The San Francisco call., 1896-01-24
CAPT AIN HEALY ON TRIAL,
Three Witnesses for the Prosecu-
tion Heard by the Court
of Inquiry.
Officers Assert That No Conspiracy
Exists to Down the Accused
Captain.

The court of inquiry appointed by the
Secretary of the Treasury TO Investigate
the charges against Captain Healy of the
Bear convened at the Appraisers building
at 10 o'clock A. NJ. yesterday and adjourned
at P. N. Twenty officers in undress uni
form awaited the pleasure OF the court.
They had been called as witnesses for the
prosecution, mainly.
The court is conducted with closed
doors, and the greatest secrecy is enjoined
on members of the court counsel and wit
nesses. The first business in hand
yesterday was to consider the objections
raised by counsel for Captain Healy that
the charges were not sufficiently set forth.
The court overruled the objections and de-
cided TO proceed to the examination of
witnesses.
The first witness called was Engineer
Jones Of the Grant. He was followed on
the witness stand by Lieutenant Daniels
and Lieutenant Emery OF the Bear As
witnesses for the prosecution they adhered
TO the charges promulgated, but 1t is not
known to what extent the cross-examina-
ton weakened the force of direct testi-
mony. 1t was the outside opinion of Of
hcers generally that the force of direct
theory that conspiracy exists among the
officers TO deprive Captain Healy of his
command and drive him from the service
is vigorously com bated
One officer remarked to a reporter:
Look there at that group of a dozen Off
GERS. DO they look like men who would
conspIre against an old officer to bring
him into trouble? No /; they are nonora-
BILE, upright men, who have at heart the
good OF the service, and in this affair many
OF them have been misrepresented and
maligned. One officer, against whom
charges were preferred by the crew, was
the subject of inquiry and acquitted 1t
was alleged and so published that he
was drunk Tor three days, but when the
inquiry established the fact that he was
sober and on duty and he was acquitted
and vindicated, only line or two an
nounced the result"
Many OF the officers present are from the
Grant, Corwin, Rush and Perry. These
vessels were in Bering Sea last summer
when the Bear was in the Arctic, and all
are familiar, more or less, with the occur
rences o. the summer cruise.
Ihe cutters now In the Pacific service
are commanded as follows: Bear, Captain
Buhner; Grant, Captain Tozier; Perry,
Captain II. d. Smith; Corwin, CaIAain
Munger; Wolcott, Captain Phillips; and
Rush, Captain Wadsworth
The present court of inquiry is of special
interest to the officers OF the fleet, because
1t is the first one on the Pacific Coast to be
conducted according to the new reguia
tions of the Treasury Department, which
went into effect two years ago The regu-
lations prescribe the form of hearing and
allow the accused to be represented by
counsel, who may cross-examine the wit
nesses for the prosecution and introduce
evidence in rebuttal. Civilians may be
called as witnesses, but they cannot be
compelled by any process of the court
to testify, and evidence so given by re.
quest must be considered. An officer re-
tusing to testify when called as a witness
may be punished by revocation OF his com
mission.
At 4 o'clock, with due formality, the
court announced its adjournment until 10
A. NJ. to-day. Thereupon the officers in
waiting donned the attire OF ordinary NOR
tails and vanished