The following is Chapter 5 from my new book "A Truthseeker's Guide to False Flags". This chapter covers the Spanish-American War- Editor
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| Wreckage of U.S.S. Maine - Wikipedia |
Chapter 5:
The Spanish-American War
Something is about to drop. I have it only one remove from the President. Unless he changes his mind, and he is not a changeable man. the people will be electrified within a week.possibly before Sunday.
The National Park Service lists two main causes for the Spanish-American War (which was declared on April 21, 1898).
“The reasons for war were many, but there were two immediate ones: America's support the ongoing struggle by Cubans and Filipinos against Spanish rule, and the mysterious explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor.”(14)
The main reason this conflict made it into this book of false flags are the circumstances surrounding the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine. If the United States was truly worried about the circumstances in which Cubans lived, why did they fight the Spanish only to allow the Cubans to be ruled by Fidel Castro and the Communists (with help from Russia) decades later ? But that is another chapter all together.
To this day it is hotly debated on whether the U.S.S. Maine suffered an external explosion from an underwater mine, or an internal explosion that started in the coal bunker of the ship that spread to the ammunition magazine.
The February 15, 1898 issue of The New York Times reported:
“As yet the cause of the explosion is not apparent. The wounded sailors of the Maine are unable to explain it. It is believed that the battleship is totally destroyed. The explosion shook the whole city. The windows were broken in nearly all the houses.”(15)
A February 15, 2012 New York Times blog entry re-examined the explosion that sank the U.S.S. Maine:
“When the Maine exploded, suspicion immediately fell upon the Spanish. Don Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, the former Spanish ambassador to the United States, declared that there was no chance of Spanish involvement and that the explosion had been an accident.
Regardless of the true cause of the explosion, the American public responded in outrage. Many adopted the rallying cry, “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!” The American yellow press,particularly William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World, stoked anti-Spanish sentiment.” The New York Times blog entry continued by stating:
“The explosion of the Maine remains controversial. Numerous investigations have been conducted to find the cause of the explosion, but there has yet to be a definitive finding. In 1976, U.S. Adm. Hyman G. Rickover’s private investigation concluded that the explosion was caused by an internal force, likely a fire in the coal bunker. A 1998 National Geographic investigation found that the hull was bent inward, suggesting that there had been an external force and lending credence to the mine theory.”(17)
Two investigations with two very different findings. Is one to believe the findings of a Navy admiral or the findings of journalists? After all it was the journalists who stoked the fires of war following the explosion.
Could there have been another reason the United States was eager to wage war against Spain?
A letter published in the March 25, Evening Star newspaper (Washington D.C.) by a Mr. William Howard Mills states:
“The haste with which Spain fell over Itself in recognizing the independence of the "Confederate States of America" Is not forgotten. America has been a model of forbearance and consideration toward a nation overburdened with effort for self preservation, but the destruction of the U.S.S. Maine, whether connived at by the Spanish government or only by some of Its officers, was an act of war against America, and Spain Is responsible.”(18)
The writer brings up a possible reason for war with Spain perhaps overlooked by historians. Was the United States eager to wage war on Spain as payback for officially recognizing the Confederacy?
A letter published in the March 25, Evening Star newspaper (Washington D.C.) by a Mr. William Howard Mills states:
“The haste with which Spain fell over Itself in recognizing the independence of the "Confederate States of America" Is not forgotten. America has been a model of forbearance and consideration toward a nation overburdened with effort for self preservation, but the destruction of the U.S.S. Maine, whether connived at by the Spanish government or only by some of Its officers, was an act of war against America, and Spain Is responsible.”(18)
The writer brings up a possible reason for war with Spain perhaps overlooked by historians. Was the United States eager to wage war on Spain as payback for officially recognizing the Confederacy?
Mr. Mills, in his letter insinuates that he knows someone close to the president when he states:
“Something is about to drop. I have it only one remove from the President. Unless he changes his mind, and he is not a changeable man. the people will be electrified within a week.possibly before Sunday.”(19)
Louis Fisher , Specialist in Constitutional Law debunks the theory that the U.S.S. Maine was destroyed by the detonation of a mine by Spain in a paper he authored entitled ‘Destruction of the Maine 1898’. Fisher writes:
“The McKinley Administration created a naval board of inquiry to study the cause of the blast. On March 21 the board concluded unanimously that the destruction of the ship was caused “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 board said it had been “unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the MAINE upon any person or persons.” As to the possibility that the ship had been destroyed from an internal explosion in a magazine containing ammunition, the board said “there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the MAINE.” The board did not acknowledge that other U.S. ships had experienced spontaneous combustion of coal in bunkers.”(20)
In addition Fisher presents more damning evidence that the McKinley administration did not make use of experts who believed the was caused by spontaneous combustion in the coal bunker:
“The board of inquiry did not make use of many technically qualified experts. George W. Melville, the Navy’s Chief Engineer, doubted that a mine caused the explosion but was not asked for his views. He suspected that the cause of the disaster was a magazine explosion.8 Philip R. Alger, the Navy’s leading ordnance expert, told the Washington Evening Star a few days after the blast that the damage appeared to come from a magazine explosion. Many ships, including the Maine, had coal bunkers located next to magazines that stored ammunition, gun shells, and gunpowder. Only a bulkhead separated the bunkers from the magazines. If the coal, by spontaneous combustion, overheated, the magazines were at risk of exploding. An investigative board on January 27, 1898, warned the Secretary of the Navy about spontaneous coal fires that could detonate nearby” (21)
Was blaming the Maine’s explosion of Spain “payback” for Spain’s recognition of the Confederacy? Perhaps the press at the time sensationalized the event so much that the McKinley administration felt that they had to act due to public pressure. Of course there is a third possible reason the United States wanted war with Spain a reason that has been the cause of many wars throughout history.
It just so happens that from 1893-1898 the United States was in the midst an economic depression. Information found at the San Jose’ State University Department of Economics states:
“It is clear that the U.S. went through a severe economic depression during the period of 1893 to 1898... The cause of the depression was much in dispute at the time. A financial panic occurred in 1893 starting with the financial failure of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in January, followed by the National Cordage Co. in May. A string of railroad failures continued in 1893 with the Erie Railroad going under in July, Northern Pacific in August, Union Pacific in October and finally the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in December. As has happened in other times some politicians went on record stating that the American economy was in a high state of prosperity just before the financial panic began and 500 banks and 16,000 businesses declared bankruptcy.
While the financial might of the railroads constitutes only a part of the economy it does represent a major source of demand for some commodities such as steel. The figures below show the decline in production of the industries related to the railroads.”(22)
If one connects the dots it seems more than a coincidence that the depression that started in 1893 due to an epidemic of railroad and bank failures, ended in 1898 when the United States declared war on Spain. There can be no doubt that the railroads struggling financially before the war , were suddenly receiving an influx of new business in the form of transporting troops and supplies needed to sustain the war with Spain.
No wonder Secretary of State John Hay described the conflict as “A splendid little war”.
“Something is about to drop. I have it only one remove from the President. Unless he changes his mind, and he is not a changeable man. the people will be electrified within a week.possibly before Sunday.”(19)
Louis Fisher , Specialist in Constitutional Law debunks the theory that the U.S.S. Maine was destroyed by the detonation of a mine by Spain in a paper he authored entitled ‘Destruction of the Maine 1898’. Fisher writes:
“The McKinley Administration created a naval board of inquiry to study the cause of the blast. On March 21 the board concluded unanimously that the destruction of the ship was caused “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 board said it had been “unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the MAINE upon any person or persons.” As to the possibility that the ship had been destroyed from an internal explosion in a magazine containing ammunition, the board said “there had never been a case of spontaneous combustion of coal on board the MAINE.” The board did not acknowledge that other U.S. ships had experienced spontaneous combustion of coal in bunkers.”(20)
In addition Fisher presents more damning evidence that the McKinley administration did not make use of experts who believed the was caused by spontaneous combustion in the coal bunker:
“The board of inquiry did not make use of many technically qualified experts. George W. Melville, the Navy’s Chief Engineer, doubted that a mine caused the explosion but was not asked for his views. He suspected that the cause of the disaster was a magazine explosion.8 Philip R. Alger, the Navy’s leading ordnance expert, told the Washington Evening Star a few days after the blast that the damage appeared to come from a magazine explosion. Many ships, including the Maine, had coal bunkers located next to magazines that stored ammunition, gun shells, and gunpowder. Only a bulkhead separated the bunkers from the magazines. If the coal, by spontaneous combustion, overheated, the magazines were at risk of exploding. An investigative board on January 27, 1898, warned the Secretary of the Navy about spontaneous coal fires that could detonate nearby” (21)
Was blaming the Maine’s explosion of Spain “payback” for Spain’s recognition of the Confederacy? Perhaps the press at the time sensationalized the event so much that the McKinley administration felt that they had to act due to public pressure. Of course there is a third possible reason the United States wanted war with Spain a reason that has been the cause of many wars throughout history.
It just so happens that from 1893-1898 the United States was in the midst an economic depression. Information found at the San Jose’ State University Department of Economics states:
“It is clear that the U.S. went through a severe economic depression during the period of 1893 to 1898... The cause of the depression was much in dispute at the time. A financial panic occurred in 1893 starting with the financial failure of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in January, followed by the National Cordage Co. in May. A string of railroad failures continued in 1893 with the Erie Railroad going under in July, Northern Pacific in August, Union Pacific in October and finally the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in December. As has happened in other times some politicians went on record stating that the American economy was in a high state of prosperity just before the financial panic began and 500 banks and 16,000 businesses declared bankruptcy.
While the financial might of the railroads constitutes only a part of the economy it does represent a major source of demand for some commodities such as steel. The figures below show the decline in production of the industries related to the railroads.”(22)
If one connects the dots it seems more than a coincidence that the depression that started in 1893 due to an epidemic of railroad and bank failures, ended in 1898 when the United States declared war on Spain. There can be no doubt that the railroads struggling financially before the war , were suddenly receiving an influx of new business in the form of transporting troops and supplies needed to sustain the war with Spain.
No wonder Secretary of State John Hay described the conflict as “A splendid little war”.
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