Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-10-23
Nineteenth Dav.

Nineteenth Day.
Rear ADMIRAL Schley won the most IA
vorable poilt developed at the court OF
inquiry on this day, inasmuch as Lieut..
Holden, the watch officer Il the Scor-
pion. testified that the Information that
tn Spanish fleet was moi in sjenfuegos
harbor on May 10 was not communicated
TO Rear Admiral Schley, although ii was
testified to by I.ieut. Sonther al.
Judge Advocate Lemly I, rpupon Nd
mitted that he was unable rs any eyl-
dence in his possession TO show that the
message had been delivered to Schley
The testimony Of Lieut. Holden places
LieEt. Switzerland in a disercdited POI
sition, inasmuch as Southerland. com
handing the Eagle. testified that he had
communicated this information to the
commanding officer of the scorpion with
instructions = that officer, Comm pder
Mark, to communicate it To Rca. Adj
mral Schley.
Lieut.. SoutherIand related even 10 the
minutest detail the megaphone message
he delivered to Commander Mark, which
was to the effect substantially, thar Ger
vera's fleet was not in Cienfuegos.
The delivery OF this message placed
Commander Mark either in the attitude
of suppressing the information delivered
b, Switzerland or puts Rear Admiral
Schley in the position of denying the re-
ceipt of this intelligence. and raised a
question of yeraeity between Schley,
Switzerland and Mark, especially ~
tween the two latter.
Lieut.. Holden, who heard part of the
megaphone message which Commander
Mark received from Lieut.. Switzerland,
said there was nothing in it which convey
ed the information that the Spaniards
were not in Cienfuegos. Reading from
the log o. his vessel. the Scorpion. Lieut..
Holden fosrnd an entry reading: No news
from the Spaniards. This entry CORE
spends exactly with the log of the Brook
lyn and with the claims made by Rear
Admiral Schley
More hard blows were given the official
chart plotting the positions of the Span
ish and American vessels during the bat
tie of Santiago which Were prepared by
the Board of Navigators. Lieutenant
Commander Schuetze. the navigator of
the Iowa and member of the board.
testified that he protested against signing
the report accompanying the chart as it
was inaccurate. He said the chart was
compromise and that he had been per-
suaded to sign it by Commands. Vain
wright, the president of the board, who
said it was the best the navigators could
agree to if they sat until doomsday.
Schuetze said he objected to the chart
as it gave the Iowa too much speed. Ae-
cording to the position of that vessel on
the chart, the Iowa would have been
forced to steam at the rate Of eighteen
knots instead of nine, which was the
speed the ship was making. He also
objected TO the chart because it placed
the Brooklyn TOO near to the mouth of
Santiago harbor.
This officer test Fed that the Spanish
ships did not attempt to ram the Brook
Ign when they left Santiago the morn
ing of the battle He also swore that
the a. tack Of May 81 was directed at the
Colon and not at the shore batteries as
has been commended He said this action
was not reconnaissance but an attempt
to sink the Colon.
Lieutenant Commander Grant. the
watch officer of the Massachusetts. said
he knew of no instructions from Admiral
Schley as to what should be done in the
event of meeting the enemy. The pro-
gress of the flying squadron from Clenfue-
COS to Santiago was slow, according to
this witness. His distances relating TO
the blockade at Santiago were extreme.
He said the feet was between from SIX
TO ten miles distant from the mouth OF
the harbor during the day and night and
that the vessels of the squadron steam
ed distance of five and six miles east
and west of the harbor.
Although Lieutenant Commander Grant
was sure that the action of May 81 was
intended to sink the Colon. he testified
that Admiral Schley upon leaving the
Massachusetts had said: The reconnois-
sance had developed the strength of the
battery and that it was satisfactory
Describing the bombardment of the
Colon on May 81, the witness said that on
that occasion he had had no conversation
with Admiral Schley He had had charge
of the powder division. and testified that
only FIVE thirteen-inch shells and / inc
eight-nch shells had been fred by the
Massachusetts. The engagement had. he
saiJ continued from :56 p. III. to 2:30
p. m.
Rear Admiral Sampson made another
effort to secure permission from the court
to be represented in the daily sessions
by an attorney William III. Slayton adj
dressed a letter to Admiral Dewey, in
which he asserted that Rear Admiral
Sampson had been coyertly attacked dur
ing the progress of the trial. Attorney
Slayton complained particularly of state
ments to the effect that Rear Admiral
Simpsons blockade line was as far away
as Schley's. that Sampson permitted the
e Ia. -.
after his arrival in full sight of his squad
ran without making an effort 10 destroy
1t. and that Sampson ia not command
Che fleet in the battle of July ..
Replying. Admiral Dewey repeated the
statement made in response to Samp-