Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-11-14

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, November l3.
Col. Alexander X. Mcclure, editor OF
the Philadelphia Times, wires his paper
as follows from washington:
The publication of Secretary Longs
letter, apparently for the private con-
sideration of the President to enable
him TO aid in answering Senator Nc
Comas and others who urged more
generous treatment of Rear Admiral
Schley by the government, has provoK-
ed very general and unfriendly crltl-
cism of the Secretary, not only among
the friends of Schley, but among In
tellfgent and fairminded men generally
There would have been propriety in the
President or Secretary delivering the
letter to Senator McComas, but when
it was clandestinely sent to Milwaukee
to be published only in the leading Ger
man newspaper of that city just before
the election, it is regarded as breach
of courtesy and official dignity entirely
unworthy of the head Of the Navy De-
partment.
There is nothing new in Secretary
Longs letter lately published to influ-
ence votes in the West, where they
were reported as enthusiastic friends OF
the victor of Santiago There is not a
single accusation in it that was not
made in Secretary Longs letter to the
Senate when the nominations OF Schley
and Sampson were pending in that
body. and the effect OF his assaults up
on Schley was not only neutralized by
Schley's answer, that was called out by
the Senate after Secretary Long had
pigeonholed it, but the Senate from that
time until the adjournment was more
than two-thirds aggressively against
the confirmation of Sampson as the
senior of Schley. The administration
exhausted its power, even to the extent
of repeated defamatory ebullitions from
the Secretary, to have Sampson accept
ed as the hero of Santiago; but the
Senate daily grew stronger in its sup
port Of Schley, and later, when the
President was compelled to reverse the
positions of Schley and Sampson by
nominating Schley as the senior, they
were unanimously confirmed.
POLITICAL BLINDNESS IN WASH
INGTON.
There is no place in the land where
there seems to be such a persistent cpl
demic of political blindness as there
is among the bureaucratic circles in
Washington. Secretary Long seems to
be forgetful of the fact that if one-half
OF his accusations against Schley are
justified he is wholly without excuse
for not having dismissed him from his
command before the battle of Santi-
ago; and having been silent until
Schley won the great victory he can
NOW make no accusations against
Schley which have any force beyond
proving that the Secretary failed to per-
form his duty and is untitled for his
place. An intelligent and dispassion-
ate citizen reading Secretary Longs
Illumination against Schley can reach
but one conclusion. and that is that
schley's chief offense is in having de-
stroyed the Spanish fleet in the alb
sence of the commander-in-chief.
He criticises Schley's failure to
blockade Santiago and disobeying or
ders by starting for Key West to re-
plenish his coal. He insists that Schley
should have done the impossible thing
by coaling his feet at sea in a furious
gale, that lasted during all the period
he was struggling to comply with or
ders which he was powerless at the
time to execute, but there is no COM