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

plant made Of Sampson, who, with
calm sea, sent the Massachusetts, away
to coal only a few hours before the
battle was fought. When it is well re-
membered that the Massachusetts was
the twin battleship of the glorious Ore
gon, and that after having sent one
of his two strongest war vessels away
to coal when the sea was calm, he took
his own vessel. one of the only two
credited with sufficient speed to race
with the Spanish cruisers, out of the
fight when he could have fulfilled his
mission more speedily in a steam
launch The public know these facts,
and Secretary Long is certainly affiict-
ed with the malady of political blind
ness in its most aggravated form when
he fiaunts his fiimsy and apparently
malicious assaults upon Schley.
A WEAK AND PITIABLE INVEN-
TION.
A weaker and really pitiable inven-
+ ton of Secretary Long to prejudice
Schley, in his statement Of the dispute
as to the alleged assertion Of Schley
when he turned the Brooklyn aport to
avoid blanketing his own vessels and
to prevent the destruction of his own.
Some day the truth will be known and
Secretary Long will blush when re-
minded of the use he has made Of it.
He took cogniZance of a dispute be-
tween two subalterns as to this alleged
statement of Schley, and on the weak
pretense of vindicating the character
of the navy, ordered them to report to
Captain Chadwick, of the New York, to
settle the issue. He chose Schleys
most vindictiye enemy as arbiter in a
case that was beneath his notice, when
he could have ordered them to Captain
Cook, in whose presence the converse
ton occurred, and before whom neither
would have dared to lie. Had Secre-
tary Long wanted to be honest in his
treatment of Schley he would have sent
the disputing subalterns where there
could have been no mistake in ascer-
tanning the facts, and had they gone to
Captain Cook the whole story would
have been exploded forever Of this
fact it is hardly possible that Secretary
Long can be ignorant.
OF course, Secretary Long must be
responsible for having given out his
private letter to the President for pub
lication and that means that while
the friends of Schley and the more dis
Greet friends of Sampson have been
willing that the issue should perish,
the Navy Department means that it
shall be made fight to finish. This
is clearly indicated by his undignifed
taunts thrown out to Admiral Schley
to demand court OF inquiry if he has
been wronged, knowing well that Long
L
despotic and vindictive bureaucrats of
the navy would write the verdict before
the court was organized He has by
this renewal of the dispute made "a
Congressional investigation more than
probable. The popular branch of Con-
gress represents the people, and certain
ly two-thirds of it would be honestly
against the vindictive policy of the
Navy Department in prosecuting
Schley, while the other third might re-
luctantly submit to orders from the ad-
ministration. If an investigation shall
come, therefore, Secretary Long will
learn in brief period how much he
has need to learn to understand how
his own department is administered.
THE COUNTRY SHOULD KNOW.
1t is quite time that the country
should know just who have made this
issue and why it has been made, and it
would be most interesting and in
structive reading to the public to have
brought before the light of day the log
books Of the vessels engaged in the
Santiago battle and compare them to
the malicious falsehoods which have
been given in contradiction of them.
schley has been discreetly silent under
all these assaults and dnuhtIesc will
remain so. He knows that obedience
is the first duty of a sailor, and beyond
that he knows only his duty to defend
his flag and to stand in lustrous dignity
over and above the troop OF naval
wranglers who hate him because he
won the greatest naval victory Of the
world