Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-10-09
TOLDBY WAINWRIGHT
Commander of the Gloucester
Talks About the Chart of
Santiago Fight.a
SAYS 1T NEVER WAS CORRECT,
But a Sorf of Compron Use and
Solely the Product of Discus
sion Among Officers.

| Washington, Oct. 9.-Admiral Tay
lor, commander of the Indiana dur.
ing the war. in testifying today be
fore the Schley court of inquiry, said
he observed no attempt on the part
of the Spanish vessels as they came
out of Santiago harbor July , To
make any attempt to ram any of the
American ships. Lieut.. Commander
| Potts, navigator of the Massachu-
setts when asked to give his esti-
mate bearing on Schley on the day
| of the bombardment of the Colon
said: His manner was that of a
man laboring under extreme mental
| excitement. of man who had a dis
agreeable duty to perform and tried
to get through with it as soon as
possiDic."
Washington. Oct. 9.-There were
two new witnesses before the Schley
court of inquiry yesterday. They were
Commander Richard Wainwright. who
commanded the Gloucester during the
war with Spain, and Lieutenant NJ. l..
Bristol. who, as ensign, was a watch
ard division officer on the battleship
Texas during that period. Lieutenant
Bristol had not concluded his testi-
mony when the court adjourned for the
day. He did not see the loop made by
the Brooklyn, the greater part OF his
testimony turning upon chart he had
made showing-largely according to
his' memOry-the positions Of the va
riouS ships of the United States fleet
at different times during the engage
ment of July ,.
Chart Not Considered Accurate.
Commander Wainwright'S testimony
dealt largely with chart-making. He
was for IL time senior member of the
board of navigatOrs which prepared the
official chart showing the position OF
the American ships during the battle
off Santiago. and he gave details of the
method of its preparation. He said hc
did not consider the positions assigned
in that dra awing accurate. but that they
were given as the result of n comprO-
miseOf the views of the members of the
board. Lieutenant Commander Hodg-
sen. Captain Folger and Lieutenant
Dyson made additions TO their previous
testimony.
Much Interest in Wainwright.
There was much interest IN VAIN
wright's appearance. He was execu-
tive officer of the Maine when that YES
sci was blown up at Havana. and. as
sisted in investigating the explosion.
which precfpitated the war with Spain.
During all that time Wainwright kept
his VOW that he would never set foot
on Spanish soil before the destruction
OF the Maine was avenged. That he
did his part toward wreaking VEN
geance on the Spaniards all connected
with the Santiago campaign admit.
Commander Wainwright is one of the
heroes of the war who at once leaped
into popular favor by gallant action.
Nobody Satisfied with the Chart.
The matter of charts has much to do
with the famous loop. as on these
charts the positions of the ships are
marked at that time. as well as others
during the battle. ON crOsS-eXamina
tion Attorney Rayner tried to show
that the positions of the Brooklyn and
Texas was inaccurate. and the witrfses
frankly declared that all the positions
were estimated. Wainwright said that
he himself was not satisfied with the
position given the two ships. and that
several others Were not. he understood.
] he chart shows that the two vessels
did not come so close to each other as
many believe they actually did