The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-04
MAY PROVE 4 BooMERANG.

Whatever the feelings of the partisans
of Rear Admiral Schley may have been
on the holding OF the coming investiga-
ton, few will now be disposed to deny
the good sense of the suggestion offered
by Lieut.. Capriles, the former Spanish
governor of Santiago de Cuba, that the
witnesses to the battle of Santiago are
dying off and that it is advisable that
full inquiry should be had, to set all
doubts at rest, before those who were
present and in position to pass upon
the actions of the Brooklyn have passed
away
naval clique has made it unavoidable
on the part of Schley that he should ask
for a court of inquiry. No one who is
competent to judge is willing to attach
any Importance to the charge of cow
ardice, save alone those who are engaged
in or are the tools of the existing con-
spiracy to ruin the commander of the
Brooklyn The people of the United
States are in the mass agreed that the
charges are false and malicious. But,
backed as they are by those high in au-
thority, the need of their investigation
for the preservation of the good name of
worthy. officer--ought- not. to be open
to question. n exgs 9ss
If the G. o be is not mistaken, Admiral
Cervera has gone on record as express
ing his admiration of the conduct of
the battleship commanded by Admiral
schley. So, too, have others of the res
cued officers testified to the gallantry
of those engaged in operating that vessel.
The forming of the loop may be open
to different constructions; but 1T has been
left to Sampson and his partisans to
construe that maneuver as an attempt
to run away. This really is to be regard
ed as the only serious ground on which
the charges made against Schley can be
made to rest. However i'll or we'll advised
his conduct may be while In command
of the flying squadron, the final outcome
settles all question that may be raised
as to whether the action of the com1nan
der of that squadron was such as to en-
title him to punishment or even repri-
mand
Had Cervera and his squadron escaped,
there might be serious matter for in
quiry, although the correspondence pub
hshed as the result of Sampson critl-
cisms was universally regarded at the
time as putting all his unfavorable init
nations to rest
There is no point of view from which
the coming investigation and it's results
can be regarded, save alone that which
assumes that fragrant proof of poltroon-
cry on the part of Schley is forthcoming.
from which a result favorable to Samp-
son and his contentious can be reached.
Should there be any attempt on the part
of the board of inquiry to impute COW
ardice or serious wrong-doing to Schley,
without overwhelming proof being adj
vanced to sustain that result, the effort
will not unlikely prove disastrous to the
administration clique The general pub
lie will be unwilling otherwise to accept
any such verdict, and the outcome will
probably be that popular protest will
be heard and schley will have seriously
to consider the ACCESSIBILITY of being a
presidential candidate.
Whatever the result may be- the sooner
the court of investigation comes to
close and announces its conclusions, the
more pleasing will it be to the entire
country