Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-10-01
United Having Received
the Details of the Secret
Signal Code.
US the Brooklyn WaS
Within 100 Yards of the
Texas In Making the
Loop.

TaXaS In Making the
Loop.
WASHINGTON. September 30.-The
bright sunshine and fresh air had the
effect of bringing all the members Of
t7e Srhley court of inquiry and the at
rniants upon it to the court building
rainier earlier than usual this morn
The first new witness was Command
g. lanes Nj. Miller, who was in COM
rand Of the collier Merrimac while
t9at vessel was a part of Admiral
.l=y's flying squadron.
commander Miller said that his yes
sl had been capable at first
making nine knots but he mad tfou-
He with his pressure machinery, so
tHat by May 23rd and May S4th he
..ould have hesltate6 Il crying TO Sc
cure a speed of more than seven or
ght knots. The Golfers log showed
nj the Iowa, the Massachusetts and
.t Castine had been eoaled on the 23rd
Sid 18th. No record was found of the
Ealing of any vessel on the 25th or the
earb the time consumed in proceed
from Cienfugos to Santiago.
The sea-" he said, ION the 25th was
--s.v unite nasty" He also said that
ire weather for that day was bad.
The witness said that late in the at
t,rnoon of May Goth, the intermediate
valve of the collier was broken, but
fiat .previous to the arrival off Santa
81 she had not been broken Gown, dis
alled or delayed.
On cross-examination Mr.. Raynor
asked: when you spoke Of your ca
pacity to coal you spoke about your
own ship"
Yes; that l was ready for delivery.
am giving no Opinion regarding other
ships
Continuing the witness said that he
Always hated to go alongside the bat
ueships. The Merrimac, he went on.
was always steady but the battleships
were continually rolling"
Especially in a rough sea-" sug-
ftsted Mr.. Rayner.
On any sea-" responded the wit
ness.
Is not that especially true when
the warship has protruding sponsors
SIS had the Texas?"
They are always nasty, the Wit
ness responded.
The court asked: Gould you have
cealed any of the vessels on May 25th
had YOU been ordered to do so?"
To this the reply was: II should
iudgea so. to the best of my knowledge
snd belief. | say | could coal, yes, |
could coal at any time but then I could
not have coaled comfortably. For the
ether ships it was what we call a nasty
sea, and squally, rainy weather, and II
rad had my choice would not have
eoaled on that day; that is, the 25th."
Captain Miller was succeeded on the
witness stand by Captain Theodore F.
Jewell, who commanded the cruiser
.linneapolis during the Spanish war.
Captain Jewell said that he had first
fallen in with the flying squadron I'M
Ter command of Commodore Schley on
the evening of May Goth.
Capt. Lemly quoted from Admiral
e0hley's letter to the Senate commit
tea on naval affairs, dated February
18th, 1899, saying after having been
informed by the scouts commanded by
such officers as Sigsbee, Jewell and
Wise, that, although they had been off
Santiago for week, they had seen
nothing of Cervera's fleet since 1t left
Curacao" and asked whether he bad
ven to Admiral Schley this informa-
ton or any other information concern
.lg the Spanish fleet. The witness re-
j ed:
Il gave him no information with ref
eFence to that subject whatever"
The court here asked a question
which opened up the coaling question.
The question was as follows: "How
lar could the Minneapolis have gone
with her four hundred tons Of coal at
TIE time you state?'
If | had burned 400 ions Of coal
could have made something like 1900
Or 1900 miles. That would have left
the bunkers empty. I was burning
about s5 tons day, and on that max
Ing IA of Is knots"
Drawing from Cant. Jewell the fact