The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1902-01-01
INDICATED AND OTHERWISE

Maclay tells his newspaper friends
that he understands the verdict of the
| Schley court as a vindication for him
self. We refer, of course, to Mr. Ed
gar Staunton Maclay, the navy de-
artment laborer who got 81. 80 day
to write historical denunciations of
the appointed victims of the depart
ment cabal.
.,,This fellow, Staunton Maclay, has
| been carefully protected from the first.
Although Admiral Schley demanded
court of inquiry because of the in
famous ISLANDERS contained in his his
tory" of the Santiago campaign; al
! though it was notorious that he had
been encouraged by the department
/ in that detestable enterprise although
every body understood that high Off
GERS of the navy were his collabor-
ators, the astounding fact remains that
he was never summoned to the wit
ness stand. On the contrary, the pros
ecution - meaning the government
scrupulously kept him out of sight as
it did other and bigger men, for the
obvious reason that it would not have,
and could not afford to have, the very
smallest ray of light cast upon the
identity of the conspirators. Thus
Maclay proclaims-and with some
little show of Warrant, that he has
been indicated. His view of the mat
ter will not be generally accepted, but
it will find advocates among those for
whose approval he is paid to care.
By the same token, other and much
greater men have been indicated
also. There is Lemly for example.
! Evidently Admirals Benham and Ram
! say regard him as the chief of organ
izers and marvel of compelling elo
quence. Similarly, Chadwick is vim
| Dictated. Ramsay and Benham have
clearly based their verdict upon the
/ Chadwick hypothesis. Everybody, in
fact, seem to be indicated, except
ing Capt. Clark Of the Oregon and
Capt. Cook Of the Brooklyn, whose
vessels did three-fourths of the fight
| ing and who, after the first sortie,
were the only captains in the fleet
actually engaged with the Spaniards
or near enough to them to speak with
/ knowledge of the tremendous tragedy
of that day. These gentlemen have
not been indicated. On the con-
trary they have been discredited and
rebuked. For if the findings of Ram
say and Benham, relative to the
Brooklyn's loop, be just and true,
|
falsely and without intelligence. And
there is still another who has not re-
ceived the support and commentator
he deserves at the hands of the de-
partments duumvirate. Lieut.. Com
mander Templin Potts, an honest,
conscientious, if mistaken gentleman
-Templin Potts is the one man out of
the whole chorus of Schley's defam-
ers, and detractors who went upon
the stand and said openly before the
whole country what the Others had
whispered secretly in clubs and draw.
ing rooms and department Offices but
had not dared to say in public under
oath.
Templin Potts is not vindicated
Maclay is - Chadwick is-Crownin
shield is-and we suppose that Lemly
even Ward and Hanna are
We do not agree with Potts. In oul
opinion he has no shadow of GROUND
for his denunciation of Admira
Schley But as between his pathetic
isolation and the complacent frater
nifty of Lemly, Chadwick and com
pany, we should infinitely prefer thu
former. Potts was at least brave anC
honest. We can forgive his error il
the light of his courage and sincerity
Washington Post.