The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1902-02-07
SCHLEY'S APPEAL. Is OUT.
Dewey's Opinion His. Basis in Ask
ing President Roosevelt to Set
Aside Findings.
ADMIRAL CLAIMS SANTIAGO CREDIT.
Majority, Decision of the Court OF
Inquiry Is Held to Be Contrary to
the Evidence-President Asked to
Review the Evidence and Reverse
ssthe Verdict.

Washington, Jan. 30.-Rear Admiral
Schley's appeal to the president to set
aside the finding of the naval court
of inquiry was made public yesterday
by the navy department.. 1t is signed
by Admiral Schley himself and by
his counsel, Messrs. Rayner, Parker
and league. The basis of the argu-
ment is the minority opinion of Adj
miral Dewey, which gives Schley full
credit for the destruction of the
Spanish fleet and which finds that 1T
was Schley who was in command of
the American fleet at the time OF the
battle. of Santiago bay
Basis of the Appeal.
The plea asks the president to re-
view the, findings of the court upon
these three grounds, each of which is
based upon the opinion of Admiral
Dewey, rendered in opposition to that
of Rear Admirals Ramsey and Ben
ham:
/. The Endorsement by Secretary Long
of the courts making no finding on the
question of who, was IN, command of the
fleet and to whom the credit of the VIC
tory at Santiago is due.
q The alleged withdrawal of the squad
ron at night from Santiago bay and the
propretys of Admiral Schley's conduct in
the blockade of the port. together with
the character of that blockade itself.
g. Admiral Dewey's opinion that the
passage from Key West to Cienfuegos
was made with all possible dispatch, that
the Cienfuegos blockadewas effective, and,
finally, that the passage from Cienfuegos
to point off Santiago was made with every
possible dispatch.
Secretary Long in Error.
AS to the final ground, the petition
has a great deal to say, particularly
as to evidence which was admitted by
the court, and which went far to prove
who was in command at Santiago.
Secretary Long, the petition urges,
was in error when he asserted that
such evidence had been excluded by
the court, and a resume of this evil
dence (upon which the opinion of Ad-
miral Dewey was based) is submitted.
The president is asked to annul Sec
rotary Longs Endorsement and APP
prove the finding of Admiral Dewey.
Question of Command.
The petition declares that the rec
ord of the court shows concluSively
that Schley actually was in command
at the battle of Santiago bay. A sum-
ming up of the whole question as to
Admiral Schley is made in this ex-
hibit. The petition states that the
entire controversy leading to the in
quiry hinged on the question of the
identity of the commanding officer at
Santiago. 1t concludes as follows:
"And your petitioner most respectfully
states that only by the action for which
he prays in this relation can exact justice
be done him within the contemplation Of
the precept under which the said court sat
and whence it derived it's authority.
''All of which is most respectfully SUBJ
mitted."
Lemly Makes Reply.
Washington, Jan. 31.-The "com-
ment" of, Judge Advocate Lemly and
Solicitor Hanna upon the appeal of
Admiral Schley to President Roose-
welt was made public Thursday. It
begins with the statement that Adj
miral Schley and his counsel have
shifted their ground. They say the
chief features of the case were 'sthe
retrograde movement" 'disobedience
of ORDERS inaccurate and mislead-
ing official reports" failure to de-
stroy vessels of the enemy, lying
within sight and. injustice to a
brother officer" :.
The comment closes in the follow
ing words:
The contention that the magnificent
work of the Oregon. or any part of it, was
done under orders from the Brooklyn, or
that the oregon received and obeyed even
a single order from Commodore Schley
from the time the Spanish ships were
sighted to the time of the surrender of the
Colon. which surrender may fairly be
taken as the close of the battle, must be
abandoned, and with 1t goes the last peg
upon which TO hang the pretense of claim
that during. the battle of Santiago Commo-
dore Schley effectively exercised any of
the functions of a commander in chief.
The plain truth of the matter, there
fore. developed for the first time under
the searchlight of this inquiry, although
quite incidentally, is that SO far as the
Gloucester, the Iowa, the Indiana, the
Texas and the Oregon are concerned, not
the stroke of a propeller blade, not the
touch of helm. not the firing of a shot,
was done under the direction or by the
orders of Admiral Schley during this
memorable battle