was unknown etiquette to call on the civil members of tho colonial govern ment other than the governor. Without waiting for such an order Captain Sigs bee made a visit afterwards and, as he states, was pleasantly received and his visit promptly returned by certain mem bers of the council. Later a party of ladies and gentlemen called and the pres ident of the council made a speech which Captain Sigsbee could not understand but which was interpreted to him briefly, to which he replied. "My reply," said Captain Sigsbee, "was afterwards printed in at least two papers in Havana, but the terms made me favor autonomistic government in the island. I am informed that the autonomistic gov ernment in Havana is unpopular among a large number of Spanish and Cuban res idents. I have no means of knowing whether my apparent interference in the political concerns of tho island had any relation to the destruction of the Maine." ENSIGN POWELSON'S TESTIMONY What Be Saw For Himself and What the Divers Told Him. Ensign W. V. T. Powelson was called the third day of the court. He testified that he had been present on the Maine everyday from the arrival of the boat Fern, and during a great deal of the diving. He first gave a technical descrip tion of the condition of the wreok as nearly accurate as possible from 'his own observations. Ensign Powelson then asked if the court meant for him to say anything about what the divers reported or, just what he saw. The judge advocate replied that he would like to have him state any impor tant discoveries which might lead the court to draw some conclusion as to the cause, and if a diver gave such informa tion to state the diver's name. Beforedo ing so the judge advocate asked witness to state if the forward and after part of the ship were in line. Ensign Powelson replied that as far as he could judge they were not. The and where the explosion occurred seemed to be pushed from port to starboard from five to ten degrees, he should judge, with the apex to the star board. The divers reported to witness that at a point where the 10-inch shell room should be they discovered 10-lnch shells regularly arranged but the ship had sunk down so much that some of the shells were in the mud. Gunner Morgan reported that in walk ing on the oottom he fell Into a hole on* the port side and went down in the mud He also reported that, as far as he could judge, everything seemed to be bent up war. in the vicinity of this hole. He also reported that the plates seemed to have been pushed over to the starboard and then bent down. Ensign Powelson then said that a6-inoh powder tank that he saw appeared to be an empty tank broken by the explosion, as It was not badly dented and merely ripped the length of the seam. A 10-inch tank was badly battered out of any con ceivable shape. Continuing, witness said the divers up to the night before he was then on the stand had not been on the outside of the ship. The mud was too deep for them to walk on the bottom. "What is the condition of the starboard turret?" the witness was asked. "To my knowledge it has not been found, sir," was the reply. He understood something had been found under the plaoe where the turret formerly was, but Its exact character had not be determined. "What impression is produced upon your mind by the reports so far as you have quoted themf' Ensign Powelson! was asked. "From reports alone or from the appear. ance of the wreck?" "Either from such reports or "iiikX&Zi the condi tions which you. believe to exist." "The impression produced upon me," replied the witness, "is that an explosion took place wall to the .port of th* midship I (Continued on third page) Jfe St*