Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-06-02
ACCOUNTING FOR 1T.
The Reason There are No Details from
Schley.


schley.
Washington. June LIT was stated
authoritGtiyely at the navy department
at noon today that not a word had been
irCc,N"d from Commodore .5c1lcY Hs &c
the engagement at Santiago. The OIL
cHls express no surprist As this delay
and account for II on several grounds.
In the first place It 10 said that n
r..t t'nutudi dor must wax until tht
engagement Is completed before he
makes u report and tina the press re-
ports may gNe o0lv the initial iHrture9
uf an action, without watirg for us
completion There are irIi'nauuns That
the press reports cover only the ilfst
features Of Commodore Schlty move
ments and that until these movements
We're developed to the point where the
results In view were actually achieved,
reports would not be made on mel
dental phases of the great move
ment.
Moreover. It is pointed out that the
fleet commander must communicate
with all the commanders Of the ships
making up his feet in order To learn
as to the casualties, damages and al
the circumstances of the engagement,
When thus Informed his report is made
deliberately, and this in turn must be
translated into the naval cipher code.
When received here there IL another
delay in decipherlng the code dispatch.
Altogether 1t is said that the care In
preparing official dispatches makes
them about twenty-four hours behind
the press advices. 1t was thought that
the absence of exact official infor-
nation might embarass the work of the
war board, but officials say this has
not occurred.
The official lntimation that the action
of Tuesday is only the initial phase of
nj 10 OF h.
ened by the view that Commodore
Schley would hardly attempt an attack
unless he had some definite object In
view. This object, it Is believed, Is To
learn exactly as to the number of Span
ish ships now within Santiago de Cuba
| harbor, and also to develop the eff
| fectiveness Of the fire OF the Spanish
forts at the entrance of the harbor
| with these two points established he
| You'd the slightest doubt, the campaign
/ military and naval. could be executed
| against Santiago with much greater
certainty as to results, While the navy
| department has been satisfied for thu
last ten days that Admiral Cervera'i
entire fleet is inside Santiago harbor
| Commodore Schley has not been abl
to make an official report establishing
this fact beyond the shadow Of
doubt. OF course the location OF thi
entire Spanish fleet not excepting n sin
tinl Importance to the complete and in
telligent formation Of a strategic cam
paign. 1t would remove the last Gle
ment of hazard in sending troops iron
Tampa or Jacksonville, and the DANCE
Of their being harmed In the rear b.
some OF the Spanish ships, 1t Is of cqun
importance that the strength of tn
shore batteries, their location, humble
OF guns aud general effectiveness
should be established These point
can be learned only by a feint whlc
will have the outward appearance G
an assault upon the Spanish defense.
when complete It Is felt that 1t wi
serve as n basis for more complete ad
, vices as to the actual situation of AZ
I fairs at Santiago hurbor that hay
been available at the navy department
up to this time, 1t Is in this light tina
Commodore Schley's movement is re
graded as important not so much froT
the destructive results achieved a
from the opportunity It affords 70
. sevcrng all the resources at the com
mand of the Spanish admiral.