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Chronic le. VOL. II. the Board of Inquiry. BATTLESHIP WAS DESTROY ED BY SUBMARINE MINE. FULL TEH OF THE DOCUMENT. The Mine Explosion Caused ihe partial Explosion of Two of the Ship’s Forward Magazines. Washington, March 28.—The fol lowing is the full text of the report of the-court of inquiry, submitted to con gress today: United States Battleship Iowa, Key West, Fla., March 21, 1898.— After full aihl mature consideration of # all the testimony before it, the court timhs as follows: 1. That the United States battleship Maine arrived in the harbor of Havana, Cuba,- on the 25th day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and was taken to buoy No. 4. in from five, and a half to six fathoms of water, by the regular government pilot. The United States consul general at Havana had notified the authorities at that place the previous evening of the intended arrival of the Maine. 2. The state of discipline on board the Maine was excellent,and all orders and and regulations safety of the in ship regard to the strictly care were carried out. All ammunitions was stowed in ac cordance with prescribed instructions, which and proper care was taken with ammunition was handled. Nothing was stowed'in any one of the magazines or shell rooms which was not permitted to he stowed.there. The magazines and shell rooms were always locked after having been opened; and after the destruction of the Maine the keys wore found in their proper place in the captain’s cabin, everything having been reported se cure that evening at 8 o’clock. The temperature of the magazines and shell rooms were taken daily and reported. The only magazine which In d an undue amount of heat was the after ten-inch magazine, and that did not explode at the time the Maine was destroyed. -heads all The torpedo war were slowed in the after part of the ship un der the ward room, and neither caused nor participated in the destruction of the Maine. • The dry gun cotton primers and de tonators were stowed in the cabin aft, and remote from the scene of the ex plosion. looked after Waste was carefully on hoard the Maine to obviate danger. Special orders in regard to this bad been given by the commanding officer. Varnishes, dryers, alcohol and other combustibles of this nature were stow ed on or above the main deck,and could not have had anything to do with tliede struction of the Maine, The medical stores were stowed aft ur.der the ward room and remote from the scene of the explosion. No dan gerous stores of any kind were stowed below in any of the other storerooms. The coal bunkers were inspected daily. Of those bunkers adjacent to the for ward magaz'Ties and shell rooms, four were empty, nnmely: B 3, B 4, B 5, B 0. “A 15” had been in use that day and “A 16” was full of new river coal. This coal had been carefully inspected before receiving it on board. The hunker in which it was stowed was ae feasible on three sides at all times and . the fourth side-at this time, on account of hunkers “B 4” and “B 6” being .empty. This bunker, “A 10,” bad been inspected that day by the officer on duty. The lire alarms in the bunkers were in working order, and there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the Maine. The two after boilers of the ship were in use at the time of the disaster, but for auxiliary purposes only, with a.comparatively low pressure of steam, and being tended by a reliable watch. These boilers could not have caused the explosion of the ship. The four forward boilers have since been found by the divers and are in a fair condi tivu. , On the night of the destruction the Maine everything had been ported secure for the night; at G p.m., by reliable persons,through the authorities to the commanding officer. At the time the Maine was the ship was quiet, and therefore ABBKVjIjLK. GA., THURSDAY MARCH 111. ISHS. liable to accident caused by move ments from those on hoard. Destruction of the Maine ami the Jixplo- 8ion. 3. The destruction of the Maine oc curred at 9 :40 p. m., on the 15t h day of February, 1898, in the harbor of Ha vana, Cuba, she being at the time moored to the same buoy to which she had been taken upon her arrival. There were two explosions of a dis tinctly different.character, with a very short but distinct interval between them, lifted and the forward marked part degree of the ship the was to a at time of the first explosion. The first explosion was more in the nature of a report, like that of a gun, while the second explosion was inorb open, prolonged, and of greater vol ume. This second explosion was in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. 4. The evidence hearing upon this, did being principally obtained from divers, not enable the court to form a defi nite conclusion as to the condition of the wreck, although it was established that the after part of the ship was prac tically intact and sank in that condi tion in a very few minutes after the destruction of the forward part. The following facts in regal'd to the forward part of the ship are, how ever, established by the testimony: That portion of the port side of the protective deck, which extends from about frame 30 to about 41 was blown up, aft and over to the port. The inaiil deck from about frame 30 to about rame 41 was blown up and slightly starboard folding the forward part of tiie middle superstructure over and on top of the after part. This was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward maga zines of the Maine. 5. At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship from a point 114 feet from the middle tine of the ship and six feet above the keel when in its normal po aitiou, has been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of the water; therefore about 34 feet above where it would he had it sunk uninjured. The side bottom plating is bent into a reverse in the V shape, the afterwing of which, about 15 feet broad and 32 feet in length (from frame 17 to 25), is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the plate extending forward. At- frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two, and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle form ed by the outside bottom plating. This break is now about six feet below the surface of the water, and about 30 feet above its normal position. In the opinion of the court this ef feet could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the ship. 6. The court finds that the loss of the Maine, on the occasion named, was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of any of tho officers or members of the crew of said vessel. Tlie Maine "Wrecked Hy Submarine Mine, 7. In the opinion of the court, tho was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines. 8. The court has been unable to oh tain evidence fixing tlie responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon atiy person or persons. (Signed) W. T. .Sampson, Captain U. S. N ITcsidcnt. A. Maiux, Lieutenant Commander U.8.N., Judge Advocate. The court, having finished the in- . quiry it was ordered to make, adjourn ed at 11 a.m. to await the action of the convening authority. (Signed) W. T. Sampson, Captain U. S. N., President. A. Makix, Lieutenant Commander IT 8. N„ Judge Advocate U. S. Flagship New Yolk, March 22, 1898.-Off Key West, Fbi.-The proceedings and findings of the court =«»>« », ESS) Commander M. in Sicaud, Chief E«„'Admir.l. of the United States Naval Force on the North Atlantic Station. STILL BUYING PROJECTILES. Bureau of Ordnance Awards Hie Contrieto to ' train,a Firms. The bureau of ordnance, Wednes day, awarded contracts for supplying about sixteen hundred east iron pro jectils for seacoast forfications. As rapidly as completed they will be shipped to (he various places at which they are needed. Two contracts—the Virginia com panics were gived the and Trede Petersburg Iron Works the A DOUBLE MURDER. John Watts, of Cochran, Oh., Slays Two Men. The entire town of Cochran, Oa., was thrown into a state of wild excite ment Thursday over the report of a double murder committed three miles below the town by Mr. John Watts, a citizen and oldest son of Cochran’s mayor, Mr. W’. B. Watts. Watts victims were Mr. Joe laiks, a cotton speculator, and a negro named John Picker. THE- MAINE COURT .OF INQUIRY. Of! m II I ; 4fk, 7 a % A j tCfwY i h M ; ■/? mi k \ o Q CAPTAIN W. T. SAMPSON. CAPTAIN F. E. CHADWICK. in lie mi no. PRESIDENT STATUS HIS PROGRAM T0 t : L 0SE FRIENDS, HE FAVORS PEACE, If POSSIBLE, Will ISd* Firm* However, In Carrying Out Plans As Agreed Upon, Regard less of Result. A Washington special says: While Saturday was devoid of developments, there was no decrease in the excitement over tjje Spanish situation,, but rather an increase based upon the constantly growing condition that war is inevit able. Even those who are most optimistic have been brought to the conclusion that the chances for a .peaceful settle ment of the present difficulties are so slim as to be almost none at all. When the temper of congress is tak en into consideration it looks as if the only posihility of pence lies in Span Kb acknowledgment of Cuban free dom. President McKinley talked freely with his congressional visitors during the day both ill regard to the higher plans for the future and his appreeia tion of the situation with reference to Cuba, The president indicated to his call ers an abiding faith that peace still may be preserved and a determination on his part to accomplish that end if it, may be done with honor to our country.’ and without disregarding the demands of humanity. He frankly and repeatedly averred his desire to prevent a conihefc, while at the same time indicating a firm pnr pose to secure relief for the starving reconoentrados. Indeed, the purpose appeared to be the topic permost in the president’s mind. Ite dwelled upon the fact that the liition of belligerent rights or of inde service to those unfortunates. He admitted that such action might be of assistance to the men at arms—the surgent army-hut they themselves have shown a capacity to take care of ThTilrlltot' obstacles tall™' to Spam sending interpose no people our and1 h. succor to her indigent will ask congress to act promptly, that pJesL“g ne^esIitieA Mr ' McKinley reverted often in Ills conversations to his desire to main tain peace, and dwelt upon the fact that war meant not only the .loss of life and property, but that it also wo i d injure our commerce, disturb business eond, ions generally,increase our pub llG d «bt, add to our pension roll an 1 result in many ways to our tage and distioss. He a 6 °. 1(; that whatever lie , d L ' ar course m g hands of Spain for the loss of tho Maine, preferring to leave that matter to the adjustment of a more quiet pe riod. Th<j president also spoke of possible complications with other na tions, hut did not manifest any unea siness on this score. Senators who have visited the presi dent bave without exception, so far as C£m be i earne a, assured him that the senate appreciates his efforts to gerve peace under proper conditions aU(1 liay0 to j d Lim tliat tbere is no COMMANDER ADOLPH MARIX. LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER W. P. POTTER. danger of precipitate action in that body. They gave the impression that if the worst comes,and it is absolutely determined that no other course will avail, the president will he found pre pared for armed intervention. Outlie score of poiiu... ho assures them that he would rather see the re publican party fail of future success than to wage an unjust war; but that if war must come, it must be a war for humanity, and that this fact must he made so evident that he will have the entire nation behind him in a con , . SPAIN MAKES FIRM REPLY. Says Government Will Not, Tolerate In vasion of Spanish IthrtOs. A Washington special says: It can he stated on positive information that this government has informed Spain that the conditions now existing in Cuba have become intolerable to the pcopJe of this country, and that hos t.l.tie* on.the island must close. This policy is m direct line with the views of the president as expressed in his last message to congress. President McKni ey cabled two notes to Spam through Minister Wood too, . One deals with the. destruction ,, the Maine; the other with President McKinley s plans of humanitarian in tei-vention by the United States m the Ouban war Both notes are expressed in strong, firm language, without sug gestion of threat. They are, perhaps, “ Fm7lTdestru,dion of the Maine the president demands no indemnity. He merely acquaints the Madrid govern ment with tho facts that the naval .. " ,m ” i 1 >'I n 1 * > ■ 1 1 • "as blown up:in Havana^ l«a.bor by ext «' I,al agency and that nothing hut a hhiil oi iir\>u o o u' J* 1 r, K 'ssin.mitu the facts to the , -. i v 1 ^ ov ^! . 1111 * 1 ' w ‘ l a , ' , . t • ■ K memoramb.m ' l . . , „ *■ 111 1 ’ 11 ' T 11 ‘ " “ ,i v,,,t s , ' . suffering people in ««« \ l-'aetu al , term assigned for the ‘-g' 11 !’ e 0 ora ion > 1’ ,UI l ; * ' ’ d«r u. that island. The Spanish reply » equally nm. ^ ’ JsSlih’iSto ‘ ^ b Ifili e ^175 j te s sending , p re8ideut McK i„ley, on the f ound that it would encourage the ® ‘X ,‘otween Aoes „ ot l,, a( l to actual ( t the authorities of the Uj)ite(1 8tntes an( ] Spain, H in la J s rimc H stress upon the ef {orlH Bho b aH made to satisfy the views f t , x’nited States and to preserve cordial rolations w Y,ile endeavoring to jtj , , j thnB the pacification of Cuba, which has been retarded so long only because of : t , j q , na tevial assistance given rebellion fund raised in North Amenta. GLADSTONE VERY LOW. Elaborate Precaution* Taken to Keep In formation from the Pro**. Advices of Sunday from London | state that elaborate precautions have been taken to keep any information j the from serious reaching illness the of press Mr. concerning Gladstone, ! lint it is learned, nevertheless, that I his condition is most critical. Reviews Report of the Court. IS READ IN THE CONGRESS. A Concise Statement of the Views of This Government Given By Our Chief Executive. Washington, March 28.—The pres ident today sent the following message to congress: To the Congress op the United States: For some time prior to the visit of the Maine to Havana harbor our con sular representatives pointed out the advantages to flow from the visit of national ships to the Cuban waters, in accustoming the people to the pres ence of our flag as the symbol of good will and of our ships in the fulfillment of the mission of protection to Ameri can interests, even though no imnie diate need therefor might exist. Vi*u i vU-miiy. * Accordingly on the 24th of January lnst - conference " ,th tl,e S P ,l,nsh minister, in which the renewal of visits of our war vessels to Spanish waters was d...cussed and accepted, the peninsular authorities at Madrid Havana were advised of the pm ” f «hh government Cuban to resume ports, friendly navel visits at and that in that view the Maine would oi thwitli call at the port ot Havana, announcement was race -«d by th .“ *»pam«h government with apprec. ntion of the friendly character notification of the visit of the Maine and with of intention to return the courtesy by sending Spanish ships to the principal ports of the United States. Meanwhile the Maine entered the port of Havana on the 25tli of January, her arrival being marked with no special incident besides the exchange of customary sa lutes at ceremonial visits. The Maine continued in the harbor q{ h during threo wee ks fol j . » ^ arriva l. No appreciable ex oitMn Bt aUem ,e,l her stay. On the coat ' ft feeling of relief and co.ifi (leuee f Howed the ve8nml>t ion of the long * interrupted J friendly immediate intercourse. otice , tb , e W(lfl thi „ effect isit „ t ^ ,. omn i. geuw . al 8t , A tllat the presellC e of s]liCll i, ftII w(lt er« should ho kept J retj|inillg fa the Maine at Havana, - send f] Uor roca n t ,,y ■ allotW veBBol tllore to take her 1 ’ Destroyed Hy Kxploxion. At 40 minutes past 9 in the evening ° 15th ° f *«brunry the.Maine was de Greyed by an explosion, by which the °» 1 ‘™ ^’ward part of the ship was utterly wrecked. In this catastrophe two officers and two hundred and sixty-four of her drew perished, those of her crew who were not killed out hy her explosion being penned betw<>e “ l \ eckfl wreck ai<e and drowned )>y tlie immediate sinking of the hull. Prompt assistance was rendered by the neighboring vessels anchored in the harbor, niil being especially given by the boats of the Spanish cruiser Aljihonso XII and the Ward line Reamer City of Washington, which generously eared for by Hie au thorities ot Havana, the hospitals be ing freely opened hi them, while the earliest recovered bodies of the dead were interred by tho municipality in a public cemetery in the city. Trib utes of grief and sympathy were of fered from all official quarters of the island. The appalling calamity fell upon tho people of thin country with crush ing force, and for a brief time an in tense excitement prevailed, which, in k community less just, and self-con trolled than ours, might have led to lmsty acts of blind resentment. This spirit, however, soon gave way to the calmer processes of reason and to the resolve to investigate the facts and await material proof before forming a judgment as to the cause, the respon sibility, and if the facts warranted,tho remedy due. This course necessarily recommended itself from the outset to the executive, for only in the light of a dispassionately ascertained certainty couhl it determine the nature and measure e >f its full duty in the matter. 'I ltv. Court of Inquiry. The usual procedure was followed, as in all cases of casualty or disaster to national vessels of any maritime state. A naval court of inquiry was at once organized, composed of officers well qualified by rank and practical experience to discharge tho onerous duty imposed upon them. Aided by a strong force of wreckers and divers, NO. II. the court proceeded to make a thor ough investigation on the spot,employ ing every available means for the im partial and exact determination of the causes of the explosion. Its operations have been conducted with the utmost deliberation and judg ment, and while independently pur sued, no source of information was neglected and the fullest opportunity was allowed for a simultaneous inves tigation by the Spanish government. The finding of the court of inquiry was reached after 23 days of continu ous labor, on the 21st of March, in stant, and having been approved ■* on the 22d by the commander-in-ohief of the United States naval force on the North Atlantic station,was transmitted to the executive. ft is herewith laid before the con gress, together with the voluminous testimony taken before the court. Its purpose is, in brief, as follows: When the Maine arrived at Havana she was conducted by the regular gov ernment pilot to buoy No. 4, to which she was moored in from five and one half to six fathoms of xvatev. The-stnte of discipline on board and the condition of her magazines, boil ers, coal bankers and storage compart ments are passed in review, with the conclusion that excellent order pre vailed and that no indication of any cause for an internal explosion existed in any quarter. VeHnel .Suddenly Destroyed. At 8 o’clock on the evening of Feb ruary 15tli everything had been re ported secure and all was quiet. At 40 minutes past 9 o’clock the vessel 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 open, prolonged and of greater volume, is attributed by the court to the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines. The evidence of the divers estab lishes that the after part of the ship was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few minutes after the explosion. The forward part was com pletely demolished. Upon the evidence of the concurrent internal cause (he finding of the court is ns follows: “At frame 18 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and oue-half feet, from the middle Hue of the ship and six feet above the keel whan in its normal position, had been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of the water, therefore, about 34 feet above where it would he had (he ship sunk uninjured. 'The outside bottom plating is bent into a reverse V shape, the after wing of which, about 15 feet broad and 32 feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25), is doubled hack up in itself against the continuation of the same* plating extending forward. keel At frame 18 the vertical is brok en in two and the fiat keel is bent in to an angle similar to the angle form ed by the outside bottom plates, The break is now about six feet below the surface of the water and about 30 feet above its normal position. In the opinion of the court, this effect could have been produced oidy by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18 and somewhat on the port side of the ship. Co lirl,’8 f'oiM’l IlHioilN. The conclusions of the court are; The Iohh of the Maine was not due to negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of her crew. That the ship was destroyed hy tho explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines,and that no evidence has been obtainable showing the responsibly of the de struction of the Maine upon any per son or persons. the finding of I have directed that the court of inquiry and the views of this government tlieron he communi cated to the government of her majes ty, the queenf and I do not permit my self to doubt that the sense of justice of the Spanish nation will dictate a course of action suggested hy honor and the friendly relations of the two governments. will duty executive to It be of the advise the congress of the result, and in the meantime deliberate considera tion is invoked. William McKinley. Executive Mansion, March 28, 1898. In neither senate or house was there any debate on reference of president’s message and other documents to com mittees having charge “of our Cuban relations. GEORGIA DISPENSARIES LEGAL. State Supreme Court Passes On Validity of Legislative Act. Georgia’s local dispensary laws pass ed by the legislature for various coun ties in the state were declared valid and constitutional bth, the supreme court in an aide decision rendered Thursday morning. decided The particular cases made were those brought about by*an attack on the dispensary taws passed in 1897, foiAlie benefit of Terrell and Early counties, but the decision is of great importance to the people of the stntv.