Evening star., 1901-09-13
THE THIRD MEMBER
Howison's Successor on Schley Court
of Inquiry Selected.
his IDENTITY NOT YET REVEALED
Dewey Says That Sessions Will
Be Resumed Monday.
INTEREST IN MEADE CASE

Acting Secretary Hackett has selected q
| third member Of the Schley court OF In
| quiry to take the place of Admiral Howl
| son, but declines positively to say who it
| Is. 1t Is presumed. In accordance with the
| practice in such cases, that he Is awaiting
the acauiescence Of the officer to the detail
before formally announcing his appoint
ment.
There is reason, however, for the belief
that Rear Admiral Joseph N. Miller, re-
| tired, is the departments selection for this
place. Admiral Miller lives In New York.
At the time of the outbreak Of the Span
ish war he was In command of the Pacific
| station. and SO far as known he has never
expressed an opinion, publicly. as to the
merits of the Sampson-Schley controversy.
1t is said at the Navy Department that
the question of Admiral SIMPSONS pres
ence before the court as witness is still
undetermined. The admiral has. however,
on his own application, been granted an
on account Of sickness
Admiral Dewey informed Admiral Schley
by telephone this morning from his coun-
try home that the court of inquiry would
resume it's sessions at II o'clock next Mon
day morning.
1t is very well understood, of course, that
Admiral Dewey's order assembling the
court Monday next. is contingent upon the
Presidents condition.
Capt. Lemly. judge advocate Of the court
and Mr.. E. p. Hanna. who has been de-
tailed to assist him In his work. went down
| to the court room at the navy yard this
morning for the purpose Of examining
| there several of the witnesses called by
taken to insure privacy and also to keep
from interfering with the regular routine
OF the judge advocate generals office at
| the department.
Mr.. Jere Wilson Of Admiral Schley's coun-
sci has gone up to Oakland to get the bene-
tit of little mountain air before return
ing to Washington for the resumption OF
the inquiry. Mr.. Rayner left Washingto on
for Baltimore this morning to attend to an
| urgent call from that quarter for his pres
ence In regard to his private practice
Some Witnesses I'm the City.
Commander Giles B. Harber, who Is one
of the witnesses called by the Navy De-
partment, Is in Washington. Commander
Harber was executive officer Of the Texas
during the Santiago naval engagement 1t
has been contended that the famous loop"
of the Brooklyn during that battle seriously
endangered the Texas, which was next to
the Brooklyn on the right when the Span
ish fleet came out of the harbor. Thus 1t
would appear that Commander Harbers 8
testimony will have a bearing upon shat
part of the precept which directs investiga-
ton OF the propriety of this maneuver, and
'the possibility of thereby colliding with
or endangerng any other of the vessels of
the United States fleet
Lieutenant Commander S. D. Griffin who
was one of the officers of division on board
the Brooklyn during the battle of Santiago
and q. H. Warford, the Brooklyn's carpen-
ter, are among the witnesses In town.
They were named by Admiral Schley, and
will be in consultation with his counsel
from time to time.
Attention Directed to Meade Case.
In view Of the situation in the Schley
court caused by the withdrawal of Rear
Admiral Howison, attention has been di-
rected to the proceedings of the naval
court of inquiry which recently met at
the New York navy yard to investigate
the controversy between Colonel Meade
of the marine corps one side and Colonel
Denny and Major Lauchheimer of the ma
rine corps on the other side. There are
several points of similarity in the two
cases. In each case objection was raised
to a member of the court on the ground
of incompetency by reason Of bias and
partiality. In each case the Navy Depart
ment declined to change the membership Of
the court on the general ground that ques-
tions as to the competency of member
| must be determined by the court itself.
to Rear Admiral Howison. and In the
Meade case exception was taken to Com
mander Clifford II. West. In each case the
challenge against the officer objected to
was sustained by the court, and the chal-
lenged member was excused from further
service
There is a difference, however, in the
| method by which this result was accom-
court the challenge was made and sus-
tanned while the court was in process Of
organization. In the Meade case, however
Commander West had served as member
of the court for fifteen days before he was
challenged for cause. The challenge was
made by Major Lauchheimer one of the
parties under investigation and was based
on the allegation that Commander West
had demonstrated a strong and improper
bias in favor of Colonel Meade by his con-
duct throughout the investigation. The
challenge was sustained by the other two
members of the court, namely, Captain
Philip II. Cooper of the navy and Colonel
p. c. Pope of the Marine Corps.
investigation by Two Officers
The withdrawal Of Commander West
caused temporary suspension Of the in
vestgation in order to determine the ad-
visibility Of proceeding with only two men,
bers or of appointing a third member, and
practically beginning the investigation all
over again After full consideration OF
the question 1t was decided that the inveS-
tigation proceed without regard to the with
drawal of one of it's members. This ac-
tion was based upon the conclusion under
the naval regulations, that courts Of in
quiry may consist of one two or three
members and that there was no necessity
for the appointment of an additional mem
Der in the Meade court under the crcum-
stances
The court thereupon resumed the investi-
cation and was in session nearly two weeks
more. In all. the investigation lasted four
| weeks. and was one of the longest In the
| history of the navy. AS has been already
| stated. the court exonerated Col. Denny
| and Major Lauchheimer and recommended
that Col. Meade be tried by court-martlal
| on charges Of drunkenness and false swear
| ing on the witness stand
The Departments Determination.
| TheNavy Department has concluded that
| the investigation OF the Schley case Is OF
| too much importance to Justify the adop-
| ton Of the course followed in the Meade
case court OF inquiry and that 1t is best for
| all interests concerned that the
| Schley court should comprise the
maximum membership prescribed by
| the regulations for such tribunal,
viz. three members. The advantages