UPHOLDS VERDICT
President Sustains Findings of Tte
Naval Court of Inquiry.
HE CRITICISES BOTH ADMIRALS.
Censures Schley For His "Retrograde
Movement? and Sampson For Be
ing Absent.
Washington, Special. The mem
orandum" of the President upon the
appeal of Admiral Schley from the ver
dict of the court of inquiry to examine
into his conduct during the Spanish
American war, was given to the press
Wednesday. It says: .
"I have received the appeal of Ad
miral Schley and the answer thereto
from the Navy Department. I have ex
amined both with the utmost care, as
well as the preceding appeal , to the
Secretary of the Navy. I have read
through all the testimony taken before
the court and thei statements of the
counsel for Admirals Sampson and
Schley; have examined all the official
reports of every kind in1 reference to
the. Santiago naval campaign .copies
of ttie logbooks and signal books, and
magazine arorie written vt iaw
Admiral Philip and the statements by
Capt. Clark and Admirals. Evans and
Taylqr and Commander Wainwrighl
and reviews the damage to the Spanish
ships by the guns of the American fleet
and continues:
"From the statements of the cap
tains above, from the official reports,
and from the - testimony before - the
court of inquiry, the fight can ; be
plotted with absolute certainty in Us
important outlines, though there $ la
conflict as to minor points. When the
four Spanish cruisers came out of the
harbor the New York had left, her posi
tion" in tne Blockading lrne- 40 or 45
minutes before. She, had , hoisted the
signal Disregard the movements oi
the commander-in-chief," but had not
hoisted the signal to tjhe ' second y In
command to take charge, which, aa
appears by the signal book, was some,
times but not always us,ed when the
command was transferred. As soon as
the engagement began the New S York
turned and steamed back hoisting a
signal to close in, which however,
none of the squadronv saw. She wai
in plain sight-, and not very much
farther from the easternmost blockad
ing ships than the latter were from the
Brooklyn, which was the westernmosl
of the line. As soon as Uie SpaniF,b
ships appeared the five big American
blockaders started toward them in ac
cordance "with the standing ordes of
Admiral Sampson. After thi first
move each acted purely on Us own
Initiative. , For pome minutes the
Spanish and American vessels stead
ily aDDroached one another, and the
fighting was at the hottest Then the
ha tPsHmnnv before the Court of
Claims, and have aEo personally had ! already damaged Spanish ships turned
before me the four surviving captain ; to the westward, while at the same
of the two admirals, which were ac
tively engaged at Santiago.
'Tt annears . that the court of in
time the western most American ves
sel, the Brooklyn, which was nearest
the Spanish line, turned to tne east
quiry was unanimous in its findings of ward, making a loop or three-quarter
fact and unanimous in its expressions circle, at the end of which she again
of opinion on most of its findings of headed westward, farther off from
fact. No appeal is made to me from and farther behind the Spanish ves
the verdict o f the court on these points tela than before the Iood had begun.
where it was unanimous, l nave, now- ut still ahead of any of the American
ever, gone carefully over the evidence I Vessels, although farther outside. The
on these Doints also. I am satisfied
that on the whole the court did sub
stantial justice. It should have speclu
Texas, the next ship to tne tfrooKiyn,
either was or conceived herself to' De
put in such jeopardy by the Brooklyn's
cally condemned the failure to enforce turn toward her that she backed her
an efficient night blockade at Santiago
whilA Admiral Schley was in com
engines, coming almost or quite to a
standstill; s6 that both the Oregon
mand. On the other hand, I feel that jowa . Which were originally
there is a reasonable doubt wnetner eastWard of her, passed her,
he did not move his squadron with ; it wag some timQ after she again
sufficient expedition from port to port. started before she regained her form
The court is a unit in condemning Ad- !er positiOI1 relatively to the Spanish
miral Schley's action on the point vessels. The Spanish vessels had
where it seems to me he most gravely ' Btraightened out in column for the
erred; his 'retrograde movement west Colon going inside of the
when he abandoned the blockade, and others and gradually forging ahead ot
his disobedience of orders and mis? ' them without suffering much damage.
Statement 01 iacts in reiauun mwew. Th two tornedo boats, which had fol-
It should be remembered, however,
that the majority of lhese actions
which the court censures occurred
five weeks or more before the fight
lowed them out of the harbor, were
now destroyed by the fire of the near-
most of the American big vessels and
of the Gloucester, which headed
itself; and it certainly seems that if straight in for them, paying no-more
Admiral scniey s actions were cen- need to quiCt.flre guns than to
surauie ne enouia uui uave uu icxi
as second in command under Admiral
Sampson, His offenses were in effect
condoned when he was not caHea" to
account for them. Admiral Sjnpson,
after the fight, in an. official letter to
the Department, alluded for the first
time to Admiral Schley's represensiblo
conduct six weeks previously. If Ad-; Brooklyn was ahead of any
niirai ocmey waa , guilty vl cuCu0r ; othQr American vessels on
Die conduct or a Kina wmcn canea lor outslde theirs; she was nearly broad,
such notice from Admiral Sampson, i Bide on to the Spaniards. The Oregon,
then Admiral Sampson ought not to Iow& Texag wepe 0qsq together
nave ieit mm as seuiur uiuuer ut wic :
the heavy artillery of the forts, to.
which she was also exposed.
'In the running fight which followed
until the Teresa, Oquendo and Vis
caya were destroyed, the Indiana
gradually dropped behind, although
she continued to fire until the last of
the three vessels went ashore. The
of the
a course
blockading squadron on the 3rd o!
inly, when he, (Sampson) steamed
Away on his proper errand of com
munication with General Shatter.
"We can, therefore, for our present
purposes dismiss consideration of so
much of the appeal as relates to any-
and actively engaged throughout this
running fight. The Brooklyn and Ore
gon, followed at some distance by the
Texas, then continued In the chase of
the Colon, which went nearly thirty
miles farther before she also went
ashore. During this chase of the Colon
thing except the battle. As regards i was practically no fighting.
mi i ll m x a. M 1. V.
this, the point raised in the appeal is Ahese are xne iacts as m iurtu
between Admiral Sampson and Ad- BU"ve m uio siaiemeuw ui iub w
miral Schley, as to which was in com-! t&lns and elsewhere Intheir official
mand, and as to which was entitled
to the credit, if either of them was
really entitled to any unusual and pre
eminent credit by any, special exhibi
tion; of genius, skill, and courage. The
court could have considered both of
these questions, but as a matter of
fact it unanimously excluded evidence
offered upon them, and through its
president announced Its refusal to
hear Admiral Sampson's side at all;
and in view of such exclusion the ma
jority of the court acted with entire
propriety in not expressing any opin
ion, on these points. The matter has,
however, been raised by the president
of the court. Mortver, it is the point
upon which Admiral Schley In his ap
peal? lays most stress, and which he
especially asks me to consider. ! 1
- havio therefore : carefully investigated
this matter als6, ; and have informed
myself upon it from the best sources
of information at my command.
"Tne appeal or a.amirai ocoiey 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 appeal, is devoted to this
question of command and credit; that
- is, to .matter which the court of in
' quiry did not' consider. It is in effect
anappeal from the action of President
McKinley three years . ago, when he
sentin ithe recommendations for pro-
- iinptionvWth . the Santiago squadron,
basing these Recommendations ' upon
nis estimate ;Sfejnt -:'tb . vrmcu
ecersre re"specilVely entitled.
Wnatiiave to Jdecide;- therefore, is
H whether or not President McKiuley
dldlstice in'the matter. This neces
teJtivorves a comparison of the ac
tions of the different commanders en
ivgaged; he exhaustive .official reports
- oi the. action Jeave little to be brought
out anew; but as the -question of Ad-
' miral Sampson's right to be considered
- -h - chief ; command, which was deter
mined in his favor by -President Mc
Kinley, and later by tho Cotit of
; Claims, has "never hitherto beefc offi
cially raised; I deem ed it heat to se-
. cure statements of the commanders of
; -the five, ships (other than the Brook
lyn; and New York the flagships of
the two admirals) which weYe actively
engaged .in the fight."
- The President then quotes" from a
reports and testimony. They leave no
room for doubt on any important
point. ' 1
"The question of command Is In
this case nominal and technical. Ad
miral Sampson's ship, the New York,
was seen at the outset of the fight
from all the other ships except the
Brooklyn. Four of these five ship , cap
tans have testified that they regarded
him as present and in command. He
signaled 'Close In to the fleet as soon
as the first Spanish ship appeared,
but his signal , was not eyeen by any
American vessel. He was actually un
der fire from the forts, and himdell
fired a couple of shots, at the close of
the action with the torpedo boats. In
addition to signaling the Indiana just
at the close of the action. But during
the action not a single order, from him
was received by any of the ships that
were actively engaged. '
"Admiral Schley at' the outset of
the action hoisted the two signals of
'Clear ship' and 'Close in,' which was
simply carrying out ther standing or
ders of Admiral Sampson as to what
should be - done if the enemy's ships
attempted to break out of the harbor.
Until after the close of the first por
tion , of the fight at the mouth of the
harbor, and until after he had made
his loop and the Spanish ships were
fleeing to the westward, not another
American ship noticed a signal from
him. When the western pursuit had be
gun the Oregon, and the Oregon only,
noticed and repeated one of his signals
of command. The captain of the Ore
gon then regarded him as in com
mand , but did not in any shape or way
execute any movement or any action
of any kind whatsoever 4 In accordance
with any order from' him.
"In short, the question as to which
of the two men, Admiral Sampson or
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 that after j the
battle was joined not a v helm was
ouxivtAi, uut a gun was nrea, not a
their own two vessels. It war a cap
tain's fight - v
"Therefore the credit to which each
of the two is entitled rests on mtOters
apart from the claim of, norniinaJ
command over the squadron; for so
far as the actual fight was concerned
neither one nor the other In fact ex
ercised any command. Sampson was
hardly more than technically in ; the
fight. His real claim for credit upon
his work as commander-in-chief Upon
the excellence of the blockadjb; upon
the preparedness of the squadron;
upon the arrangement of the ships
head-on in a semi-cirlce around the
harbor; and the standing orders in
aocordanoe with which they instantly
moved to the attack of the Spaniards
when the latter appeared. For all these
things the creditMs his. : ;
: "Admiral Schley is rightly entitled
as is Captain' Cookto the credit of
what the Brooklyn did in the fight On
the whole she did well ; but I agree
with the unanimous finding" of - the
ihree admirals who composed the
court of inquiry as to the loop.' It
seriously marred the Brooklyn's other
wise excellent record, being In fact
the one gravte mistake made by any
American ship that day. Had the
Brooklyn turned to the westward, that
Is, In the same direction that the
spanisn snips were gomg, instead 01
in the contrary direction, she would
undoubtedly have been, in more 'dan
gerous proximity' to them. , But it
would have been more dangerous for
them as well a3 for her! This kind of
danger must not be too nicely
Weighed by those whose trade it is
to dare greatly for the honor of the
flag. Moreover the danger was cer
tainly not as great as that which, in
the self -same moment menaced Wain
Wright's fragile craft as he drove for
,warl against the foe. It was not in
my Judgment as great- as the danger
to which the Texas was exposed by
the turn as actually made. Uncertainly
caused both- the , Brooklyn and .the
Texas materially to lose position com
pared to the fleeing Spanish vessels.
But after the loop had once been taken
Admiral Schley handled the Brooklyn
manfully and .well. She and tne ure
gon were henceforth and headmost of
the American ' vessels though the
Iowa certainly, and scomlngly the
Texas also did as much in hammering
to a standstill the Viscava, Oquendo,
and Teresa" while the Indiana did all
her eastward position and chipped
machinery permitted. In the chase of
the Colon the Brooklyn and Oregon
ehare the credit between them. ,
"Under such circumstances it seems
tor. me that the recommendations of
President McKinley. , were eminently
proper, and that so far a3 Admiral
Sampson and Schley were concerned it
would have been unjust for him to
have made other recommendations.
Personally I feel that in view of Cap
tain Clark's .long voyage in the Oregon
and the condition in which he brought
her to the scene of service, as well as
the way in which he actually managed
her before and during the fight, it
would have been well to have given
him the same advancement that was
given Wain wrlght. But waiving this,
it Is evident that Waipwright was en
titled to receive more than any of the
other commanders; and that it was
just to Admiral Sampson that he
should receive a greater advance in
numbers than Admiral Schley there
was nothing done in the battle , that
warranted any unusual reward for ei
ther. n short, as regards Admirals
Sampson and Schley, I find that Presi
dent McKinley did substantial justice,
and that there would be no warrant
for reversing his action.
"Both Admiral Sampson and Ad
miral Schley are now on the retired
list In concluding their report the
members of the court of Inquiry, Ad
miral Dewey Benham and Ramsay,
unite in stating that they recommend
that no further action be had " in the
matter. With this recommendation I
most heartily concur. There is no ex
cuse whatever from either side for any
further agitation of this unhappy con
troversy. To keep it alive would merely
do damage to the navy - and to the
country." ,v: : "
Government For Philippines. v
WashingtonSpeciaL Senator Ba
con gave notice of his intention to
offer an amendment to the Philippine
tariff bill, declaring it to be the inten
tion of 'the United States when order
shall be restored In the Philippines, to
allow the formation of a government
for andsby the Philippine . people and
to guarantee to them the same liberty
and independence that' this country has
pledged to the Cuban people.
DEATH OF GEN. TOOM.
gine room abroad any ship actively
engaged, In obedience to the order ot
eitner tJamoson or Schlej save on
Kreugerjyiay Come.
' Brussels, By, Cable. It is said in
Boer circles ithat if Messrs. Wilmarans
and Wessels, after investigating the
situation in, the United States, ' advise
Mr. Kruger that a tour; of the United
States would be beneficial to the Boer
cause,, tjie ;,Boer ; President 'will over
come; his .aversion, to a long trip and
undertake the journey. ; Mr. Kruger is
in excellent': physical condition, and
his physicians advise , him that he
could (safely go to America at the prop
er season. Messrs. Wolmarans and
Wessels" .-, will spend a month In the
United States. . -
State Saperf Jitendcat of Public In
jtruction Passes Away.
Ralefgh, Special. The people here
were shocked at the news- of the deatb
of Gen, Thomas y. Toon State. Super
intendent of Public .Instruction, which
owurred Wednesday morning; after 10
o'clock" at his home herel He was
thought to , be 'entirely well, and
though he had not teen iff his office
since ft left November 20th to go to
northeastem North Qarolina,. he had
for several days been consulted about
business and was in fine spirits Tues
day and Wednesday. ; ' He felt well at
breakfast, but afterwards complained
ot acute indigestion. A- physician was
sent for .and quickly responded. In a
few minutes! Gen. Toon said he felt all
right. He said he would lie down a
little while; The moment he did so
his face became purple and. death came
like a flashy I
The news came like a thunderclap to
the State officials, who hastened! to his
home. Tha Council of State met and
adopted the i following resolutions:
"Resolved. That in the death of Gen.
Thomas Fentress Toon, late Superin
tendent of Public Instruction, we, his
associates in the Executive Department
of the State government, have lost a
wise and faithful counsellor and friend
and the State one of, her most careful
and efficient officers. Brave in war and
loyal in peace, his . heroic spirit is at
rest) and North Carolina mourns the
loss of a noble son. ' ,
"Resolved, fThat we tender the rela
tives of the deceased our deepest sym
pathy in ther great affliction.
"Resolved, That a copy of these reso
lutions be sent to the family and aiso
be spread upon the minutes of tho
Council of State." "
The flags State and national, on the
capitol were I placed at half-staff and
the building was closed.' At 2 o'clock
just before the Supreme Court ended
its business for the day, Attorney Gen
eral Gilmer 'made official announce
ment, of the j death and the court ad
journed, as a mark of respect.
uen. Toon i was born: in Columbus
county, June 10. 1840. . He srrkduated at
Wake Forest? College in- 1S1 with ; very
high honors. He enlisted as a private
in Company! K, Twentieth Regiment,
North Carolina Troops; and was a col
onel nerore he was 23 years old. He
was In 1863 appointed under a sDecial
act of Congress a temnorarv brigadier
general, and commanded ' Johnsnn'u
Brigade for many months, while John
son was recovering from wounds. He
was then re-commissioned as colonel
and resumed the command of his old
regiment. He was wounded five times.
He gave your correspondent two bul
lets extracted front him. After the
war he was! in the service of the At
lantic Coast: Line 16 years, then took
charge of Fair Bluff Academy. In 1867
he married Miss Carrie Smith, who is
buried at ! Fair Bluff. Five children
survive him, these being Mrs. Olivia
Rowland, of Brodie, Warren county:
Mrs. Mary; Fuller, and Miss Robbie
Toon, of Lumberton; T. F. Toon, of
Atlanta, Gaj and H. B. Toon, of Lynch
burg, S. C. Both of the latter are in the
railroad service. He leave two broth
ers, Archie IToon and Abraham Toon
of Whlteville, and a half-brother Don
ald McCracken, of Whlteville. He rep
resented Columbus county in the lower
House of the. Legislature and Robeson
and Columbus In, the Senate.-In 1891 he
married Mrs. R. C. Ward, who survives
him. He made Lumberton his home and
devoted himself to teaching and farm
ing. With his nomination for the office
of State Superintendent and his career
therein all (are familiar. He was a
likable man, in all respects, and de
voted to his work and to the best" in
terests of North Carolina. It is not yet
known where he will be buried. It la
the desire that he shall be buried here.
Three months ago General Toon left
here to go with Governor ycock on an
educational trip to the northeastern
countries. He told his assistant, Capt.
Duckett, that he dreaded the trip'and
wished he could get out of going. He
was restless and seemed to fear trouble.
He said afterwards he took cold at
Wilmington; while sitting in a draft
after speaking. ' . ;
At a. meeting held In the executive
office the following resolution was
unanimously adopted: "Resolved. That
the Governor and his Council respect
fully request that the remains of Gen
eral Toon be laid In state in the rotun
da of the capitol pending the arrange
ments lor iunarel obsequies." A fur
ther resolution was" adopted requesting
the Governor to communicate the ac
tion of the Council through Capt John
Duckett to relatives. The body will not
He In state, as Mrs., Toon desire's that
it remain at the house until the gen
eral's, children arrive.
OUR WATER POWES.
SplenCUL Opportunities Af0
Its Development.
The State .of North Caroiu
adapted by nature for tn. i fc
of-' waters pswer. its suriW
wedge whose edge eorresnoM
Bj&er iiiuiua.ce me state's i
elevation toward its , westpN
m m m r- III 1HI h -t mil' A.I . ".i
tafin ridges,; whete are m5J?l
Bippi xvi vcr. Among tness hkh tJ
moimtafna th r
and flnd their way seawam 2"
with rapfcf descent '
One of the well defined fc,
- a UiUQrt -i, j
pnnntnr , Thrnwn oe J'i
Plateau-,, whose eastern S
roughly piarallel to tie Atlamw
and about a hundred" miles t
less, wrest of it. It is composed
and ancient rocks, into ww,
rivers have not been able to m
way so demrlv as in fK u''
below. Over this plateau nWJ
irftftflwie nf Vrtm Cfof , v K
ing its eastern border in aSj
of falls and rapids which furnSf
mirable water power sites- Sotl
is this feature, which can be trl
tirely across the State, that it W
termed the "fan line." Tne m
must be considered of especia-J
mlc Importance, for along it 5
been said, occur many vaW'ef
powers, of which some are air J
use and othersmay be develop
siderable activity has been siol
recent years in studying the
possibilities of the North (V
streams and gaging stations 3
ted by the U. S. Geological' 3
which have been maintained r
Roanoke, Neal, Tar, Neuse, Hat
Cape Fear, Yadkin, Catawba acif
streams. At these f. stations V
ments of flow are made, daily
of height kept, and informal
tained on which further (kveH
of their waters must be basei j
oaronna is a part of the genera
tigatlon which the
is making of tho water resources
country. .
End of Strange Romance. . r ,
The marriage of John M. Currier of
Valparaiso, Ind:, and Mrs. Laura M
Morse of Chicago was the final act in
an unusual; romance. K The; groom Is
an old and prominent resident of that
city. He was divorced .from his hride
more tnan iorty years ago.
E?JJ?t.Lste?m Put ?? 111 years' old and' she is ' 72? --Both
grown children Irom marriages sub-
sequent to their separation.
Liberals Condemn Surrender. '
London, By Cable.- At the , annual
meeting of the general committee of
the National Liberal Federation held
at Leicester, after considerable debate,
a resolution was passed condemning
the policy of Insisting on the uncondi
tional surrender of the Boers in South
Africa,- affirming the future content
ment and security of South Africa
could only be, secured by regular peace,
on broad, generous lines; welcoming
the impetus Lord Rosebery has given
to this policy and calling on all Liberal
members of the House of Commons tq
Support the Libenil leader, Sir Henry
Campbell-Bannerman, in his advocacy
of this policy.
State News Notes.
It looks like Roanoke Island;
tined to be famous not oily asil
place or Virginia Dare, the first
lish born child in America, k
as the home of the perfection'' o(:
weather bureau has been mak!nj
periments there ' for months aiiif
Marconi has established a station
for making extensive experiment,
Three thousand Western h;
known as "Cayuses" gathered fror
ranges of the inter-mountain s
are to be shipped to South AfM
use in the British army. The m
were purchased by agents oi the
Ish army, who have been scouti?
country for wesks, and have bee;
centrated in corrals n Salt Lafc
and Grand- Junctor, Colo.
- Charlotte. N. C. Special. A S;
to the Observer from Lenoir say;
pers have beenfiled with the.regis
deeds hpr hv which the entire
erty of ethCaldwell Land andli
company, changes hands, inea
eratlon named was $oif,wi.
property consists of a large mil!
Lenoir.'Romethinff like 40,000 ac
valuable timber lands in this cl
and on the Caldwell and Nortnea
way which runs 11 miles norM
Lenoir to Collettsville. me pr
goes to Mr. George Shakespeare
tee,s representing, it is saio,
Philadelphia.
Railroad building for 1902, it f
will exceed that of any year in
Already enough new constructs
has been undertaken in theft
the coming year to be sufflcier
sure the addiflnti nf an immeS
age to the railway system of C
jr, auu scnemes ior new n
extensions are developing c(
says the Atlanta Constitution.1
Cabling from Constantino
correspondent of the Dajly Q
declares the Rnl ern'riAnsi are h
a rising In Macedonia during ft
mg spring and that they are
oring to persuade the Greeks
them.
Alhfrf n TTloln o crJonf at t
. verslty of Michigan, committej
Dy taking nrusslc acid.
second of the stud ents to com
Cidft Withfn tha loa nr -WftfiU
, A lamp explosion in the k
yvney xayior, colored, causey
South Mills, fourteen miles
Elizabeth City which swept t
business and residential portifi
town. Twenty-five buildings
stroyed.- i
George McMahan, aged 16, 4
ston, was sent to jail for four
for: larceny. His father, wbo
Davie county's best citizens,
that George was a kleptomani
: Henry Taylor, a convict H
sent from the penitentiary toi
county to work on the WesteJ
Carolina Railroad, has been m
to the penitentiary, as he v&h
be Insane. . '
Vififfnno fn T?o1a!o-ri lost.
greatly impressed by the grfl
which are now being .consu
clusively. They cost only
;much as those of -macadam.
Jake Hill, of Stokes county
invented an air ship.announc
has decided to enter a flyii
contest at the St. Louis exposi
RaleigM
IWC UUOIUOO UiWU uw
tn m
there a tobacco market ha
nearly $10,000 for the purpose
I