Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-24
Question Raised as to the Real
Hero.
WAS A SPIRITED DEBATE
In Congress Yesterday on the Natter--
Schley Has Many Warm Back
erS in the Senate.

Washington, Jan. 23.-The entire eX-
ecutive session of the senate today was
devoted wholly to the discussion of the
promotion of Admirals Sampson and
Schley and other naval officers engaged
in the Santiago campaign, over the
heads of officers who were their super
iors in rank. The controversy was then
postponed for 20 days after a vote had
been taken to call for the records OF the
navy department bearing upon the con-
duct of all affected by the advancement.
The discussion arose over the resolution
of which Senator Butler was the author,
calling for these documents. As origin
ally offered, it asked for the reasons for
the advancement, but the resolution was
modified so as to request the record
only.
The first vote was on a motion made
by Senator Hale to lay the resolution on
the table and on this the ayes and noes
We're taken, resulting: Ayes, 81; noes, 35.
The resolution was then allowed to pass
without further division. For three hours
previous to this, however, the senate had
been engaged in a very animated verbal
battle which involved nan intricacies
and was participated in by q large num-
Der of senator's. The main contests We're
first over the general policy of promoting
these officers over others who were char
acterized as quite deserving, though less
fortunate in that they were deprived of
such active participation in the war and,
second, as to the relative merits of Samp-
son and Sch1ey. Senators German and
Wellington of Maryland, one a republic
can and the other a democrat, united in
a fierce attack upon the navy department
for %favOring Sampson over Schley, while
Senators Lindsay, Pettigrew, Perkins and
Money attacked the whole system of pro-
motion as "a species Of favoritism which
was not warranted by the facts"
The method of the administration
was defended by Messrs. Hale, Chandler
and Lodge. Senator Wellington was es-
pecially jealous in his advocacy of the
claims of Admiral Schley and in his
presentation of the reasons why Admiral
Sampson should not be preferred over
Schley he and his democratic colleague,
MI. German, maze the statement that if
the official paers We're ordered. they
would demonstrate beyond a possible
question of doubt the fact that Schley and
not Sampson fought the battle of Santi-
ago. They contended that with Samp-
son 10 miles away he could not be accred-
tied constructively with having command
of the fleet on the memorable day when
the Spanish vessels We're sent to the
bottom. On the contrary, they held that
Schley was on the ground: he was the
senior officer n that he was engaged
actively and most effectively in the con-
hict all the world knew, regardless of the
favorS of the government at Washington.
Senator Lindsay found much in the
promotion of both Schley and Sampson
over Commodore Watson to condemn. He
took occasion to praise Watson as a man
who undoubtedly would have made a fine
record in the war if given the opportunity
he should a V as senior officer and tC
deprive him of his rightful rank, other
men being pressed to the front and given
the posts of honor, was in every way un-
fair and unworthy of a great country.
Senator Perkins, Senator Plat of Con.
necticut and Senator Pettigrew also crit.