Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 October 1901 — ISSUE AS TO DISTANCE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ISSUE AS TO DISTANCE

Lieut. Bristol Differs Greatly With Other Estimates at the Santiago Fight. RAYNEB GAINS A POINT ON HIM Admiral Taylor's Testimony Is Dis* tinetly Anti-Scbley— Admiral Dewey Growing Weary. Washington, Oct. 10. —Admiral Dewey Is tired of the Schley court of inquiry. Yesterday when Rayner was cross-examining Lieutenant Bristol Hanna objected to a question; the admiral protested at the delay so hotly that Judge Advocate Lemly felt compelled to come to his associate's assistance. Admiral Dewey became heated and told the judge advocate that he must not interrupt the proceedings, which were becoming very

tiresome. he asked Captain Lemly how long it would take him to finish his side. When the judge advocate said he had several more witnesses, the admiral,said: "Well, hurry them up. We want to get through with this thing." Bristol Severely Croat-Examined. Lieutenant Bristol, the watch officer of the Texas, continued ids testimony on the stand yesterday morning. The lieutenant is 33 years old. He gave very clear answers to the questions of the judge advocate. Bristol had said that the Texas on blockade under Schley at Cienfuegos was from to six and ten miles off shore during the blockade. Rayner had the witness read the log of the Texas, which did not substantiate the lieutenant’s estimate. Bristol; however, said his replies to questions were what he thought, not what others thought. Kayner Make* a Point. Then Rayner read Schley’s report to the navy department stating that the blockade was maintained at a distance of four miles from the shore. Rayner made a point against the witness when he asked him almut the elevation of the batteries at the mouth of Santiago harbor. Witness had said that the Brooklyn was never nearer than 2,800 yards from the Spanish cruiser. Rayner called his attention to his statement that the batteries were from 150 to 200 feet higher than the sea level, and then had him look at a chart showing those batteries to be from 220 to 230 feet high. Bristol said he'stuck to his etimtte in spite of the chart. Rayner's point was that If Bristol wa.s as far out in his estimates of the distance between the Brooklyn and the Spanish ships as he was as to the height of the batteries his testimony was not valuable. ll*. no Fifth In the Stadimeter. During the cross-examination Rayner called Bristol's attention to the fact that the Spanish ships were hit by a number of five-inch shells, the Brooklyn being the only ship armed wtith that size gun. ami asked him how the . Spaniards could have been hit at such ! n range as .".son vnrds. But Bristol I said It could he done. Bristol does I not believe in the stadimeter, and said the only point from which it was entirely reliable was at zero. He preferred the sextant in measuring distances between ships. At the close of the cross-examination Captain Lemly developed the fact’ that Bristol had been for six months in i. e coast survey. where he daily had used the sextant.

TAYLOR TALKS SOFT AND SMOOTH Captain of the tn<|lnna. However, Can Become Very Emphatic. Hear Admiral Taylor was the next witness called by ('apt,'tin Lemly. During the Spanish-American war the witness was a captain in the navy and commanded the battleship Indiana. Admiral Taylor Ims the voice of a Sumhhj'-school superintendent rather than that of the commander of a lighting ship. It is soft and smooth ami he talks slowly and easily. He told about tlu* battle of Santiago In the same vokk' which he might be expected to use in the discussion of a social evente He became emphatic, however, when h< was asked if the Spanish warship attempted to ram the Brooklyn. He declared he was watching them and there was no move made by them that he could see that indicated such an attar)?. The witness was antagonistic to Admiral Schley in all his answers. Rayner endeavored to show by the sig mil booff of the Indiana that Admiral Simpson had signaled Taylor to accompany him to Slboney. but that Taylor had refused, saying that he believed there was going to be a battle and he wanted to be there. Judge Advocate Lemly protester, against reading these signals. Ho said that they did not pertain to the Inquiry. Rayner asserted that thoj were wanted tn show that Schley was commander-in-chief nt the time of the battle. FltmlJ the matter was settled by Captain Lemly agreeing to recall the witness nt any time Rayner desired If it wns found' necessary to

put these signals In the record of the Inquiry. "Can you state generally in what direction the Brooklyn was headed when you last saw her?" asked the judge advocate. “Not more than two points difference from when I first saw her—apparently not any difference; but I can eay it could not have been more than two points, and If she was headed ns I believe, south by east, when I first saw her across the bows of the Texas, she wins not headed more than south by west when I last saw her." "Did you see Cervera’s vessels when they came out of Santiago harbor?” “Yes, sir." “What direction did they take first after getting out. and how far outside tlie mouth of the harbor were they when they changed their direction?” “Their change .appeared gradual, porting their helms as they cleared the mouth of the harbor and proceeding, perhaps with change of course of one or two points at a time, until they were In line parallel with the shore.” "Did you observe whether there was any attempt on the part of any of these vessels to ram any of the voxels of the American squadron?" "I observed that there wns no such attempt.” He saw the cruiser Brooklyn but twice at the commencement of the engagement. and those times were not at the beginning and execution of the loop.

SAYS SCHLEY WAS MUCH EXCITED Seemed to Want to Do a Dl.Mgreeable Duty Quickly, Say* Pott*. The next witness was Commander T. M. I’otts, navigator of tlfeMassachusetts during the period under inquiry. His testimony dealt especially with the bombardment of the Colon. Answering a question from Judge Advocate Lemly as to the conduct of Commodore Schley during that engagement he said it was that of a man laboring under great mental excitement. and of a man who wtis anxious to discharge as soon as possible a disagreeableduty,— Explaining why he so characterized Schley's conduct Potts said: "When Commodore Schley came on board the Massachusetts, he stated in distinct terms that he was going in to destroy tin* Colon. The Colon was not destroyed. When he left the ship he called it a Teconnoisance,’ drawing the tire of the batteries and developing their weakness or strength.” During Commander Potts’ examination Rayner secured permission from the court to introduce as evidence the order of Secretary Long to Admiral Sampson, dated April ti. in which he was admonished against the exposure) of the American vessels to the tire of strorgly fortified ports. The paragraph in that order which he especially wished to have considered reads as follows: "The department does not! wisli the vessels of your squadron to be exposed to the fire of the batteries at 1 lax ana. Santiago de Cuba, or other strongly fortified ports in Cuba, unless the more formidable Spanish vessels should take refuge within those harbors. Even in this case the department would suggest that a rigid blockade and employment of our torpedo boats might accomplish the desired object, viz.: The destruction of the enemy’s vessels, without subjecting unnecessarily our own men-of-war to the fire of the land batteries.” SCHLEY’S ATTACK ON THE COLON Described by I.lent. Leeper, Who Was Aboard the New Orleans. Lieutenant Edward F. Leiper, who was on the New Orleans during the war. followed Potts. He described the engagement with the Santiago batteries, saying that the first shot from tlie Massachusetts had fallen outside the Morro, and notwithstanding the range was increased all tlie shots fell short of the Colon. There were, he said, no orders either to fire at or to make observations of tlie batteries. But notwithstanding this he did fire at the eastern batteries on his own responsi-. bllity. He had personally aimed tlie guns, hut the distance was so great that only tlie red line of earth could be seen: neither guns nor men were discernible. One shot from the enemy foil thirty cr forty yards from the New Orleans. The projectile was so small he had been surprised that ft reached such a range. All told, the tiring of his vessel unon the Colon had not consumed more than six minutes. He thought all the shots from tlie United States shifts had fallen short of the Colon. Tlie witness said he had seen no evidence of the presence of large or powerful guns in the shore batteries, and was of opinion there were none to exceed six inches In caliber. The witness said that he had se--1 cured his most accurate idea of the strength of the shore batteries by the fact that on June 14 the New Orleans had approached to within 1,650 yards ! of them, remaining for twenty minutes and silencing them after four or five minutes. Lieutenant Leiper was still on the ; stand when the court adjourned for the day

REAR ADMIRAL TAYLOR.