The evening times., 1899-09-25
SchIey in the Parade.

The question of Rear Admiral Schley's
position in the parade at the Dewey re-
ception in New York has been settled. He
is TO be treated as an unofficial guest and
will ride in a carriage not only behind
that occupied by the Matanzas mule man,
behind the officers of the Olympia and of
the North Atlantic squadron, but behind
the generals of the army. Rear Admiral
Philip. who effected the arrangement, is
quoted as saying that ii is entirely salts
factory TO Rear Admiral Schley
II may be- That officer has always ap-
peared incapable of resentment. He takes
his medicine, no matter how bitter it may
be, like an obedient child. But, while he
may content himself in circumstances
which are scandalous to the navy. and in
volve an insult to the country, the public
| is al liberty TO adhere 10 his own views.
One Of them is that il is contemplate
outrage on the part of the Administration
/ TO give the secondary naval honors of the
! Dewey celebration to man who never did
4 thing during the war that was not fail
ure, and a ridiculous one. True, he did
serve an excellent Administration purpose
on the Maine Board of Enquiry, and he did
relieve ii from a painful embarrassment,
! in destroying the Merrimac, the scandal of
whose purchase was about TO become dan
gerous to certain prominent persons impli-
Gated in the deal. But, in a military sense.
! he was conspicuously inconsequential all
through the Spanish difficulty
His bombardment of San Juan produced
suited only in killing or wounding a few
iEoffensive civilians in the rear of the town
His fierce assault upon Matanzas, and what
! happened there, are matters of history
His narrow escape from the destruction of
! his flagship by the torpedo boat Horter,
due to his lack of precision ard discipline.
is thoroughly remembered. Finally, his af-
| front to honor, decency, and the American
people in claiming the honors of Commo-
dore Schley's victory over Cervera. in
which he did not participate, and from
which he was absent, has capped the eli
max of his discredit in the eyes of his
| fellow citizens.
Ii is passing belief that an American
/ President, presumed to have the honor of
! the service and Of the flag al heart, should
| permit himself to give the protection and
influence of his high Office to such con-
spiracy against merit and achievement. as
has been exposed in the navy ring move
ment to elevate and glorify Sampson and
| persecute the second naval hero of the
war. Every Consideration of duty and re-
| spect for national public opinion should
have impelled the Commander-in-C Chief TO
assign the conqueror Of the Spanish naval
| power in the West, to meet and greet the
| conqueror Of Spain in the Eastern seas.
Instead he has been kept on shore and cut
of the way, and is compelled to witness
the me-cOming of his old comrade as a
private individual.
Not content with all that has been done
already to further the purpo-es CT the
Sampson conspiracy, the Administration
has ordered Rear Admiral Schley TO tie
South Atlantic station, command which is
of inferior dignity and which has net in re-
cent years been considered worthy of a
! flag officer. In a report from Nicaragua,
| Rear Admiral Walker has stated tat the
conditions of the jurisdiction do not re-
quire or Justify the presence OF an Office.
of flag rank. But the South Atlantic as
signment will keep Schley far away from
Congress next winter, and the department
cabal regards that as essential to its de-
/ signs If not to the individual safety of its
members. The scheme to make the des-
picable Sampson sole vice admiral OF the
navy is not dead. The Maine" servic,
must be paid for, and the people who were
rescued from exposure by the sacrifice of
| the rotten old Merrimac are vastly infiu-
entail and are not in a position to be un-
/ grateful