The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1901-08-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.


Rear Admiral Schley fooled the
naval clique, which has done such
dirty work to try to discredit him
in the eyes of the American peo-
pie, when he called Secretary
Longs bluff and demanded a court
of inquiry into his conduct during
the hunt in Cuban waters for the
Spanish fleet. Admiral Schley
would have made this demand
long ago had his trends, who knew
of the intention on the part of the
clique which has controlled the
Navy Department since the begin
ming of the Mckinley administra-
tion to pack the court against him
if he asked for it, not advised him
to wait for more propitious time.
That time arrived when the clerk
in the Brooklyn Navy Yard wrote
under orders from the clique Ian
guage concerning Schley that
would have disgraced the lowest
gutter-sntpe publication IN the
country, and shamelessly labeled
it ''history" and sought to have it
made a text book at the Naval
Academy. The clique overshot
the mark. Instead of injuring
Schley, the publication aroused the
country's sense of fair play, and
today the demand for an inquiry
that shall be conducted by men of
honor, not puppets of a clique, is
ringing from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. 1t is now up to Secretay
Long. He can easily name a
court of inquiry that will com
mand the respect of the country
and that will not base its inquiries
on the charge that Schley is II
Democrat. but on an effort to get
at the truth, the whole truth, of
what was done in the West Indian
naval campaign, regardless of who
is hurt or helped. That much the
country demands, and it will take
no less. Secretary Long has prom
ised that such court shall be
named, and if Mr., Mckinley is as
wise a politician as he is credited
with being be will see that the
promise is kept. No political
question is involve in this in
quiry, but any failure to give
Schley the justice which every
brave officer under accusation is
entitled to at the hands of the
powers that be will make a polit
ical question of the most danger
Gus sort.
Most persons have heard the
story of the lawyer who told his
client that it was impossible to
imprison him on the charge against
him through the bars of the Jail
cell in which he was locked up.
Although there Is abundant knowl
edge, from those on the ground,
that the hand grabbers are spec
uIating by wholesale in the Ger
tificates or numbers of those who
have been registered as applicants
for homesteads in the Oklahoma
Indian reservations about to be
opened to settlement, Secretary
Hitchcock still insists that spec
ulation ip these certificates is i'm
possible.
Mr., Mckinley never negleots
an opportunity TO turn q financial
trick, at public expense, for a
friend. BY postponlng the accept
tance of the resignation of Gov.
Allen, of Porto Rico, and the ap
pointment of Secretary Hunt as
his successor, which has been def
nately determined upon, until
September, he enables his friend
Allen to enjoy an extended va
cation and continue to draw big
salary. Two Presidential proc
lamations were issued this week.
one announcing that Porto Rico
had y civil government, which
might have been made many
months ago, but was held back in
order to prevent the Porto Rican
Legislature having the disposal of
the revenue collected under the
Foraker act, and the other pro-
claiming free trade with Porto
Rico.
New York business men are
again after WILDER +. Wakeman,
the appraiser of merchandise at
that port. They object to Wake
mans using his official patronage