The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-03-12
THAT CAPTAINS FIGHT.
In Detail Through President Roose-
velt's Glasses.


From the Chicago Tribune (Rep).
The opinion of President Roosevelt
in the Schley case is manifestly an
effort to satisfy both sides, with the
He distributes praise and blame with
an impartial hand Certain of the
parties to the controversy will think
the praise was unearned, while 9th
ers will look on the blame as unde-
served.
The presidents manner in dealing
with a case which had been appealed
to him on specific exceptions is an
unusual one. He has not confined his
attention to the exceptions. He has
felt warranted in constituting him
self tribunal to retry the entire
case and matters in controversy out
side of the case. He has not re-
stricted himself TO an examination of
the record, but he has called before
himself witnesses, and bases his con-
illusions on testimony given to him
in camera, without affording oppor-
tunity for cross-eXamination on either
side This is legitimate method on
the part of historian preparing to
write an account of sea fight 1t
is not the customary method when
an appeal has been taken to a higher
court and the record of the court be-
low has been submitted as the basis
of the appeal.
The president goes outside the
record of the court of inquiry. He
passes judgment not only upon the
findings of the court, but upon the
court itself. The secretary of the
navy will not be gratified by the
presidents conclusion that the con-
duct of Admiral .Schley prior to the
| battle of Santiago was not a proper
subject for inquiry. The court itself
will not accept this judgment as a
testimonial to it's own discernment
The friends of Admiral Sampson will
object vigorously to some of the Ian
guage of the president; especially tC
that in which he implicitly censures
Sampson for incorporating the charge
of ''reprehensible conduct" in his dis
patches Immediately after the battle
of Santiago
The opinion of the president is al
times confusing and bewildering. He
states as an admitted fact that AID
miral Sampson left Admiral Schley
las senior officer of the blockadine
squadron on July 3, when he (Samp
SOM steamed away on his proper er
rand of communication with Genera
Shafter."
In another place the president say!
that "if Admiral Schleys actions
were censurable, he should not have
been left as second in command un
der Admiral Schley."
Yet the president finds that neithe
Sampson nor Schley was really en-
titled to any unusual or pre-eminen
credit-that neither of them was il
command except in a technical sense
Then he finds that both were in com
mand, but that "the command wa
of merely nominal character. Tech
nically, Sampson commanded tn
fleet, and Schley, as usual, the west
ern division which was the only d
vision in the fight after the first 1
minutes.
This emphatic opinion is followe
up in the next paragraph by tn
a statement that so far as the actua
fight was concerned, neither the on
nor the other, in fact, exercised an
command" Thus each was entitle
q to some credit. 1T was captain
|. fight"-it fought itself. The "senio
t officer" was not in command, an
, was not a captain, hence, we PR
+ sumo, he was not there. Still, n
8 was too blame for the loop" Az
a miral Schley being present, but nc
IS a captain, was responsible for hi
d own conduct and that of nobody els
It although if anybody else had ere
d and Admiral Schley had noted tn
error and had failed to have correC