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Show Maine Was Blown lip Through Error Bomb "Which Destroyed Battleship "Was Intended for a Spanish Fighting1 Machine. NEW YORK, March 2S. That the battlcahlp Maine, through an error, was destroyed by a bomb of his manufacture manu-facture was the statement made by Gessler Rosscau in the Tombs orison t6day. Rosseau was convicted yesterday yester-day of having sent explosives to the Cunard line pier, this city, ln May, 1903. He mado a statement today ln which he eald; "For several years while the Cuban patriots were struggling- against Wey-ler, Wey-ler, I watched the contest with deep interest nnd sympathy. I decided to go to Jacksonville and do what I could to assist the revolutionists. "There I became acquainted with a party of Cuban leaders who were planning a filibustering expedition. No Names Mentioned. "Several of the leaders of the party are men notf well known and I will not mention their names, although I have among- my papers a list of them nil. "1 suggested lo them that they use my machines to destroy Spanish warships war-ships in the harbor of Havana and In other ports on the coast of the island. They readily seized upon the Idea, and when the destroyer sailed with the filibusters fili-busters they took my two machines with them. Made a Blunder. "The men who had been intrusted with tho task of destroying a Spanish vessel attempted to fasten a box during dur-ing the night to one of Alfonso's warships war-ships and blundered into blowing up tho Maine. v "I was told that the man, Immediately Immediate-ly after learning of the error he had made, committed suicide." Rosseau said he hnd attempted to blow up the statue of Frederick the Great In Washington because he did not wish to see the statues of a King in America. He added that he was not an anarchist or a nihilist and that he had made no effort to supply exploding machines to the Russians. |