Evening star., 1901-11-05

On the stand. Lieut. HobsOn, who COM
manded the Merrimac when she was taken
into the harbor al Santiago and sunk. was
an attentive listener to the argument. Ad-
mral Schley himself listened attentirely to
the argument, as did Mr.. Rayner Capt.
Parker and Mr.. league. his counsel. who
took notes as Mr.. Hanna was proceeding
with his remarks.
The understanding at the beginning of
todayys proceedings was that Capt. Parker
would follow Mr. Hanna IN Admiral
Schley's behalf and while he gave no defin-
ite intimati0n as to how long he might
speak, 1t was generally supposed that he
would conclude today, allowing Mr. Ray
ner to proceed tomorrow.
Admiral Schley reached the court room
at an early hour, and his friends were graf
ifed to find that the severe cold with which
he suffered yesterday had greatly i'm
proved.
1T has been stated" said Mr.. Hanna,
by nearly all the witnesses that the Eagle
was the principal cause of delay in pro-
ceeding from Cienfuegos to Santiago. But
some have stated that the Vixen was also
cause OF delay. and it seems proper in
this connection merely to read the testi-
mony of the commanding officer of that
vessel
Mr. Hanna then read from the testimony
of Commander Sharp who was in COM
mand of the Vixen. and who said that there
was nothing in the weather to cause the
Vixen to slow down on that trip. although
the Vixen was not making as good weather
as other vessels Mr.. Hanna also read from
the testimony of Capt. Miller of the Merri-
mac. who also stated that on the voyage
from Cienfuegos to Santiago there was no
occasion of delay on the part Of the Merri-
mac He then entered upon the considera-
tion OF the retrograde movement, saying:
Reason for RetrOgrade Movement.
Referring to specification four the cir
cun.stances attending the arrival Of the
flying squadron off Santiago and its retro
grade turn westward and departure from
off Santiago have been stated. As 10 the
reason for this ''retrograde turn westward
and departure from off Santiago" 1t is
noted that during the progress of the move
ment. at noon on the 27th. Commodore
Schley sent telegram to the department
explaining why he could not remain off
Santiago. and was forced to return to
Key West In this telegram only one rea-
son Is given. and that is the squadron's coal
supply. Perhaps this reason may be ap-
propriately divided into parts; first the
state of coal account of squadron" and
second, the difficulty of coaling from the
collier; nut II Is all comprised in the one
word Coal
There is no suggestion OF any other rea-
son in this dispatch. In his testimony be-
fore this court Admiral Schley gave four
reasons for leaving his station off Santiago
but no one of these four reasons appears
In his telegraphic report made at the time
These reasons perhaps relate more speeif-
cally to the next specification and win he
hereunder discussed
Specification . directs inquiry into the
circumstances attending and the reasons
for the disobedence by Commodore Schley
of the orders of the department contained
In its dispatch dated May 25 ISs}S and the
propriety of his conduct IN the premises.
In this connection the court was, by let
ter Of August !, 1901, instructed that 1t is
absolutely free to report il such shall be
found to be the case that Commodore
Schley did not willfulIy dsovey orders, but
that he was justified in disobeying them"
At the time the retrograde movement was
begun, Commodore Schley was under or
ders. SIMPSONS No s, to proceed with all
dispatch but cautiously to Santiago and
IL the enemy was there to blockade him In
port and to learn definitely through COM
munication with the inhabitants il the s;1ip,
are in that port, it being impossible to see
into il from outside. These features If
SIMPSONS No. Were by no means modified
but rather emphasized by the later ipstr,Ic-
tiOns contained in the memorandum writ
ten of Havana, heretofore fully discussed
But after the retrograde movement had
commenced and had continued all niya.
without making much progress ca account
or trouble in towing the collier. the squad
ron was on the next day overtaken by the
u ;. s. Harvard bearing important dis.
patches from the Secretary of the Navy
Rear Admiral, then Captain, Cotton tes<i-
hes that 'on the forenoon of the 9th o;
May. as aforesaid, personally delivered to
commodore Schley on board OF is flagship
TOUR or tive cable dispatches from the Navy
department and from the commander in
Among them was dispatch address,
ed 70 Captain Cotton marked: "Receiv-
Continued on Fourteenth Page.)