Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE PR1NiT E r, iP.~ UPON WHiCH THE ECaSE, RY 6AS. D !TS Verdict in tha 1' -ing i::o ship Maine In the 1.-t of About Which Ther1 U17i Said. The followir e tions of tb tesuc Board o' tigate the Cs:-uc: o Maine based ;s ver e It is a story int' the American ~p0:eo . hOSe Wr-C it can have lttle dut as to w' there was an interral or Cx~e ! e - Plosion. Perhaps the most Kue it testimony is that showire the t nlates on the pcrt si-d of the i- d Maine to be bent nw ard up d a result that hardly cculdhav lowed anything save an exmlesuon from the outside. A mass of testinory is submitted showing the em exercis ed on board the ship by Csyt Sih and his officers and the appsrent M possibility of the sccidert occurjg by any internal cause, such as the heating of the bunkers. sposneot:s combustion, or from cther causes up on which so many theorits wele based. The teostimony of Capt. iasbea is of the greatest importance and perhaps is of more general interest than that of any other man called before tht board. With great care and minute ness he gives an account of ihe man agement of the ship, how she was handled, what was dor e from day to day on board, how she sailed into Havana, her anchorage and what he knew about, and, in fact, every point upon which the government and the country desires to be informed. Noth ing in Capt. Sigsbee's testimony shows that the anchorage was changed or that it was considered dangerous by any one. Secona to the importarca of the tes timony of Cdpt. Sigsbee is tnat of Ensign Powelson, who had charge of the divers and knew from day to day what these divers found. His testi mony was to a certain extent techni cal, bearing upon the construction of the ship, her plates, etc., but it was from these plates, and this technical knowledge, that he was able to dis close that the explosion took place from the outside. The divers,Morgan, Olsen and Smith, all contributed im portant evidence. Tney testified that the plates were bent inward, on the bottom port side, and cutward on the starboard side. The story of the explosions is told by different witnesses and adds little to what Capt. Sigsbee and Command er Wainright related. Nothing in the testimony fixes responsibility no con spiracy is apparent, no knowledge of the planting of a mine is shown. A witness whose name is suppressed, tells of overhearing a conversation among Spanish officers and a citizen indicating a foreknowledge of the de struction of the Maine by intention to blow her up. An official of the Amer ican consulate tells of information re ceived anonymously tending to show that a conspiracy existed. But noth ing is definitely stated which fixes any responsibility upon Spain or he: su'o jects. Capt. Sigsbee started his testimony by describing the arrival of thae Maine in Havana harbor and her anchorage to what he understood to be ore of the regular buoys of the place. He could not state wnether the Maine1 was placed in the usual berth for men of-war, but said that he had heard re marks since the explosion,uning Capt. Stevens, temporarily in command of the Ward line steamer City of Wash ington, as authority for the statement, that he had never known, in all his experience, which covered visits to Havana for five or six years, a man of-war to be ancbored at that buoy ; that he had rarely known merchant vessels to be anchored there and that it was the least used buoy in the har bor. In describing the surroundings at the time of the explcsion Canpt Sigsbee stated that the Alphonso XII was at her usual berth, a bout 250 yards to the northward, and westward of the Maine. The Maine coale d at Key West, taking on about 150 tons, the coal being regularly inspected and taken from the government coal pile. No report was received from the engineer that any coal had been too long in the bunkers, and the fire alarms in the bunkers were sensitive. In so far as the regulations regarding infiamables and paints on board,Capt. Sigsbee testified that the regulations were strictly carried out in regard to the storage, and that the waste also was subject to the same careful dispo sition. Regarding the electric planL of the Maine, Capt. Sigsbee stated that there was no serious grounding nor sudden flaring up of the lights before the explosion, but a sudden total eclipse. Capt. Sigsbee said he exam ined the temperature of the magazine himself and conversed with the ord nance officer as to the various temper atures and the contents of the maga zines and, according to the opinion of this officer, as well as Capt. Sigsbee, the temperatures were never at the aanger point. At the time of the dis aster the two af ter boilers in the after fire room were in use because the by draulie system was leaking. Speak ing generally of his relations with the Spanish authorities, Capt Sigsbee stated that with the officials they were outwardly cordial. When asked whether there was any demonstration of animosity by the people afloat, Captain Sigstee said that there never was on shores, as he was informed, but there was afioat. He then repeated that, on the first Sunday after the Maine's arrival, a ferryboat crowded densely with peo ple, civil and military, returning from a bull fight in Regla, passed the Maine and about 40 people on board indulged in yells, whistles and derisive calls. During the stay in Havana Captamn Sigsbee took more than ordinary pre cautions for the protection of the Maine. The Maine, at the time of the ex plosion, was heading approximately northwest. He was writing at his -port cabin table at the time of the ex plosion and was dressed. He then went into a description of the explo sion when he felt the crash. He characterized it as a bursting, rending and crashing sound, or roaring of im mense volume, largely metallic in its character. It was succeeded by a me talhec sound, probably of fallang de bris, a trembling and lurching motion of the vessel, then an impressiona of subsidence, attended bya e ce 01 electric lights and' ine-a de s within the canin. He. ace ined ately that the Mne had bo- 'n ui and that she was sinti: . , s soo as he arrived on deckecis reo dered placed abot the- -oan forward magazine iGode, i ~ei ble. Then came faint eLe saw dimly white flointoue water. Boats were at once -r lowered, tar only two were ed available, the gig and. wnde s~ They were lowered and manni. v; officers and men and, by 1ae capa direction, they left tne ship au a sisted in saving the wousdc d,.:n with other bv-ws that: ha.: ard e n t e soare The 10inch Hesa h d sin o r th e - La Jxele1 IIteegne' e rC11, C he ese wa aw.ar V~e al-eays0 rs ii H iri*. a ti th txpos. E. _s-Ere i-.iurlz-l iL~ th- s:.rbecausE l.ie sat the ofan si the ship r.as E xce r In .t emcineer's de he 7CsZO1 -was Aliways reac da 17-y res':Yovie. lHe paidi at tri bu~ to i-- ce- ,inL4 said that r. quie .er, 1-tt-r iturtd lot of nn he had -ever k : en bnard any vessel in ce.d srved. On, his examina io be 7 curt, Ca z; sin Sigsbee said est:merature he could r-emembr ) -as s but that was in the a e-r m z7-'e, the temperature in ,he owa r.d -aa-szne being consider ab. . Tere was no loose pow ' he ma'szine. The coal ou::-kers were ventilated through air :ubes, exatnired weekly by the chief en,:ineer. and were connected, electri eailv. to the annunciator near his ca bin door. The foriward coal bunker, on the port side, was full. The for ward coal bunker, on the starboard side, was half full, and it was being used at the time of the ex Wainwright whispered to the captain that he thought the 10-inch magazine.forward bad been thrown up into the burning mass and might explocie in time. Everybody was then directed to get into the boats over the stern which was done, the captain getting into the gig and tnen proceeding to the "City of Washington," where he found the wounded in the dining salon being carefully attended by the officers and crew of the vessel. Various Spanish officials came on board and expressed sympathy and sorrow for the accident. The repre sentatives, of General Blanco and th2 admiral of the state were among the Spanish officials who tendered their respect. Eighty-four or 85 men were found that night who survived. In reply to the direct question of whether any of the magazines or shell rooms were blown up. the captain said it was extremely difficult to come to any conclusion. The centre of the explo sion was beneath and a little forward of the coming tower, on the port side. In the region of the centre or axis of the expicsion, was the 6 inch reserve magazine. Captain Sigsbee gave, as his opin ion, that if coal bunker "A 16" nad been so hot as to be dangerous to the 6-inch reserve magazine that this con dition would have been shown on three sides where the bunker was ex posed and that men constantly pass ing to and fro by it would have neces sarily noticed the undue heat. Captain Sigsbee was examined as to the ammunition on board the Maine. He stated that there were no high ex plosives, gun cotton, detonators or other material in the magazines or shell room which the regulations pro hibited. He testified that no war heads had been pla::ed on torpedoes since he had command of the ship. Consul General Fi:zhugh Lee ao peart d before the court on March 8. His testimony related to the official formalities preceding the Maine's arri va!. On January 24 he received a mssage from the state department, saing that the Maine would be sent to~Havana on a friendly visit to re sume thae regular status of naval rela tions between the two countries, and as was ordered to make arrangements at the palace for the interchange of oficial courtesie s. After a call at the paace he sent the state department a cipher messige, saying: "Authori ties profess to think the United States has ulterior purpose in sending the ship. Say it will obstruct autonomy ad produce excitement and most pro bably a demonstration. Ask that it not be done till they get instructions from Madrid. Say that if for friendly purpose, as claimed, the delay is un important." It was too late, however, the Maine had already sailed. She arrived next day and Lee reported her arrival to the state department. Ensign W. V. N. Powelson was called the third day of the court. He testified that he had been present on the Maine every day from the arrival of the Fern and during a great deal of the divinz. In reply to a question to tell the court all about the condition of the wreck he said the forward part of the ship forward of the after smokestack, had been to all appearances complete ly destroyed. The fixtures were completely wreck ed, while fixtures in the same position on the starboard side were in some cases almost intact. The port bulk head between the main and berth decks at the conning tower support had been blown aft on both sides, but a great deal more on the port than on the starboard side. The proxe~tive deck, under the ::onning tower, supports was bent in t wo directions, the platesi on the star board side being bent up and on the port side bent down. Just forward of the conning tower, underneath the main deck, two beams met at right angles; one beam was broken and pushed from port to star board. A grating was found on the poop awning just forward of the after search light. A piece of the side plating just abaft of the starboard turret was visible. This late was bent outward and then the forward end bent upward and folded backward upon itself. "Tois plate was sheared from the rest of the plating below." ~Referring to hisnotes made of things on the Maine, Ensign Powelson state d that the arc of the engine room tele graph and the shaft of the steering gear coming do wn through the armor tube (turret) was bent from port to starboard.- The port side of the pro tetive deck was covered with a greasy deposit; the starboard side being comaratvely free from it. Tie forward smoke pipe hatch be tween the main and superstructure dEcks did not show signs of the inter nal pressure of gases. On. the main deca forward of the connmng tower, were the fore and after angle bulb beam was located, the planking was lowa ot on the only remainin pa:e of the main deck or. the port sie, while the wood wa s till attach e to that piar: of the s?:board side be sentecning T'ser base and je o tt' -a saehleS in te mud escrisby8:sh. M raa. aid no Unid se mrn corp wose li cal t- "d:se urmeo te xlosion ti -,, n.e captam. "Did you o "At the fist shec broke in3 tn~ mid. -3 C -1 went ov r t pcrt Henry Dra -, a e -- States conlsulate, Hi:vra e "nedas to the race pt o - us letter received by the casl generai, in regard to the explTo'o of 9 Maine. WitnIess prcoducri th" tr the date of which as Fem y 1 this vear. There was no s:uature, it being signed "An Admuirer." Drain said itseened to be the document of a fairly weil educated man. It was written in Spanish. Tne trarslation was produced and was 'anded to the judge advocate and read by him. Thce ;etter was w s referrd toin therecrd as being marked "F'," but it was not avvended. In response to tl e que-.in ss to whether anything had been done to ascertain the truth of the statements contained in the letter, witness said be had asked General Le to look into the mater and he did not apoar to know what to do, stating he had no secret service money. A man by the name of Pep? Taco was mentioned in the letter. Witness said he had tried to discover the whereabouts of the man and the one to whom he spoke said the name was a mistake, that the man mentioned had died a few days before the explo sion of the Maine and that the letter referred to a Pepe Barquin, that he al so died suddenly, about two or three days after tbe explosion of the Maine. Witness declared his informant was Mr. Charles CarbonneU, an American citizen. A witness was introduced whose name was suppressed by agreement between him and the court. He had to talk through an interpreter. This witness was crossing about 7:30 o'clock on the morning of Feb. 15th, from Havana to Reglas on a ferry boat. He was sitting near three Spanish officers, two of the army, one of the navy, and a citizen. They were talking about the Maine. One of the army officers said "That is nearly arranged." The citizen asked if makin explosions in the bay would not endanger Havana. The officer said, "No." It was ar ranted so that it would simply ex plode, open the vessel and she would sink immediately. The other man joyously exclaimed: " will take plen ty of beer on that oScasion." Some one came up and they sud denly stopped the conversation. They had said it was a shame she (tbe Maine) should be in the bay and they would b o w her up any how. THE MAINE DISAS ER. Spain trapnab for l Great Agains The findings of the Board ofc wrquiry sppointed to investigate the e tuse f of the destruction of the btueship Maine was laid befor& Congress las. Monday by President McKinley, sc compan'ed with a messsge. The re ort states as a fsct that the Maine was met cn her arrival at Havana by the regular government pilot--a Span ish official-and by him conducted to her moorlng at buoy 4. It ise custo mary in the case of a vessel of war visiting the port of a friendly foreig.n power for the oficials of that port to designate its place of anchorage, and i. was perfec:ly natural and proper for Captain Sigsbee to accept with out question or demur the mooring point assigned him by the Spanish pilot. "But," as the Columbia Register says, "it certainly was not either customary or natural or proper to designnate as the mooring place of a vessei belong ing to a nation at peace with Spain, a point in the harbor beneath which ay a submarine mine 1i2:1e, as the event showed, to be exploded with out warning. Such an action wvould, even assuming the absence of any malicious motives of destruction, be styled in any court of law negligence to a criminal degree. It will not-it annot be pretended that the pilot was ignorant of the existence of the mine. Indeed even that pretence would in no wise tend to exculpate the Havana authorities, for the Maine lay at anchor over that terrible engine of death for a period of twenty- one days-from January 25 to February 15-certainly long enough for those authorities to become aware of her danger and remove her from its prox imity. Nor is this all. Having wil fully and knotvingly, if no: malicious ly, placed the vesset and her crew in a position of extreme jpopardy, the officials of Morro Castle permitted there can be no other description of their action-the mine to be exploded ed. Submarine mines of modern type do not explode spontaneously. lheir machinery is too perfeet; and necessaryily so, for no nation could afford to sow the bed of its own har bor with lethal engines as menacing to its own shipping as to the vesseis of an enemy. So far asit affects their legal and moral responsibility for the destruction of the Maine, it does not matter whether the Spanish authori ties themselves turned the switch that exploded the mine, or allowed unof fical an~d evil disposed persons to have access to the room where the switch board is. Whetuer it was fiendish malice or criminal carelessness their liability arnd respanioihity ar. fixed by every raie that obtains in any system of jutrisorudlence, and Spain must be neid for the acts of her agents." Yet President McKinley is disposed to pass by the blowing up of the Maine as a matter of very little imnpr:.az. Focd tDr CuL::a. Food enough to feed 200,020 for a month has been sent to Havana, but still the supply is inadequate. Tne re pone to thappeals of the &iaare lief committets has Leen beyond ex pecation and mone , cloting and provsons5 have poureat m ium s over th~e country, sowmg. ?o--GecP ly Lfhe American~ teople are s 'r-ed. THE i FFICIAL REPORT T' TF B3DARD OF INQUIRY IN THE MAINE DISASTER. TeCcurt F.uds That th- Blattleship wVAS Uy:roye d by the Exploslon c a Sn bma - Mine, Whichi oaused the Exposion of' Tw (1 V' ' Iner. Sflowir is tbe full text of the t counL of irquiry, sub U S--ii States Bat:pship Iowa. Key A:l.Mrclu 21. 1898. After a nd :.ature consideration of all ez~imony before it. the court finds :n folo s: 1. That the United States battleship Mi r.e arrived in the harbor of Hava a uba, on the 25th day of January, :.C2 h-urdred and ninety eight, nd wa-s taken to buoy No. 4, in from tlee and a half to six fathoms of water, :- the regular government pilot. The United States consul general at Havana, had notified the authorities at that plce, the previous evening, of the iot-nded arrival of the Maine. 2. The state of discipline on board the Maine was excellent, and all orders and regulations in regard to the care and satety of the ship was strictly car ried out. All ammunitions was stow ed in accordance with prescribed in structions, and proper care was taken with which ammunition was handled. N.t'iing was stowed in any one of the me-,azines or shell rooms wthich was not oermitted to be stowed there. The mag0'ziAna sand shell rooms were al ways locked after having been opened, and after the destruction of the Maine the keys were found in their proper place in the captain's cabin, everything having been reported secure that even ing at 8 o'clock. The temperature of I the magazines and shell r-jors were taken daily and reported. The only magazine which had an undue amount of heat was the after ten inch maga zine, and that did not explode at the time the Maine was destroyed. The torpedo war heads were all stowed in the af ter part of the ship under the ward room, and neither caused nor participated in the destruction of the Maine. The dry gun cotton primers and detonators were stowed in the cabin aft, and remote from the scene of the explosion. Waste was carefully looked after on board the Maine to ob viate danger. Special orders in regard to this had been given by the com manding officer. Varnishes, dryer, alcohol and other combustibles of this nature were stowed on or above the main deck, and could not have had anything to do with the destruction of the Maine. The medical stores were stowed aft under the ward room and remote from the scene of the explo sion. No dangerous stores of any kind were stowed below in any of the other storerooms. The coal bunkers were inspected daily. Of those bunk ers adjacent to the foward magazines and shell rooms, four were empty, namely: B 3. B 4 B 5. B. 6. "A 15" had been in use that day and "A161 was full of new river coal. This coal had been carefully inspected before receiving it on board. The bunkers in which it was stowed was accessible on three sides at all times and the fourth side at this time on account of bunk ers "B 4" and "B 6" being empty. This bunker, "A 16," had been in sected that day by the officer on duty. The fire alarms in the bunkers were in working order, and there had never been a :ase of spontaneous combustion of coal on board of the Maine. The two after boilers of the ship were io. 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 for ward boilers have since been found by the divers an d are ina fair condi SOn the night of the destruction of the Maine every thing had been report ed secure for the night, at 6 p. in., by reliable persons, through the pro-per authorities to the commanding officer. At the time the Maine was destroyed the ship was quiet, and therefare least liable to accident caused by movement from thcse on board. 3. The destruction of the Maine oc curred at 9:40 p. in., on the 15th day of February, 18S98, in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, she being at the time moored to the same buoy to which she had been taken upon her arrival. There wre two explosioas of a distinctly different character, with a very short but distinct interval between them, and the forward part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at th'e time of the first explosion. The first ex losion was more in the nature of a -eport, like that of a gun, while the second explosion was more open, pro longed, and of greater volume. This second explosion was in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial ex plosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. 4. The evidence bearing upon this, being principally obtained from div r, did not enable the court to form a defnite conclusion as to tbe condition of the wreck, although it was estab lished that the after part of the ship was practically intact and sank in that condition in a very few minutes after the destruction of the forward part. The following facts in regard to the for ward part of the ship are, however, 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 main deck from about frame 30 to about frame 41 were blown up and slightly starboard folding the forward art of the 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' magazines of the Maine. 5. At frame 17 the outer shell of the shin from a point11ij feet from the mid de'line of the ship and six feet above the keel when in its normal position, as been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of Ithe water, therefore about 34 feet Iabove where it would be had it sunk uninja~red. The side bottom planting is bent into a reverse in the V shape, the after wing of which, about 15 feet Ibroad and 32 feet in length (from Iframe 17 to 25), is doubled back up on, itself against the continuation of the plate extending forward. A t frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two, and the flat keel ben into an 'anglei similar to the 9:tgle formed by the outside bottor' plating. The break is n.ow about aix feet below the sarface o the wa'er, and about 30 feet above it om..l position. In the opinion Vfth ecurt this effect could have a rolued orly by the explosion o n st-uated under the bottom of as & oa about frame 18, and some (Ut no e uort side of the ship. e.cT c curt finds that the loss of i aine, ca the occasion named, sntin any respect due to fault or al Oe onth p>art of any of the 2 lie rs or memnbars of the crew of ~. U heopinion of the court the Liewa estroyed by the explosion .: sa.marine mine, wnich caused the partial explosion of two or more of her - or war d magazines 8. The court has bren unable to ob * '**~'~t'~ U''~' he -~p~~iLii - for the destruction of the Jinc upon any person or persons. (Signed) W. T. Sampson, Captain U. S. N., Prelidet. A. Marix, Lieut. Com. U. S. N. Judge Advocate. NOR TON FAVOFS ELL.RBE. So Says the Waehlngton Vorrrfpo!.der.: o! the Ne ws (nd Courier. The Washington corresponcnt cf The News and Courier says: Mr. -"er ton, who was one of the party visiting Due Wrst on lcyan day, was asked if it was understood th.t the Bryan de monstration was the oening of the State campaign in South Carolina. "No. I think not," was his repl "We have about quit opening cam paigns in Marcn down there. Too few-i of them have been successful sir-ce the first ore. March is a revointionarv month, and we are not x pecting any revolution just now. Cay two of the six candidates already announced were at Due West. While the politi cal situation in the State was not un ccntidered, no big campaign launch- ( ir V was bad or was expected. I "The political situation down thEre seems to be getting pretty complicat ed. But with Governor Ellerbe, of Marion; Col. R. B. Watson. of Salu da;Col. George Tillman, of Edgefield; State Senator Archer, of Spartanburg, and Ex-Solicitor Schumpert, of New berry, in the race there is little dan- i ger of the people making a serious mistake. All of these are gcod men; any one of them could be expected to serve the State creditably. Congressman Lentz, of Ohio, has this to say: "I am but voicing the sentiment of every visitor from tne t North to Due West last week when I say that aside from the pleasure of the trip, which was most enjoyable, we also found it one of the most instruct ive trips ever made by any of us. "Those of us who have heard so much about the hospitality of the peo ple of South Carolina had almost be gun to believe that hospitality was the only capital the State had to feel proud of, but, to the surprise of all, t we found commercial enterprise in evidence everywhere, great cotton mills in so many places as to prove threatening to the future of New England, unless by her Yankee inge nuity she finds some new industries to take the place of those she is sure to smn .,)nder in the near future to the great and in exhaustible South. Small cities are springing up like blossoms in the cotton fields, and are equipped with the latest that steam and electric ity can offer. But most surprising and most promising of all is to see the many colleges far young men and women; two at Spartanburg, three at Greenville, one at Williamston and two at Due West makes a good show ing of colleges along one line of rail way, and that in a run of only about ninety miles. The pEople of the North, who have been wondering whether any good thing can come fram South Carolina, wili learn before many years are gone by that the young manhood and womanhood of that State are destined to add new and greater renown to a Btate once mighty and influential in the American Re public. At Due West we found Ers kine College, presided over by Dr. Grier, a gentleman whose presence and manner at once attest such learn ing and character as to warrant his fame as one of the greatt~st educators of the South, and at Due West Female College they have the honor and ad vantage of the discipline and culture of Dr. Todd, and the best evidence of the merits of that institution lies in the fact that the young ladies in at tendance are the equal in appearance and culture to those of any of the best schools I have seen any where.I "Tncse of us who enjoyed the hosI pitality at Due West of Mr. and Mrs.1 Henery P. McGee, Mr. and Mrs. Rob ert S. Galloway and Mr. and Mzrs. John Devlin and Dr. F. Y. Pressly and others will always accord South Carolina theright to make any claim they choose on hospitality, but we shall insist on it that they flave many other advantages. You may safely say for us that what we have seen of the commercial, educational and so cial life of South Carolina has not only increased our love for our neighbor, but has made us feel that our country is greater than we ever dreamed it could be and has made your visitors from the North feel that the time has come when we can rally round the flag boys and in one accord say our America is, and must remain, the land of 1he free and home of the brave. I wish more of our people could see more of our country, it would increase our patriotism." Congressman Norton has this to say about some of the Northern members of the visiting party at Due West: Mr. Lentz made such an impression while at Due West that he has been invited to deliver the annual address before the graduating class at Due West, and has agreed to go. Also arrangements are on foot to get him to take in Winthrop College at R ock Hill, Newberry Coiege at Ne wherry, and maybe Clemson College. Dr. J. B. Showalter, of Pennsyl vania, also went on the trip to South Carolina. He expressed delight and surprise at conditions in South Caro lina. He was delighted with the hos pitality of Due West. The Doctor is a good Republican from Pennsylvania. Tne people of Due West were much pleased with him. HOW TO FIGH T.TORPEDO BOATS. The United Statei Frepared for the span - lah Flotilla. After considerable experimenting as to the best means of defence against the modern torpedo boats the Secre tary of the Navy of Great Br-tain says: "Protection from such boats and their attacks must be looked for in the developtnent and lucrease~d -se curacy of machine tind r.apid fire guns, mountedi ini vessel> canthl c-fi keeping the sea ini ro';-h ;7eathe1r. Tae admiralty have daing t': >ast few years built a c-onsiaerable number of such vessels. arnd they oelieve as a protection they v: ill be sunrio: to and will be useftdl both a sconts and dispatch vessels." The Caittd Saeus has not thus far ccustructe:.1:my "t or-1 pedo boat destroyers.'' bu- t hab-s re cently made extensive p-urchas~s on both sides of the Atlantie of macaine and quick firing guns. Th e iatt r are capable of aelivering bG pout~ sot at the rate of twenty or thirty a ma te. The former ecn eject musket 'lis at the rate ot 10 a tecond. Wh in our revenue, marine and sie un yachts that have rec-ently been added i the Amerctn namvv ar-: 'cu .""' mitn this clJas 01 ordna: ce, ad e fuirth~er States -will be adirabiv :eae for the attdckr of the Spansh l or pedo boats. ca-rged mt killi . . U Jiones r- questedi Siti~e , couut;aeeto thecjs? r ; ~ a :i--ERESTING PARAGRAPHS. gathened Frrm Oar Exchanges o- the Past Week. American harvesting machinery is binz sold largely in Russia. VIlliama J. Bryan is being sug e1td for governor of Nebraska. General L--n2street thinks he 'as "nemore lizh in himU if war is de A dis-ci from London sacs that torpedo 1iatillo has been t. proceed to Cuba. ia J. Erysn is spoken of 3-:x* govern or of Nebraska. The Demcrats c!sim i hathe can be elected by :ru(, msjority. Wa L aker's turning ctates vi roe aigisst his old chum. Matthew it t"Y Iay, does not scem to give .h B . n uch concern. The M-Iichigan congaresiional deleza ion cal:Ed upon President McKinle7 n a body last Tuesday and begged im to recognize Cuban:independence. The king of Siam has a bodyguard female warricrs-i. e., 100 girls -hosen from among the strongest and landsomest of all the women in the and. St. Louis girls are so prompt at re >artes! A young man made a teasing -emsr4 to one of them the other day, Lnd she hit him with a fiatiron in the ieck. At a mass meeting held in Cleve and, Onio, on Wednesday, resolu ious were adopted calling upon the yresiaent to pat a stop to Cuban butch Tries. The Southern railway, through ?resident Spencer, has just made a 3andsome contribution of $1,000 to he building fund of the Y. M. C. A. )f Macon. Prominent Spaniards throughout A[exico are raising large subscriptions o give to the mother country to ena >]e her to prosecute war with the Jnited States. A Madrid newspaper says nothing ,ould prevent Spain from planting oldiers in Florida. She may plant hem there, but they'll never come up ill judgment day. A company of 75 volunteer, organ zed in San Francisco, sent in an ap >ication to the secretary of war on Cuesday, asking to be enrolled in case )f war with Spain. News comes that Ex-Senator John T. Ingalls may declare for silver and )ecome the candidate of the Populists, Democrats and free silver Republicans 'or congress in the first district. Dieuxverloo, a Dutch village, has passed an ordinance prohibiting wash )rwomen from hanging out under Alothing on the clothes lines in the >pen air, as detrimental to public mor. Ils. Three terrific explosions took place it the Sycamore powder mills at larksville, Tenn., on Wednesday, cilling four employees. The explo ;ion was felt for a radius of fifty niles. The tributes to Fitzhugh Lne and nominations for high place in the Lrmy in the event of hostilities con inue to appear in the press of the ountry without reference to geogra 2hical lines. On last Thursday the Charleston business men declared against war .n a set of resolutions in which Presi lent McKinley's administration of Pifairs in the present threatening crisis was endorsed. Ad jutant General Nalle, of Virginia, is receiving numerous letters from people all over the State desiring to snow now they can enter the Virginia vounte:rs, and desiring to form mii arv comnoanies. "The first patent ever granted in ~he United States," sa.ys the Indiana polis News, "is believed to have been ~ranted to Miss Mary Kies, of South Eillingly, Conn., in 1809 for weaving 3:raw with a thread. CaptainPaine of the British staamer Blvidere, from Boston, March 24, Er Port Antonio, which has arrived .iaere, reports that a Spanish ironclad is watching the Windward passage, roout 40 milna cif the coast. A Sunfer negro who was told the >ther day that he would have to go .nto the army when the war began, replied that he. just couldn't doit as ne was under contract arnd would be put in jail if he broke it to join the trmy. Frencha postoffice employes are be :ween the devil and the deep blue sea. rhey have just received an order for aidding them to read postal cards and 2ext directing them not to allow in iulting or libellous postal cards to pass ;hrough the mails. The navy depart-nent has received a iispatch saying that the armored cruis srs Infanta Maria Theresa and Christo >a Colon and the torpedo destroyer Desructor have sailed from Cartha gena, Spain. Their dtstination is supposed to be Cuba. A th et of three Spanish battleships .e adiz, Spain, on Wednesday for Juiba. The fleet includes the Infanta Klaria Theresa, the Cristobal Colon tnd the Destructor. The first two are rmoredi cruisers And the last named is a torpedo boat destroyer. RECORDER Calhoun,of Atlanta,after .mposing a fine on a prisoner before aim, paid it himself to keep the fel .w from going to the stockade. He 2ad once been kind to Judge Calhoun when the latter broke his leg. The evidence re quired the judge to find aim guilty, out he paid tne fine for We do not now remember where we heard it, but it is so gocd we re Jeat it without authority. It was in in Illinois court: "Have you," asked he judge of a recently convicted man, 'anything to offer the court before :entence is passed?" "No, your hon >r," replied the prisoner, "my lawyer cak my last cent." Mrs. C. Parish, whose age is S4, who has been shipwrecked three times na three d~fferent cceans, recently en ertained a party of friends at her acme in San Francisco. The age of .he youngest person present was 70 ~ears. Two gentlmen, one 93, and .he other 102 years old, sent zegrets >ecause of business engagements. A brakeman on a Kansas railroad, listurbed by the loud quacking of a ot of ducks being transported to mar ret, neatly muzzled every one of them >y slipping rubber bands over their >ils, to the great astonishment of the lucas, and not less of the marketmen, .hen they received their hitherto occiferous birds and found them thus TtIred. In th cas of Andres Santcs, Mar ~ar o Cavazas, of \Vallecello, and Adolf R 'odgu' of San Ignacio, aco th iree leaders of the pro - oond ais invasionl into Texas. Lrtdo Uvte f-a~~l auta)rities, the ton. Th~e nn ar c a0geu wias v:o l.ino heuurlt za.ws of Medico ad tar .court hel tha tuere w.s suf fiiswdc ol them. Dr. Eri e.a eAder -ad the o rsnr wid oe brought to vd- - ahin a few days. - AN AWFUL DISASTER THE JOHNSTOWN HORROR REPEAT ED IN ILLINOIS. TI o L-v- Abxte the Town Broke, Lct.ing in th. ' -avr and rlo:5 it to teb rfpth of Twoty F.-t--Many Y#-ople D *,s.1. Abou balf-past four o'clock Sunday :no.ninr a levee above Shawnee tow, I2ca,- broke and that city sinndated. The water has back ed ui for 'Live miles and rushed down een t~e city like a tidal wave. It is ruiored that over 200 lives were lost, although it is believed this estimate is -0 higp. Sur.day night the operator in the thp !org disance telephone company's c aliee aL Mt Vernon, Ind., informed .Le Asscciated 1Pss that the estimate on 'oss of life at Shawneetown was at that hour, 200. Mt. Vernon is but 30 miles from Shawneetown, and the in formation on which the estimate is based is believed to be reliable. The operator stated that the company's wire to the stricken city failed soon after 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon. At that hour it was known that the dam was giving way. By 8 o'clock it was known in Mt. Vernon that many people had been drowned, the estimate then being 100. A relief boat bearing food blan kets and surgeons was started down the river and was expected to reach Shawneetown before morning. Peo ple from Mt. Vernon and the sur rounding country besieged the tele phone office for tidings from relatives and friends in the flooded town. No attempt at an accurate list of the lost was pcssible. A special from Evansville, Ind., says that the Shawneetown disaster will amount to over 500 dead, and pos sibly 1,000. The situation of the town was much like Johnstown. though the population was smaller. The town is now under 20 feet of water. A special from Cypress Junction, Ills., says: Two hundred and fifty persons were drowned Sunday by the inundation of Shawneetown, six miles from this place. The north levee broke at 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon and the Ohio river flowed over the town and many feet deep. Scores of houses are floating about tonight and many persons are clinging to the wreckage. All communication with the town is cut off. The first report that reached here was that the entire population had been drowned, but this is not confirmed. The levee was built by the government and was regarded as impregnable hence the people had taken no Precautions against a possible flood. It is report ed the flood now extends four miles inland and people are fleeing for their lives from the low land hamlets. WILL PROTECT HER COMMERCE. Gre at Brit ain t as dtroDg Pleet o I Warhips Off Bermudaa. It is pointed out that the cause of the concentration of the British fleet at Bermuda under the command of an admiral known as "Fighting Jack Fisher," must be sought in the pub lished utterances of the Spanish am bassadors at Vienna and Berlin, who openly declare that as soon as war is declared all the available naval forces of Spain in American waters will be utiliz.'d to blcckade tne United States coast. Now, 92 per cent of America's commerce is ceiried under the English flags and in English bottoms, the entire Standard Oil fleet sailing under the British flag. England does not propose to permit any interference on the part of Spain with vessels flying the English flag, no matter whether they carry Ameri can freight or not, and although Spain alone among foreign nations has ab stained from signing the convention accepting the nrinciple that a neutral flag, covers all freight, save contra band of war, no matter whether it be longed to an enemy or not, Great Britain proposes to enforce her obedi ence thereto, That is why the strong est English squadron ever assembled in the North Atlantic has been assem bled at the Barmudas, to at once pa trol the entire American coast, in the event of war breaking out, and to re sist with force any attempt on the part of Spain's cruisers, destroyers or: tor pedo boats to interfere with shipping leaving or entering American ports and carrying American freight. With the temper of the Spaniards it is by no means improbable that, through some such outrage of this kind on the part of Spain, England may be dragged into an active participation on the side of the United States in the latter's in evitable, though long delayed. war with Spain, ECITOR BRANN KILLED. The List Chapt er in a Texas F emale Col eze !candai. In the midst of busy preparations for city election meetings in Waco, Texas, last Friday W, C. Brann, edi tor of The Iconoclast, and Capt. M. T. Davis met and fought a revolver duel. The combatants met on South Fourth 1 street, in front of the Cotton Belt ticket office, and after exchanging a few words, began emptying their re volvers into each other's body. When the battle was over Brann was found to be perfocrated in the left lung, the left leg and the right foot. Davis was I shot through the right lung andi through both of his ar os Brann hasJ ded from his wounds an. Davis is not t expected to live. The difficulty be-c tween the two men grew out of thea Brar.-Baylor feud of last year.d Capt. Davis' daughters are pu ols of Baylor university and the ret rences made in the Iconoceast to B3. lor,t wich were generally construed tu mean reflections on the mo-a t ch a-aca ter of the pupils and faul y brought 1 forth from Capt. Davis a denunciation1 >f Brann. Capt. Davis is the chair man of one of the city campaign coin-t mitt4's Brann was an advocate of 1 the candidate Capt. Davis was seekingf to defeat andthat state of affairs con-i tributed in no sa. extent to thei meeting. This aft- . o Brann andE his busirness manager, W. H. Ward,J passed Capt. Davis' office, The cap-a tain was standing in the d' ' r, The words that passed between in* n weret terms of reiproach and they i.st zno imae in getting out their weapons. About 10 seconas were occumjed in tne shooting. Ward was also sa,.i throuph a the re.t hr-nd. A wild bit et is Motorman Kennedy in Ltae knee. Another wild bullet hit Eugene K'epler in the foot. Kepler and his partner,t Prince, a::e touring the world on a wager and had just reached Waco. t Body Found In the Woand. A man was found dead in the woods f ear Waihalla, S. C., last Wednesday.c ear the body a valise was found -hch contained some letters and a uooraph which were the only evi- t ece to identify the person. It is be eved by scme that there has beenc me foul play, but the physician oud find no trace of violence. The r name of the unfortunate man could i: ot be learned. The man had been r ded aoutao month. Royal makes the food pure, wholesome and delicious. ING POWDER Absolutely Pure ROYAL AKINC POWDER CO., NEW YOiK. THE CUBAN WAR. When It Beganu nd Bow It Is Prosress Ing. The Cubans have never been the willing subjects of the barbarous Span iards, and the gallant struggle they are now making to free themselves From the Spanish yoke is only one of many. According to the Washington Post it was not until 1849, after many previous failures to induce the people to conspire against the brutal rule of the Spaniards, that anything like a Formidable revolt occurred. This only lasted about a year and its leader, Narciso Lapez, was cruelly put to leath at Havana by the Spaniards in L850. The next revolution that amounted to anything took place in 868. While there was little fighting, &harrassing and costly guerilla war was carried on for ten years, and 3pain was glad to gain peace at the price of certain concessions. The present revolution was commenced February 24, 1895, and Marti and (omez landed at Saban la Mar, April .1, on the southern coast of Cuba and organized a provincial government. Fighting began immediately, and Hart was killed in a charge at Das Rais on May 19. About this time Ma-eo and other patriots joined the nsurgents, whose ranks had swollen to thousands by this time. During the. irst half of 1895 there had been little more than guerrilla fighting, the in nrgents reeping away from the large bodies of Spanish troops and making ishes, here and there, on supply ;rains, and this chiefly in the province of Santiago de Cuba, to which the trouble was confined. In July Campos, with 8,000 men and Mace3, with 6,000. met near Pera ejo. It was a pitched battle and the Spaniards were defeated. Among their dead was General Santoclides, who fell in sight of Campos It was with difficulty that Campos escaped :apture. Gomez, during the summer, operated in Puesto Principe province. In September he was appointed com nander-in-cbief of the insurgentforces and soon after he sent Maceo with ,000 men to the west. In November he joined them, and on December 3 hey defeated Col. Segura; on Dt cem her 35 '.hev routed the battalions of Janarias anrd Trevino, and on Decem er21, by a victory at EL Desquite, hey cleared the war to the province >f Mantanzas. Campos met them at 10l Coliseo on the 23d and was defeated. This succession of insurgent viet:> ies lead to a demand for the resigna ~ion of Campos, and Conovas sent Weyler. Gomez 'and Maceo sep iated and confined themselves to at ~acks on the subsistence trains sent. int to the scattered Spanish forces. )n February 16. 1896, Weyler issued ts decrees of concentration. Under hese,all who were not in the insurgent ~amps were ordered to concentrate in ~he nearest fortifld towns, their hous as were burned and their crops de troyed, so that they could not feed he insurgents. Of the effects of hese decrees there are different ac ounts, but it is agreed that an im nense number have perished by star ration. On December 7. 1896, Maceo was tubushed and killed in Habana province, lie was succeeded by Cal xto Garcia, who had landed in Cuba he preceding March. Gomez won he battle of Saratoa a and gained con rol of Santa Clara province. He was eported to have defeated the Spanish gamn in February, 189?, at Juan rillo while Garcia won the battle of itoria de las Tunas. These victories esulted in a strong feeling against Weyler, although his recall is said to ave been due to the influence of resident McKinley. After the death fCanovas Weyler was recalled, and. en. Blanco was sent to take his lace, the new commander reacted juba November 29, 1897. -This is a rief history of the efforts that the ubans have made to rid themselves. f their Spanish oppressor, and it cer ainly should be pleasant news to. ~very lover of Jiberty to be assured a .at at last Cuban independence is in ight. _______ Bankrupt Spain. No nation in this time can conduct war with any prospect but that cf arly and disastrous failure without lenty of money. In her lack of cred lies the greatest weakness of Spain. ~he London Economist gives an ini resting summary of Spain's fissocial ondition. The three Cuban loans ggregate $450,000,000, the floauing ebt amounts to $70,000,000, and tle ionthly war expenditure to $8,000, 00. Such are the Economist's figures anslating pounds sterling into dol rs at the rate of five to one. They e exclusive of old debt and of the ew loan of 200,000,000 psetas, <quiva et to about $10,000,000, whicn the ~overnment is trying to raise by pop Llar subscription through the national ank. A country like ours would not nd any difficulty in handling ana creasing upon favorable terms a ebt as large as that of Spain, but with pain it is a very different matter. ne total population of that eountry is bout 18,000,000, but Spsin is very eak in industrial resources. Her >taldebt is now $1,613.400,000, ar d e annual interest cnarge is $90,000, 0. How serious a matter this is for, ~pain is shown by the fact that her 4 d 5 per cent bonds are now quoted t from 49 to 55 per cent of their face alUe. The new offer of $40,000,000 of onds is not ikely to bring into the reasury more than $25,000,000 at cst, and prooably not more than one,, ird of the amount of the floating ebt. Spain would have to raise sev al hun dred million dollars to prepare r a war with this country. How ould she get it ? She has failed to get ore than halt their face value for 40. 000, 000 of bonds which wers taken y her own people af ter strong appeals their patriotism. When Spain gces utside of her own country to borrow oney she will find it impossible to aise any great amount at any rate of iterest. There is not today a civilized ation so ill prepared for 'war as