Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-02-21
What president \ N THINKS !.
Presidents Action In the schley Case is
a Condemnation Of the
Admiral.
Loop Maneuver and Rerrogade Move
ment are CONDEMNED BY the
President.
Text Of the Answer Of the President to
the Appeal Of Admiral
Schley.
Loop Maneuver and Rerrogade Move

sion of the court of inquiry. He holds
that the court did substantial justice
and that the decision must stand. The
court, he says, should have specifically
cond demned the failure to enforce an
efficient night blockade at Santiago
while Admiral Schley was in COM
mand. On the other hand he feels
that there is a reasonable doubt
whether Schley did not move his
squadron with sufficient expedition
from port to port. The court is unit,
he says, in condemning Admiral
Schley's action on the point where it
seems to him he most gravely erred
his "retrogade movement" when he
abandoned the blockade, and his dis
obedience of orders and misstate-
ment of facts in relation thereto. Con-
tinuing, he says
It should be remembered, however,
that the, majority of these actions
which the court censures, occurred
five weeks or more before the fight it.
self; and it certainly seems that if Ad-
miral Schley's actions were censura-
BILE, he should not have been left sec
ond in command"
The Question Of Command.
The president, as the result of this
condoning of Schley's alleged miscon-
duct, drops all matters in the appeal
down to the battle Of July 8 and says
in regard to the question of command;
The question of command is in this
case nominal and technical. Admiral
Sampson's ship, the New York, was
seen at the outset of the fight from all
the ships except the Brooklyn. -Four
of these five ship captains have testi-
fled that they regarded him as present
and in command. He signalled close
in to the feet as soon as the first
Spanish ship appeared, but his signal
was not seen by any American vessel.
He was actually under fire from the
forts, and himself fired a couple of
shots, at the close of the action with
the torpedo boats.
Admiral Schley at the outset of the
action hoisted the two signals of clear
ship and close in,' which was simply
carrying out the; standing orders of
Admiral Sampson as to what should
be done if the enemy's ships attempted
to break Sout of the harbor. Until
after the close of the first portion of
the fight at the mouth of the harbor
and until he had MADE his loop and
the Spanish ships were fleeing to the
westward, not another American ship
noticed signal from him. When
the western pursuit began the Oregon,
and the Oregon only, noticed and re-
peated one of his signals of command.
The Battle Captains Fight.
In short. the question as to which
Admiral Schley, was at the time in
command, is of merely nominal char
acter. Technically Sampson COM
manded the fleet, and Schley, as usual,
the western division. The actual fact,
the important fact, is tnat after the
battle was on not helm was shift
ed, not gun was fired, not pound
of steam was put on in the engine
room aboard any ship actively engag-
ed, in obedience to the orders Of either,
Sampson or Schley, save on their own
two vessels. It was a captains fight.
Therefore, the credit to which each
of the two is entitled rests on matters
apart from the claim of nominal com
mand over the squadron; for so far
as the actual light was concerned nei-
5ther. one nor the other in fact exer-
.clsed any command Sampson was
hardly more than technically in the
light. His claim for credit rests upon
his work as command erin chief ); upon
the excellence OF the blockade; upon
the preparedness OF the squadron;
upon the arrangement OF the ships
head-on IN 9 semi circle around the
harbor; and the standing orders in ac-
cordance with which they instantly
moved to the attack Of the Spaniards