The San Francisco call., 1899-01-24
SCHLEY CHARGED
WITH COWARDICE
AT SANTIAGO
During tbe Discussion Of Naval
Promotions 1t Is Alleged the
ComDodore RuD From
CerVerd's Ships.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23.-The entire
executive session of the Senate to-day
was devoted wholly to the discussion of
Schley and other naval officers engaged
in the Santiago campaign, over the
heads of officers who were their supe-
riors in rank. The controversy was
then postponed for twenty days, after
a vote had been taken to call for the
records of the Navy Department bear
ing upon the conduct of all affected by
their advancement. The discussion
arose over the resolution, of which Sen
ator Butler was the author, calling for
these documents. AS originally offered
it asked for the reasons for the ad-
vancement, 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 reso-
luton on the table, and on this the
ayes and noes were taken, resulting:
Ayes. 27, noes 35. The resolution was
then allowed to pass without further
division.
For three hours previous to this, how
ever, the Senate had been engaged in a
very animated verbal battle, which in
Volved many intricacies and was partici-
pated in by large number of Senator's
The main contests We're first over the
general policy of promoting these officers
over others who were characterized as
quite as deserving, though less fortunate,
in that they were deprived of such active
participation in the war, and, second, as
to the relative merits of Sampson and
Schley.
Senators German and Wellington of
Maryland, one a Republican and the other
a Democrat, united in fierce attack upon
the Navy Department for favoring Samp-
son over Schley, while Senators Lindsay
Pettigrew, Perkins and Money attacked
the whole system of promotion as "a
species of favoritism which was not war
ranted by the facts"
The method OF the administration was
defended by Messrs. Hale, Chandler and
Lodge. Senator Wellington was especially
jealous in his advocacy of the claims of
Admiral Schley, and in his presentation
of reasons why Admiral Sampson should
not be preferred over Schley, he and his
Democratic colleague, German, made the
statement that if the oHScial papers were
ordered they would demonstrate beyond
a possible question the fact that Schley
and not Sampson fought the battle Of
Santiago. They contended that with
Sampson ten miles away he could not be
accredited constructively with having
command of the fleet on the memorable
day when these vessels were sent to the
bottom. On the contrary, they held that
Schley was on the ground; he was the
senior officer, and that he was engaged
actively and most effectively in the con-
fict all the world knew, regardless of the
fayors of the Government at Washington.
Senator Lindsay found much in the pro-
motion 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 have had as senior officer, and
said that to deprive him of his rightful
rank while other men were pressed to the
front and were given the posts of honor
was in every way unfair and unworthy
of a great country. Senator Perkins,
Senator Platt of Connecticut and Senator
Pettigrew also criticized the system as
one liable to result in unfairness unless