The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-11-06
MUCH TRUTH AND A LITTLE
ERROR.

With Schley fully acquitted of
every serious accusation made
against him; with Sampson so much
of wreck that in mere mercy he
could not be subjected to the ordeal
of the witness stand - the lament
able smudge made by the attempt to
break down Schley, in order to give
Sampson credit for victory in which
he was not participant, fails. 1t
has taken the edge off the general,
national satisfaction at the tremend-
Gus victory off Santiago, injured the
morale of the navy beyond the under
standing of the ordinary laymen, and
has not succeeded in its only object,
and that was to make a great naval
commander out of Sampson. His
"alibi' at the court was as COM
plete as that at the Santiago fight.
Imagine Perry, or Decatur, or Far
ragut, or Schley, in commanding
squadron blockading hostile fleet,
taking every occasion to get away,
whenever his vessel had to coal
Most naval officers with such a posi-
ton would have been always with
the fleet, changing from one vessel to
another, whenever the one they were
on had to go off and coal. In the face
of the enemy, most men would stay
i'll the battle line, and send a subor-
dinate to oversee coaling each ship.
Yet Sampson was off coaling when
Schley annihilated the Spanish at
Santiago. Boston Record.
The metropolitan contemporary is all
right in its main proposition. But
Sampson was not "off coaling when
Schley annihilated the Spanish at
Santiago. Captain Higginson was
off at Guantanamo for this purpose,
and to give the crew of the Massa-
chusetts a holiday, when the battle
was fought, and he was the first of
the Santiago captains to be promoted
to the grade of rear admiral. The
cases of Captains Clark and Higginson
present a striking illustration of the
truth of the scriptural saying, THE
first shall be last and the last first. "
Higginson, forty miles away from
Santiago's battle line, was first to
be made rear admiral Clark, first
in the forefront of the fight, leaving
behind no Spanish ship that was able
to continue the fight, completing the
destruction and turning to the shore
the Teresa and the Oquendo, over
hauling and blowing up the Viscaya,
getting under range of his big guns
the Colon, six miles distant, and
compelling her to lower her colors, -
first in vigilance, first in the speed
of pursuit, first in the terrible de-
structiveness of his fire, is not merely
last in recognition by his govern
ment, but is still without official
recognition of any kind, of services of
the highest Importance and greatest
brilliancy.
If it was necessary for the command
n-chief to go in person to Siboney,
ten miles away, for consultation with
the general commanding the land
forces, was it necessary for him to
take along the cruiser New York, his
flagship? Could he not have gone in one
of the numerous small craft attached to
the fleet? Was it necessary to detach
from her station on the blockading
line one of the only two ships it was
for the Spanish cruisers? Was not
| the absence of the New York an invi-
tation to Cervera to attempt to escape
At all events, the general understand
ing of the matter has been that Ger,
vera, observing the absence of the
New York from the line of blockade,
and trusting in his ability to ram OF
otherwise disable or destroy the
Brooklyn and then run away from the
slower battleships, seized this oppor
Unity to make his escape and take ref
uge in Cienfuegos, The factor thai
upset the plans of Ethe Spanish ad
miral was the unexpected speed the
Oregon developed and the terrible
effectiveness of her fire, and these un
known factors were injected into tn,
fight by the mastery capacity of Cap
tain Clark for command and gallant
ry in action that is abreast of the bes
traditions of the American navy.
How great the howl that would
have been raised shad Schley, instead
of Samspon, detached from the cres
cent guard line one of the only TIVE
greyhounds protecting its extreme
and winged with the speed for the sue
cessful pursuit of the Spanish cruiser
Prophetic was the vision Of Clarl
when steaming up the Brazilian