The Peoples Voice (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 36, Ed. 1 Friday, April 1, 1898 Page: 3 of 8
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THE MAINE CASE LAID BE-
FORE CONGRESS.
Maine Kent to Havana on (ientral Lm'i
Re<l3H«t — Her Mhi'.on Purely On®
of I'ciiro — Sptin Informed of
Maine Inquiry 1 1 n<1 in^■ —
lull Text of the
Document.
Waiimsgton, March 29.—President
McKinley bent to both houses of ron- j
►fress yesterday his expected message
on the Maine inquiry report. The i
Senate received also the complete re-
port, findings and testimony, which
forms a document of about 100,000
words. The message was read in both
houses and promptly referred, without
debate, to the foreign affairs commit-
tees. The findings of the court of in- j
qulry were also read in the Senate, j
and were then, together with the tes-
timony, referred to the foreign affairs
committee. Two thousand copies of i
the report and tindiugs were ordered I
printed for tho use of senators and
representative*.
The report is very brief, and con-
tains nothing that was not covered in ,
the abstract which was printed yes-
terday.
President McKinley's message was ,
as follows:
" To the Congress of the TTnlted States:
• For .some time prior to the visit of the
Maine to Havana harbor onr consular rep-
resentatives pel ted out the advantages to
flow from the visit of national ships to the |
Cuban waters In accustoming the people t-
V" prt"M n v of our Hag as the symbol of
good will and of our ships in the fulfillment
of the mission of protection to American
interests even though no Immediate need
therefor might exist.
"Accordingly on the 24th of January last,
alter conference with the Spanish minister
in which the renewal of visits of our war
rcasels 11 Spanish waters was discussed
and accepted, the peninsular authorities
at Madrid and Havana were advised of the
purpose of this government to resume
friendly naval visit* at Cuban ports and
that In that view the Maine would forth-
with call at the port of Havana.
This announcement wai received by the
Spanish government with appreciation of
the friendly character of the visit of the
Maine and with notification of intention to
return the (ourtesy by sending Spanish ships
to the principal ports of the United States
"Meanwhile the Maine entered tlx- port
oi Havana on the 2 >tb day of January, her
arrival being marked with no special inci-
dent besides tae exchange of customary
salutes and ceremonial visits.
"TheMaine continued in th? harbor of
Havana during the three weeks following
ier arrival No appreciable excitement
attended her stay. Upon the contrary, a
feelingof relief and confidence followed the
resumptl >n of the long interrupted friendly
intercourse. So noticeab e was this imme-
diate effect of her visit that the consul
general strongly urg.-d that the presence
•! our ships in Cuban wa;ers should be
kept up by retaining them at Havana, or
in the event of her recall, by sending there
a vessel to take her place.
At forty minutes past 9 in the evening
i 'i the 15th of February the Maine was de-
stroyed by an explosion, by which the en-
tire forward part of the ship was utterly
wrecked. In this catastrophe two officers
and 200 of her crew perished, thos: who
were not killed outright by her explosion
being penned between decks by the tangle
of wreckage and drowned by the immediate
•.inking of the hull. Prompt assistance
was rendered by the neighboring vessels an-
chored in the harbor, aid being especially
given by the boats of the Spanish cruiser
Alphonso XII and the Ward line steamer
« 'itv of Washington, which lay not far dis-
tant. The wounded were generously cared
lor by the authorities of Havana, the hos-
pitals being freely op ned to them, while
the earliest recovered bodies of the dead
were interred by the municipality in a pub-
lic cemetery in the city. The tributes of
grief and sympathy were offered from all
official quarters of the island.
The appalling calamity fell upon the
people of our country with crushing force,
and for a brief time an int.*use excitement
prevailed, which, In a community less Just
and sell-controlled than ours, might have
led to hasty acts of blind resentment This
spirit however, soon gave way to the
calmer processes of reason and to the re-
solve to investigate the facts and await the
material proof before forming a judgment
as to the cause, the responsibility and, if
the facts warranted, the remedy due.
This enures necessarily recommended
itself from the outset to 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 ia the
matter.
"This mode of procedure Is proceeded with
in all cases of casualty or disaster to na-
tional vessels of any maratlme state. A
naval court of Inquiry was at once organ-
ised, compised of officers well qualified by
rani and practical experience to discharge
the onerous duty Imposed upon them. Aid -d
by a strong force of wr ckers and divers,
the court proceeled to make a thorough
investigation on the spot, employing every
available means for the impartial and ex-
act determination of the causes of the ex-
plosion. 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
leached after twenty-three davs of contin-
uous labor, on the 21st of March, instant,
and having been approved on the 22d by
the couimander-iu-chief of the United
States naval force on the North Atlantic
station, was transmitted to the executive.
It Is herewith laid before Congress to-day,
and herewith the voluminous testimony
taken before the court.
"Its purport is in brief as follows: When
theMs ne arrived at Havana she was con-
ducted by tLc regular government pilot to
buoy No. 4. to which she was moored in
from five an J one-half to six fathoms of
water.
• The stite 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 indi-
' atiou <>! any cause t..r an internal explo-
sion existed in any quarter.
"At 8 o'clock In the evening of February
15 everything had been reported secure
and all was quiet.
"At fortv minutes past 0 o'clo k 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 attributed by the court to the
partial explosion of two or more of the lor-
ward magazines.
' The evidence of the divers establishes
that the after part of the ship was practi-
cally intact and sank in that condition a
very few minutes after the explosion. The
forward part was completely demolished.
"Upon the evidence of concurre nt exter-
nal causc. the finding of the court Is as fol-
lows:
"That frame 17, the outer shell of the
ship, from a point eleven and one-half feet
from the middle line of he ship and tdx
feet above the keet when in its normal po-
sition. ha* been for ed up *o as to be now
about four feet above the surface of the
water-, therefore about thirty-four feet
above where it would be had the ship sunk
uninjured.
'The outsid • bottom plating Is bent Into
a reversed V sbap?. the after wing of
which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-
two feet in tength (from frame 17 to frame
2i). is doubled back upon It.elf against the
continuation of the &auie plating extending
forward.
"At frame in the vertical keel Is broken
in two and keel b-nt into an angle similar
to the angle formed for the WlUlll plat—
This brea* is about six feet below the sur-
face of the water and about thirty feet
above Its WM*H il p Nttioa
"In the opinion of the court this effect
could have lieen produced only by the ex-
plosion of a mine situated und *r the bottom
of the ship, at about frame In and some-
what on the port aid*' ot the ship.
"The conclusion* of the court are:
" That the loss of the M.line was not in
any respect due to fault or negligence upon
the part of aay of the officers or members
of her crew*
'"That the ship was destroyed by the ex-
plosion of a submarine mine, which caused
the partial explosion of two or more of her
forward magazines: and
"'That no evidence has been obtainable
fixing the responsibility for the destruction
of the Maine upbn any person « r persons.'
"I have directed that the finding of the
court of inquiry and the views of this gov-
ernment thereon be communicated to the
government of her majesty, the queen, ami
I do not permit myself to doubt that the
sense of justice of the Spanish nation will
dictate a course of action suggested by
honor and the frlenJly relations ol the two
governmen ts.
It was the duty of the executive to ad-
vise the Congress of the? result, and In the
meantime deliberate consideration i< In-
voked
"(Signed ) WILLIAM M'KINLKY.
"Executive Mansion. March 28, 1801"
CONGRESS UNRULY.
Strong: Feeling of Oiaeontent Over the
I'reitdeiit'n Lnek of llnste.
Washington, March 29.—A number
of senators and representatives of
both parties conferred with the Presi-
dent at the White house last night.
It is said that tlie opinion expressed
by most of those who talked with Mr.
McKinley was that Congress was in-
clined to object to further delay
toward a settlement of the Spanish
situation and that unless the next
message to Cong-res was more
definite tho radical members
could not be held in checlc. At
the meeting of tho Senate committee
on foreign relations Wednesday Sena-
tor Frye will move that the commit-
tee remain in continuous session until
the questions relating to tho Maine,
Cuba and Spain are settled. Mr. For-
aker will introduce to-day a reso-
lution recognizing the independence
of Cuba.
After the adjournment of the House
there was considerable discussion
over a proposed consolidation of the
forces in the House who favor some
form of iiumcdiato action on the
Cuban issue.
There was n strong feeling shown
over the avoidance in the message of
any outline of a definite administra-
tion policy, and a decided disposition
apparent not to await any further
delay nor resort to temporizing meas-
ures.
The project to furnish ad libitum
relief supplies to tho Cuban non-com-
batants is meeting with opposition to
which members on both sides of the
House have given voice in private dis-
cussion, on the ground, first, that
Spain aione is responsible for the con-
ditions on the island, und, second,
the extending of such large and prob-
I ably continued aid abroad is unjust to
the people of this country.
The steps taken on this line were of
an informal nature. Representative
Hull of Iowa, chairman of tlis House
committee on military affairs, is lead-
ing the movement for prompt action.
DESIGNED TO FIGHT.
WHAT A REAL BATTLESLIP IS
LIKE.
in Officer of m Monitor la llripomlkli'
for s New l>e lgu Thar May He of
Great Vulu* to (lie N*%y — No( m
Thing of lSeuuty.
The accompanying sketch was made
by a naval oltlcer who has had some
experience on tho larger monitors. It
represents In a general way his con-
ception of the ideal battleship. All |
ships are compromises, and this de-
sign departs materially from the well-
known and approved monitor type in
having a superstructure forward. This
feature enables the ship to maintain
DESIGNED TO FIRIIT.
her speed In a head sea. which is wliol
Iy Impracticable with the ordinary
monitor, although a sea abeam has but
little effect on the speed of this pe-
culiar craft. For about two-thirds of
its length the design presents a free
board of only thirty inches, which may
be considered the monitor standard.
The freeboard at the bow is ten feet.
The twelve-Inch guns are well located
for sea work, being eighteen feet above
the water line. The turrets are housed
In barbettes. The height of each bar-
bette above the deck Is twelve anil onc-
mandlng offlcera say they would rmth r |
take their chances on an open bridge
than to occupy ou of the alleged "con-
ning towers."
The smoke pipe passes up through
the center of the tower and receives
protection from U. The smokepipe Is
utilized as a mast, and carries the usual
lighting top and signal yard. The top
of the smoke pipe is 100 feet abofc the
water line, and as the fighting top is
fifteen fret below the smoke outlet, the
men at the top guns ought not to suffer
any discomfort from smoke. The bar-
bettes and conning tower rest on the
main u, which Is two inches thick.
The side armor is continuous and has a
mean thickness of twenty inches, twen-
ty-four inches amidships, tapering to
sixteen Inches at the ends. The depth
of side armor is six and one half feet.
The thickness of armor on turrets, bar-
bettes, und i onning tower is twenty
inches.
The length ot the vessel on water
line Is ."too feet; beam, seventy feet;
draught forward and aft, twenty and
one-half feet; displacement, about S,-
G0U tons; twin screw; Indicated liorse
power, 5.C00. speed, about thirteen and
one-half knots per hour; coal capacity,
500 tons; main battery, four twelve-
inch and six four-Inch guns; secondary
battery, six six-pounder rapid-firing
! puns and two thirty-seven mm. llotch-
klss revolving cannon.
The sketch represents the ship clear-
ed for action, the boats at other times
being stored on the superstructure. The
presence ot a superstructure amidships
adds much to the comfort of a moni-
tor's crew and does not Increase her
i size as u target, as bridges and other
' gear would incumber the space between
; the turrets and give the enemy a3 good
a mark as does a superstructure. This
point is lliu i rated by a comparison of
i the Mlnantonomuh nnd th? Amphltrlte,
I the former having no superstructure.
' The model of this design is ncccssarliy
line, the St. Louis, the St. Paul, the
New York and the Paris, are the largest
ships ot the uumber, and besides these
there are the steamships ot the New
York and Cuba Steamship company,
and the Mallory, Morgan, Red D and
Panama lines. All of these vessels
could be fitted out and prepared for
duty In a very short time. They would
be supplied with guns of the Drlggs-
Schroeder and llotchklss pattern,
which are designed to throw a large
number of small projectiles with great
vapidity. Naval officers do not be-
lieve that all the available merchant
steamships would be called upon to do
duty as commerce destroyers. They
believe that half a dozen of the fastest
Jt'DGE ADVOCATE MAR1X
(lie Carried the Report of the Maine
Inquiry to Washington. I
ones would be more than enough to
wipe Spain's small commerce from the
seas In a comparatively short time.
The navy yard at Brooklyn coulil ac-
commodate ten large steamships at one
time If It were necessary to tit thetA out
nt short notice.
Horror* of War.
"War," said tho old colonel, as ho
stirred his toddy, "is too terrible to
' contemplate. It should not be lightly
ANTON L SE1DL DEAD.
Celebrated Muiteal Director n Victim
of Poisoning From Kntlug Flub.
New York, March 29.—Anton L.
Seidl, the celebrated musical director
died suddenly in this city last nighi
of poisoning, probably resulting froir
eating fish.
No St. I.oiiis Indorsement.
St. Louis, March 29.— It is statec
that the St Louis Merchants' ex
change will not follow the lead of the
boards of trade of Boston ami Phila-
delphia in officially indorsing the
course of President McKinley in the
present crisis or otlicially assuring
the executive that its members would
stand by him, whatever his ultimate
action might be.
Portugal to liotnaln Neutral
Lisbon, March <j8.—The evening
newspapers say that, acting under
superior instructions, the command-
ers of the warships now moored in the
Tagus met to-day for the purpose of
discussing a patrol of the sea between
Capo Verde and the Azores, with a
view of maintaining neutrality in the
event of a Ilispano-Ainerican war.
Army ToncJios Ordered.
Cleveland, Ohio, March 29.—The
Cleveland Rubber Works company
have received instructions by wire to
commence work on a big order for the
government for rubber ponchos, a
combination cape and blanket used in
the army. Shipments arc to com-
mence inside of four days, at the rate
of 2,000 ponchos por week, until fur-
ther notice. The same factory has
also been negotiating for a large sup-
ply of array officers* capo-, for Fort
Leavenworth barracks.
fillip* nt Key ATest fainted
Key West, Fla., March 29.—All tho
ships in the harbor except the Cin
ciiinnti have been painted a lead color
from water line to smokestack top.
ller Hoinach Taken Away.
San Francisco, March 29.—Mrs.
Maggini, whose stomach was eviscer-
ated a month ago, does not seem to
miss what has always been considered
a very. necessary and useful organ.
She has been gaining weight steadily
since she parted company with her
stomach and is on the road to recov-
ery.
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THE COLUMBIA, TIIE FASTEST VESSEL IN T1IE UNITED STATES NAVY.
01R BUDGET OF FUN.
SOME GOOD JOKES. ORIGINAL
AND SELECTED.
The llorror* of an American Winter—
Ha«l KfTerU of tlie Ktrlke on ilrady—
An OhMervtng Son of Mileilur- liaising
the Wind.
llluc.
He was a man well known In town, anl
people called him Bin*.
lie could tell unothtr person how to da
most any thins;
An.i Rtitaii ai it may ami to you, for
non© of his advice
Would he exact of friend or foe even the
smallest price.
And tho' lie never onned a house he
could another show
Just where the rafters and ridgepole
ought properly to go.
And tho' In naught he ever tried was he
a great nuccess,
lie always thought that his advice was
far from \alueleHS.
lie could tell another person Just when te
buy uiul sell.
And if they followed his advice he knew
they would do well,
And though to aid somebody else he of-
ten used to yearn,
When* < r he acted for himself things took
a losing turn.
He could tell a big contractor Just how t®
dig a ditch,
And could mup out for a merchant the
sure way to get rich;
He knew Just when a man should sleep.
and when a girl should wed.
And yet hr scarce had brains enough to
earn his dally bread.
Ha could tell a railroad magnate how
liest to build his road.
And the way to run a paper an editor has
showed;
And us to give a doctor points, one day
ho tried,
H suddenly fell sick himself any very
shortly died.
—Thomas K. l'orter In Boston Globe.
rMli
!| F^T('
4!
C'a 'v "Phawt .ills Brady? Sure h*
Jo bo looliin' molghty bad."
Muldoon Thy, Brady bov lndegll-
tlon."
Casej "And now pwhit dtiie dtvll
save him ImlrRistlon?"
Muldoon "Dtho stroik it was—faith
It's nothln' hp's had t' deglst dthe lasht
two weeks."—Up-to-Date.
IliiUIn; the Wind.
Tramp 1 don't want anything to
n:it, I'm too far gone for that, but if
you have a bicycle pump that you could
lend me to pump a little air in my stom-
H'h to keep me going, or better still, if
yu have a punctured tire that you could
let me apply my lips to, so as to draw
the norishment gradually, I'd feel
obliged."
Lady of the House "I can tlx you
better than that. Just let me turn tho
dog lcose, then you hold your mouth
open while he chases you around the
house, and you can take in a full sup-
ply of wind."
The Horrors of an American Winter.
Caller—"What! Don't like to Bee It
snow? Why, the very sight of snow
makes one feel poetical."
Editor—"I know it only too well, and
!he trouble is that about two-thirds of
the people f.'el it their duty to put their
emotions in writing."
It had been snowing only seven mln-
ulcs. but tlie door softly opened, and a
melancholy, long-haired individual en-
tered and approached the editor, carry-
in ; a roll of manuscript on his skoul-
But the editor had fainted.
half feet. A leading feature is tho cou-
ning tower, which is a tower in fact as
well as in name. It has a height of
twenty-seven and one-half feet above
the water line, is twenty-five feet in
diameter, and twenty inches thick.
There is nothing equal to it now atloat.
MAXIM'S NAVAL GUN.
(It Works Automatically and Is Gen-
erally Kept in a Warship's Conning
Tower.)
The conning towers on most ships are
mere death traps, and many corn-
very full, otherwise tho enormous ar-
mor weights could not be borne. '1 he
absence of eight-inch guns means a
' sacrifice of offensive power, but there
is a corresponding gain in armor pro-
tection and in general simplicity. The
ship can be commanded by one man
and handled by a small crew. The de-
signer believes that this ship, although
costing not over two- thirds as much a3
the Indiana and being much cheaper to
maintain, would i < more than a match
| for the pride of the I-Ioosicr state.
C'onltl lid Fitted f.ir Action.
Attention has been attracted to the
j merchant steamships that are classed
I a3 auxiliary cruisers to the navy, ami
, which could be fitted out in a short
| tiir.a so as to serve most effectively aa
1 commerce destroyers or as speedy
transports for the handling of troops.
The available steamships that could be
utilized by the government would con-
stitute a big fleet, and experts believe
that it would prove of great service
in the event of war with any country.
The four big steamers of the American
■A
spoken of. sir; It is a serious, sad
afi.air. I have two gravi s in Virginia,
one in Tennessee and three in Ken-
tucky, and but for war the men who
fill them would be living yet!" "Your
sons, colonel?" asked the listener, in
an awed voice. The colonel tossed off
his toddy neat, and stroking his gray
beard said: "No, sir; my substitutes;
the brave men who fought, bi d und
/L, v
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' ' v.-.' -
• 3b.v*.?4£,- j
>;■ I- ■ - ■' *■ - "
.snt&r
THE O'HIGGINS.
(Now Belongs to Chile, But May Be
Purchased by Uncle Sam.)
died for me!" Then the listener cough-
ed and observed that whisky was not
as good now as it was before the war.
Casey—"Bcdad! an' there's soma
mighty Queer things in the system ot
natur", as they call it."
Brady—"That's no drame."
Casey—"Yfs, an' one of them is that
the dryer the weather is the less it
rains."—Up-to-Date.
A IlllKhtcil V.Mir's Hop..
vi r.v mi: a afraid Miss I'asseigh
is in love," said one young woman.
"I'm sure she doe. n't say anything
to lead one to think so," replied tha
ether.
"No. But I found her just now with
a pencil and paper figuring for dear
life to sec whether four goes Into 1S98
without leaving a fraction."—Wash-
infjtcn Star.
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Allan, John S. The Peoples Voice (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 36, Ed. 1 Friday, April 1, 1898, newspaper, April 1, 1898; Norman, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc115816/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.