The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-07

Admiral Chen Captain) Cotton testified
to delivering on board the Brooklyn.
and in which the positive statement
was made that the Spanish fleet was
in the harbor at Santiago, and said
that it was certain it never had been
received by the commodore.
Unanswerabie Argument.
IF Capt. Sigsbee had not said to
Commodore Schley the Spanish fleet
was not there, Commodore Schley new
er would have gone to the westward
on what is called his retrograde move
ment. More than that. Capt. Sigsbee
put Cuban pilot on board Commodore
Schley's ship and that pilot impressed
the commodore with the idea that the
Spanish ships could not get in there.
All things created in the mind of Com
modore Schley the indelible impression
that the Spanish fleet was not in the
harbor of Santiago. This absolutely
justified his movement to the west.
Every incident around there, Capt.
JEWELS failure to communicate. Capt.
Wise's absolute failure to commune
cate, Capt. Cotton's failure to commu-
nicate, because the dispatches he re-
ceived could never have been delivered
to Commodore Schley at that time, as
they were dated afterward; Capt. Sigs-
bees positive assurances, the putting
of the Cuban pilot on board, everys
thing, may it please the court, convey
ed doubt to the mind of Commodore
Schley. I want coal was his
l cannot coal here. have a broken
down collier My brother here has in
terlaced that dispatch and torn it word
for word. But there is not a falsehood
on the face of it. Commodore Schley
was perfectly right in saying that he
had worthless collier, because for "a
hours, according to the testimony of
Capt. Miller, she was absolutely help
less. With broken down collier; With
the Marblehead, which could not coal;
with both of these ships with only a
sufficient amount of coal on hand TO
get half way to Martinique; with the
positive assurance of Capt. Sigsbee,
sustained and corroborated by the Gu
ban pilot that the fleet was not in San
tiago, he did the only thing he could
do, and that was to turn to the west
for coal. But he never went in that
direction a mile further than was nee
essary. for when the weather cleared
and the sea became smooth he coaled.
Then he returned to his position off
Santiago, discovered the Cristobal Co
Ion, gave battle on July 8, and struck
down the Spanish fleet, at the same
lItllC laAlllS II Olll Spain ilCl dHClCAIA
possessions upon the face of the Ameri-
can continent"
RaynOr's Eloquent Close.
Mr.. Rayner then closed as follows
Il have now briefly presented this
case as it appears to me in its gen
eral outline. Such a trial as this has
never to my knowledge taken place in
the history of the world. It seemed to
my mind that this case had hardly
opened with the testimony of Capt.
Higginson before it commenced to tot
ter, and from day to day its visionary
fabric dissolved from view.
when Capt. Cook. their last wit
ness, was put upon the stand the en-
tire structure collapsed, and now when
the witnesses from our ships and the
gallant captain and crew of the Ore
gon and Admiral Schley have narrated
their unvarnished tale, the whole tene-
ment, with all its compartments, from
its foundation to it's turret, has dis
lntegrated and lies here like mass OF
blackened ruins.
1T has taken three years to reveal
the truth. There is not a single wit
ness, friend or foe, that casts the shad-
ow of a reflection upon the honored
name Of the hero of Santiago. He has
never claimed the glory of that day.
No word of this effect has ever gone
forth from him to the American peo-
pie. The valiant Cook, the heroic
Clark, the lamented Philip, the intrepid
and undaunted Wainwright, and all the
other captains, and every man at every
gun and every soul on board of every
ship are equal participants with Ad-
miral Schley in the honor wrought
upon that immortal day. We cannot
strike down his figure standing upon
the bridge of the Brooklyn, his ship
almost alone receiving the entire fire
of the Spanish foe, until the Oregon,
as if upon the wings of lightning, sped
into the thickness of this mortal car
mage. God bless the Oregon was the
cheer that rang from deck to deck. And
on they went, twin brothers in the
chase, until the lee gun was fired from
the Cristobal Colon and the despotic
colors of Spain were swept from the
face of her ancient possessions. Well
done, congratulate you on the victory
was the streamer that was bent from
the halyard of the Brooklyn, and from
that day to this no man has ever heard
from Admiral Schley the slightest
whisper of intimation that he has
usurped the glory of that imperishable
hour. The thunders of the Brooklyn
as she trembled on the waves have
been discordant music to the ears of
envious foes, but they have pierced
with a ringing melody the ears of his
countrymen and struck a responsive
chord at the f1reside of every
American home. and what
is more than all which has
been revealed in this case, as match
less as is his courage and as unsullied
as is his honor, is his beautiful char
acter and the generous spirit that an
imates his soul, and the forgiving
heart that beats within his bosom. Yes,
we cannot strike him down. Erect he
stands as the McGregor when his step
was on his native heath and his eye
was on the peak of Ben Lomond. His
country does not want to strike him
down, nor cast blur upon the pure
escutcheon of his honored name.
For three long years he has suffered
and now, thank God, the hour of his
vindication has come. With composure,
with resignation, with supreme and
unfaltering fortitude, he awaits the
judgment of this illustrious tribunal
and when that deliverance comes
he can, from the high and
exalted position that he occupies. look
down upon his traducers and malign-
ers and with exultant pride, exclaim:
az care not for the venomous gossip
of clubs and of drawing rooms and
shafts Of envy and Of malice. I await,
under the guidance of Divine Provi-
dence, the verdict of posterity.'"
Mr.. Rayner closed at $3.50 o'clock,
having spoken about three hours.
The court adjourned until p. m. to-
morrow, when Capt. Lemly will deliver
the 1lncfpC argument