The San Francisco call., 1901-11-06

! had taken refuge at Santiago he must inevi,
| tably still go to Cienfuegos, and commented
| upon it at some length. He contended that
both this dispatch and No: had been sent at
a later date than had been suggested by the
! naval officials. Sampson had. he said. in
structed Schley to remain at Cienfuegos, not
! withstanding the departments advice to pro-.
ceed to Santiago, and in No. discretion had
plainly been given to Sehley.
| had beeD found that the Spaniards were there:
| he would have been condemned. and Justly, and
! in case of court-martial learned friends here
would have Numbered against him. l say that
| no criticism is deserved for the commodore's s
| conduct at Cienfuegos.
Taking up the question of the progress of
the flying squadron from Cienfuegos to San
| tiago, Captain Parker said If any one would
| take the trouble to look at the logs OF the
! ships it will be seen that there is nothing in
| that charge.
! the time rather than what they say now"
| Parker claimed that in the passage from
| Cienfuegos to Santiago the speed of the slow
est vessel of the squadron must be the speed
! OF the squadron. 1t would not have been the
1 common idea of the situation he said to
| have abandoned the collier and make all speed
Captain Parker also commended Commodore
.Schley's conduct of the cruise to Santiago. He
| said he had acted according to the dictates
| of his best judgment-a judgment which. the
! captain said. was better than that Of less ex-
/ gained in command under circumstances of
! every nature, in the Arctic around both eapes,'
| on every and under every sun. He was
1 at least as likely to be correct those
| young officers who for the first time in their
|
| Taking the fleet to the southwark from San
| tiago, May 26, Captain Parker detailed the
meeting with the scout boats and said that
] the condemnation of the commodore for not
communicating with Captains Jewel and Wise
| was puerile.
| "Ail that Wise had to do he said, was to
signal that he had important information and
| he would have been asked to come on board.
| 1t is the business, the clear duty of any SUBJ
| ordinate officer to make known to his superior
| any information he may have"
In the absence of information by the cap
%atw@. V1I4 aoI ATir,ra lAIfG oT1fo in
Parker held Commodore schey had right to
| suppose that Captain Sigsbee had given all
| Captain Parker said that officer was 'curiousy
| blind, not purposely blind, but curiously blind
He not only had not been able to find out
| anything about the Colon, but when she was
| there and in plain sight May 25 clear,
bright day. when 'sigsbee of the harbor
| he failed to see her. This is to me one OF
| the mysteries of the campaign
Commodore Acted Wisely.
Continuing, he said that with the information
| given Schley had acted wisely in turning back
| to Key West Whether he acted wisely and
| his judgment was sound is for you gentlemen
| of the court. to say. not with the Information
that has come since. but with the light that
| the commodore had at that time
Going back to the cruise to Cienfuegos Cap
tain Parker referred to the sending away of
| had not sent that vessel away from choice,
| but because of his great need for auxiliary
| cruisers Captain Parker referred to the dis
| patch from the department received by the
| Harvard at Mole St. Nicholas. May 26-
Proceed at once and inform schley and also
! senior officer present off Santiago de Cuba, "
| he read from the dispatch. ''That dispatch
does not contemplate. at all that Admiral
| Schley Is at Santiago" he continued. 1T is
to inform Commodore Schley and also the COM
manding officer off Santiago. So that at that
time the department evidently did not contem-
plate that Commodore Schley had arrived at
| was due there the 24th.
Quoting from the dispatch Captain Parker
| read: The department information indicates
the Spanish division is still at Santiago
rs there anything positive about that?'' he
asked. IF the department had chosen to say
| that the Spanish squadron was at Santiago,
not say that. There were still some doubts
| apparent in the mind of the department on that
Referring at this point to the testimony of
Captin Sigsbee. Captain Parker said il was not
necessary to impeach anybody,s veracity. But
slippery memory, after all these years. is a
very unsafe thing to go by he continued
and the/memory of four or five persons to
i what Sigsbee said is better than that of Sigs-
bee. 1 think the court be that Cap
tain sigshee did say to Commodore schley when
he came aboard the Brooklyn that the Dons
are not there "
Again quoting from the dispatch. Captain
"The department looks to you to ascertain
| facts
.'Did not the commodore ascertain facts?"
he asked. And that the enemy therein does
| not leave without decisive action he, con-
action?'' he asked. '"The poor old Spanish ad-
miral came out with his flags flying gaily at
| his mastheads on that Sunday morning and be-
fore oclock of that day he saw his ships on
| the beach burning, blowing up and all de-
| stroyed He came on board the American ship
| without shoes for his feet hat for his head,
| in a pair of drawers and an undershirt. De
| cisive action! Was there anything that
more decisive than that?''
Captain Parker then took up Commodore
schley's dispatch forwarded by the Harvard
! and defended the position taken by the COM
modore in that message. He then referred t.
! the sentence in which the commodore informed
| obey orders, earnestly as all have strfven''
If a subordinate informs that he is unable
disobedience. We censure him for bad judg-
ment, but for nothing more serious. Failure
under such circumstances is not always DISC
| bedience. We can all look back and how
| we could have done differently. Now 1 say
that Commodore Schley had any orders.
1t merely suggestion as to what he did
do He to find out if that squadron was
there and to see that it did not leave without
a decisive action. Even If 1t Is true that the
| commodore committed gross errors of judg-
ment which do not admit, he had motive
| but to do his whole duty as from the begin
| ming he has always done 1t, more no less
| Concluding his remarks for the day, Captain
Parker said:
s.That brings US to a discussion of the So
| called reconnaissance which 1 think can be
| summed up in a very few words We have had
| the information of all the gentlemen who were
! clothed with no responsibility in the case that
| they could and they would. etc. etc. Well.
have gone in, the whole of them. and risked
the ships and been called fools for their pains.
| They might have come out successful. they
| might have done something to the Colon which
was not done; they might have sunk her.
do not. think that Is In the least probable
| We are permitted to get up to the 1st of June
and we see by the log of the Colon that she
was there until 1885 At o'clock IN the morn
| ing the commander in chief Admiral Sampson,
came there and the Colon was pointed out to
| him. and there she lay for four hours and
| half without gun being fired at her. am not
| blaming anybody for this.
.'The exercise of the slightest Judgment -
| the speaker said when the clock struck four.
| '.Time's up" said Admiral Dewey and with
out giving the captain an opportunity to con-
oI,,1a he he