642 



SGIENGE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 175. 



science whose seances were reported. Pro- 

 fessor James blames me for not quoting tlie 

 knowledge that the medium showed of the 

 family affairs of Professor Shaler's wife, but Pro- 

 fessor Shaler himself says, "lam * * * abso- 

 lutely uninterested in it for the reason that I 

 don't see how I can exclude the hypothesis of 

 fraud." I wrote the note with reluctance and 

 only because I believe that the Society for Psy- 

 chical Research is doing much to injure psy- 

 chology. The authority of Professor James 

 is such that he involves other students of psy- 

 chology in his opinions unless they protest. 

 We all acknowledge his leadership, but we 

 cannot follow him into the quagmires. 



J. McKeen Cattell. 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 

 Report of Naval Court of Inquiry upon the destruc- 

 tion of the United States battleship ^ Maine, ^ in 

 Havana harbor, February 15, 189S, together with 

 the testimony taken before the Court. Wash- 

 ington, Government Printing Office, 1898. 

 8vo., pp. 293 ; illustrated by exhibits, draw- 

 ings and photographs. 



A message to Congress from the President of 

 the United States, dated March 28th, accom- 

 panied the transmission of the report of the 

 Court of Inquiry appointed to ascertain, if 

 possible, the cause and the method of destruc- 

 tion of the U. S. S. 'Maine,' by an explosion, 

 in the harbor of Havana, February 15, 1898. 

 The message is short and merely restates in 

 brief summary the essential conclusions of the 

 Court ; that the ship was destroyed by an ex- 

 plosion of a submarine mine, on the port side 

 of the hull, well forward, and that no clew had 

 been obtained to the train of circumstances 

 leading to this great disaster, resulting in the 

 death of two officers and two hundred and 

 sixty-four of the crew, nor any evidence indi- 

 cating who were the criminals guilty of this act 

 of assassination. 



The report, now before us, is a very long and 

 intensely interesting paper, mainly given up to 

 the simple stenographers' reproduction of the 

 testimony of witnesses. 



The testimony of the commanding officer of 

 the shipand his staff is positive in declaring the 

 ship to have been in good order in all respects. 



her crew in not only an excellent state of 

 discipline, but also in the best of spirits and 

 with absolutely no sign of discontent or of in- 

 subordination. Captain Sigsbee stated that 

 ' A quieter, better-natured and apparently 

 better satisfied crew I have never known on 

 board any vessel in which I have served.' 

 The executive officer testified to the mainte- 

 nance of order and the compliance of all officers 

 and the crew with the regulations which are 

 considered essential to the morale and safety of 

 a man-of-war, and gave positive evidence of the 

 facts that there was no dangerous heating of 

 coal-bunkers or other known source of danger 

 within the vessel. Other witnesses testified to 

 the character of the explosion, and still others, 

 from other vessels in the harbor and from the 

 shore, testified as to the appearance of the ex- 

 plosion from their various points of view. 

 Divers gave testimony, in great detail, regard- 

 ing the condition of the hull as found after the 

 explosion, and the officers entrusted with that 

 duty showed by means of carefully drawn 

 sketches and diagrams the position of the ship 

 and of its now separated main and bow sections, 

 and gave expert testimony regarding their con- 

 dition, as furnishing proof of the nature, origin 

 and effects of the explosion, and especially as 

 settling the question as to whether the explosion 

 was exterior to the ship or within. This por- 

 tion of the evidence is extensive and minute, 

 and the Court was evidently determined to 

 secure every scintilla of evidence obtainable 

 bearing upon this vital question. The photo- 

 graphs and drawings appended to the report 

 are reproductions of those presented in evi- 

 dence. 



According to the verdict of the court, the 

 sworn testimony suffices to establish the follow- 

 ing main points, to which its members subscribe 

 under oath : The ship was on a friendly visit 

 to Havana, as is customary among nations at 

 peace ; she was assigned a berth in the harbor 

 by the regular harbor master ; ship and crew 

 were illustrating, at the time, a most creditable 

 condition of excellence ; there were no known 

 interior sources of danger, and every usual pre- 

 caution, and some unusual care, was taken in the 

 internal menage of the vessel ; danger from 

 without was recognized and special watches set. 



