The evening times., 1898-06-03
FRIDAY, JUNE 8. 1898.
Gnnboat Comnissions.

The President should not shut his
eyes and ears to the fact that great
deal of harsh criticism is being in
dulged in at the expense of the War
Board, because of an impression that
Commodore Schley has been badly
treated by the department. The public
especially do not like the look of one
thing. They know that Captain Samp-
son enjoys the unbounded confidence
of all the officers at the head of bu-
reaus, and that he is regarded as the
safest man in the Navy to carry out in
structions, and never TO play the hose
on his own deck without asking and
waiting for an order.
AT the same time, it is thought to
have been a little rough to hurry him
to Santiago to supersede Schley the
moment the latter justified the sus-
picion that he was trying to do some
thing. The ways of the official manner
are dark and mysterious and past find
ing out. The like of some of them
would not be tolerated in the Army, for
instance. Here are Schley, Remey and
Watson, all full-fiedged commodores,
compelled to serve under a command
er-in-chief' who is only captain. We
do not mean to reflect upon Captain
Sampson. He has made an enviable
record in clerical capacities; but that
does not seem to render it necessary
that ne should be placed over others
whose commissions give them higher
rank in the service than his.
1t is exactly as if the Secretary of
War should take the colonel of regi-
ment, make him acting major gen.
eral' and then assign him to duty in
command OF corps, over the heads of
actual major and brigadier generals
commanding divisions and brigades in
the same. Anything like that would
raise howl in the Army, which would
quickly be re-echoed from Congress and
the press. But it would not be one.
cents worth more fragrant than the
subordination of three commodores to
a captain.
We are aware that the excuse at
headquarters for this departure from
the rules and conventions Of military
practice is that Sampson is a man
peculiarly fitted for chief command, be-
cause he is cool and level-headed''
and may be implicitly trusted never to
think for himself, but always to keep
the horn of the War Board telephone
hitched to his ear. Without wishine to
minimize such qualifications, We still
adhere to our opinion that his elevation
above men of superior actual rank is
an injustice and an abuse likely to be
destructive of the confidence and elan
of our naval officers generally.
If Commodores Schley. Remey and
Watson are so incompetent that they
must go to school to their juniors, they |
board and fired without days delay. |
There are plenty of cadets, just grad |
uated, or in their last year at Annapo-
lis, who might be induced to take the |
necessary oath Of allegiance to the |
War Board and then be made acting |
TO take the places of those |
other old commodores who are of the
sea salty. and probably would make a
failure If placed in command of a
carved mahogany desk, a teapot and |
four colored messengers. But il the
present division commanders of the
West Indian fleet are competent men,
and worthy of their insignia. then we
denounce it as an outrage that they
and the service should be insulted by
official defiance of every just and equi-
table consideration Of rank. record and
right.
Mr.. Mckinley! When You were
major Of volunteers, and no doubt Of
len in temporary command Of your regi-
ment. how would you have liked it IL
Secretary Stanton had assigned the
tail-end captain Of the command to or
der you about? That War Board needs
to be run through the planning mill
again.