| Show SENDS IN REPORT 11 J q ap I 1 PrEl president dent requests congress SS to Care carefully fally consider it STILL HAS FAITH IN rel leyes riat spain 11 mill III act honor ably in the matter rIN bindings DINGS or OF I 1 kalb was N messed by a millboard Mill 11 Hoard rd va 1 lit go ila for tho the dig E 0 rated trent all illa blame much march 28 the pred dent today cent sent the following message to congress T to tb concar ot he the 11 at d matra for tome some tinie time prior to the hvidt of the status to Usi valas harbor our consular representatives pointed oat out the advantage to follow from the visit of dional ships hip to the cuban water waters in accustoming cu cus the people to the Prel presence lencs of oar our flag as the symbol of rood will and of oar our bips ships in the ni of the minion of 0 protection to american in te to rests even though r no ro o la ad need might exis accordingly on the of january lat last after a conference with the span ish minister 11 1 tar in wh chica the renewal 0 of f billits of oar our war vessels to span i 1 d 1 I 1 6 f i 11 I 1 r W ri i vown I 1 I 1 t 1 I 1 1 i I 1 ai i 1 1 r A t I 1 I 1 r 4 I 1 allt Z iz I 1 iz r 7 I 1 0 C 11 W LW I 1 zw 5 ma aw a or A 1 water waters wu discussed and accepted the peninsular otles at madrid and ad Ilar were addled of the purpose of thia this to resume friendly natal visits at cuban port ports and that la ill that thas view tu ul e maine would forthwith crill at chili hd port ot of havana this an wa was received by the span fah govern merA with appreciation of jha he friendly frie adly chanfer chara of the visit of the main maine and with the notification of tee him intention intent ioa to return the court I by tt sending spanish ships to the principal porta ports of ilia th ignited states maim tho tb maine entered the poi pat tot of of Jan janary nry he ar rival 11 belne being marked with ao to special pec talin in ci eident devill besides tk the exchange of cm cus ate oa 01 A ceremonial visits the maine continue in the harbor of mava haraba during the areis weeks following her arrival no appreciable u amaded ata ded sided her hei r tay stay on the ilia coat oary osife a boio of relief and cox conal in dome the ot of the loaff friendly go 00 owr wa 8 mit 1 aeck I 1 of her visit that the lie consul general strongly tron gly urged that the presen e of oni our hips ships iu in cuban water waters should be kepi kept up by retaining them at ilay an a or in the event of her recall by sen henling en ling their vessel there them to take her place at to U 43 in tho the eve alog of the amb ol 01 february the maine waa was destroyed by an explosion by which the entire forward part of the ship was utterly wrecked I 1 la a this cat camil strophe two cers and 0 of f her crew leri hed those who were not killed lit by her explosion being penned punned between docks by the tangle tingle of wrecks wreckage ge and drowned by the immediate sinking of the hill hall prompt assi cancA was rendered rea dered by the neighboring vessels anchored in the harbor aid being especially given by the bouts boats of the spanish altonso XIII and the ward line live steamer city of washington which lay not far dis tant the wounded were generously cared for by the authorities ot of havana the hospitals being freely opened to them while the earliest accove recovered cd bodies of the dead daid were interred by bf the municipality iu to a public cemetery cc in the city tribute tributes of grief and sym pathy were ivere offered from all official quarters of tho bland the appalling calamity fell upon the of our country with crashing crushing fore force and for a brief time an intense excitement arev wed which in a corn com lus ito jast just and controlled self than onn ours might have led to hasty act acts of blind resentment this spirit how ever soon gave away to the calmer processes process ei of reason and to the resolve to investigate th facto facts and mud await the ma 1 proof before forming a as to the cause the responsibility and if the facts warranted the remedy adne this coarse course necessarily recommended itself from the to the executive for only in the light of a dispassionately ascertained certainty could it determine the nature lure and measure of its full fail duty in the matter the usual procedure was followed as in all mil cases of caa alty or disaster to national cat ional vessels of any maritime state gate A naval court of inquiry was vall at once organized composed of office officers well qualified by rank and practical expert ence to discharge the f duty ira im posed upon them aided by a strong fone of wreckers wr aid divers the court proceeded to make a thorough investigation on the spot employing every available means for the impartial imp lettal and exact determination of the causes of the ex its it operations have ben con ducted with the utmost and 3 and whilo while panned no source of information was n gleco and the fullest opportunity was allowed for a simultaneous investigation by the spanish authorities 1 gs of 1 I tb the the finding findan of th thi court of inquiry was reached after 23 days of continuous labor on march 21 and having haying been app TOTed on the aina by the commander in chief of the united states arival farce on the north atlantic antio station wu wa transmitted ta the executive it is here hero with laid before the congre cong reea together with the voluminous testimony taken beff t o the court its purport I 1 is in brief a as bollor a when the maine blaine arrived atH at aTana she was con dated ted bythe by the regular government piot pilot to buoy no 4 to which ste b 54 e moored in from five flys and no lie hlf to six fathoms of rater water the state of discipline on board and the cou of her magazines boiler boilers coal bankers blinkers and storage compartments compart menta are in review with the conclusion that excellent order prevailed and that no indication of an arv u cause for an internal iu existed in any q quarter at 8 catbe on the evening of feb 16 15 everything had been accuro seen and all was wass quiet at 9 40 Wr lOk the amel 1 W wae suddenly r destroyed there were two distinct explosions with a brief in between them the fant lifted the f forward O 0 part ot a f the ship very per y 1 1110 I amoul ali wui was aulow prolonged ie is attributed the court to the partial es of two or more of the forward una unx kiaei tho the evidence of the lite divers establishes that hat tho the after part pirt of I 1 the he ship was w practically intact and nd ink sink la in hit thu tion a very tw few minutes after them th ex at frame 17 1 the enter shell of tho the ihlma if tea fro from luthe the middle line a 0 tho the ship and six alx lx feet the keel when la in iti its bohmil po has aeu forced up so m tj to bo be now about foor four feet above the of the water therefore about 34 feet foet above where it would ix be had tho the alp ship lank ink uninjured 1 the octal to bottom plating it bent beat into a reversed I 1 V shape tho the after wing of which about IS 13 fejt broad and land 83 feet in length from frame 17 tj I 1 frame 23 is I 1 doubled back ulton its if air the kioa of the amp same plating extending forward at frame fraine 11 13 the tire vertical keel is broken in two and the leel leal bent into an angle similar to the angle single formal for the outside plate plates this break ii is about fix six feet below the surface ot he ilia water and about 30 feet above its it normal position I 1 la in the opinion of the coort court till ILI i effect could hare have been prod only by the explosion of a mine situ site A andar tho the bottom of the hip ship at sit about frame 18 and somewhat on oil the port aide side of tho the hip ship or at tria tbs canutt alo tai ut ur tl ouirl asta ro that the ions lose of the maine Maluo win was not la in any respect dee dze to fault or on the part of any of the or bemb irs of her ter crew that the ible abi piras wai destroyed dei troyed by the explosion of a submarine aub marine mine which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines and that DO too evidence lias has been obtainable wag the responsibility for the dei traction of tho the maine upon any may person or person persons I 1 have directed that tho the finlan finding of the court of inquiry and the ilia vicci of this government the thereon roola bo be com commune muni wad to the her majesty the queen and I 1 do not permit myself to doubt the sense of justice of the spanish nation will dictate a counis of action suggested by honor and friendly relations of the two govern mente it was the duty of the executive to adrile advise the be congress of the and mud in the meantime deliberate con considers sidera tion i is invoked Si signed gued executive mansion march 28 in neither senate nor house WM was there any debate in reference to the dent dents message it wae was defered to tho the committee on foreign relation relations under the rules tho the home house adjourned earl r out of respect to simp kins king of massachusetts MAIKE MAME BOARDS REPORT ship alwn up by a cities 1 exploded V dr der port part bilde filde 8 nd Elp lolo that fiew licit be E aerated march 28 the following is the full felt text of the report of tho the court of inquiry U 8 S 8 IOWA loya KET WEST r fla march it after fuu full and mature con hide bide ration of all of the testimony before it the court fods as follows I 1 that the united states battleship maine arrived larriv cd in the harbor of havana cuba on jan 25 1808 1898 and was taken I 1 0 bucar no 4 in from five fire and one half to six fathoms of water by the regular government pilot the united starra consul general ai at havana had not notified gifted the authorities at that place the previous evening of the intended arrival of the maine 2 the tate state of discipline on board the maine was excellent and all orders ailed an regulations in regard to the care and safety to the ship were strictly etly carried out all ammunition was stored away in accor accordance danci with instructions and land proper care was taken voli enever ammunition was handled nothing was in any one ot of the magazines or shell rooms which was not permitted to be stowed there the magazines and shell rooms are always locked after having been opened and must after the de do of the maine the keys kays mere ere found in their proper in the captains cabin everything having haying been reported secure that evening at 8 p m the temperatures of the magazines and chell rooms were taken daily and reported the only magazine which bad had an undue bount no of beat heat wac was the after 10 inch magazine and that did not explode at as the time the maine was destroyed rt st the torpedo war heads were all ell stowed in the after part of the ship under the wardroom and neither caused nor participated in the des destray trac tion tiou of the maine the dry guncotton gun cottun primers and detonators were stowed in the cabin aft and remote from the scene of the explosion the waste was wits carefully looked after on tard be the maine to obviate danger special orders la in regard to this had been given giTen by bythe the commanding hofacer alcohol and other combustibles of this nature slature were stowed on or above the main deck dock and could not hare have had anything to do with the deitt destruction ruction of the maine the medical madic sil stores were towed aft under the ward room and mud remote from the scene of the explosion no dangerous stores of any kind war towed stowed be low in any of the other storerooms the coal bunkers were wen of those bunkers adjoining the forward magazine magazines and shell rooms four were empty namely ba B be AIS bid been in vs use that day and Is 11 was full fun of new now river boal L this coal had been carefully inspected before re beiring it on board the bunker in which it was stowed was on three sides aides at all sit times and the fourth side at thil this time on account of bunkers bankers ba and being empty this bunker alta al had been inspected that day dayny by the 1 as cm an duty daly the fin fire alarms ui in the bunker bunkers were ia in working order and ml them had uever never o 0 b 11 IL cisse of spontaneous combustion ot of roul coal oa on board the ali malar blaine the two after boilers of the ship were iu its use at the time of tho ho disaster dis uter for auxiliary purpose only with low pressure of steam and being tooled ten led b by a reliable watch thre these bouen boilers could not hare have caused the of the hip ship the boll bolar lra have ciuro duco born ten found ay I 1 y the divers and are an in a fair condition on tho the night of the ilia distraction of the mallo maluo had boon reported secure tor for the night a rpm 8 p m by rella blo ble persons through the proper author aties to th alii commanding at the time the maine war was destroyed tho hip ship was quiet aud and therefore beasl liable to accident mated caused by movements from those these on boand athe k the ot the maine oo 00 burred at 9 41 40 p m oil caleb k ob 15 13 1 lw in tho the harbor of klavans cuba bethi being 1 at the time moored in the same ba auf y to which she bo had been taken upa her arrival the forward part was wi corn com plemely demolished upon the evidence of ex oz herual came the hading finding of the court is I 1 as follow follows there were two explosions of a die different character with a very hoit shott but tut distinct interval between them thorn and the tot forward ward part put of the ship AS lirk 1111 i lo 10 a lanm degarm ut at thu the atnif of the tint explosion the first wv more in the nature ot at a report like that of a gun while tho the second explosion was more open prolonged and of greater volume 11 ibis his ccone second explosion was iu in the opinion of tho the court camiel by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the maine the C billalon Bill doltl llon n f it tir arek 4 the evidence bearing on this being principally obtained from divers did not enable ho court to form a definite couch ulon ai mi to the condition of their the reck Alt although hoagh it W ws 18 established that the after 1 pirt ut u t of the chip was practically intact and sunk sank in that con cou a very few minute minutes after tho the destruction st of ho be forward part the fol lowing facts in reeann to the forward part of llo ship are however established by the testimony i th thit tt portion of the port side of the protective deck dock which extends from about frame so 80 to about frame 41 was blown up aft and over to port the main about fraine 30 to about framo 41 was blown up aft and slight ly over to 0 o starboard folding the forward part of the middle superstructure structure over and on top of the after part this wai was in the opinion of the court caused mused by ho the partial explosion of two or more inore of the faw to mX of the o 0 5 at frame 17 the outer shell of the ship from a pola and one half feet from the middle line hue of the ship and ad 1 eix I feet above tho the icyl when iu in its ito normal posit position ioa ha lias boen been forced up so 0 o as to bo be now foar four feet foet above the surface of the thol water therefore labots I 1 thirty four feet above where it would be hod had tho the ship kunle ana uninjured jurod the out side sido bottom plating is bont bent into a ro versed V ships the after wing win of which about if it foet feet broad and 33 feet in length fram from tra ae 17 to frame 25 is doubled byk upon itself oz ilist the 0 the saini gains plating extending forward at fraine frame S tho the vertical keel is broken in two and abe flat leel ben into an analo altru r to the angle tingle formed by the or bottom plating this break is no v feat belot belo T tha of tb i water and about 30 80 feet above a its no inal position in tl it a e opinion of the court this effect could alive been produced need aly culy by the explosion of a |
