The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-10-22
HE WROTE THE LOG
A. v. Mason of the Brooklyn
Crew Called
To Give Testimony Before the
Schley Court of Inquiry.
L A II GE ATTENDANCE.
Interest in the Proceedings
Seems to Increase.
Lieut.. Wells Completes His Tes-
timony Begun Yesterday.

sumed the witness stand soon after the
Schley court of inquiry was called to
order at IL o'clock today and continued
his narrative of the events of the Cuban
campaign of 1898. He was under cross
examination by Judge Advocate Lemly.
and his assistant, Mr.. Hanna, when the
court adjourned yesterday and they
continued their questions today. Lieut.
Wells was followed by A v Mason, the
log writer of the Brooklyn, who wrote
the logs on that vessel during the Gu
ban campaign.
Mr.. G. E. Graham, the correspondent
of the Associated Press. who was on
board the Brooklyn with Admiral
Schley during the entire campaign, was
also on the list of today's witnesses.
The early attendance upon the court
today was som ewhat larger than on
previous days indicating the increasing
attractiveness of the court as a public
spectacle.
Capt. Lemly began his examination of
Lieut.. Wells by asking him whether
there was kept book of records show
ing the record of letters received on the
Brooklyn Lieut.. Comm ander Sears
had testified there was. The witness re-
piled that there was no such book kept,
but that there was a record of letters
sent to and received from vessels of the
squadron.
Lieut.. Wells also was questioned con-
corning the department orders concern
ing the risking of the American ships to
bombardment from the shore batteries.
the orders under consideration being
those of April 6. April 26 and two of
May 9Th.
The first of the orders of this char
acter stated that 1.-The department does
not wish the vessels of your squadron
to be exposed to the fire of the bat
teries at Havana, Santiago or other
strongly fortified ports in Cuba" and
the others were regarded as modiffca
fi0nS these these.
dated May 6, the department said:
THE department is perfectly willing
that you should expose your ships TO
the heaviest guns of land batteries, IL
in your opinion there are Spanish ves-
sells of sufficient military Importance
protected by these guns to make an
attack advisable, your chief aim for
the present being the destruction of
the enemy's principal vessels"
After having read these different dis
patches, the witness was asked. by
Capt. Lemly.
Can you separate your knowledge
with regard to the conversation with
Comm modore Schley so to distinguish
between either of the other two orders.
or both of these orders, and as to
whether or not anything was said with
regard to the receipt of information in
relation to these letters here which you
have before at the interview of May is,
in Key West
NO. sir; do not distinguish between
any of them. have given my general
remembrance, which is that the order
was not to risk the ships'
In reply to questions by Capt. Lemly
the witness said there had been no
written or printed order of battle, but
that on the day before Ctenfuegos was
reached some special restrictions were
sent to the ships by the Scorpion. This
was, he said, order No. 9, relating TO
signals in case the enemy should be
sighted This order was then read.
Questioned further on this point, the
witness said:
II prepared no written orders and
did not know of the existence of any.
1 remember. however, that the COM
manding officers were called on board.
The witness answered several ques-
tions put by the court as follows:
''At what period of the battle of July
did you use a range of 10,100 yards
THAT was at about the beginning of
what was known as the turn; not the
beginning, but after the turn had be-
gun, I should say"
estimate the Colon to be 10000 yards
distant from the Brooklyn"
when the Viscaya went ashore"
MASON ON THE STAND.
Lieut.. Wells was then excused and
Mr.. Albert V. Mason called. He was
questioned by Capt. Parker, and said
that he had been a yeoman of second
class on board the Brooklyn during the
Santiago campaign. and had been the
writer of that ships log. He had made
the entry concerning the battle OF
Santiago. and he produced copy OF
the rough log which he had made for
his own use.
The witness said that as the log Civ
ing an account OF the Brooklyn's turn
had been at first prepared 1t read:
I'VE engaged with port battery at first.
but just as soon as the enemy stood to
westward we put our helm star board at
first then hard aport, so to bring
our starboard battery to bear, and
swinging clear of the Texas fire, we
stood parallel with and to the enemy"
This entry had, he said, been changed
later at the instance of Lieut.. Hodg-
son, so as to make it read as it does
in the permanent copy, as follows;
LAS soon as the enemy stood to the
westward we put our helm aport,
swinging clear of the Texas" etc.
Mr.. Mason then retired and Mr.. George
Edward Graham. the Associated Press
questioned by Mr.. Rayner and said he
had been on the Brooklyn from March
29 to August 20, 1898. Mr.. Graham was
then questioned concerning the con-
versation between Commodore Schley
and Captain Sigsbee on the occasion Of
the captains visit to the Brooklyn on
May 26, as follows:
did you see Captain Sigsbee on board
the Brooklyn on May 26?'
Yes, SIR
Did you hear him In conversation
with Commodore Schley?"
Yes, SIR
sCan you give US what that conversa-
tion WASP"
After he had reached the quarter
deck from the gangway, he stopped and
Commodore Schley said to him. Have
we got 'em, Sigsbee?' The captain said.
No, they are not here. have been here
for a week and they are not here"