New-York tribune., 1901-09-12
READY FOR SCHLEY COURT.
THE GREAT NAVAL INQUIRY BEGINS
THIS AFTERNOON.
QUESTION OF ADMIRAL HowIsoN's coMPE-
TENcY THE FIRST THING TO BE SET
TLED-FEN WITNESSES MAY
BE CALLED.
lDr TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBusE-l

. ouiry will begin its sessions at o eioch W
morrow afternoon the Washington iNa's
Yard in a room on the second moor OF one "a
the huge gun shops recently erected. The room
has been especially prepared for the occasion pS
the Navy Department. and every convenience
,o- ,be members of the court as well as for the
counsel on both sides and representatives or lhe
nress has been carefully provided Seats nave
been furnished for about three hundred speo'0
tors Admission to the courtroom can oe saiheu
only by card this precaution having Deeh a
ranged by Captain Lemly, judge-advocate oi inc
court TO prevent uncomfortable crush Vi
curious and morbid spectators speclal oetaii
pf marines for guard duty and to preserve oroer
IN and around the building has been placed
under the command of Captain Henry '" Oa
penter of the Marine Corps
PERSONNEL OF THE COURT.
The members of the court, all or whoii are
now in the city ready for the arduous ana Try
ing duty ahead of them, are Admiral Oeoree
Dewey Rear-Admiral Andrew Elhcott heh-
nedy Benham (retired) and Rear-Admiral Henry
T,,crrg,,s tJovyison (retired) Captain Lernly,
representing the Navy Department as judge-ao-
,ocste Of the court will be assisted by T. +.
Hanna the solicitor of the Navy Department.
Admiral Schley will be represented py 1uose
Jere NJ Wilson, of this city; Attorney-oeiieiai
Isidor Raynor OF Maryland and captain 'aiiies
Parker of New-Jersey, former naFai oiieei'
Rear-Adniral Sampson and other oflcers OF tie
navy whose interests really or presufhpli'eis
are involved in the inquiry will be represeA'eD
NV Mr. Stayton, Of New-1ork, also Ioiiiiei
-, ofscer who. however will be recognized
as counsel by the court only IN the e'ei-'
o, attack is made on the officers who are sup
:. - hts clients and on his request for
recognition 49,.
.sr,,ra1 Dewev told a visitor to-day that the
.a,,-+ uo,,l6 push the proceedings of the inquiry
with all possible and proper speed "he'He
This means that the calling and examination Vi
witnesses WILL be begun to-morro" Is no' NM 49,
However il is getting TO he popuiaifS ~
s,ood In washington that the inquiry VIII c"ii
Sunoa a much shorter time than was d. me-
sunnosed. The fact that Admiral DeWey-"ho
Caught his great battle before pTeahi"
.srastaaot of the court, is accepted by Washing
tonians who are acquainted with his fnethoos
and temperament as evidence that no oiialofs
,actics bv either side will be countenanced, nor
will a mass Of indirect facts or unnecessary
,,erb,eee he tolerated While, Of course, II Is
nossible that the inquiry may take such "iue
range as 10 drag the proceedings along lor SIX
vee,zs or two months. some estimates place ITO
length even as low as two weeks
ADwIRAI HoWIsONs COMPETENCY
7, &c believed that so far as preparations are
u
concerned both sides will be ready to proceed
a. 4,s,,ess Tomorrow without unnecessary oe-
,ax The main element Of doubt lies In the fact
that Admiral Schley has called the attehtloh oi
the Navy Department TO allegations winch inaS
posssbly disqualify Admiral Howison ifoh sic
ting In 1udgment. The communication OF Ao-
.n,ral schley on this subject was immeoiaieiy
sent TO Admiral Dewey by the Navy Depart
rnent. anc will. therefore. become part OF the
official records Of the court In view OF this
circumstance. il is considered probable that the
first act Of the court will be to pass on the
qualification OF Admiral Howison without FUR
,.er suggestion from Admiral Schley- II the
court finds Admiral Howison disqualified, II is
.re impression among Admiral Schley's friends
that this win the latter from formally chai-
1engsng Admiral Howison, and thus taxing up
tie time Of the court in entering on oetahed
inquiry into the qualifications Of the challenged
-,e-nber Should the court itself disqualify Ad-
1oiral TIowison, IL is believed that the Navy De-
parrment IS prepared to fill the vacancy lnnne-
dsately from the list of retired rear-admirals'
and thus the least possible delay would be
caused
OF the great cloud of possible witnesses whose
names have been published, only compare
lively few il is thought. will be summoned to
testify. Whether not Rear-Admiral Samp-
son viii be called before the court TO testify is
not now known. In point Of fact, ii is generally
believed that his surnmoning will largely de-
pend on the initiative OF Admiral Schley's
counsel. Admiral Schley has been In consulta-
t.on with his counsel in this city nearly every
aav for about month, and it is said that they
have ready for submission TO the court a vo-
luminous brief consisting Of many thousanc
words.
NO UNNECESSARY CEREMONY
f1,aY2
sary TO maintain the dignity of the court. there
81 no disposition on the part of its members tc
try TO magnify its Importance by useless cere
r,ony Therefore there will 5e waste Of gun
oowder in salutes nor will the marines bs
turned out in state at the navy yard ths
three adnirals make their way to and from the
building where the court will meet They vii
go 10 the yard in plain clothing and thus relieve
the couraandant of the necessity of ordering ar
Official salute. In the commodious retiring room
adjacent TO the courtroom provided for their ac.
corn,nodation they Will array themselves in what
is known as the naval dress uniform This is
not what is known special full dress' but IS
nearly the same the main difference consisting
In the omission OF the cooked hat Admiral
Dewey and his fellow members will simple
naval caps although In the case Of officers OF
their rank the cap is almost encrusted with gold
except on the top. They viii the naval
frock coat and gold epaulets and the service
sword. After the first day this uniform will
give place 10 the easier though less impressive
naval undress uniform divested in large part
OF the heavy gold trimming of the dress suit,
and even permitting the wearing OF comfort
nble blouse.
THE OPENING FoRMALITIEs.
Precisely at ] o'clock the members OF the court
will be seated. Admiral Dewey at the centre OF
a table. placed crosswise Of the courtroom. with
Rear-Admiral Benham on his right and Rear