LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Washington, December 12, 1913. From: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army. Subject: Wreck of the U. S. S. Maine. 1. There is submitted herewith, for transmission to Congress, the final report dated April 17, 1913, with illustrations, upon the work of raising and removing the wreck of the U. S. S. Maine from the harbor of Habana, Cuba. 2. This work was authorized by the following act of Congress approved May 9, 1910: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War and the Chief of Engineers are hereby authorized and directed to provide with all convenient speed for the raising or the removal of the wreck of the United States battleship Maine from the harbor of Habana, Cuba, and for the proper interment of the bodies therein in Arlington Cemetery; and the Secretary of War is authorized and directed to remove the mast of the wreck of said battleship Maine and place the same upon a proper foundation in Arlington National Cemetery at or near the spot where the bodies of those who died through such wreck are interred: Provided, however, That the consent in proper form of the Republic of Cuba shall be first obtained. The sum of one hundred thousand dollars is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, on account of the work herein authorized. 3. After the enactment of the above-quoted provision of law, the Secretary of War transmitted to Congress on May 17, 1910, a letter from the Chief of Engineers relative to the raising of the wreck (see H. Doc. No. 119, 61st Cong., 2d sess.), in which the following statement was made: 1. * * * in the matter of the $100,000 appropriated for raising the battleship Maine from the harbor of Habana, I have the honor to report that the work contemplated can not be carried out for the sum appropriated by the act, and that that amount can not be economically and effectively expended in initial work. 2. It seems probable that the best plan for carrying out the provisions of the act will be to construct a cofferdam around the wreck and pump it out, thus permitting the removal of the human remains and a thorough examination of the hull. No estimate for such a structure has been made, but it is certain that it will cost considerably more than $100,000. Until the cofferdam is completed and the hull exposed to view, no estimate, even of the most approximate nature, can be formed of what it will cost to patch the hull of the wreck sufficiently to float it, or to remove the wreck piecemeal if it can not be floated. 3. In my opinion no work of construction should be undertaken unless it can be prosecuted continuously to a conclusion, and as it is impracticable to estimate in advance what it will cost to raise or remove the wreck, I recommend that legislation be enacted authorizing such expenditures as may be necessary, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. On account of rapid deterioration it would be highly inadvisable to start the work and then await further appropriations. 4. It is believed that the amount required for carrying out the provisions of the act will not be less than $500,000, and may be more. The only useful purpose that may be served by the appropriation of $100,000 carried by the act, unless further expenditures are authorized, is to utilize a part of it in making a detailed survey and examination of the site and the preparation of plans for the prosecution of the work. 4. Subsequent appropriations were made by Congress as follows: $200,000 in the deficiency act of June 25, 1910; $350,000 in the sundry civil act of March 4, 1911; and $250,000 in the urgent deficiency act of December 22, 1911; an aggregate of $900,000 for this work. 5. These appropriations were not based upon any estimate of final cost submitted or prepared by the Engineer Department, but were provided by Congress for the purpose of prosecuting continuously the work of removal in progress at the time each appropriation was made. 6. The duty of removing the wreck was assigned to a board of Engineer officers composed of Col. W. M. Black, Lieut. Col. M. M. Patrick, and Maj. Harley B. Ferguson, the plan of work to be subject to the approval of the Chief of Engineers and the Secretary of War. 7. Special reports explaining work already done and the reasons for need of further appropriations were submitted by the Chief of Engineers, Secretary of War, and the President during 1911 and 1912, and later published in House Report No. 754, Sixty-first Congress, second session; House Document No. 919, Sixty-first Congress, second session; Senate Document No. 765, Sixty-first Congress, third session; House Documents Nos. 60, 96, and 113, Sixty-second Congress, first session; and Senate Document No. 107, Sixty-second Congress, first session, and partial progress reports were also submitted in the regular annual reports of the Chief of Engineers and Secretary of War for 1911, pages 1119 and 3039; for 1912, pages 1344 and 3565; and for 1913, pages 1498 and 3277. 8. The work of the board was brought to a successful conclusion by the floating and sinking in deep water on March 16, 1912, of that portion of the wreck permitting of such treatment, the removal of a portion of the balance piecemeal, the sinking by means of dredging and the use of dynamite of such masses as were too heavy to be lifted, so as to clear the site of the wreck, and the removal of the cofferdam erected around it to a depth satisfactory to the Cuban Government, all as fully and technically described in the report of the board. 9. On December 3, 1912, the site was carefully swept to a depth of 37.5 feet in the presence of representatives of the Cuban Government and declared free of obstructions. Financial statement. Total amount of appropriations for this work, as before stated.. Net cost of removal of wreck.. Removal of remains of bodies, etc., to Arlington. $900,000.00 $785, 774. 83 Total expenditures and liabilities for work of actual removal of wreck.. EDW. BURR, 789,865. 33 4,290.97 1 105, 843. 70 Colonel, Corps of Engineers, 1 This amount includes $5,000 allotted for the purpose of making tablets in conformity with the provisions of the urgent deficiency act of December 22, 1911, and $11,000 for commencement of the monument. The removal from Habana, Cuba, to Arlington, Va., of the remains of 67 members of the dead crew found dur ing the above work was effected by the Quartermaster General, U. S. Army, using U. S. Navy vessels as transports. The distribution of relics and the erection of a memorial monument at Arlington is still in progress under joint direction of the Secretaries of War and Navy. |