_The following appeared as a special dispatch from Washington to_ THE
NEW YORK TIMES, _dated June 17:_
Despite the extreme secrecy of officials, indications were abundant in
Washington tonight that the case of the American steamer Nebraskan,
believed to have been torpedoed by a German submarine, was assuming
great importance in the eyes of the United States Government. One
evidence of this is found in the unusual pains that are being taken to
determine by indisputable evidence whether the Nebraskan, which was
damaged by an external explosion off Fastnet Rock, on May 25, was the
victim of a torpedo or a mine.
Despite the reports forwarded by Ambassador Page, the Administration
is unwilling to base its conclusions in the Nebraskan case on the
verbal evidence it already possesses. It has determined upon an
independent expert, technical, and scientific examination of the
"fragments of metal" that have been sent by Ambassador Page, in
conjunction with the photographs that have been received. This
investigation is being conducted by experts of the Navy Department,
and will probably take about ten days. Robert Lansing, the Secretary
of State ad interim, refused tonight to discuss the "fragments of
metal" received from Ambassador Page in connection with the Nebraskan
case further than to say that the reports received yesterday, with the
photographs and accompanying exhibits, had been referred to the Navy
Department. Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, said tonight that
the report had been referred to experts of the Navy Department for a
confidential report to be submitted to the State Department.
Neither at the State Department nor from any official or officer of
the Navy Department was it possible to obtain any further clue as to
the character of the reports.
It was learned that the reports accompanying the set of photographs
and "fragments of metal" were not the original reports on the
Nebraskan case, made by Lieutenants Towers and McBride, which were
received by the State Department last week, but were in the nature of
a second set of supplementary reports, based on actual examination of
the battered bow of the Nebraskan and the technical examination of the
interior of her forward compartment. This examination was made by
Lieutenants Towers and McBride, while the Nebraskan was in a drydock
at Liverpool. Photographs of the interior and exterior of the
steamer's hull were taken by the naval experts.
The "fragments" in question will be analyzed metallurgically for the
purpose of ascertaining precisely what metal they contain. Generally
speaking, torpedoes are made of a higher grade of metal, within and
without, than that used in the construction of mines. The exterior
metal of torpedoes consists of nickel steel and copper, and the
interior mechanism includes the same kinds of metal and brass. The
exterior shell of a mine is generally made of less expensive material,
such as galvanized iron, but the interior mechanism and clock-work are
of finer metal.
In the examination being conducted by the Navy Department the
metallurgical nature of the fragments will be ascertained after their
size, shape, contour and character have been very carefully studied by
a large number of naval experts who will endeavor to ascertain not
only the character of the naval engine of destruction these fragments
once fitted, but also the particular portion of torpedo or mine the
fragments constituted. These studies and tests are to be conducted
partly in the Navy Department, partly at the Washington Navy Yard,
partly at the naval proving grounds at Indian Head, Md., and partly at
the experimental station at the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
All the naval experts in Washington qualified to have a hand in the
tests will be utilized. There are some naval experts outside of
Washington, within a few days' reach of the city, who will be summoned
here to participate in the examination. It is understood the
examination will continue about ten days before any report can be
formulated for submission to the State Department.
While this unusual care is being exercised in the tests of the
fragments, it is understood that there is nothing in the conclusions
thus far drawn in the reports to indicate that the fragments were once
part of a mine, and that the reports as they stand indicate that the
Nebraskan was hit by a torpedo. This is the conclusion the
Administration is expected to draw from the evidence unless the
technical examination of the fragments nullifies this evidence.