The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-18
Tho Present Status OF q Remarkable
Case.

Inc newspapers friendly 10 rear humlral
bcHLEY, who are ut present directing a
tornado Of denunciation against THE Sun
on the strength of Lieutenant Commander
HoDosoN's letter to SCHLEY denying that
what We will call tho Schley-H odgson
colloquy" ever took place, will be answered
Tor the moment in common II we approach
the subject from the side considered by the
Richmond Dispatch.
Tho Hodgson letter says that the COL
loQuy printed In The New YORK Sun never
occurred" The letter printed In THE Sun
from Lieutenant Commander HEILNER, the
navigating officer Of the Texas, expressed
the writer's mstrust that the case was
truly as HoDosoN's letter taken by itself
Indicated 1t to be, inasmuch as HoDGsoN
repeated to me [HEILNERl the conversa-
ton alluded to In substance" Thereupon
the Richmond Dispatch remarks that
whether 1t is HEILNER or HoDGsoN who Is
perverting the truth, we do not know" ut
looks very much" continues our contempo-
rary. "as II HoDGsoN had been slandering
ScHLEY and was caught up and made to
align disclaimer"
We will tell here In greater detail the
facts Of the case as they concern THE SUN.
First THE Sun was informed that HoDG-
Son had described the occurrence referred
to after the battle OF Santiago. After
SCHLEYs extraordinary statement to the
Senate as q defence against the censure OF
the Navy Department that he had ex-
ecuted the Brooklyn's loop In order to
prevent blanketng the fire OF the Ameri
can ships, THE SUN published this colloquy
bat h,,.1
fed falsely. For the sake OF simplicity it
was put into the words in which 1t had been
conveyed to us:
"BcHLEY-Put your helm hard a-port
HoDdsoS-You mean starboarii
scuLEr-No. don't. We near enough to them
1.-THE spanisrdsl already.
"HoDosos-But we IL cut down the Texas.
scHLEY-Lst the Texas look out for herself
The substance Of this, the bottom and es-
sential truth, Che thing in 1t actually af-
frmed, was that HoDGsoN, whose duty it
was to warn his commander of any APP
preaching danger. warned SCHLEY Of the
danger Of collision with the Texas in case
he turned to starboard, and that SCRLEY
Justified his maneuvre by affirming that
the Spaniards were too near for him to turn
to port. Rather than do that ne preferred
to risk sinking the Texas in collision.
This was published on Feb % Of this
year On March Is we addressed an arti-
ole TO SCHLBY himself. asking him, among
several other questions, did this CONVEX
satlon which has been reported to lis, or
enything like it, occur on the Brooklyn's
bridge ?" There was no response.
On May "a We discussed the "Story Of
fh.A fnnta in,n Il, ipl,,, l,, %ln
pointing out the fact that Capt. Cook, the
nominal commander Of the Brooklyn dur
Ing the battle. made no mention of the
BroOklyn's loop as having been executed
from the motive offered by SCHLEY and
proving substantially that SCHLEY's motive
could have had no valid foundation. In
mediately before that, TO make the road all
clear and solid, Il representative of THE Sun
asked ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS HopGsoN
whether the SUNS report OF tho Schley-
Hodgson conversation was substantially
correct, and HoDGsoS said that it was and
that II our publication Of it was challenged
he might BIO quoted as its authority. The
reporter did not at the time have a copy Of
The Suns report of the conversation, sup
posing it to be well known, and HoDGsoN,
u
conversation in his mind, answered, as we
have said he answered. 50 that THESUN felt
Justified in saying what it did. The reporter
was particular as to the use of the word
"damn" which appeared in the text printed
on May "a, as amended after the interview
with HoDGsoN. The use Of the word
damn" was positively affirmed.
The attack upon The Sun having become
furious and vituperative, HoDdsoN was
quoted as authority on June /. His letter
to ScHLEY. which the Washington Post
printed on June 13, was dated June II.
This was the letter:
~. 8. 8. BROOKLYN
NAVY YARD. NEw Yonx. June H. 90
DEAR ADMIRAL scHLEY; The colloquy published
In THE NEW York Bun alleged to have taken place
between you Andme the day of the battle Oh sau-
GaRo. July s. 1873. never occurred. Very respect
fully. 10. HoposoN.
Lieutenant Commander. U. :. N"
Taken alone this meant an utter repudi-
alton Of THE Suns original statement: it
meant that that was pure fabrication and
hence a malicious and dastardy assault
upon SCHLEY.
The next day THE SUN printed Lieuten-
ant-Commander HEILNER's letter testlfying
that HoDGsoN had repeated the substance
OF THE Suns report to him.
We will for the moment go beyond this
and inform our contemporaries for their en-
lightenment that HoDGsoN has said to
the editor of THE Sun. in the presence of
tho Commandant OF the New York Navy
Yard, that the substance or TIE Suns re-
port was true.
PROFESSIONALLY somewhere in the con-
troversy there Is lie. Some one Is guilty
OF Justification, Of an effort to deceive the
public and to make it believe a fiction.
The Richmond Dispatch says that tho is
sue is " between HoDGsoN and HEILNER."
Lieutenant-Commander HEILNRR's charac-
tar must not be confronted with even a
suspicion OF his honor or accuracy. Tho
Issue lies necessarily between HopdsoS
the Washington Post and ScHIEY.
We will repeat now what we said in effect
on Wednesday. that II, In writing to Admiral
ScuLEY, HoDdsoN meant to deny, without
Qualification, any more than the precise
IaIz