The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-09-25
Circulation Statement.
A. the schIcy Case stands.

As the SChICy Case stands.
In the Schley Enquiry. the witnesses
thus far examined have been excIu-
sively those summoned by the Navy
Department which. as is well known,
has assumed the attitude Of a proseCu-
tor. Some of the witnesses have shown
a disposition to be fair but the most
Of them have been manifestIy preju-
diced against Schley. Such being the
status of the case at this time, it is
perfectly amazing TO note the weakness
of the showing made by those who for
three years past have been belittling
and disp3raging the man who was the
ranking officer in the battle of san
tiagO. and who. by all the can0ns of
war, is entitled 10 the credit Of the vic
tory
Upon the alleged delay at Cienfuegos
no light whatever has been thrown. As
To the failure to attack the Colon as
she lay in the Harbor of Santiago. the
sum total Of the showing made is that
some Of the witnesses thought that the
ships might have approached more
closely. and moved more slowly while
firing al the Spanish cruiser. But no
witness has indicated that there was
anything 10 prevent the Colon from
retiring further into the harbor as soon
as she found herself in danger.
As 10 The famous loop the nayiga-
tor Of the Texas states that in making
1t the Brooklyn was brought within
hundred OF a hundred and fifty yards
no -rE~-1G r-rre arFaF7.ra,-5.-.- e..
Ter ship. Ignoring the fact that the
official chart shows that the vessels
were at no time within tweuty-four
hundred feet of each other. and accent
ing the estimate OF Lieutenant Com
mander Ieuner as being approximate
" correct, what does il amount To.
after alE There was no collision. and
the Brooklyn, having made the turn.
swung back into the action. sailed
abreast of the Colon. and continued
the action until her colors came down.
With reference to the cualing. the tes-
timony is that in rough weather il is
difficult to coal At sea. that Schlev AZ
first thought that he could not coal in
that way and then changed his mind
and old coal.
Leaving the case right where il
stands, and without hearing Schlev-s
side, II is hard for a layman to see
where the department ring has scored
a point Of any consequence. There
probably never was a naval engage
ment or a land battle fought in which
the victorious commander might not
have been criticised on minor points
Grant was criticised severely with ref
erence TO Fort DOnelson. shiloh Cold
Harbor. and perhaps other battles. but
The sun of AppOmattox atoned for an
previous errors. if there were any.
which. as a rule, is q matter upon
which opinions may differ widely.
II We are 20 judge by his actual
achievements, Admiral Sampson is
open 10 more legitimate adverse com
ment than any other prominent Ameri-
can naval officer in the Spanish war.
With the finest fleet ever assembled uu-
der the American flag. he accomplished
nothing whatever that was decisive
His bombardmlnts Of Matanzas and
san Juan We're simply farces. and if he
were not injudicious. 10 put il in the
mildest phase. when he Withdrew the
cruiser New York from the bIOckading
line at Santiago, for no more important
work than to carry him 10 Guanta-
nam0. then. indeed, it is hard to mag
Inc what he could have done to show
his lack Of sound Judgment.
We may take it for granted that the
Court OF Enquiry presided over by Ad-
miral Dewey is not only disposed to
be entirely fair but is altogether ca
Uable u dealing with the various points
as they are brought out. At the same
time it IS natural for the lay public io
form opinions upon the basis Of the
testimony as it is a5duced, and also
10 express those opinions. Unless Tho
Navy Department can make a much
stronger showing" than it has Yet done
IL viii hardly be necessary for Admiral
Schley 20 of-er any testimony al all II
is clear that Sampson was not in the
battle and that Schley was. as the rank
ing officer. K is equally clear that
Schley did not lose the battle. This is
the substance OF the matter and il is
all that tho great American public cares
much about