Show 0 mem er rue fit mam 4 xa nv K A X I 1 1 f al Z au A X R 05 w 4 iv by ELMO SCOTT WATSON NE february morning just thirty years ogo ago the news flashed over file country that the united states lutt batt a AIM ne commanded by capt charles dwight Si gabee had been blown up in tile hie harbor of havana cubi cuba and that two hundred and sixty four men and two officers had been killed since that flint dis y s at nf s sea ea have claimed many more american lives and titter fitter them the firs first t outburst of horrified amazement at them the public has quickly forgotten but for far diffee ent was the 06 rite aftermath armath ot of the destruction of the maine for tt it came at a time when relations between two great g rent nations strained almost to the breaking point find and it proved io fo be one of the factors which plunged america into a war from which slie she emerged na a ilif different ferent nation from that which tile the world had knowin before and inevitably committed cot omitted to fo a abole role as a world power and a player in tile lie game of t international politics although Alth bugh 11 ais of today do not usually point fi to this disaster in A 1 I harbor en february 15 1808 as a turn ing n point po lint in history historians of the future may do so to get a proper on the tha importance of the maine disaster it is necessary to go back to the beginning of american history lil story vor for three and a half spain had hold held the island filand of cuba although li she had lost most of tier her col onles in both north and south america the cubans moved by the success of oilier latin r aahl americans er 1 aan s in off tal the o volve of spain at hichi hi cli bad bap become n galling anc on dream SI of the alie day wilen they hy too should be ace f q e As ai early as 1822 sympathy with tills this dewe was 4 Tip openly penly expressed in the united stites states but no opportunity for showing otting sh sympathy in ina a more tangible funn form occurred until 1848 when the cubans revolted against their spanish rulers and succeeded in keeping up a guerrilla warfare for a f number of years 1 in 1851 col boj william L crittenden rit of ken 1 tucky joined a filibustering expedition which set out from new orleans under narciso lopez to aid tho the cubans the spaniards captured the whole party and lopez colonel crittenden Crittend cn and fome bome fifty others were shot at havana there was nothing that america could do about critten dens execution tor for a nation cannot countenance a filibustering expedition against a presumably peaceful neighbor nation but when spain put cuba under martial law american sympathy grew more outspoken out and then ennie came the famous affair in 1873 the gillus an american registered vessel was cap t aured u red af by a S spanish gunboat talen taken to a cuban n port and fifty of her crew most of them amer leans were stood before a firing squad at this outrage excitement in america jiin ran high but the it american administration after a long series of negotiations with spain allowed cr to settle by paying an indemnity meanwhile the rebellion in cuba was continuing and the horrors of the spanish attempts to put it down continued with it in 1875 the united states intimated to spain that flint unless the war ar were stopped intervention might become necessary and spain tool took the hint binl she granted certain reforms ani the gle seemed act med to be ended but it proved probed to td be only tile the beginning so far as the united states was concerned for the don failed to keep his promise to 16 the cuban patriot and in 1893 atI oUter insurrection was under way under the leadership of such men as gomez I 1 maceo and garcia the rebels put up such a valiant tight alint i they gained control of most of I 1 tife the fences and their plucky resistance to the harshness of spanish rule won for them the lie admiration and active sympathy of the amer lean jean people As the struggle continued america was waa more closely involved by bv outrages against american Ani ewrin citizens chasens living livin lein in cuba nt at the hands of general weyler butcher weyler they called him and early in 1897 1807 clr in cuba became tile the subject of debate in congress up op to this time line tile the question of intervention in cubi cuba was ohe upon n which the ameri con can peaple probably were ns as much divided as narp the file members of congress mi all buring that year the war in cuba cub a and the efforts of president mckinley to bring about n peaceful solution of tile the problem that would be satisfactory to both spain and the lie united states was fore foremost in the minds mind sn af pf Amar leans flut but as time went ent on file realization of hope seemed more end and more remote then the situation tion of 01 americans in Ift lynna began he nn to 0 o cause uneasiness and it ws wils decided decide to send a worship warship to that thai vj port not lint only to protect interests in ease ase the need for such euch krotec protection thustin on should arise but as it a friendly gesture ger tu re to the blah author nu thorl ties and a symbol of good hlll between tile lie two notion accordingly According lythe the battleship lalgie was ordered order ed to havana flavana for that flint purpose 1 compiled Comp ired to the battleships of bodily the aunine would not bo be con such a mighty engine 9 of f mir but thirty f years ng anpo 0 she x was one of our finest vessels and nv us a righting fighting nachine lne she was as formidable as any af lier ier class the 41 maine was nt at the ev Bro brooklyn okly navy ya yard rd 10 november lm W ot dt el v fac 1 V t V W n pi ja V no n e ir j 1 J A ap 1 E wedi t t 4 ya bvm 2 11 0 cost of and was first commissioned I 1 in september she he y k a W lav x with ailt it two inch b arbesto 0 tur turrets fets yoh with a length of feet benin beam 57 feet draft 21 feet and displacement of tons the barbette ba rhette armor was 32 12 inches thick and the plates of the turret armor yvore sight thick tho the hult hull was encased in au an armor belt 12 inches tn in thickness tapering to seven indies inches below the water line like most of her class tier her ends were unprotected by side bide armor but at both ends there were trans venie armored bulkheads of sufficient lelent thickness to adduct projectiles A steel deck covered the vital parts of tile ship and afforded aff ordea protection to the machinery and hollers t the maines q armament a consisted of four ten inch rifles on en barbette bai bette in turrets in the main battery and six six inch rifles on tile alie battery deck for the auxiliary 1 rit fery four six eight three and two one rapid tiro fire guns four revolving cannon and four Gatt lings made up tip the second battery and there were armored tops on each of the two masts she was propelled by twin screws of manganese bronze the power being furnished by two screw engines of indicated horse power carrying tons of coal she mie could steam 2770 h knots dots at knots an hour or knots at 30 10 knots tin an hour slie she had a double bottom and numer numerous oui watertight water tight compartments A bulkhead divided the engine room so that flint each cacti set of the machinery was in a watertight water tight compartment by itself the story of tile tie tragedy which caused the lie tops of this magnificent vessel and was a contributing factor to the span spanish isit A american cato war id 11 told in the lie following excer excerpts lits from the message by president to congress late in march 1898 the rho maine entered the port or of havana on the of january her arrival belne being marked with no sp special caal incident besides aba exchange of customary salutes and ceremonial visits the malno maine continued in the harbor barbor of havana during the three weeks fo following 0 o w ng her or arrival ir ival no appreciable excitement attended her ber stay on the contrary nry a feeling af pf of relief and c confidence D followed tile the resumption of i tho the long interrupted friendly intercourse so noticeable ti was this immediate effect of her visit that eliat the consul general strongly urged that tile the presence of our ships in cuban waters should be kept up tip by zeta retaining ining the walne maine at havana or in event of he lier recall by sending another vessel essel there to talo talio bt clr place at 40 minutes past nine in the evening of the esth of rebr february uary the maine was destroyed by an explosion b bl which t the e entire part of the ship was atte utterly wr eclied in this catastrophe two officers and two hundred and sixty four or of her crew perished labobe who were not killed outright by tile explosion abeln penned between dealis by the t tangle rn of iv wreckage and drowned by the dimmed immediate lato sinking of the hull bull the usual procedure was followed as in all cases of casu casualty alt y or disaster to national vessels of any maritime state A naval nal court of inquiry ulry haq wn at once organized composed of officers well qualified fled by ran rank cand and practical experience to dascha ge the duty imposed upon them aided by a strong force of wreckers and divers the court proceeded to make a thorough investigation on the spot employing every available means for th the and exact determination of the he causes of the explosion the finding of the court of inquiry war reached after 23 days of continuous q lalor tho report of that court of inquiry headed lv by capt W T sam sampson son president and aleut coin A marts judge advocate was briefly tills this that the loss logs of the maine was not tn in any nn y ril erpf appt idt due to fault pr OT negligence on the martof any of the 6 officers or members embers of the crew that the ship ans destroyed by the explosion of a submarine anine which caused the partial slon clon of two or more of her forward magazines that no evi evidente denee hns has been obtainable fix ing thel I 1 forthe for the destruction of the maini main 1 upon apon any person or cr PILI ons Ions 1 T i to r y although tile the S authorities in 1 I lutap gaye fallahe fallI he afa abw the destruction of the maine and paid honors to tile birst recovered dead when they illey r were burled by the lie municipality in tile the public cemetery in tile the city this was offset by tile the attl tude of bf spain that the disaster had been beca caused I 1 by ati an explosion of tier her magazines due to the carelessness of her officers the first blaze 7 of wrath swept america the day after the explosion was wag calmed somewhat by the report of captain sigsbee asking that judgment lie be suspended until the cause of the icel accident dent he be lim lims s tl ti gated and by president plea for a calm consideration of the facts us as established by the board of inquiry but tile the conviction grew that spain lind had struck in the dark and in a n later inter message from the president to congress lie summed hummed up the feeling of At america toward spill spain in the words the destruction of the maine blaine by whatever exterior cause Is a p patent ident find and imbres sire alve root roi of bf a state ef things in cuba lint hat Is intolerable that condition Is thus shown to lie fie such that the spanish government cannot assure safety and security to a vessel of the american navy li hi the harlor harbor of havana on a mission or of pence peace and rightfully there in that message lie he asbed congress for guthorl nu authority thorl to establish tin nn Jn independent dependent government in culia cuba and on april 19 congress adopted a resol resolution u de declaring that spanish rule in n culi calm maist cease recognizing the independence I 1 lence of ahn tin nd I 1 empowering the president in n me lise ifie atiq entire kinli kind and naval forces of the lie united stall stalls s to drive spain from cuba that infant anly on tiling war when america went to vr it nanzi ity by a formal document passed hv by c ain kresa on april 25 2 I 1 rut but the american people went to lo war with no formal phrases their declaration n wa ana s summed up tip in tile hie new battle cry of thu th maine I 1 it was one 0 of f the shortest wars in american history beginning in april its enil ain fore shadowed in august when sill till nade overtures loverti te for pence peace a protocol wis was signed and bi ho 1 ceased the end cj c came J tile with the be mity arent v of peace signed on december it 10 by ohp of the lie treaty spain gave up nil all claim to cuba and ceded porto illch illco gaarn and the philippines to tile lie united states re receiving dying tile sum of twenty all lien ilca dollars for the latter hitter the decisive cavill victor lc leq of manila and santiago es established tills dished tile the position of tile lie united state ina ns a naval power and tier her of territory iri fri the orient brought her out of the of nf concern with only anly domestic affairs to a nef new international fi ter no doubt alie spanish american war wai was nt inevitable and would have hae been fought tight wi whether tether tile lie malue had find been destroyed or or not aut eliut disaster was the lie one tiling thing necess necessary y to give lve tile tha american people J johp lu will to fight and the determination to back nil heir leadem to the utmost st in prosecuting the lie war so ao it 11 n may litty fairly be regarded as n turning point 11 1 1 his history lory ahne one of those unlooked for incidents whose may be appreciated tit nt the iline glinc hut but which grow in importance Imp ortonce with the years tivo the men juen who iio per perished lashed on the maine were 4 renia removed red from tile the cemetery in and the lie flag g draped coffins of these aliese first victims of americas shortest and most bril leontly won war were returned to 0 o the united states ain n american worships were lvere burled in arlington cemetery and the market for tile the place elwe they rest la IT the g cantlo antic anchor r of the battleship on which they perished tile tho n name adf of Is 19 still reme remembered by amer ledins wilt never tile the battle cry of 1898 la a TO Q pen prated ted tamber 11 the maine 11 fl SA my A |