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Inif- ill ifii iiy lyP 1 w 4;w fe ASP frA 4 N I LAST EDITION, 4:00 A. RALEIGH. N. C, TUESDAY; MARCH 1?. 1898. VOL. 1 THIS DISCOVERY MAY Court of Enquiry Made a Find Yesterday. SEVEN SUBMARINE Q the Correspondent of J Wired That Paper OTHER CORROBORATIVE EVIDENCE OF TREACHERY The Court ow Has in Its Possession the Shattered Section f a Subma rine Cable containing Seven Conductors It Is Fourteen Inches Long and an Accurate Description Follows The "Find " the Most Impor tant Piece of Evidence Yet Discovered, and Would Seem to Settle the Question of the Aleans Employed in Blowing Up the Maine, and the Matter of Spanish Official Complicity Great Activity in Naval Cir cles Yesterday. - .Ii-; . . The Morning Post. ! M.,,.l h ir,.:;:ir, a. m. The , -i . ,1 : -Nontlcnt of The Press , - th.it the Hoard of Enquiry ; -, . 1" the existence of :r;( mint s in Havana nary i sh.iUt'ivd a section of a ." . . containing seven con- v. !ik h i.- now in its possession. .,!,:. ,.;is secured by an Amen- , :. .i.. , ,p ail" ts in; hiitnift-si imuui ..; ..i,T.i i ri.--i th.it the "Maine" was d.-tny Ml t.y an official Spanish agency. The mine was connected with a sHW...iir.l ashore, in charge of a of soain. The bit of -'-:U '- , ;',,!" 101,11,1 hy the diver was !!; Hoard of Enquiry today, secret as possible, to prevent them be-uti.-. n inches long , seven- coming known among Spanish offi- 1 ! ' ' .1 : an inch in diameter, and con-s.A-'-n i o,jicr wires, insulated :;uua pcn-ha covering. Outside is i a !, one thiry-second of an Tne special Auxiliary Cruisers Board At H i is H"th ends were smasho T rives at New York and Begins the Im- , , i pressment of Merchant Vessels for War M. as it cut and then pounded, j Servlce-The Ciack Steamer "St. Louis" - . . ! Y was made about thirty i Measured for Armor. Etc. th submersed bow of the By Telegraph to The Morning Post. 'I'h" hoard now has the cabl- New York, March 14. The special '- ! s iojj, together with other : . i.-Mn . showing Sp in- -- - I'IDN T GET THE O'HIGGINS- ' . , Aihit. sotthr Navy Department Last Night ThAt Spain Mas F ailed to Secure the (Lilian battleship 'J. S. May Yet Get It. "' !" Tli" MoVning Post. Man h 14. Uncle Sam with Spain to se- au w u ships for sale u::i...nas" and the , om.e or be allowed to make her reg ular trip to Europe on Wednesday, th.- reported, price i The Ward Line boats will be exam- )i -tii it woo en tf ' i ...... ... ils u.i" very joyful 'i d t hat Spain had ! uthM hy our naval and there was still ii' n tiit1 news was re- port that Spain had -an cruiser' "O'Hig- t s advices tonight are unahlc to raise the i that vessel. "Npeeted is that the a . n T -resent at ives abroad " 'Higgins" also for navy. st ill hopeful of peace, ay that he will make r--port of the Board v,-.i. It is expected Week. Senator Proctor to Hresident that -the n up from the out- : h. d that he gave the - - of his information, o reliable that the r douhts that the ex A - k of .some fiend.- and the Senate ; -t-to consultation by ntly and will meet k to c mfer on the ';iy Lous; cabled to i oinmundant of .ation; "a at once cruiser -'San 3 v- at Lishun. to take pos ' Warships. Hi,, SETTLE IT Great MINES DISCOVERED the New York i ! 1 Press Late Last Nighty The United States flag will probably be flying over them tomorrow.. Crews will be sent from the United States as soon as they can be made i ready. Washington, March 14. As additional evidence that the administration an ticipates hostilities in a very short time, the fact is noted that an order was is sued by Secretary Long today forbid ding officers on duty at the Navy De- partment to furnish any information to the oress hereafter without first sernr- Mns: his consent. In exDlanation of this order, a prominent officer said: "Matters are now so critical it would be unwise to let any of off? plans be made public. "We are afraid that the emergency cannot be avoided, and are determined that our preparations shall be kept as cials." CONTINUED NAVAL ACTIVITY. board on auxiliary cruisers, appointed by Secretary Long to impress and equip the merchant marine vessels as war ships, arrived in New York today, and conferred with the American Line offi cials. That company offered the "St. Louis,'' the "St. Paul" and the "Paris" to the Government without reserve. The board inspected and surveyed the "St. Louis," the crack ship of this !,, ,oi,n oo i.t It will be settled tomorrow whether the ' t. Louis" shall be impressed at men next. The board is after steel yachts and steel ocean tugs. Its labors here will last several weeks, at the end of which time it is expected to have a fleet of over 200 vessels, ready for service the instant called for. TO MOVE THE A RAW. Conference to Perfect Arrangements Held Wlh Leading Railroad Men, Special Despatch to The Morning Post. Washington. March 14. For the movement of the government land forces to the east and south Atlantic seaboard, the government is rapidly perfecting its plans. A conference was held yesterday with the proper authorities of the Southern Railway, Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, in regard to the transporta tion of light artillerymen and their accoutrements. Companies of artillerymen, number ing about 60 men each, will be trans ferred from Fort Monroe to the follow ing named points: Fort Caswell, on the Cape Fear river. N. C. ; Tybe, near Saannah, Ga. ; Fort Morgan, near Mo bile, Ala,; Sheridan's Point, on the Po tomac river, Va. A company will also be sent from Fort McHenry, Baltimore, to a point on the Delaware river, near Philadelphia. These arrangements the government informed the railroad officials, they de sired perfected today or by Tuesday at the latest. These changes will un doubtedly take place at once. REORGANIZE PERSONNEL OFNAWi 3IM to be Reported Today Urgent Need of More Ofilcers for Foreign Warships Pus chased and Auxiliary Cruisers -Course at AnnapolislShortenedlBy.lt. ' By Telegraph to The Morning Post. Washington, March 14. President picKinley today requested .the House Naval Committee to rerort and have passed tomorrow a bill reorganizin the personnel of the navy. This action is taken because of the navy's urgent need for more officers, which need is further increased by the acquisition of foreign warships and the projected fleet of auxiliary cruisers. The bill does away with the en erineer corns, consolidating them with line officers, and provides for hiring u hundred expert machinists who will partly take the place of the engineers Besides largely increasing the nnmbsr of officers, the bill decreases the An napolis course from six to four years. The Navy Department contemplated asking the passage of a separate bill adding to the engineers' force, but the committee objected. The naval surgeon general also ex plained to the committee the need of more naval officers. SPAIN ANTICIPATES WAR Or That Government Would Not be Making Preparations of This Nature. By Cable to The Morning Post Madrid, March 14. The Spanish gov ernment is arranging for communica tion with Cuba over neutral cables, in the event of a. rupture with the United States. This is feasible by the way of Halifax, Bermuda and Jamaica, using the new British cable, but a French company, possessing an unlaid cable, offers to connect Spain direct with Cuba within a few weeks. Negotia tions with this company are now pro ceeding. WHAT A RUSSIAN PAPFR SAY. If we Ffpht Spain "All Furopean Powers will Side with Spain" to a Certain Ex tent. By Cable to The Morning Post. St. Petersburg, March 14. The Novoe Vremya claims to know that if the United States declares war, all the Eu ropean powers will side with Spain to the" extent of a categorical protest. This is well known in Madrid, it says. Spain, the paper adds, has not serious grounds, so far, for declaring war. That measures ouerht to lie immpdiatAlv taken, so that she vilT have no grounds in the future. The paper further says that all the , European powers agree that war between the United States and Spain would be undesirable. That their representatives at Wash ington have given due intimation of this to President McKinley. That it is to be hoped the President will realize the disadvantage of such a general cen sure, and will not allow himself to be egged on to war by speculators, etc. ADVISED TO ASK ARBITRATION. Calvo Receives a Despatch From Washing ton Warn ng Spain That Is Only Course Left to Avoid War. By Cable to The Morning Post. Madrid, March 14. The Imparcial at taches importance to the despatch it has received from Havana announcing that Manuel Calvo, ex-chief of the Spanish party in Cuba, has received a confidential telegram from a person of high repute in the United States, who claims to be in personal contact with President McKinley, warning him that a grave crisis is imminent, and urging the Cuban Government, as the sole means of averting it, to immediately telegraph the Spanish Minister at Washington, authorizing him to sub mit the Cuban question to arbitration. Calvo guarantees the authenticity of the despatch, which is generally at tributed to a member of the Spanish Legation. THINKS WE HAVE TWOFOLD OBJECT An English Paper Draws Conclusions From Our War Preparations That we Mean to Help Out England In its Far East Troubles By Cable to The Morning Post. London, March 14. The Sheffield Telegraph today says: "Are we not rather hasty in assuming tl at the war preparations of the United States are directed solely against Spi:in? The American statesmen are vtry deep. They may be content to let it appear that their armaments, which are really intended for a much greater occasion, are designed against Spain. mis much is certain, if the United States is determined to stand in lino with England and Japan in defending China, it would have to make such pre parations as are now on foot. England and Japan are ready; fhe United Slates is not. "It is a fair assumption that there is at least a tacit understanding between Great Britain and the United States. Tug Right Arm at Norfolk. By Telegraph to The Morning Post. .NorioiK, a., March 14. The tug '"Right-Arm," tf the Merritt Wrecking Company's fleet, has arrived here from Havana via Kev West. The "J. B. Jones" came in later in the day tow ing the wrecking schooner "Tomlinson."' which she picked up at Key West. No information was to be rotten from .either tonight, except that neither ves Isel would return to Havana. Iin nnnnmnin nnitni iinim in J 1U What the Ex-Secretary of War Discovered in Cuba. 11 BLOWN UP FROM OUTSIDE This Fact Clearly Demonstrated, But He Is r Not Prepared to State That panishGov - eminent Controlled Actions of Guilty Persons Autonomy a Complete Failure The Awful Condition of the Peconcen tMdos, as Depicted 'n the Despatches Not at All Exaggerated No Impeding -rlslsln uba Availability of island of Cuba as Residence for Americans Should it Pass Under f ontrol ol United States. Special Despatch to The Morning Post. Washington, Marqh 14. Ex-Secretary of War Proctor is again in Washington, having rturned last night from a three- weeks visit to Cuba, over two weeks of ;which he spent on the island investi- ating into the conditions which exist i there. - Gen. Proctor, and his friend. Col. M. M.f Parker, of Washington, who accom- i pahied him, visited four of the six provinces in the island, and they made a most thorough investigation of af fairs there. This visit, though not an official mis sion, was of a semi-official character. and there is no Question of the in fluence which the report Gen. Proctor will. make will have on the President's future attitude in dealing with the Cuban question. It is equally clear that what he has to say respecting the "Maine" disaster will have weight with the executive, and therefore the following outlined conclusions, made by Gen. Proctor him self to a Post correspondent, are inter esting and valuable. They are: GEN. PROCTOR'S CONCLUSIONS. 1. The wreck of the "Maine" was un questionably due to an outside agency. n other words, the ship did not blow herself up, but she was blown up from the outside, and purposely. Gen. Proctor does not think, however, that, with the evidence in his possession, the destruction o'f the vessel and the loss fotmany lives, was due to any overt act over which the Spanish government exercised contro. , 2. Autonomy, the form of government inaugurated under Gen. Blanco, has proved an utter failure. 3. The intense suffering and starva tion among the reconcentrados which has been depicted in the despatches. have been by no means exaggerated. Their condition has been, and to a large extent still is, awful in the extreme degree, their utterly destitute condition under Weyler having improved but ittle under Gen. Blanco. 4. There appears to be no probability of a settlement of the Cuban question by the Spanish government. There is no impending .cricis in Cuba. The con ditions now existing are constantlv growing worse, and there is no promise of an early settlement of the troubles of the distracted island except throug.i the intervention of the United States. 5. The Spanish authority exercised l 1 in Cuba is purely military. The insur- ents are still intrenched in two of the provinces 1'uerto t-rmcipe ana San tiago and they roam over the island generally. 6. As a place of ' residence for Ameri cans, should t uba pass under tne con trol of the United States government, there is no doubt of its availability. TALK WITH THE EX-SECRETARY. A reporter of the Washington Post had an interview with the ex-Secretary. which is printed today, in the course of which Gen. Proctor says: "The condition of affairs in Cuba. I must say, are bad enough. Not any worse, perhaps, than I had been led to expect from what I had heard be fore going there. But the suffering among the reconcentrados was a frightful object lesson to me. From estimates given me by Spanish officials. I judge that about 200,000 of these peo pie have died since Weyler put his reconcentration order into effect over a year ago. There are still about 200,- 000 in need of immediate relief. The suffering has undoubtedly been some what allaved since the United States begun sending relief supplies to the island, and since the new Blanco gov ernment took control of affairs. There has been no material change in the military situation in the Island. Both sides are still claiming increased strencrth. As a matter of fact, both sides are decreasing in numbers, not through battles but by death, due to natural causes. There have been no re cent military achievements on either side worthy of mention, and from the way the campaigns are being con ducted, I do not expect anything in this (direction. The existing conditions can continue indefinitely, the suffering growing, of course, gradually worse. BELIEVES IN AN OUTSIDE EX PLOSION. "Concerning the cause of the "Maine' disaster," continued the Senator, I feel free to say that such information (dlirllUCIUKdCUNuU as I have obtained indicates that the j explosion was from the outside. It does' not show that the Spanish government! tor anv of its nfTirlnlc In TTovono n-A ! au AAU V Uiia 1 CI VT 1 participants in the crime. In the first place, I do not think there were any mines in the harbor. I have not the slightest knowledge of what the decis ion of the Naval Court of Enquiry wil be or when it will reach Washington appreciating tne delicate position in which the members of the court were placed. I carefully refrained from ask ing any expression which would indi cate that I wanted to know what the court had discovered. I had no better means of ascertaining the particulars concerning the cause of the disaster than vour correspondent in Havana, and such information as I have is en : i ... iue; oi an unoniciai character. As to the probable outcome of this mat ter and of the real Cuban question, I do not feel at liberty at this time 1 express an opinion. Perhaps In a few uays, aner l nave talked with the authorities in Washington, I may be able to say something on these sub jects." . - NORTH CAROLINA AT WASHINGTON Some of the Movements of Our Folks at the Political Center. Special Despatch to The Morning Post. Washington. March 4. Assistant At torney General Boyd returned today from Greensboro. Collector Dancey, of Wilmington. ' is here consulting authorities as to the appointment of subordinates in his of fice. Mrs. Strowd's illness will prevent Congressman Strowd from attending the conference of Populists called for this week. Senator Butler will attend if he can leave the Ewart case long enough. Congressman Shuford expects to attend. Mr. Strowd accompanied Maj. Guthrie on his visit to Washington navy-yard today. He witnessed a hive of indus try, preparing for the naval equipment of war vessels. Congressman Skinner has returned from a trip to his home. He was ad vised today that the life saving service would be extended to Orocoe, and that range lights would be erected at the mouth of Alligator river, and that the "Fish-Hawk" would remain at Avoca during the fishing season. The following postoff ices will be cre ated domestic money order offices April 4th -in North :t parqlinar4 Abbottsburgr, Bladen county; Idlewild, Ashe county; Poteasi, Northampton county; Rara seuT Randolph county. Ejjl. M. Crowder, of Petersburg, Va,, hasj been appointed railway postal clerk. THE EWART CASE HEARING. The Senate sub-committee will re sume the hearing in Ewart's case to morrow morning. Witnesses who "will appear have been 'summoned by Sen ator Butler, among them J. E. Garrett, of Kingston. GOVERNMENT MORE GUARDED. On the surface, warlike preparations T were less in evidence today than last week, probably because every means is now resorted to to conceal the true sit uation. The reason alleged for this is that the enemy would become too well acquainted with the details of our preparations. Along this line Sunday was the removal of the telegraph office in the War Department where it has been since the Department building was erected, to a secluded room In the base ment, where the quick ear of newspaper men, some of whom are also practical operators, may not catch (he purport of official despatches. IN CONGRESS YESTERDAY. Senate Naval Committee to investigate Maine Explosion Indemnity From Spain to be Exacted for Wrongful Imprison ment of American Citizens. Etc. By Telegraph to The Morning Post. Washington, March 14. The Senate today authorized the Committee on Naval Affairs to investigate fully the destruction of the battleship "Maine." A joint resolution was passed em powering the President to exact from Spain, in any maner he saw fit. in demnity for the wrongful arrest apd imprisonment of the American citizend, Aiigust Bolten and Gustave Richelieu, in Cuba, ? The conference report on the Army Appropriation bill was agreed to. The bill increasing the pension of Mrs. Letitia Tyler Semple, the daugh ter of President Tyler, from $S to Jo per month, was passed. The Senate then adjourned, 3:D5 p. m. Washinsrton. March 14. The session of the House today w as taken up, in the consideration of District of Columbia matters. AUSTRIA'S DISCORDANT NOTE. The Emperor Said to be Endeavoring to In duce Other Furopean Powers to Impress the U. S. Wltfc the Idea That It Is 'Dan gerous" for Us to Interfere In Spanlsk Affairs. By Cable to The Morning Post. London. March 14. The Parts corre spondent of the Times says that he learns from good sources that the Em peror of Austria is making great efforts to induce the European powers to rep resent to the United States that there Is danger to Europe of the United States pursuing a policy of interference in Cuba, whose affairs are regarded as European rather than American. His Majesty's efforts are warmly seconded by Emperor William. It is stated that the Washington Government is aware of the situation. No. 89 III HUE W, III) Four Torpedoes Were Ex ploded Simultaneously. OPINION OF UN fllRieSN EXPERT Who Is a Graduate of the Torpedo School, and Whose Opinion Is of the Most Valu able tharactir -Me Tells Why the Tes timony of the Spanish Divers Is Worth-less-They Have at ho Time Been Inside the Hull of the Wreck and Have Had no Opportunity of Securing Knowledge i .Upon Which to.'Base Such an Opinion as the Spanish Board Will Make-Wetting Diving Suits and Sleeping Secretly. By Cable to The Morning Post. Havana; March 14. The Spanish court or board which has been making an "investigation" into the cause or causes of the "Maine" explosion will make its report In a few days, and It is already; known, that It will Join Issue with the report of the American Board of Enquiry and contend that the ex plosion occurred inside the vessel. In this connection. El Imparcial, one of the most sensational newspapers published in Spain, says: "Although the American commission may give another explanation, the covernment will energetically- uphold the Spanish report." This, It will be noted, in ad vance of the submission of the report and in the absence of any knowledge of the character of evidence the Span- sh board has to base such report on. As showing how utterly worthless, the 'evidence" which- the Spanish commis sion has been able to secure, the! fol lowing extract from a statement j Just made in Havana by an Americas of ficer, who is an expert In the matter of explosions, is given. He says: "I am a graduate of the torpedo school, and have studied the effects of torpedoes or mines from observation and experiments. A torpedo exploded at a depth of six feet would throw a olumn of water one hundred feet into the air, at twelve feet deep, ten feet In the air, and at thirty feet would hardly raise a small wave. A detornator of gun Cotton In the . open air makes a .'mark;, Its ownsftelnBteel orblows: stone to fragments. In the water a torpedo Itself would not be felt at any .reat. distance. It requires the re sistance of a solid body, and would be dissipated in water or mud. This din poses of the wave theory, and the af fecting of the shore or boats in the harbor." A HOLE IN THE MUD. "As to the hole in the mud, the ex pert in question makes the most im portant statement that the 'Malrio' Jrtw twenty-eight to thirty feet at the time of the explosion and had ten feet f water below her bottom to the sur face of the harbor mud. On the poit aide, where the United States divers aro now at work, there is at present forty seven feet of water. May not this Le the hole which Capt. Peral says could not be found? If It Is the hole was more than seven feet deep when the explosion took place, and has been greatly filled with mud since. As tv the finding of dead fish, the ' United States Court of Enquiry has not seen a solitary fish since they began work on the wreck. The bodies recovered from the 'Maine' have not been touch-l by fishes. Some of the fishermen la" Havana testified that there were no fish inside the harbor, the waters be ing too foul for them. Sometime they come part way In during the day, but all go out at night. "Further, as to the alleged discoveries of Spanish divers reported to Capt. Peral, five American divers have .been working on the port side of the wreck an average of seven hours each per day for nearly three weeks In a space fifty feet long and twenty feet wide. NEVER INSIDE THE WRECK. "The Spanish divers have never been Inside the Yrec"k at neither have they ever been on the port side, de voting the ehort hours which they have spent under water to the starboard side forward and outside the hull. Recently, to their own surprise, they brought up two cans of ammunition for the six Inch guns, not exploded. They droppI them back when the light of the -urfacs showed they were unexploded. and what their nature was. "Further, the Spanish divers often go down only long enough to wet their suits and then come up and hide be hind a blanket on the barge, where they sleep or rest for a couple of hours and then go ashore and report that th-i-y cannot see anything In the mud and water. They could not have found the ram of the 'Maine.' ?nce they have not been down in the locality of that part of the wreck. They have not looted the turret with the ten-lncli gun, though the spot has-been polntel out by Capt. Sharp. In charge of the wreckers, where there" Is only sixteen feet and should be twenty-six feet. "The spot is outside the hull on the starboard side. It Is probable that the turret Is there, partly burled in the mud. AH of these facts are known by. Continued on Page -4.) , J' ' i, v i i t A l- iv U: j i1
The Morning Post (Raleigh, N.C.)
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March 15, 1898, edition 1
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