The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-09-27
CRITICAL STAGE.
It is Regarded as Having Ar
rived in Schley Case.
Navy Department Attorneys on
Hand Early.
GOVERNMENTS SIDE.
SIDE.
It Will Be Completed by Last OF
Next Week.
Fifteen or Twenty More Wit.
nesses to Be introduced.

W dsnlngtOn, sept. Za.-AS usual Ad-
rniraI Dewey lost no time today in
bringing the Schley court Of inquiry to
order and as usual the counsel on both
sides Of the case were in their seats
and prepared to proceed promptly with
the business before the court Indeed,
Captain Lemley and Mr.. Hanna, the
navy departments representatives, had
been in the court room for an hour or
more preparing the details for the days
work They consider the present stage
of the proceedings an important one re-
quiring the most careful attention.
Captain Leml@y estimates that he win
be able to conclude the presentation of
the government side of the case by the
close of next week If no unforeseen
contingency arises to cause delay. He
says he viii have about Is or 20 more
witnesses to Introduce.
One of the most regular attendants
upon the court Is Mr.. William Fl. Stay
ton, the attorney who is understood to
be prepared to represent other naval
officers than Admiral Schley. He sits
outside the rail and does not in any
way participate in the proceedings. He
said that so long as Admiral Sampson
nothing to say.
Today's session began with the re-
call of Captain Wise to make verbal
changes in the official copy of his tes-
LAA4OAI- he altered MS previous state
ment concerning the order Of the navy
department OF May 20, 1898, in which he
was directed to inform every vessel
off Santiago that the flying squa dron is
off Cienfuegos,'' saying that he desired
to correct his response to the courts
question as to why this order was not
carried out by stating that it had been
carried out.
THE flying squadron was ordered to
proceed with all possible Dispatch he
said.
The court then asked:
Did you direct Captain Sigsbee to
give Commodore Schley the inforna-
ton ontained in the dispatch from the
navy department regarding the where
abouts Of the Spanish squadron"
Lieutenant Spencer S. Wood who
commanded the dispatch boat Dupont
during the Spanish war was then called
and continued his testimony, begun yes
Terday- Mr.. Rayner resumed his cross
examination The Witness said that
while off Cienfuegos he had been on
picket duty two miles from shore on
the night Of May q and had been in
structed to signal the squadron with
two red lights in case the enemy's tor
pedo boats came out of the harbor.
Mr.. Rayner then read from the testi-
mony of Captain Harber, of the Texas,
saying that there had been no picket
vessels within the line of the fleet off
Cienfuegos- The witness said that the
statement was wrong
Captain Lemley said Captain Harber
had testified that there were no pickets
so far as he could recall, to which
Mr.. .Rayner responded, I'VE are not inn
peaching Captain Harber's veracity. We
are impeaching his recollection, not his
integrity"
Mr.. Rayner: Captain Harder has sta
ted that there were no picket boats at
Cienfuegos. He was wrong was he
not?"
He was replied the witness LAS
have seen since the commander-in- chief
also reported that the Dupont was not
there. / have written the departm ent
that I was there Other people forgot
about it too
You are trying now to justify Cap
tain Harber's want of recollection
stating that the commander IN chief
wrote a letter that there were no picket
boats there?'
He did not mention their presence
and I corrected it,
DO you recollect any statement
made by the commander-in-chief when
he had a picket boat within the picket
line that he had arranged a signal from
the picket boat to the f1agship?''
He did not mention any and I have
a letter on file in the department call
ing attention to the omission in that
report"
Il call your attention to the re9ort of
the COMMUNICATIVE chief in which he
states the line Of blockade
7 wish to bring it out that the Du-
pont was inside the line and that is the
report made to the department. I
still stand on the point that he is not
bringing out where the torpedo boat
was
You are perfectly right about that,
but you are not asked in reference to
any criticism you may have upon the
report Of the comm mander-in-chief. The
question is this. Captain Harber has
definitely stated that there was no
picket boat inside the line at Cienfue-
gos You say there was and that the
Dupont was one of these boats
Il was inside the line, inside the Cas-
tine"
BY the court:
Gould you see the Texas from the
May 232s
No, sir
Nj. Hanna asked what steps had been
taken while the flying squadron was off
Cienfuegos to ascertain if the Spanish
feet was inside the harbor there
None that 7 know Of" was the re-
sp0nse.
WAS there any one to destroy the
short batteries there2"
The witness replied that he knew OF
none He said replying to another ques-
inside harbor could have not been dis
cerned from the outside.
Lieutenant Wood was then dismissed
and as he was leaving the court room
Mr.. Hanna took occasion to say.
Il will make an announcement while
we are waiting. There has been intro
duced before the court a question Of the
correctness or the identity of a certain
very important dispatch sent by the
or e.