Evening star., 1902-02-20
THE SCHLEY APPEAL
Decision Announced by the
President Today.
A CAPTAINS BATTLE
CONDEMNED.
Promotions Made by President Nc
Kinley Approved and Considered
Justified by Facts.

The following is the text Of the decision
Of the President on the appeal made by
Rear Admiral Schley:
WHITE HOUSE, February IS, 1902.
1 have received the appeal Of Admiral
Schley and the answer thereto from the
Navy Department. l have examined both
with the utmost care, as well as the pre-
ceding appeal to the Secretary of the Navy.
1 have read through ALI the testimony
taken before the court and the statements
of the counsel for Admirals Sampson and
Schley; have examined all the official re-
ports of every kind In reference to the San
tiago naval campaign, copies of the log
books and signal books and the testimony
before the Court of Claims, and have also
personally had before me the four surviv-
ing captains of the five ships. aside from
those Of the two admirals, which were ac
lively engaged at Santiago
1t appears that the court of inquiry was
unanimous in its findings of fact and unan-
imous in it's expressions of opinion on most
of its findings of fact. No appeal is made
to me from the verdict of the court on
these points where 1t was unanimous. /
have, however. gone carefully over the evil
dence on these points also. / am satisfied
that on the whole the court did substantial
justice 1t should have specifically con-
demned the failure to enforce an efficient
night blockade at Santiago while Admiral
Schley was in command. On the other
hand, I feel that there is a reasonable
doubt whether he did not move his squad
ron with sufficient expedition from port to
port. The court Is a unll in condemning
Admiral Schley's action on the point where
1t seems to me he most gravely erred; his
'retrograde movement when he abandoned
the blockade, and his disobedience of or
ders and misstatement of facts In relation
thereto: 1t should be remembered, how
ever, that the majority of these actions
which the court censures occurred FIVE
weeks or more before the fight itself; and
1t certainly seems that IL Admiral Schley's
actions were censurable he should not have
miral Sampson. His offenses were in ef-
feet condoned when he was not called to
account for them. Admiral Sampson, after
the fight, in an official letter to the depart
ment alluded for the first time to Admiral
Schiey's 'reprehensible conduct six weeks
previously. If Admiral Schley was guilty
of .reprehensfble conduct Of kind which
called for such notice from admiral samp
son, then Admiral Sampson ought not to
have left him as senior officer of the block
aiding squadron on the Sd of July when he
tSampson) steamed away on his proper err
rand of communication with General Shaf-
ter.
The Point Of the Appeal
We can therefore for our present pur-
poses dismiss consideration of so much of
the appeal as relates to anything except the
battle. AS regards this the point raised in
the appeal Is between Admiral Sampson and
Admiral Schley. as to which was In COM
mand, and as to which was entitled to the
credit, II either of them was really entitled
to any unusual and eminent credit by
any special exhibition of genius skill and
e eourage. me court could have considered
both or these questions, but as a matter of
fact 1t unanimously excluded evidence of
Iered upon them. and through it's president
announced Its refusal to hear Admiral
SIMPSONS side at all. and in view of such
exclusion the majority of the court acted
with entire propriety in not expressing any
opinion on these points. The matter has
however, been raised by the president Of
the court Moreover 1t is the point upon
winch Admiral Schley in his appeal laws
most stress. and which he especially asks
me 10 consider l have therefore care
nave informed myself upon It from the
mand As .oA
The appeal Of Admiral schley to me is
not; as to this. the chief point he raises
really an appeal from the decision of the
court OF inquiry. Five-sixths of the apneai
Is devoted to this question of command
en'rt enu clsot, re- Una, tnat is to matter which the
court OF inquiry did not consider 1t Is in
enect an appeal from the action of Presi
dent Mckinley three years ago when he
sent In the recommendations for promotion
Santia sor ine various omcers connected with the
santiago squadron. basing these recommen-
cations upon his estimate of the credit to
which the officers were respectively entitled
What | haye to decide. therefore, is wheth-
e1 or no. resident Mckinley did injustice
In the matter This necessarily involves a
comparison of the actions of the different
commanders engaged The exhaustive of
nclal reports OF the action leave little to be
brought out anew; but as the question of
Admiral Sampson's right to be considered
IN chief command. which was determined
In his favor by President Mckinley. and
later by the Court of Claims has never
hitherto been officially raised, I deemed it
DeSt TO secure statements Of the command
ers of the five ships (other than the Brook
lyn and the New York, the f1agships Of the
two admirals) which were actively engaged
In the fight. Admiral Philip Is dead. I
quote extracts from his magazine article
on the fight, written Immediately after 1t
occurred closing with an extract from his
letter to the Secretary Of the Navy of Feb
ruary 81, 1890:
Quotes From Admiral Philip.
1T was the blockade that made the bat
tie possible The battle was a direct con-
sequence of the blockade, and upon the
method and effectiveness Of the blockade
was very largely dependent the issue of the
battle Under orders of Admiral
Sampson the blockade was conducted with
a success exemplified by the result
When the Spanish admiral at last made his
dash to escape, we were ready-ready with
our men. with our guns. and with our en-
gineS. 1t was only few minutes
after we had seen the leader of the adyanc-
Ing squadron that 1t became apparent that
umn westward in an effort to escape
Before he had fairly found himself outside
the Moro the entire blockading squadron
Indiana, Oregon. Iowa. Brooklyn and Tex
as-was pumping shell into him at such q
rate as virtually to decide the issue of the