The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-11-06

was well placed
Taking up TIE question Of the progress
10 Santeg6S captain Parker said. II
prefer 20 take what the onicfrs wrote az
the time rather than what they may say
Regarding the weather at shat time Cap.
tain Parker said The court knows that
weather Is or no consequence. except that
IL produces q sen. There may not be even
a zephyr blowing AMI yet there may be a
sea rolling that viii make It dangerous
Tor vessels 10 come Within quarter OF
mile Of each Cthct'
Captain Parker claimed that in the pass.
age from CicntueroS tc santiago the speed
81 the sloNcst vessel OF the squadron mrst
be that of the SQCadrou. lt would not
have tcen the common serse idea Of the
squadron. he said, TO have abandoned the
Eagle and the collier and make all speed
Captain Parker also commended Commo-
dore Scbley's conduct OF the cruise to
santiago. He, said the speaker. acted &C.
cotding TO the dictates Of his best iudg'
ment, Judgment which. the captain said,
was better than that Of, less experienced
Officers an experience which had been
gained IN command under circumstances
OF every nature. in the Arctic, around beth
Capes on every sea and under every sun.
He Was. Captain Parker continued,
"at least as likely To be- as correct as those
young officers who for the hrst time In
their lives, were given command OF small
Taking the heet 10 the southwark from
the meeting with the scout boats aud said
that the condemnation Of the commodore
FOR nor communicating with captains
Jewell and wise was purile "Ail that
Wise had TO do. he said, was to signal
that he had important Information, and he
would have been asked TO come on board.
II IS the business. the clear duty of any
subordinate officer TO make known To-
superior any information he may have"
In The absence Of information by the cap
tains of the Yale aud the Minneapolis,
RuYERr hpf Admiral
right to suppose that Captain Slgshee had
given all the information he had from the
scouts. Speaking If the information con
yeyed by Captain SigShee. Captain Parker
said that officer was curlousiy blind-nct
purposely blind, hut curiously so, He not
only had not been able to find out any
thing about the Colon, but when she was
there and In plain sight on May %,
clear bright day. when Sigshee was on
the harbor, Sketching, he bad failed 10 see
her, This is to me one Of the mysteries
Continuing. he said that with the in
formation given. Commodore Schley had
acted wisely In turning back 10 Key West.
Whether he acted wisely and his judg
ment was sound, is for You, gentlemen NJ
the court. 10 say-uot with the Information
that has COME since but with ne light
Captain Parker referred 10 tIa dispatch
from the depart ment received by the Har-
ward at Mole st. Nicholas May 20; Pro
coed at once and inform Schley and also
senior officer present of Santiago de
Cuba" he read from the dispatch THAT
dispatch does not contemplate al all than
Commodore Schley is AZ Santiago he con
unued. 1T Is TO inform Commodore Schley
and also the commanding officer OF san
uHso. So that M that time The depart
ment evidently did not contemplate thlt
Commodore Schlev had arrived at Santiago
and VET We have heard 1t said he was due
there On the cath
Quoting from the dispatch Captain Par
ker said The departments Information
indicates that the Spanish division is sill
'I4 .ha-r ANYTHING positive about thatf"
he asked. IF the department had chosen
that the Spanish squadron is at
santiago, that would have been another
lnlne, but II d!d not say that. There were
sun some doubts apparent In the mind
Of the department on that subject
Referring q this point to the testimony
Of Captain SlgShee, Captain Parker said:
to what Sgshee said is better than that
Of Sigshee ! think the court can be sure
mat captain Sigsbee did say to Commo-
aore Schley when he came aboard the
Brooklyn That the Dons are not there. -
Again quoting from the dispatch. Captain
Parker read: The department looks 10 you
Did not the commodore ascertain
factSt' he asked. And that the enemy
therein does not leave without decisive
acnon. he continued, reading. well. was
there not decisive actlon?" he asked THE
poor old Spanish admiral with his flags
u}ing gally at his masthead came ont on
that Sunday morning and before | O'Clock
of that day he saw his ships ON the hcac
OF the bay. burning. blown up and all de-
stroyed He came on board The American
ship without shoes for his feet or hat for
his head. and a pair of drawers and m
uudershlrt Decisive action Was there
alything that was more decisive than
thatf'
Then he took up Commodore Scnlev's
dispatch forwarded by the Harvard, In
which the commodore Informed the denart-
ment that he had been unable In obey
orders. earnestly as all have strvcn
II subordinate informs us that he Is
Nun with dlsohe8ieuce. We may ccusure
MIN for bad management he continued,
ger NNtA cFcumStahn@S Is not always