Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1901-10-23
SCHLEY-
COURT OF INQUIRY
Lieut.. Wells Continues Story
of Cuban Campaign.
YEOMAN MASON IS CALLED
He Was the BrOoklyn's Log Writer
During the Spanish War-Attend-
ance Upon the Court Larger Than
Usua1-Interest Increases.


Usus1-lnterest Increases.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20. - Lieutenant
Wells resumed the stand soon after the
Schley court of inquiry was called TO
order at II o'clock today and continued
his narrative of the events of the Cuban
campaign of 1898 He was under cross
examination by Judge Advocate Lemley
and his assistant, Mr.. Hanna, when the
court adjourned yesterday and they
continued their questions today. Lieu.
tenant Wells was followed by A. Y. Ma
son, the log-writer of the Brooklyn, who
wrote the logs on that vessel during the
Cuban 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 to-
day was somewhat larger than on pre-
vious days, indicating the increasing at.
ter~iveness Of the court as public spec
tacle.
captain Lemly began his examination
of Lieutenant Wells by asking him
whether there was kept book of rec
ords showing letters received on the
Brooklyn, as Lieutenant Commander
Sears had testified there was. He re-
piled that there was no such book kept,
but there was a record of letters sent TO
and received from vessels of the squad
ron. Lieutenant Wells also was Ques-
toned concerning the department. orders
%lo -.
ships to bombardment from the shore
batteries, the orders under consideration
being those of April and April 26 and
those of May 5.
The first of the orders of this charac.
ter stated that "the department. does
not wish the vessels Of our squadron to
be exposed to the fire of the batteries at
Havana, and other strongly fortified
ports in Cuba, " ard the others were re.
garded as notifications of these. In
the last OF these, dated May S, the de-
parCmenT sald
1.-The department is perfectly willing
that you should expose your ships to the
heaviest guns of land batteries, if, in
your opinion, there are Spanish vessels
of sufficient military importance pro-
tected by these guns to make an attack
and make your chief aim at the destruc-
tion of the enemy's principal vessel"
Questioned About Dispatches.
After having read these dispatches the
witness was asked by Captain Lemley:
"Can you separate your knowledge
with regard to the conversation with
Commodore Schley so as to distinguish
between either of the other orders or
both of these orders and as to whether
rI4Y n+ onTyfhiT1C lid nd TO
the receipt of information in relation to
these letters here which you have be-
fore you at the interview of May 18 in
Key Wesr?"
mo sir. do not distinguish between
any of them. have given my general
remembrance, which is that the order
was not TO risk the ships"
The witness said he had no written or
printed order Of battle. but that the day
before Cienfuegos was reached some
special instructions were sent to the
ships by the Scorpion.
II received no written orders and did
not know of the existence Of any. re-
member, however, that the command
ing officers were called upon"
'AU what period of the battle of July
8 did you use range of 1,lOO yards?"
THAT was about the beginning of
what is known of the turn, not the be.
ginning, but after the turn had begun,
] should say"
''Ar what point of the chase DID you
estimate the Colon to be 10000 yards
from the Brooklyn?"
"When the Viscaya went ashore"
Lieutenant Wells was then excused
and Albert V. Mason called. He said
he was yeoman of the second class on
board the Brooklyn during the Santiago
campaign and was the writer of that
ships log. He made the entry concern
ing the battle off Santiago and produced
a copy of rough log which he had
made for his own use. The witness
said that as the log giving the account
of the Brooklyn's turn had been at first
prepared it read:
1--WE engaged with port battery at
first, but just as soon as the enemy
stood TO westward we put our helm star.
board at first and then hard aport, so as
to bring our starboard battery to bear,
and swinging closer to the Texas fire
we stood parallel with the enemy"
This entry had, he said, been changed
at the instance of Lieutenant Hodgson
so as to make it read as it does IN the
permanent copy as follows:
''As soon as the enemy stood to the
westward we put our helm aport, swing
ing clear Of the Texas, etc. "