In the minds of the public the question as to whether the Maine was blown up by accident or design seems to have reduced itself to the question whether the harbor of Havana is fortified with subterranean mines.
On this point some curious evidence has been presented by an American citizen who has just returned from Cuba, where he has been for two years in the employ of a large importing house. His name is J. P. Sherman, and he is a native of Chicago. In an interview recently published in a New York paper, he stated that it is a fact well known to residents of Havana that its harbor was fortified with both torpedo and submarine mines by order of General Weyler. Early last spring Captain-General Weyler engaged the services of Charles A. Crandal, an American torpedo expert, formerly a member of the crew of the United States ship San Francisco, to lay out the mine and torpedo service of the harbor of Havana. Crandal worked at night, and during the time that he was in the service of the Spanish Government he placed ten mines and seven torpedoes in the harbor.
Crandal went to Havana in the latter part of 1895, and was employed by his firm as a packer. He stated that he had served as a marine and diver on the United States cruiser San Francisco, while Capt. W. T. Sampson, now president of the Maine board of inquiry, was in command of that vessel.
Crandal left their employ in May of last year, and soon after said that he had entered General Weyler's employ and was working on mines and torpedoes.
When General Weyler left Havana the map showing the location of these mines and torpedoes was transferred to the custody of a spy, known throughout Havana as Captain del Pedrio, who was seen on more than one occasion on board the battle-ship Maine in his capacity as captain of the harbor police.
The mines and torpedoes were connected with an electric firing plant in the magazine diagonally across the channel from Morro Castle, and it would have been one of the easiest things in the world for one of the spies to have placed the switch and blown the Maine out of the water.
Weyler received in July or August a consignment of ten large casks, which Sherman himself saw in the Custom-House shed. Crandal told him that these contained mines, which he claimed were to be placed on the west side of the island to prevent filibustering. When Crandal had completed his work of placing the mines and torpedoes in the harbor he was retained in the Spanish service, but when General Weyler was recalled he took Crandal to Madrid with him.
In contradiction of Sherman's statement, one of the Madrid newspapers which is known to express the views of General Weyler declares that it has the authority of one of the chiefs of the army, supposed to be Weyler himself, for saying that there are no submarine mines beneath the harbor of Havana.
