The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-10-05

base for coaling number of porta You
 took Gonivas. the Mole and Kinrston
 Those are ports that have just been rfven you from which to take the caIcuIafton.
 These ports were just mentioned to ,na here today. You. of course. know noth- ing about our right to coal in thoss ports?''
 T do not.s .,. Executive onicer of Iowa.
 lieutenant Dyson was followed on ths stand py Commander Raymond P Rod-. gers. who was executive, officer of the battleship Iowa during the summer of lSsa He testified to leaving Key West on May 20th for Cienfuegos, to tpin the flying squadron. Before leaving he had had as q representative of Captain Eyarla. ne said. conference with Commander in-Chtef Sampson at which Captains Tay- Tor and Chadwick were present. At that time he was told by Admiral sampsen that he had received information from tho Department at Washington, that the spanish fleet under Cervera was prob ably In the harbor at Santiago. He had. however, not been informed of any secref code for communication with the Cuban insurgents near Cienfuegos. He had. he said. taken dispatches for Commodore Schley and while not certain whether there was more than one package he was under the impression there was mora than that number. One of the dispatches carried at this time was, the witness thought that signed by Secretary Lonx and dated Washington, 12:30 o'clock, May 2Oth, and beginning:
 "The report of the Spanish fleet being at Santiago de Cuba might very we'll be correct, so the department strongly ad. vises that you send word immediately by the Iowa to Schley to proceed ofr Santi- ago with his whole command. leaving one small vessel off Cienfuegos."
 Captain Rodgers was examined at length concerning the coaling of the fly ing squadron.
 afternoon of the 26thT' Mir. Hanna asked.
 Tn the late afternoon, the time speak of. the weather being fine and smooth, think there would have been no trouble at ali." replied the witness.
 When the collier can deliver coal, can battleship like the Iowa take it7''
 With Q ship like the Iowa with no broadside guns the danger in coaiing at sea Is entirely to the collier"
 ''Is there any more danger to collier with a battieship on either side?''
 There would be very great danger to q collier in eoaling battleships with bat tleship on either side"
 Signals from the Brooklyn.
 Captain Rodgers related two or three inc stances m which the ships of the flying squadron were cleared for action on sig nal from the flagship Brooklyn before May 3l when vessels were discerned in the distance. In each case the vessels proved to, be American ships. Each time the signal. was to clear for action. He also told of the bombardment and of the reconnaissance of the Cristobal Colon on May 31, in which the Iowa participated He said the vessels were all in formation and following the flagship, which in that instance was the Massachusetts.
 The range was at first given at 1000 yards for this engagement, but the shots fell so far short that the range was in- creased to Il, ,000 yards. These latter shots fell into the channel in which the Colon lay Some of them must have fallen within 2.500 yards of the Spanish ship.
 Describing Commodore Schley's block ade of the harbor of Santiago, Captain Rodgers said that the fleet maintained a position of seven or eight miles out with the Marblehead and the Vixen inside the line. He remembered that the Marble head was on the inside from the fact that some of the vessels in the squadron had ired at her. He could not say whether the fleet was further out in the day than 1t night or vice versa. He thought the Vixen and Marblehead could have been seen by moonlight. but not after the moon had set.
 Captain Rodgers had concluded his tes- Iimony when the court adjourned for luncheon.