The record-union., 1899-06-20

WASHINGTON, June 19.-The oc-
currences on the bridge of the Brooklyn
during the battle of July Sd, having
been the subject of controversy in the
newspapers. the Navy Department re-
Gently undertook an investigation OF
the various allegations Lieutenant
commander Hodgson and Lieutenant
Commander Heilner who have figured
IN the controversy, were both called for
explanations of the utterances attrib-
uted to them, and the former was di-
rected to report for examination on
this point to Captain Chadwick at Bos-
ton. The department has now given
for publication Captain Chadwicks re-
port on the matter. 1t is not get de-
termined whether or not the answer of
Lieutenant Commander Heilner will be-
made public at this time.
Chadwick's report is as follows:
U. S. s. New York, Boston, Mass,
June IL, 1899.
Sir: In obedience to your orders of
the 18th instant, 1 have to report the
following as the statement by Lieuten-
ant Commander Hodgson of the CONVEX
sation between Rear Admiral Schley
and himself during the action of July 3,
'.As We were approaching the Spanish
ships, l heard Admiral Schley say,
port or 'starboard' several times to
Captain Cook in the coming tower, the
Admiral being on the platform sur
rounding the coming tower. I had
been on the bridge above and was Just
coming down to report the position of
the ship when heard the Admiral say:
Hard aport.' The Maria Teresa was
then hauling aft our port beam The
Brooklyn was heading about northeast.
told the Admiral, or at least suggested
TO him. that the Texas was very close to
our starboard hand and that turning to
starboard would bring US close to her.
don't know that l used the word coll
lsion l did not say you mean STAR
board l intended him to understand
there was danger of running into the
Texas. He said All right or words to
that effect-I cannot repeat verbatum.
When knew he was going to turn to
starboard, l suggested backing the
starboard engine in order to make a
smaller circle and give the Texas a
wider berth, but he decided against that
as decreasing the speed of the turn. He
did not say, that l know of, we are
near enough to them the Spaniards)
already The only thing I gathered
from what he said was that If we
turned to port, we should get So crosse
that we should expose ourselves to tor
pedo attacks. I suppose he meant tor
pedo boats and 1 replied to him THAI
had not seen them.''
Lieutenant Commander Hodgson
states that he did not intend to con-
vey in his note of denial sent at the
request Of Admiral Schley and pub
lished in the Washington Post" the
idea that no such colloquy took place.
he states, regarding this, as follows.
Admiral Schley wrote me, enclosing
an editorial from a New York paper
of June 1st, asking me to write a denial
of what he phrased AN oft-repeated
calumny. He said he had no recollec-
ton of any such conversation. / wrote
lengthy letter Of explanation giving
my recollection of the conversation as
nearly as possible.
Admiral Schley wrote me saying:
There Is much in your letter which I
should not like to use, as 1T would pro-
woke an assault upon you, which
would not like to happen. What I
want to show is that the dialogue did
not occur I then wrote a denial of
the. colloquy, certainly not intending
that no such colloquy occurred, but that
it did not occur as printed. At the
same time, l sent with this an explana-
tory letter explaining to AumiraI
Schley that the letter Of denial was a
denial of the dialogue as 1t appeared in
print, and that / had told the cores
pondent Of the paper that the substances
Of the conversation was correct. In
writing the letter wished to refute
the fact of any controversy existing at
critical stage of the battle. 1t, tho
letter, was a denial of the words az
they stood in the published article, a.
denial of their literal correctness and
not denial of the substantial correct
ness of the statement"
A copy of the letter has not been re-
tanned by him; he had a rough draft
which has been mislaid. Lieutenant
Commander Hodgson appends his sig
nature as voucher for the accuracy
with which the foregoing is given. Very
respectfully, F. f. CHADWICK,
Captain u. S. N
Is A. G. HODGSON,
Lieutenant Commander, u. S. N.
To the Secretary Of the Navy.
MoHneux's Case Resubmittted.
NEW YORK, June 19.-Justice Furs-
v,,o,, l., tto CriminaI Term of fha C,Y.