The Schley Court of InquiryHow It Is Constituted-Causes That Led Up to Its Creation-The Santiago

Scandal and Macday's Sensational Charges-Uniquein Naval or Military History.

T-HE Sampson-Schley court of1 inquiry, which convenes on the

second floor of the gunners'workshop in the Washington navy'ard at noon of September 12, is

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY LONG.

destined to be one of the most im-portant events of its kind in the navalor military history of the world. Al-though called a "court of inquiry,"It will in reality be a court-martial,

REAR ADMIRAL WINFIELD SCOTT SCHLEY.

from whose decision there can be noappeal, unless the matter should betaken up by the congress-a step thathas several times been urged by theMaryland delegation in the nationalhouse of representatives, all of whosemembers are in hearty sympathy withlAdmiral Schley and opposed to Ad-amiral Sampson.

The court of inquiry will be in ses-sion until all the witnesses cited by

[Copyright. 1901, by Cltnedinst.]

ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY.

admiral Schley and the.ivy depart-ment have been examined. Legal ex-perts estimate that the thoroughoverhauling of all the charges andcounter charges will consume at leasttwo months, and that possibly thecourt may be kept busy until Christ-mas.

HISTORY 0of Tn TwROuIls.

Substance of the Charges BrouglrhtAgailnst Admiral rSbhlef.Considerable satisfaction is ex-

pressed at the appointment of a

court of inquiry to investigate thecharges that have been made againstRear Admiral Schley in various quar-ters ever since the naval battle ofSantiago. The court's findings oughtto settle at once and forever the pas-sionate controversywhich has alreadytoo long afflicted the navy and thewhole country. The charges againstAdmiral Schley and the replies by hisfriends are voluminous and involved.The main charges, however, and thereplies to them, may be summarizedas follows:

"That instead of going on to SantiagoSchley lingered for several days at Cien-fuegos without ascertaining that Cerverawas not there, until the arrival of Capt.McCalla. But the reason for this delayhas just been disclosed by Rear AdmiralEvans, who says that all the captains hadbeen given a code of s!gnals with which tocommunicate with the rebels on shore ex-cept the captain of the Brooklyn and Com-modore Schley. Why Schley was kept inignorance of the signals and code is oneof the points of inquiry to come beforethe court.

"That, 'having almost 'reached Santiago,he turned back, disobeying an order tocoal at sea, but afterward coaled and re-turned. To this Schley makes answer byproducing a letter from Sampson, omittedfrom the correspondence officially pub-lished, in which Sampson expressed theopinion that if Cervera had gone to San-tiago he would have to come out and makefor Clenfuegos or Havana, and directingSchley to guard Clenfuegos.

"That in the battle the Brooklyn ranaway from the Spanish vessels. Thischarge is based upon the handling of thevessel. Under the direction of Schley theBrooklyn described a circle, temporarilyturning away from the foe to avoid blan-

keting the fire of other vessels and to geta commanding position from which to headoff the escaping vessels. Cervera and oth-er Spanish officers admit that the maneuv-ers of the Brooklyn frustrated their plans."

Capt. Cook, of the Brooklyn, saysin an interview published in the NewYork Herald that he gave the orderfor the "loop," and he tells the rea-son for it by saying:

"The Brooklyn made a beautiful turn,and we were able to fire directly into thebows of the leading ship of the enemy.Our helm was put sport to head off theSpanish fleet, and the Brooklyn turnedrapidly and beautifully. e

"I remember distinctly giving the orderto the quartermaster. 'You see clearly thehead of the leading ship,' I said to him.'The idea is to get directly ahead of her.'

"I thought we might sacrifice our ship,but I believed we would hold the fleet forour battleships."

Other charges against AdmiralSchley are that he might have destroyed the Colon, which lay at an-chor from May 27 to 31, inclusive, butthat he did not do so; and that heused a letter wistten to him by iieut.Hodgson, of the Brooklyn, Improp-erly. The lieutenant was reported inan interview as saying that duringthe famous "loop," when CommodoreSchley's attention was called to thefact that the Brooklyn was in dan-ger of ramming the Texas, he said:"D-- the Texas! Let the Texaslook out for herself." Soon afterthis appeared the admiral made pub-lie a letter frem the lieuten&gt deny-ing the " eitness of the ftervieweThe charge lisat when the admiralmade public that letter, he hat in hispossession another letter from thelieutenant explaining tnat it was theliteral, not the substantial, correct-ness of the intervxnw that he denied.

TIB MACILAY INCIDENT.

CoetroversyT aPt Led to Creation ofthe.Cair of e lqairy.

The storm ofebantr;avrs~ which ledto the appointment of the cour; ofinquiry began with the publication,in the Army and Navy Journal, of ex-tracts from the third volume of "TheHistory of the United States Navy,"

by Edgar Stanton Maclay,an empl4

in the Brooklyn navy yard, who is onthe rolls as a laborer, and who per-forms the duties of a clerk. Thefirst two volumes of this history areused as a text book in the navalacademy at Annapolis, and the Armyand Navy Journal, upon the suppo-sition that the third volume (cover-ing our war with Spain) might alsobe adopted, published some extractsfrom it in which Mr. Maclay more

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than hints that Admiral Schley is aliar, a coward and a "caitiff." Hereare several passages:"In his report about the coal supply of

the vessels under his command, Schleyexhibited either a timidity amounting toabsolute cowardice or a prevarication offacts that was intrinsically falsehood."(Vol. III., p. 296.)

"Schley on May 28, 1898 ... turned incaitiff flight from the danger spot towardwhich duty, honor, and the whole Amer-ican people were most earnestly urging

REAR ADMIRAL A. E. I. BENHAM.

him. Viewed in whatever light it may be,the foregoing dispatch cannot be char-acterized otherwise than as being with-out exception the most humiliating, cow-ardly and lamentable report ever penredby an American naval officer." (Vol. III.,p. 298.)

"'Let the Texas take care of herself,'was the heartless reply, and the shamefulspectacle of an American warship, sup-ported by a force superior to the enemy's-a warship whose commander had ex-pended such vast quantities of ammuni-tion in target practice in the presence ofa fashionable hotel at Hampton Roads inorder to meet a worthy foe-deliberatelyturning tall and running away was pre-sented." (Vol. III., p. 364.)

"Schley was perfectly willing to avoidblanketing the fire of the American war-ships, even at the risk of a disastrous col-lision with the Texas, so long as he couldescape getting too close to danger...Schley's contribution to naval strategy, astoo plainly shown by his conduct through-out this campaign, was: 'Avoid your enemyas long as possible, and, if he makes foryou, run.' " (Vol. III., p. 36k)

A newspaper interview report- Mr.Maclay as saying, when his attentionwas called to these extracts: "IfAdmiral Schley had been in any othernavy in the worlu, he would havebeen court-martialed and shot. Thatis my opinion, and the opinion of themajority of the officers in the navy."The New York Sun, too, which re-fers to Mr. Maclay in its issue of July20 as "the most distinguished livingAmerican historian," says of AdmiralSchley that his official record "reekswith -deceit," and "compels the pre-sumption that he was a coward, andthe conviction that he was not hon-

REAR ADMIRAL H. L. HOWISON.

eat, at almost every recorded step."Mr. Maclay's criticisms, declared the

una~"are more than justified.." Ad-miral Sampson says, in an interview:"In one way, possibly I was respon-sible for the statements made in thehistory. I was commander in chiefof the squadron and was responsible,Iso far as reading the proofs goes."

STRONG PLEA FOR SCHLEY.

Newspapers of the Country Seem Fa-vorable to Aeeused Admiral.

The chief newspaper supporter ofAdmiral Schley r the BaltimoreAmerican, although it may be addedthat the great majority of the presshave taken his part. The Americansays:

"Already there has been too much of theDreyfus atmosphere about this matter.The American people will never tolerate

the prosecution of It to the stage reachedby the great FrenCh case before justicewas finally done the maligned and perse-cuted officer.

"Whatever may be the result of the courtof inquiry, it will in no way interfere withthe congressional investigation which Con-gressman Schirm, backed by the Marylanddelegation, will propose. Court or no court,congress must sift this matter to the bot-tom. .The things that will not come be-fore any court-martial are those thingswhich will prove the existence of a con-spiracy among the junior officers of thenavy, temporarily clothed with powerthrough their appointment as chiefs of de-partment bureaus, to shelve the older offi-cers and reap for themselves and theirimmediate friends the honors and rewardsof the Spanish war. A more diabolicalscheme was never launched than was this,which has resulted in this long-standingscandal, where there should have beenonly glory. Congress can go to the heartof that conspiracy and lay the whole thingbare, as nobody else can do, and when itsfindings have been determined upon itwill be in a position to take such actionas will forever prevent a repetition of themethods that have been employed againstSchley.

"There is but one word more to be saidin this connection. By acknowledging thathe read the proofs of Maclay's slanderousvolume and approved them, the responsi-bility for the charges made against Schleyis assumed by Sampson. Should the courtof inquiry vindicate Schley and relieve himof this opprobrium, the people of the Unit-ed States will demand-that the navy de-partment order Sampson before a court-martial for having slandered a brotherofficer who is his superior in the service."

THE COURT OF INQUIRY.

Composed of Admiral Dewey and TwoRetired Rear Admirals.

The publication of the foregoingcharges and comments incensed Ad-miral Schley beyond endurance, andhe requested the secretary of the navy,John4D. Long, to appoint a court of in-

CAPT. S. C. LEMLY.(Judge Advocate of the Court of Inquiry.)

quiry to determine the value of thegossip circulated about him and hisofficial actions. Secretary Long com-plied with this request, and appointedAdmiral George Dewey, Rear Ad-miral A. E. K. Benham and Rear Ad-miral Henry L. Howison to constitutethe commission, Capt. Samuel C. Lem.ly, judge advocate general of the navy,was designated to act as judge advo-cate of the court. He will have theassistance of the law firm of Stayton& Campbell, of New York, and the pa-pers of the commission will be handledand prepared by Edgar May, a clerkin the office of the judge advocate gen-eral. Admiral Schley will be legallyrepresented by Capt. James Parker,Attorney Raynor and Jeremiah Wil-son, one of the finest criminal lawyersin the United States.

The preparations for the court ofinquiry were placed in the hands ofFrank W. Hackett, assistant secretaryof the navy, who had the assistance ofAdmiral Crowninshield, chief of thebureau of navigation, who, by many,

is considered responsible for much ofthe bitterness of the Santiago eontro-versy.

WILL CdST A FORTUNErNo Expense WIll Be Spared to Make

the Inquiry Complete,

Secretary of the Navy Long evident-ly is,determined that noexpense shallbe spared in conducting the court of

inquiry, and every officer whose testi-mony will be of the slightest value hasbeen summoned to Washington, somefrom the Asiatic station, others fromEurope. This means a vast expendi-ure of money.

The naval regulations provide thatofficers of the navy traveling underorders in the United States shall beallowed eight cents per mile while soengaged in lieu of their actual ex-penses.

Officers traveling to the UnitedStates from a foreign station willreceive subsistence pay at the rate offrom 80 cents to one dollar per dayif traveling on a naval vessel or onany army transport. But as very fewof the officers summoned from for-eign countries can travel on govern-ment vessels actual .traveling ex-penses will be allowed for the sea voy-age, and eight cents per mile for suchpart of the journey as is made by rail.A naval officer coming from the Phil-ippines to San Francisco on a mer-chant vessel would receive about $300for the sea voyage, $250 for the jour-ney from San Francisco to Washing-ton and the same returning to his post.

Officers ordered to appear as wit-nesses before a court of inquiry orto serve as members of, a court re-ceive no extra compensation. Retiredofficers ordered to duty'on a cour~efinquiry will receive fall i active pgayfor the time employed. All officerswhose presenceis required in Wash-ington, except those on duty there,will receive commutation of quarterswhile there at the rate of $12 a roomper month, and are allowed a numberof rooms, according to rank.

In addition to the expense of bring-ing witnesses there are the runniqgexpenses of the court. Stenographersand a clerfc•it force are required,while the item of, ptationery will notbe inconsiderable.

SCORES OF 'WrITNSSES.

Condensed List of Naval Men WhoWill Offer Testimony.

The judge advocate, acting not asprosecutor but as the law officer of thecourt, has called all witnesses who cancontribute to a full investigation, ex-cepting only a few which AdmiralSchley has indicated a desire to havecalled as his witnesses.

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The navy department is doing every-thing possible to make the inquiryopen and above board. The new gunshop at the navy yard fitted up for theinquiry will have seats for more than600 people. This will make-the inquiryone of the most publicly conductedmilitary tribunals ever held in thecountry. It is recognized that thereis great public interest in the inquiry,and the department bas departed fromthe ordinary regulations governingsuch affairs to make it as public as atrial in any civil court.

The list of witnesses prepared byCapt. Lemly is as follows:

Bear Admirals William T. Sampson,Robley D. Evans, Francis J. Higginson,Charles S. Cotton, Henry C. Taylor.

Captains French E. Chadwick, Cas-par F. Goodrich, Charles D. Sigsbee,William C. Wise, Francis A. Cook, Bow-man H. McCalla, Theodore P. Jewell,William M. Folger, Robert M. Berry,John L. Hannum, retired.

Commanders William P. Potter,Richard Wainwright, Joseph . . Eaton,Newton E. Mason, Seaton Schroeder,Giles B. Harber, James M. Miller, Lew-is C. Hellner, Alexander B. Bates.

Lieutenant Commanders Sidney A.Staunton, Nathaniel R. Usher, AlbertW. Grant, Albion C. Hodgson, WilliamH. H. Southerland, William H.Schuetze, Templia M. Potts, AlexanderSharp, Jr.`Capt. William C. Da'ston, United

States marine eorps.Lieutenants Charles C. Marsh, Spen-

oer 8. Wood, Victor Blue, JamesG. Doyle, Charles Webster, JohnHood, Charles H. Harldw, Charles W.Dyson, Kenneth McAlpine.

Lieut. (junior grade) Ernest L. Ben-nett.

Ensign Henry G. Mustin.Acting Boatswain Dennis J.- O'Con-

nell.Chief Quartermaster NieleAndersen,

and others.The list of witnesses to be called by

the judge advocate throws consider-able light upon the lines of testimony

which he will seek to adduce befoerthe cooat. Adsiral eampseonavO omoe..

mander in chie f of the fleet, of ciaree,heads the list. Theb ou l itte _oap-tains of all the ships engaged in theSantiago campaign, wi: th thuqxtion of Capt. Clark, of the Orego, sand

Capt. Philip, 'of the 'Texas, the latt•having died since the war. Evans wein command of the Iowa, Higginson of

the Massachusettas, Cotton t f ohefsoQ•*rHarvard, Taylor of- the Indiana,.GChad-wick of the New York, Goodrich of the .Newark and the scout St. Loids, Slga-

.RANK W. HACKETT.

(Assistant Secretary .of the United;,Stst,Navy.)

bee of the scout St. Paul, Wise of thascout Yale, Cooke of the Brooklyn, Mo-Calla of the Marblehead, Jewell of thescout Minneapolis, Folger of the Neur ,Orleans and Barry of the Castine.

Hannum (retired) was. chief en-

gineer of the Brooklyn, CommanderPotter was the executive officer of theNew York, Wainwright 'was in corn-mand of the Gloucester, Eaton of th•

•

Resolute; Mason, execrtive officer os

the Brooklyn; Schroeder, ezecutiveof ifleet of the Massachusetts; Harber, ex, texecutive offcer of the Tega.; Milr,,,commanded the Merrimac; Hei•r~,navigator of the Texas, and Bates 1hie -engineer of the Texas.

Lieutenant Commander Stauntos' :was Sampson's thief of staff abo•birthe New York; Usher was commanderof the Ericsson; Grant-was aboard theMassachusett; .Hodgson was .avigatPiing officer of the Brooklyn; Souther-.land was in command of. the •!•agle;g f

JUD(*N mu WI.SOr.(Principal Counsel for Admiral UB hqj

Schuetze iwas aboard the lZaw boMaboard th•MIassachusetta, sld Sha*was in oommand of the Vixen. CaptDawson was commander of the ams:rines aboard the Indiana. Lieut.Marsh was on Sampson's ~staf:';Woodwas copmander of the toppedo ~.':Dupoit;' Bine was aboaiid the VJien;Doylte and 1•ebhter vwere'n theBrook•lyn; Hood was I ad'moinmae of ' thHawk; ~EIarlow wa' executive offeer otthe Vixen;. Dyson was engineer oftheTexas and McAlpia assistaalt e•gineer, of the Brookln. ,

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