Sunday morning globe., 1901-09-08
The vixen's Log.

Inc VlXen'S Log.
1t has been discovered that the log
of the yacht Vixen, describing the San
tiago battle, was materially altered
from its original form before it was
published by the Bureau Of Naviga-
ton. Lieutenant Sharp, who COM
manded the Vixen, had an excellent op-
portunity to observe the fight: his YES
sci being unfit to expose to the fire
Of the Spaniards, he kept her in sight
Of the combatants and with watch in
hand took notes Of the progress Of the
| fight. The New York Times Of August
25th printed the original and revised
reports i'm parallel columns, and from
a comparison Of the two documents 1t
appears that a revision Of the original
was made in order to minimize the i'm.
portance of the Brool1lyn's part in the
battle, and relatively to increase the
Importance of the part taken by other
vessels This incident has naturally
been seized upon by newspaper parti.
sans as further evidence Of the hostil.
ity Of the Bureau Of Navigation toward
Rear Admiral Schley The New York
Journal charges the bureau with an
attempt to make an American Drey.
| fus'' by falsifying the records, the diff
| ference between the two cases being
that the American Henry" with
grace to commit suicide, now that his
villainy has been exposed had not yet
appeared The Times is less extraya-
CANT, but equally earnest:
why were these changes made in
the original log? That is a question
that has been asked by naval officers
ever since they learned the difference
between the original log and that Of
fered to the public as the original one.
1t is regarded as scarcely accidental
that the revised version omits to carry
the mention by Lieutenant Sharp about
the steady and deadly" fire Of the
Brooklyn at 1O47, although those
words are omitted
"Then there is the pointed reference
to the arrival of the New York from
three to five minutes later than the
Vixen, an hour after the surrender,
when the New York intercepted the
boat that was just coming away from
the Colon for the Brooklyn or Oregon.
Rear Admiral Sampson said that the
new York toward the close, was MAX
ing sixteen and a half knots, and Cap
tain Chadwick improved upon this by
asserting that the New York made not
less than seventeen knots.
THE Colon hauled down her flag at
l.l5, according to the log of the Vixen,
and the New York reached the Colon
an hour and eight minutes later. IL
Captain Chadwicks account is correct,
she must have been little more than
-- miles away at that time, too far
away to see the victory over the Colon.
THAT Lieutenant Sharp is guiltless
Of the revised report, OF of its infeli-
cities, is assumed by those who know
him. In the log he sent to Commodore
Schley he said Of the Viscaya that she
was at 1854 evidently on fire and head
ing for the beach" with a heavy list
to port In the version Of his log
as issued by the Bureau of Navigation
he is made to say that the yiscaya had
"a heavy list to port quarter" 1t is
asserted that no seaman would use
tnat phrase.
''Ine unaccountable error is the one
that brings the Massachusetts into
company with the Texas, although on
the day Of the fight the Massachusetts,,
to the deep regret Of Captain Higgin.
son, was at Guantanamo. 40 miles
away coaling."
Under the heading Infamous Garb.
ling" the Philadelphia North Amer.
can (Rep) says; THE publication In
parallel columns Of the original log
Of the little yacht Vixen during the
battle off Santiago and the revised
copy appended to the annual report Of
the Bureau Of Navigation. plainly
shows to what extent the bureau ed.
itors of the Navy Department sought
to detract from the credit due Admiral
schley. It is impossible to assume
that the difference in the two versions
were accidental The effect Of the
changes in the later log officially ap-
thorized by Simpsons friend. Crown.
inshield, is so obviously detrimental
to Schley that there is no escaping tho
conclusion that they were expressly
made with dishonest purpose"