Destruction of the PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S Battleship Maine. MESSAGE TO CONGRESS. All Orders and Regulations in Regard Strictly Carried Out. The President Monday sent the following message to Congress: To the Congress of the United States: For some time prior to the visits of the Maine to Havana harbor our consular repre- sentative pointed out the advantages to flow | from the visit of national ships to the Cuban waters, in acecustoming the people to the presence of our flag as the symbol of good | will and of our ships in the fulfiliment of the mission of protection to American interests, even though no immediate need therefore | might exist, | Accordingly, on the 24th of after conference with the Spanish in which the repewal of visits of our vessels to Spanish waters was discussed and January last, | Minister, | war accepted, the peninsular authorities at Ma- | drid and Havana were advised of the pur- pose of this Government to resume friendly and that in that at the ement was iment with inracter of the ation ofin- tention to return by sending | Spanish ships to the principal ports of the | United States. Meantime the Maine entered | the port of Havana on the 25th of January, | naval visits at Cuban ports, view the Maine would forwith call port of Havana. This received by the Spanish appreciation of the friendly « visit of the Maine and with n ant Go the courtesy ber arrival belong marked with no spe exchange customary | celal in- cident besides the of salutes and ceremonial visits, Explosion in Havana Harbor. The Maine continued in the harbor of Ha vana during the three weeks following her | arrival. No appreciable excitement attend- | ed lief of the long-i co followed the errupted friendly and confide resum wifate effec strongly our ships In Cu- retaining her 80 noticeable was this imme the Consul-General r s» presence of her visit that urged that t! ban waters she the Maine at Havaoa, or in recall, by sending another mld be kept up by the even vesael take her place, At 9.40 o'clock in the evening of Februa 12 Maine was de explosion, by which the entirs ofthe ship was utterly wrecke 264 the crew perished, those whe rere not ki In this catastrophe two « ed outright by her explosion penned between decks by the tangle and drowned by the immed the null, Prompt assistance was r neighboring vessels anchored in aid being os the Spanish Ward Line wreckage by the | ren the harbor, | the boats of XIIL of Washiogton, pecially given by rrulser Alphonse steamer City which lay not far distant, The wounded were genere by the authorities of Havana, the he being freely opened to them, while the Hest-recovered be fthe terred by the municipality ir tery in the elty. Tributes of pathy were offered from all « of the island. the and usly cared dies « An Appalling Calamity. ailing calamity fell "i ur crushing foroe and {me an intense excitement pre- community less just and J i fed to th the The app uf peo ple of ou for a brief valled whi self-controlled than ours might bave hasty acts blind resentment. This spirit, | however, soon gave way to the calmer pro- to the resolve to inves. r country with cesses of reason and tigate the await material pro before forming a judgment as to the cause, if facts warranted, facts and of the responsibility, and the remedy dae, This course necessarily recommended it- self from the « Executive, for only in the light of a dispassionately ascer- tained certainty could it determine the na- ture and measure of its full duty in the mat- ter, The usual procedure was all cases of casualty or disaster to of any maritime Court of inquiry was at composed of officers well qualified by rank | and practical experience, to discharge the onerous duty imposed upon them. Aided by a strong fores of wreckers and | divers, the Court proceeded to make a thor- | ough investigation on the spot, employing | every available means for the impartial and | exact determination of the causes of the ex. i plosion, Its operations have been conducted with the utmost deliberation and judgment, and | while independently pursued no sources of information were neglected and the fullest opportunity was allowed for a simultaneous investigation by the Spanish authorities, It is herewith laid before the Congress, together with the voluminous testimony taken before the Court, Report of the Court. Ite purports in brief are as foliows: When the Maine arrived at Havana she was conducted by the regular Government pliot to Buoy No, 4, to which she was moored, In from flve and one-half to six fathoms of water. The state of discipline on board and the condition of her magazines, boilers, coal bunkers and storage compartments are passed in review, with the conclusion that excellent order prevailed and that no in- dieation of any cause for an internal explo- sion exizted in any quarter, At B o’eloek In the evening of February 15 they had been reported secure and all was quiet, Forty minutes past 0 o'clock the vessel was suddenly destroyed There were two distinet explosions, with a brief interval between them, The first lifted the forward part of the ship very percepti- utset to the m followed, as in | national | A Naval | organized, | vessels silate, onoe ———————————— FOREIGN AFFAIRS. M. Pavioff, Russian charge d'affaires at Pekin, has signed the agreement regarding the lease of Port Arthur and Ta-LiedsiVan to the Czar. LAE Forty-eight members of the crew ol steamer Greenland perishd {fn a stor North Atlantio jee floes, They were fishermen, Ex-Premier Crispi, of Italy, to the Care and Safety of the Ship Were bly; the second, which was more open, pro. longed and of greater volume, is attributed by the Court to the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines, The evidguce of the divers establishes that tact and sank in that condition a very fow minutes aftersthe explosion. The forward part was completely demolished. Upon the evidence of a concurrent finding of the Court is ex- as follows The Tell-Tale Pilates, At frame 17 the outer shell of from a point 11'{ feet from the middie of the ship and six feet the the above up 50 as to be now about four feet above the of therefore, about 84 foot above where it would be bad the ship sunk uninjured. the water: The outsids bottom plating Is bent int reversed V-shape, the after wing of about 15 lest (frame 17 16 frame 25 if Lael } road and 32 feet In is doubled back up the continuation of the same i against placing tending {« rwi 1 placing getending forward. At Frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in notified the authorities at that place the previous evening of the tutended arrival of the Maine, Every Precaution Taken, 2, The state of discipline on board the Maine was excellent; and all orders and reg- ulations in regard to the care and safety of the ship were striotly carried out, All ammunition was stored In accordance with prescribed instructions, and proper care was taken whenever ammunition was han- dled, Nothing was stowed In any one of the magazines or shell rooms which was not per- mitted to be stored there, The magazines and shell rooms were al- ways locked after having been opened, and after the destruction of the Maine the keys were found in their proper place iu the cap- tain's cabinet, everything baving been ro ported secure that evening at 8 P. M. The temperature of the magazines and shell rooms were taken and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat was the after 10-inch magazine, and that did not explode at the time the Malue Care With Explosives. The torpedo war heads were all stowed In the after part of the ship under the ward- the destruction of the Maine, The dry gun cotton primles and ries were stored in the cabin aft, and remote Waste Wis denotn- from the scene of the explosion, { looked after un board the Maine t« t Special orders in regard carefully obviate dager. the this had been given by commanding olf fleer, Yarnishes, dryers, alcohol and other con stored uid { destruct bustibles of this nature wers above the malin deck, and ¢ anything to do with the ul stores were stowed aft un m and ren I'he medic ote from the scene CAPTAIN W. T. SAMPSON. CAPTAIN F. E. CHADWICK. two, and the flat keel bent into an similar to angle formed by the oulside tom pintes, This break is now about six below the surface of the water about 30 {eet above its normal position, In the opinion of the Court could have been produced only by the plosion of a mine situated under the bott ol a ship at avout frame IS and so on the port side of the ship. foot this «fe Conclusions of the Court The conclusions of the court are That the loss of the Maine was not That the ship was destroyed by the ex. the partial explcsion of two or more of her forward magazines, and That no evidence has bean obtainable fx. finding of the I have directed that the the He ernment thereon be communicated to government of Her Majesty, the Queen that the sense of justios of the Spanish na. by honor and the friendly relations of the two governments, vise the Congress of the result, and In meantime deliberate consideration Is voked. WILLIAM M'KINLEY. Executive Mansion, March 28, 1898, lis COURT'S FINDING. of the Court of Inquiry in the case of tha de Maine in the harbor of Havana February 15th: ¥ U. 8. B. Iowa, 1st rate, Key West, Fia.,, Monday, March 21, 1808, Alter full and mature consideration of all follows: COMMANDER ADOLPH MARIX, ———— Of those bunkers adjacen th rward d shell rooms, four ‘B B 4, B5B4&" “A u day, and “A I, This conl wers emp. ty, namely 15 bad been in full of ae that if was BeW river co ard stowed was ac. carefully inspected before received on bu I'he 1 saalbie on juxer io which if was ail times, * ree sides at and the bunk ers “BA and D6 being empty. This bunk- been {ospected that officer on duty. The bunkers were In working or- bad been a case of fire engineer thers never the Mailge, Ballers Not the Cause, the ship were in e disaster, but for aux- comparatively } The two alter boliers of use at the time of th fllary purposes only, with a reliable wateh, These bollers could have caused the explosion of the ship. The four forward bollers have sines been found by the divers apd are in a fair condition, All Right at 8 P. M, On tha night of the destruction of the Maine everyibing had been reported secure through tha proper authorities, to the com. manding officer. At the time the Maine was destroyed the ship was quiet, and, therefore, least lable to accident caused by movements from those on board. Two Distinct Explosions. 8. The destruetion of the Maine oocurred the 15th day of February, to which sbe bad Leen taken upon her ar- rival, There were two explosions of a distinetly different character, with a very short but ward part of the ship was lifted to a marked The first explosion was more lu the nature of a report, Jike that of a gun; while the sec- and of greater volume, The second explo- sion was, in the opinion of the Court, caused A HA Saabs Four Men Drowned at Duteh Harbor, The steamer Bertha brings news to Seattle, Waah,, that on March 6 C. A. Androws, sec ond engineer of the steamer J. C. Barr; T. Peter Doerr, father and son of St. Louls, Mo., were drowped at Dutch Harbor. They ‘were eroMbing in a small boat from Unalas- ka to Duteh Harbor, In a squall their bost eapsized. The boat was found next day by proses Gerning Mr, Gladstone, but it Is learned that his condition Is extremely critical, sud J The evidence bearing upon this, being LATE INVENTIONS. A neat pencil-bolder iv made of 8 ourved spring section to surround the pencil with a pin in the back, by which the holder can be quickly attached to tho coat or vest, Two French women have patented a serub- bing brash, which is to be attached to the shoe by straps and a heel plate, thus mak- ing it possible to clean floors while standing upright. A newly designed bleysle shoes has the sides of the upper out out, with the center ektending over the instep, where it divides fasten in buckles on principally obtained from divers, did not snable the Court to form a definite cone clusion as to the condition of the wreck, al though It wus established that the after part of the ship was practically intact and sank In that condition a very few minutes after the destruction of the forward part. A Muagnzine Explosion, The following facts in regard to the for- ward part of the ship are, however, estab- lished by the testimony: That portion of the port side of the pro- tective deck which extends from frame 50 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 frame forward part of the middle superstructure, over and on top of the after part, This was, in the opinion of the Court, caused by the partinl explosion of two or more of the forward of the Maine, magazines Outer Shall Forced Upward, 6. 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 where It would be had the ship sunk unin- jured. The outside bottom piating Is bent into na after wing of which, in above reversed V shape, about 15 feet broad the and 32 feet length (from frame 17%0 back upon the frame 25 ibis Heel! nguinst the ning kame pisting extending forwar Al frame two, if the vertical keel | and the flat keel bent | similar to the ang i | | bottom platis : surface o ve its 1 A Mine the Only Cause, No Evidences As To Blame . jrt has bea ant t WANK FAINT FORK THY FLEET. | Conte of Deal Will be Given to the Ves scins nt Key West the shits f ’ West has begun. Department Was rool ved i Nashvill ie A ships bia New jork at | war paling i afterno assented painted the standar { were distribg g the vessels, its of made show thal Resy visual tests which have been the color selected for the for war purposes | venpels is better than any The big will be painted to the { that their location i for the rapid-fire Gther, guns t ! mateh bulle and superstructure in order IW a3 Large is ABOLT NOTED PROFLE the absence in Europe ¢ Amberst wk wil During dent Merrill E Prof. Edward { pre Lord Charles Beresford bas dared the Ad- miralty to give the Hielleville test Ly speeding the { across the Atlantic under its full | 12.500 horse-power., Osman Pasha, the Turkish General, seems ' to be as successful a matchmaker as soldier, fie has married off two of his sons to daugh- | ters of the Sultan, who bring with them very handsome dowries, A {and of $5,000 is being raised In London | for the establishment of a memorial to { Charles L. Dodgson (“Lewis Carroll”), the author, The memorial Is to take the form of an “Alice is Wonderland” oot at the Hos pital for Sick Children. gir Claude Macdonald, the British Minis” ter to China, is 46 years old and holds rank in the army as a major. He served with the Seventy-fourth Highlanders, and was In the Egyptian campaign of 1892, and the Suakim expedition, before he was appointed Consul General at Zanzibar, in 1887, The Empress Frederick, who fis still at Beriln, has postponed ber trip to England until the first week in May, when she will arrive at Windsor Castle on a visit to the Queen, The originator of the famous three “r” al. iteration, ‘reading, 'riting nod ‘rithmetie,” was Sir William Curtis, a Lord Mayor of Logsdon. Io 1785 be proposed it as a toast before the Board of Educatioh. Dr. Nansen's young son Is sald to be seri- ousiy ill, As a consequence the famous ex- plorer has canceled all his lecture engage- ments, Gates, of Hitceh« bollers a real Diadein steam of new cruiser Every body interested in seeing the latest developments In high-grade wheels should send a postal to the John P. Lovell Com- pany, Boston, Mase, for their new cata- logue, It contains valuable information. A Nine Thousand Doliar Nugget. The steamer Pakshan, which has arrived at Vancouver, B. C,, from BSkaguay, Alaska, has among her passengers four men direct from Dawson City. They arc Mesars, J. F. Denham, of San Fraselsco; B. Lung, of Tacoma; E. La Salle, of Leadville, and C. A. Goodwin, of Los Angeles, They report a stampede for the American side of the boun- will beat the Klondike, A 35,000 ray ate, hue boom found on | ado creek, Dr. Reel ing to 8 reporter the other day. ® wy —— Fresh Proposals Submitted to the United States, CONCESSIONS MADE. Gen. Blanco Issues a Decree Ending th Reconcentration In the Four West. ern Frovinces of Cubs ~~ Congress Waiting Until Monday, by Which Time the President is Expected to Have Defi nite Information, At a mesting of the Spanish Cabinet held the Queen Regent, fresh United SBintes, it is renorted, were decided upon. The result of the enabled In eipher by Minister Woodfo Washington. The nature posals were not disc to be conciliatory. A specs Madrid jiotes a member saving that proposals to the i abinet's action HBagasta ha concessions.” The wis received in Washingt cablegram fro: Gaboral Woodford's & Lag bosn of an ad ind In srmany has beg as to Bain rels in Cuba, and has ret ready merge: ti the event SPAIN'S POSIBLE PROPOSALS | Three Points Which Gen Woodford ¥x pected to be Submitied % President McKinley's assurances {| Rroess in regard t tetwesn this co untry a: Upon represeniations Woodtord repeated cong ister {ion, Wo alter Sagasta and other men { Ministry, that that g ferences with bers of the 8H; vernment, of | try looking to the definite settlement of the Cuban This proposition pected to cover three points, as follows First, That Spain shall send the { contrados back 1 their homes and sustaining life question, is them means of conditions can be restored Second, That there shail and Cuba with the view of securiag a scitiemant of the 41M. culties and the withdrawal of the Spanish { forees from Cuba, Third, a Tallure of the Cubans nd Epaniards to come to an understanding { between Spain In case of entire matter to President McKinley as arbi. trator with the understanding that be will decide in thas event for the absolute inde- pendence of Caba. GERMANY'S CLAIM ON SPAIN, Cruiser Ordered to Cuba If *atisfaction Is Not Forthcoming, Germany bas commenced diplomatic rep- resentations to Spain, relative to the Can- pumaba case, and the German crusier Geller, on her way to Bahia, has been ordered to get ready to proceed to Cabs, If satisfaction ix not quickly forthcoming. The German version of the Carnamaba ense is that some Cuban insurgents, during the night of March 18, attacked a German refinery at Cansamaba (also written Canan- wnbmers, belonging to the firm of Fisher & Schmidt, of Trinidad, provises of Bania Clara, The insurgents are sald to have rifled the safes, burned the bullding, killed four persons, and wounded tea ovecupanits cf the reflaory. The Washington State Department has no record whatever concerning the Cannamaba ra80, FIELD OF LABOR ———- india exports coal. ; Japan is making watches, John Bull makes paper bricks, The South containe 483 cotton mills, Some Chidago bicyele makers Ceylon's tea erop-—126,000,000 pounds. There are 18,000 union tron wolders. United States bas 500,000 railroaders, Terra Haute unions held a conveution, America bas 17,500,000 cotton spladles. Oblo printers will bold a State conven vom. HOUSE RESOLUTIONS From a Formal Declaration of War io Recognition of Independence. A dispateh from Washington, DD, C., says: ~Represontatives of the populist and silver republican elements in both the Senate and House held an informal conference just be- fore Congress convened Tuesday snd out- , lined In a general way the policy to be adopted toward Cuba. It was agreed that the recognition of Cuban independance was the only course to pursue at this juncture, Benator Allen and Hepreseutative Bell, of Colorado, were accordingly suthorized to introduces in the two Houses a joint reso- lution embodying the conference views and indieating the line of policy adopted. The resolution, as introduced iu the House by epresentative Bell, was as follows; Cuban Independance. “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, That the separate political existence and independence of the republic of Cuba, now snd for some time heretofore arms, be, and by the zed us a separate and United States ie and put an end Island from jm concentrated extermin- maintained by force of sume Is hereby, recog independent nation immediately interve Lo the war now beds Aged on of Cuba and suce prieopment the people for the purpose of starvatl shail the release there : and ation, i nd for the I { into ef- and enabling ‘tates to furnish food, raiment Ads GOO is hereby the United appropri carrying fect the provisions « his net the President of 11 ¢ neentrate ' is in herwise rat, of use 6 Tep- + President he Spanish he govern- pon the court of ! the Malpe, and t pie be commu A Declaration of War, Representative Mar of Hine chair fthe H militia, in- hereby and wal Ala LATYAL ng ithe CHar- DOINGS OF CONGRESS, shedby the i to insert miners the by the American min. vaturalized LLAGIRD given anadiaz will have to be ake mines in e H of the ¥ reported to sion of the in eriminal ines the res isshon ap- the United Public Lands ie the passage a qualified sin- + residence on Gn fake it as forleit aban~ ng sot LORE she nterior sent to the for appropris- a deficiency this amount nck of last ther $6,000 - resto: us, and pew the estimates oration into the general deficiency bil to ut #14.000 000, The Broderick bill, raising the age of pro- tection for girls in the Distriet of Columbia from sixteen to eighteen years has been fay- orabiy reported to the House Ly the Judi ciliary Committee 2.000 000 is credited Year's appr 000 to priadi inrge increases, pensions granted 1 his brings ited for incor ' 1 bin £0 JAF suDmiteq ! it ab TRIPLE MURDER IN ATLANTA. Firemen Find Three Mutilated Bodies In a Btore Which Was Set on Fire. Firemen responding to early hour the other morning found the bod. fos of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Briley, white, and Bobert Wilkinson, colored, in a store on fire at 75 Humphries street, Atlasta, Ga, The bodies were gotten out without being marred by the ames, and all were horribly mutilated, having been murdered with two beavy batches and a meat knile, which were found on the foo, Mr. Briley was the proprietor of the store, any it is bellevedfibat robbery was the mo- tive, The police have made a number of arrests, an alarm at ay THE TEXAS STRUCK A REEF, Reason Why the Bartieship Went to New York, : Of all the surmises made as ic the reason for the sudden trip to New York of the bat- tie ship Texas none was correct, She struck a coral reel while in Southern waters pe- cently, aod it bad muck tw do with the transfer, itis likely that she will be putin dry dock. The machinery of ber starboard tap. ret is also out of gear and will need exten sive repairs, A new rubber overshoe for wet weather wear does not extend arcund the beel, but ls fastened to the narrow part of the shoe sole Ly spring clips to hold it in place, Tragedies nt Dinges, w. Va Oliver Hardin, in a fit of jealously, shot sis wife through the heart, and then ag. tempted to blow out his own brains, He had been married searceiy a year, : During a drunken row at Tidewater, Norfolk and Western, Henry a Frank Johnson were both shot, the fatally, .
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