The record-union., 1898-08-27

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.-Rear Ad-
miral Winfield S. Schley reached
Washington this afternoon over the
Pennsylvania Railroad He was quick
ly noticed at almost all of the stations
along the line, and throughout the
trip was greeted with cheering crowds.
When the train pulled into the depot
here there was compact mass of spec
tators, which filled the depot and over
flowed out into the train shed. The
Admiral and Mrs. Schley when they
appeared We're greeted with cheers and
shouts of 'Hurrah for Schley." Every
body joined in the shouting. and the
depot attaches crowded about the Ad-
miral and insisted on a handshake. :
At the gates the crowd increased,
and amid deafening cheers, the Ad
miral and his wife, the former with his
hat off, passed through two solid lines
of people. A Lieutenant and squad
of police with difficulty cleared q
passageway to the carriage which was
in waiting. Through a mass of vehi-
cles that had been drawn up by curious
drivers, the hanson pulled into Penn
sylvania avenue and proceeded directly
to the Shoreham Hotel There were
groups of cheerers all the way and a
cayalcade of enthusiasts formed vol
untary escort
The Admiral stayed only a few min
utes at the hotel, and then drove over
to the Navy Department, where, with
out any preliminaraies, he reported di-
rectly to Acting Secretary Allen. The
latter accompanied him over to the
White House, reaching there at 4:50.
dial reception. The President thanked
the Admiral, as he had Admiral Samp
son, for the success of that memorable
engagement of July Sd, and took occa-
sion to say that it was that battle
which brought about the surrender of
Santiago The President thanked him
on behalf Of himself for his brilliant
services on that day, and asked him to
describe the battle, which the Admiral
did at length.
The President then entered into a
discussion of the work of the Porto
Rico Commission, to which the Admiral
has been appointed. He went over
which will guide that body in arrang
ing for the evacuation of the Spanish
garrison and other work.
occupied an hour, Assistant Secretary
of State Moore was present.
On leaving the President Admiral
Schley drove to his hotel. He said his
health had improved greatly. He Will
have another conference with Acting
Secretary of the Navy Allen tomorrow
morning, and probably early in the aft
ernoon will leave for New York
Many of the friends of Admiral and
Mrs. Schley learned of their presence at
the hotel and called during the evening.
Although considerably better, he is not
well, and said tonight he expected to
leave here tomorrow to visit relatives
in Maryland, which, probably, will con-
sumo several days, after which he will
go to Connecticut to remain until about
to start for Porto Rico.
The Admiral during the evening
talked briefly of some of the incidents
Of the fight which led to the destruc-
ton of Cervera's squadron. He said:
cit is my opinion that the Spanish Ad-
miral might have escaped with possi-
hlya one or two of the ships, had he
adopted different tactics in coming out
OF the harbor. Had he diverted the
course of his ships, sending some of
them east and others to the west, it is
my belief that he might have escaped
with one, or possibly two, Of the ves-
sells. Such a course naturally would
have compelled us to separate our fleet,
and of some of Cervera'S ships might
have been able to have reached Ha-
yana"