The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-11-17


There is not q single accusation in it
that was not made in Secretary Longs
letter to the Senate when the nomina-
tions of Schley and Sampson were
pending in that body, and the effort
of his assaults upon Schley was not
only neutralized by Schley's answer.
that was called out by the Senate after
Secretary Long had pigeonholed if,
but the Senate from that time until
the adjournment was more than two
thirds aggressively against the con-
firmation of Sampson as the senior of
Schley. The administration exhaust
ed its power, even to the extent of re-
peated defamatory ebullitions from
the Secretary, to have Sampson ac-
cepted as the hero of Santiago; but
the Senate daily grew stronger in it's
support 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.
There is no place in the land where
there seems to be such a persistent
epidemic 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 ex-
cuse for not having dismissed him
from his command before the battle of
| Santiago; 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
perform his duty and is untitled for
his place. And intelligent and dis
passionate citizens reading Secretary
Longs illumination against Schley
can reach but one conclusion, and
that is that Schley's chief offense is in
having destroyed the Spanish fleet in
the absence of the commander-in-
chief.
Hacriticises Schley's failure to block
ade Santiago and disobeying orders
by starting for Key West to replenish
his coal. He insists that Schley should
have done the impossible thing by
coaling his fleet at sea in a furious
gale, that lasted during all the period
he was struggling to comply with
orders which he was powerless at the
time to execute, but there is no COM
plant made by Sampson, who, with a
calm sea, sent the Massachusetts away
to coal only & few hours before the
| battle was fought. When it is remem-
| bered 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 afflict-
ed with the malady of political blind
ness in its most aggravated form when
he flaunts his 1imsy and apparently
malicious assaults upon SchIey.
| A weaker and really pitiable inven-
ton of Secretary Long to prejudice
! Schley. in his statement of the dis
| pute 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 when known Secretary
Long will blush when reminded of the
! nse he has made of it. He took
cognizsnce of a dispute between two
subalterns as to this alleged state
ment of Schiey, and on the weak pre-
tense of vinGicating tie character OF
the navy, ordered them to report to
Captain Chadwick, OF the New York,
TO settle the issue. He chose Schley's
most vindictige 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, aad before whom
neither would have dared to lie. HAD
Secretary Long wanted to be honest
ia his treatment Of Schley he would
have sent the disputipg subalterns
where there could be no mistake in
ascertainiag the facts, and had they
gone to Captain Cook tbs 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
publication, and that means that
while the friends of Schley and the
more discreet friends of Sampson
have been willing that the issue
should perish, the Navy Department
means that it shall oe made fight to
finish. This is clearly indicated by
his undigniied taunts thrown out to
Admiral Scblsy to demand Court of
Inquiry if he has been wronged,
knowing well that Long would ap-
point the court and that the despotic
and vindictive bereaucrats of the navy
would write the verdict before the
court was organized. He has by this
renewal of the dispute made a Con-
gressional investigation more than
probable. The popular branch OF
Congress represents the people, and
certainly two-thirds of it would be
honestly against the vipdictive policy
OF tie Navy Department in persecut-
ing Schley. while the other third
nigh reluctantly submit to orders
from the administration. If any in
vestigation shall come, therefore,
Secretary Long will learn in brief
period how much he has need to learn
to understand how his own depart
mcnt is administered.
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. |
struetivs reading to the public TO