Arizona republican., 1899-03-22
Beard Appointed to Examine
 Him for Promotion.
HIS FUTURE IN THE NAVY
He Will Be Eximaned as 10 His FcniaI, Moral and PrOfeS SSIOnaI Fitness for Duty af Sea-The Board VIII Have All inc Official Records Before it That Deal With His Conduct.

anc with the provisions of section l ,497
 1.-the revised statutes, in relation to
 the examination of officers of the navy
 promoted from commodore to rear
 admiral the secretary of the navy, by
 direction of the President, has ap-
 pointed a board consisting of three
 senior rear-admirals of the navy, to
 examine those commodores who were
 advanced in grade through the naval
 personnel act. Section 1,497 was not
 repealed by the law for the Ieorganiza- tion of the personnel. It reads as fol-
 lows:
 In time of peace no person shall be
 promoted from the list of commodore
 tc the grade of rear-admiTal on the
 active list until his mental, moral and
 professional fitness to perform all his
 duties at sea has been established as
 provided in the preceding section
 The preceding section provides mere
 ly that board appointed by the Presi-
 dent shall determine whether officers
 are eligible for promotion. This ro;u-
 tine action of the department is inter- esting only in the effect it may have on
 the future of Rear-AdmiraI w. S.
 Schley as a naval officer. He was in
 cluded among the commodores pro-
 noted to be 1ear-ad1nirals in accord- ance with the terms of the personnel law. The board has been directed to examine all the official records on file in the navy department concerning Rn9 Q A Il 1i1.oI GsoI,I Io1y cers who were recently promoted. In- cluded in the list is Rear-Admral w T, Sampson, but his mental, moral and professional record is perfect, and there will be no question raised against his promotion on that score.
 Admiral Schley's case, however, is different All the official papers deal ing with his conduct while in command of the flying squadron eff the southern coast of Cuba are part of the records of the navy department and will be placed before the board for it's consid- eratiOn These papers compose the re- port of Admiral Sampson, as com mande--in-chief of the North Atlantic fleet, which includes the telegrams of Admiral Schley in regard to his retro gade movements between Cienfuegos and Santiago; the letters of Admiral Sampson to Sec:etary Long pron5unc- ing Schley's conduct "reprehensible; the report of the board Of navigating officers of the ships engaged in the ac- tion with Cervera's fleet, which shows by means of a chart the peculiar out ward circle described by the Brooklyn when she came near to the Spanish vessels; the statement of Schley that Captain Sigsbee had told him that the Spanish ships were not in Santiago 1 hal'bor, and Sigsbee's denial, and the | letter of Secretary Long to the senate | telling of Schley's refusal to obey the | order to proceed to Santiago, with ac- companying documents proving this and other assertions of the navy de- partment. It is not probable that any charge against Schley will be made to the board, but it will be necessary for it's members to go more fully into the question of Schleys conduct than has heretofore been done. The board will have authority to summon before it Admiral Schley and ether officers.
 The law under which the board was rrescribes that it's functions shall extend to the examination of commodores promoted lin time of peace" Although the war with Spain has not been ended officially through the prCmulgation of the notifications of the peace treaty, Schley's nomina- tfOn was made under the authority of 3 law providing for the reorganization 1f the navy's personnel on peace foot ing and was not due in any way to the war.
 The board consists of Rear-Admirals : Frederick V. ,McNair, John A. Howell , and Henry L. Howison They will , meet at the navy department on March i 7. Rear-Admiral McNair ranks next i o Admiral George Dewey, and the I others follow him in the order given. T lad the senate confirmed the nomina- f ions of Sampson and Schley for ad- f ancement on account of their war S ervices they would have become enior to HowisOn. The order of stand ng would have been Dewey, McNair, lowell, Sampson, Sch,ey and H1wisOn. admiral McNair commanded the Asi- tic station up to January 3, 1898, when e was relieved by Admiral Dewey. turing the war he served as chairman f the lighthouse board and superin- sndent of the naval academy. Ad .iral Howell commanded the northern s kroI squadron and afte1'ward the first V