ent in character, with a very short but distinct interval between them, and the forward part of the ship was lifted to a marked degree at the 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 more open, prolonged, and of greater volume. 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.

"At frame 17, the outer shell of the ship, from a point 11 feet 6 inches from the middle line of the ship, and 6 feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about 4 feet above the surface of the water; therefore about 34 feet above where it would be, had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the after wing of which, about 15 feet broad and 30 feet in length, is doubled back upon itself, against the continuation of the same plating extending forward.

"At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two, and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plating. This break is now about 6 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 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.

"The Court finds that the loss of the Maine was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of any of the officers or members of the crew of said vessel.

"In the opinion of the Court the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two or more of her forward magazines."

The testimony taken by the Court was made public with the report. The result was that not only the people of the United States, but all fair-minded people throughout the world, were convinced beyond peradventure that the Maine and her men had been hurled to destruction by a deliberate act. They had chosen an hour, too, when the loss of life would be as great as possible, and yet so early that the spectacle might afford pleasure to a vast host of their compatriots.

Nevertheless, while our flags were still at half mast in memory of the dead a Wall Street financier, a representative peace - at - any - price man, telegraphed an appeal for peace, in which appeared this question:

"What is the loss of two hundred and fifty lives to a universal depreciation in values?"

CHAPTER VI

THE DAYS JUST BEFORE THE WAR

A DISPLAY OF POWER THAT WAS WITHOUT EFFECT BECAUSE of

SPANISH OBSTINACY-$50,000,000 FOR DEFENCE—A FLEET OF

AUXILIARY WAR-SHIPS-HOW WE LEARNED THAT WE MUST DEPEND ON OUR OWN SHIP-YARDS-SAMPSON IN COMMAND-A COMBINATION THAT GAVE THE REST OF THE WORLD PAUSE.

A STORY told of "Fighting Bob" (Captain Robley D.) Evans, says that he was in the Navy Department one day, after the destruction of the Maine, and in the course of a conversation found opportunity to express his views as to what should have been done in the matter. He said:

"If I had been in Admiral Sicard's place I would have taken my entire squadron into Havana harbor the next morning, and then I would have said to them, 'Now, we'll investigate this matter, and let you know what we think about it at once.""

"If you had done that you would have been recalled and severely reprimanded," said Secre

tary Long, somewhat warmly. The captain's eyes twinkled, as he replied:

"I don't doubt that, sir; but the people would have made me President at the next election." At that the Secretary is said to have winced a wee bit and turned the conversation to something else.

Whether true or not the story illustrates the feelings of the majority of the naval officers after the murder of the Maine's crew. They think, even now, that war would have been avoided by the course of action laid down by Captain Evans, but the people, as a whole, did really suspend judgment until the report of the Sampson Court; that is to say, if the Court had reported an internal explosion only, the people would have believed it implicitly. But the chief facts that proved Spanish treachery became known before the seal of secrecy was placed on the lips of all naval officers connected with the investigation. Ensign W. V. N. Powelson, an expert in naval architecture, saw that the bottom plates of the Maine were above water and he learned that her keel was just awash. He told these facts to a personal friend and so they got into print. There was but one conclusion from those facts. The smile faded. from the faces of our people, who had been amused by Spanish braggadocio. The doubts disappeared from the minds of those who had

clung to the idea that the Spanish might have been, to some extent, justified in their policy in Cuba. There was still an idea that the Cubans, knowing well the effect such an outrage would have, might have placed the torpedo ; not a few of the Americans who have had dealings with the insurgents believe they were entirely capable of the atrocity; but, without exception, every American who was in Havana, and every other foreigner, for that matter, has said that the Spanish patrol of the harbor was entirely efficient, and that it was only by the action of Spanish officials that a mine could have been placed anywhere in the bay. In no considerable degree did what we call "fake" news or hysterical editorials influence the sober judgment of the people regarding their duty toward Spain. It was the spread of the real facts, the growth of actual knowledge of what the Spaniards in Cuba stood for and what they had done there, that forced the conviction upon us that we must drive them to the further side of the sea. The conviction was literally forced upon unwilling minds. The people who knew the Cubans best, felt, and many of them said, that the whole hybrid race was not worth one good American life. While sitting on the hotel veranda at Key West, distinctively a Cuban settlement, a survivor of the Maine said:

"If we do have to fight Spain, the first thing