The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-25

3 Sy 70 the battleships, as interpreted.
t puI II referred to the entire fleet. We
Ilad at that time ten ships in the so1Iad-
iot,, seven OF which were short of coal"
etTlHS TO the arrival of the Har-
Hara, the witness spoke of the discreDan-
cy IN the report as to the Information
W. Whl en- capt. Gnow rear admiraD Cotton
OF that vessel had brought aboard the
Brooklyn He said that the disnatnb
winch Capt. Cotton had brought aboard
nad sald that the departments adyices
IEJluIcated that the Spanish fleet was ar
Continuing, he said: Capt. Cotton said
ne uehYered dispatch to me from Adj
E IlIal sampson stating that they were
| never saw it. l never heard of il until
the other day. If it ever was delivered
II should have been found among nv pa
perS, but 1t could not have been delivered
10 me for the reason that a disnatch of
that character would have burned itself
SO lndellbly in my mind I never could
nave forgotten it, never.
Dispatch Never Delivered
Capt. Cotton did not communicate if
10 me and there l think his recollection
is at fault and not his veracfty becansf
l do not believe he would state anything
tndl was not so. Neither nv first lieu
Ten retIaLt, neither my flag lieutenant nor
my secretary ever saw it or can remen-
Der II, and 1t is little strange that three
persons who had access to nv papers at
an Tunes should have failed to remem--
per clspatch of that Importance. So it
IS mistake | never saw it. | do not
remember it. L have no recollection of
II, nor OF a good many things which [
nave heard during this investigation
Discussing again his dispatch to the de-
partment concerning the departments or
ders the admiral said: IF my reply 10
the telegram of the secretary Of the navy
is not on the record I would like TO nut
1t there in the terms [ sent it, because [
wrote 1t in English, gave il to Capt Cot
ton, asked him to tu1n it into cipher and
II n 1r6- in a Lot
department Which was received. The
dispatch is here and has been in the de-
partment for nearly three years. l don't
pelleVe for one moment that in the trans
lat1on of it there was any intention to
mutilate it. but 1 think, in the cho'ce
of words which We're not exactly of the
same meaning, the dispatch did no get to
the department entirely as l intended it
should. Upon this dispatch is based the
charge OF d1Sobedience of orders. | con-
tend that there was no disobedience of
orders. There would have been disobedi-
ence of orders if l had abandoned my
station, but having returned to the sta
ton without other direction and having
found that the departments information
was correct, hold that [ did not disobey
orders and l think that this Dispatch
read and interpreted as sent, Will relieve
that charge
Admiral Schley pointed out that the in
formation sent from the navy depart
ment as to the whereabouts of the Gu
ban insurgents in the vicinity of San
ing them much nearer that city than
they Were. IF we had gone, to the place
Indicated" he said lat the time we re-
ceived the dispatch we would have been
in all probability gobbled So that the
dispatch therefore was misleading | do
not mean intentionally.b but simply througn
information which was not at that time
very reliable about it."
Again referring to his own dispatch. Adj
miral Schley said that it had been deliv-
cred in English. but he added: Read in
the light of this order and in view OF the
fact that the squadron did not return to
Key West, whatever may have been our
intention or purpose, L say there was no
disobedience of that order and there is
no order there to go back. 1t was simply
that the department looked to me to es-
tablish a fact OF which I was not GER
tain.
In response to a request from Nj Ray
ner for the exact wording of the sentence
in the dispatch in dispute, Admiral Schley
gave it as follows;
SchIey's ''DisObedience."
cit is to be regretted that the depart
ment's orders cannot be obeyed earn
estly as we have all striven to that end
This, he said, was the authentic version
of the sentence and was as he sent it,
The admiral was in the midst of his
discussion of the "diSobedience of orders
dispatch when the old clock in the court
room struck T. and Admiral Dewey an
nounced an adjournment for the day.
Notwithstanding that Admiral Schley told
him he would like to conclude his testi-
mony at this sitting. The admiral was
hours he sat in the witness chair and he
spoke in tones which, while not loud,
Were so distinct that his words were
easily heard
stand two new witnesses had been heard
The first of these was Lieutenant Com
mander Harlow and the second Capt.
Clark, formerly of the Oregon.