The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 5, 1901, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISC() CALL, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1901. KING'3 ILLNEDS ALARMES BRITAIN Indisposition of Edward Excites Great Com- motion. Court Official Reported to Confirm Story About Cancer. RSP e 4—The coincidence of of King Edward’s in- < the publication of revived rumors regarding cancer in the newspa- pers of C from which city his returned, and where s ritish court are more likely ng's papers adds to the ed b g's indisposi- his Maj- cis is in no way ing merely a social circle 50 corona e t 1s impos tangible corrob- re 4.—Sir siciz has been LETTER ECDGSON WROTE. ples of corre- ant Hodgson end eriod from June 6, given 1o the press that the co the Schiey court the witness een publish a part of it had t they were interfering the Americans in e of the New American ship epe of the Spanish = the fire of the battle- edo-boats were also to says Hodgson, rboard and to ract the efforts of cava to get into closer d after the leading Span- ed just a little abaft our c the helm and vessels.” he suggested that the soard beam, and that intc her and get around as quick ter the battle Cap: For weeks ok was under t the battle, and ceived that your moment had en- e results of your de- t it was a mportance, battle proved its of the greatest It of the Hodgson goes on to declare that he was under ¢ up to the time he saw 4 on. in regard to t made the turn to star- conditions were as he Continuing, he assures ave never given loop had he for admiral bad given 16, 189, . disclaiming eny sense of the newspapers’ comments, sdy: el yourself that a eolloguy ¥ them that did not pccur shington, June and between me, and it 4% this that I desire to protect you against. Of course, you and it 1s this dlalogue ed. I have mo recollec- er of anything of the kind, and my story is exceedingly clear of the events of that day, for I never felt in m§ life less excitement or more steadiness of judgment than when the Dons came out that day. When the turn was made the Brooklyn was, in my Judgment, within the distance of their tactical diameter, a it had been made to port we should have passed inside their line. but having them e to the interrupted fire the ships, 50 important in the earlier moments in the fight, the proper strategy of & bettle wes to avold interfering with that, ard the sequel showe that we made no mis: take. Cook really gave the order, which T approved, and it is possible that 'your con- versation was With him. but the Sun’s effort has been to promote the notion that you and 1 had & controversy at the critieal moment, end this is unjust to you and me. What { exire is ®imply your denial tha 4 STioguy oocureed, “anh 1 will sce thar propas correction is made to cover you from this stan. Ger. There is much In your letter that T should snot like to use, as it would provoke 3t upon you, which I am unwilling to happen, but what I want to show fg mply this dialogue Aid not occur, and that the whele flimsy canard falls to the Makfe your letter short as possible.” June U Hodgson writes: e eolloquy q 4 to have © on the day 2, 153, never ehown Admiral Schley returns thanks for the dental ed, adding, touching the colloguy, *your ver occurred is absolutely SCHLEY TO RETIRE WEDNESDAY WASHINGTON, Oct. 4—Next Wednes- sth.of October, Rear Admiral retire from the active iist of by age limit, and from present s this will take place while the of Inquiry is still in session. His nt will promote two captains to rear admirals. Captain Frank Wildes, who was in command of the Boston dur- irg the battle of Manila Bay, now heads the of captains. He was promoted for wa rvice and, under the law, his t must not retard the regular of promotions. Therefore Captain Glass also will enter the list of rear admirals. Other npromotions resulting from Ad- miral Schley’s retirement will be those of Commanders F. P."Gilmore and Eugene leutze, who become captains, and Lieu- tenant Commanders Staunton and Bart- lett, who become commanders. the urt Police Judges' bad record. Read the Wasp.* than eisewhere, is causing | motion here, and the fact that urt circular does not ap- among the | me from a titled Queen Victorias to the cancer | the fleet. | taat | interfer- “ that | event the escape of | r the effect | seems to me that | | = (19 | | noxious g President.”” ‘ EVILS OF famous Catholic clergymen: in_the United States. F.T.kF-:,-NMu_;) | UNCLE SAM’S NEXT CAMPAIGN: THE WAR AGAINST THE YELL ‘ RRESPONSIBLE and conscienceiess journalism, without any standard but that of money getting: is the most vicious thing in the world. strained, can undermine ithe surest foundations of our most sacred institutions. can poison the fountains of all that is pure and sweet from its holy ideal and make it a base and blatant vulgarity. ases escaping into the schoolroom wiil take the bloom from the cheek of the innocent | | ehild and make his head reel and his heart faint.””—Excerpt from an article by the Rev. Father A. P. Doyle, C. S. P., one of the most The articie was published in the Catholic World of QOctober, 1901, and was entitled, ““The Undoing of William McKinley, . in the body politic. IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALIS/. %CHLEY’S ATTORNEY DEMANDS TE —_—— OW PRESS. —From Life, June, 1898. % It wields a power that, unre- It It can degrade life It can do this as effectually as the — PRESENCE OF SAMPSON TO SETTLE A CONTROVERSY OVER THE TEXT OF A LETTER Interesting Contention at the Court of Inquiry That a Mistake Was Made by the Commander in Chief When He ' Wiote the Name Santiago in One of His Important Dispatches to the Chief of Flying Squadron. ASHINGTON, Oct. 4—In the Schley court of inuuiry, Mr. Raynor, chief counsel for Ad- miral Schley, asked Judge Advocate Lemly to summon Adrhtral Sempson as a Wwitness in the case. The request grew out of-a differ- ence in the construction of a sentence In Adimiral Sampson’s letter ‘to Commodore Schley, written from Key West, May 20, when Commodore Schley. with the fiying squadron, lay off Cienfuegos. This is known as the *“Dear Schley” letter. In it, as printed in the Navy De- partment documents supplied to the Sgn- ate, the admiral said, after expressing his opinion that notwithstanding the | Spanish squadron was in Santiago it was | better to continue to blockade Cienfuegos | aniy Havana, and “‘we shall continue to | hold Havana and Santiago until we re- ceive more positive information.” | During the examination of Commander Raymond P. Rodgers this digpatch was | under consideration when Mr. Raynor | expressed the opinion that the word | “Santiago” had becn inadvertently used by the commander-in-chief, assuming that he meant to use the word Cien- fuegos as better corresponding/ with the text. As the document was printed there was a parenthetical note, to which Ad- miral Schle initials were attached, say- ing that evidently the wwong city had been mentioned. Mr. Raynor asked Judge Advocate Lemiy to make this concession, but the latter declined to do so, saying that he would produce the original of Admiral Sampson's dispatch to prove that he k\%d written Santiago. Then Mr. Raynor said: “I cannot take that word Santiago to mean anything but Cienfuegos. It is an imputation on Commodore Schley and I cannot permit it to rest without summon- ing the author of that dispatch.” to which Captain Lemly responded: “I have told you once before you can summon any one you wish. ““Then,” retorted Mr. Raynor, mon Admiral Sampson.” ‘This occurred only a short time before the adjournment of the court for the day and was the subject of more or less con- versation of an animated character after the day’s work was concluded. Mr. Ray- por would only say that he would insist on the admiral being summoned unless the correction was conceded. The witnesses for the day were: Lieu- tenant C. W. Dyson of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, concerning the coal supply of the flying squadron; Com- mander R. P. Rodgers, who was second in command of the battleship Iowa dur- ing the Spanish war and carried Admiral Sampson’s_dispatches of May 20 to Com- modore Schley, and Commander Albon T. Hodgson, who was the navigator of .the ship Brookly: “sum- Great Sea Battle. WASHINGTON, Oct. 4—The Schley court of inquiry began its proceedings to-day with the recall of witnesses who were on the stand yes- terday, and after they had corrected their pre- vious testimony and made such . additions thereto as susgested themselves, they were ex- cused and new witnesses introduced. The list of avallable witnesses for the day Included Captain Raymond P. Rodgers, who was execu- tive officer of the Towa during the Santlago campalgn; Ensign (row Lieutenant) M. L. Bristol, who was watch and division officer on the Texas and officer of the deck of that ves- sel when the Spanish ships came out of Santi- ogo; Licutenant Commander A. C. Hodgson, who was navigator on the Brooklyn and whose testimony has been looked forward to with much interest because of his correspond- ence with Admiral Schley, and Lieutenant C. W. Dyson of the Bureau of Steam Navigation. Captain Lemly still has quite a long . list of witnesses before him and when the court be- gan business to-day it was said on his be- half that he would not probably be able to present the conclusion of his case for the de- partment before the end of next week. Captain Dawson of the Marine Corps, who was on the stand yesterday, was called to cor- New Witnesses SE:d Light on the rect the official copy of his testimony. ~He “When the colller can deliver coal, can a £aid that while he had not seen the Brooklyn | battleship like the Towa take it2" swing with starboard helm he was sure that she did so swing. Lieutenant Dyson, who was on the witness stand yesterday when the court adjourned, was then recalled. He had added ta his coal history of the fleet information as 1o how the coal supply the fieet had on hand May 2 would have held out under forced draught. ‘This information was contained in 2 chart which was read by Judge Advocate Lemly. The witness also read the same information from a tabulated statement. The chart cov- ered the period from May 18 to June 1 It showed that on May 26 the Brooklyn's supply of coal was 8:2 tons;.the Iowa, 784 tons; the Texas, 405, and the Marblehead, 122 tons.. He £ald thet on May 24 the Brookiyn had coal enough aboard-to have remained on blockade duty off Santiago for twenty-five days and then to have returned to Key West; the Massachusetts enough to remain seventeen gays and then go to Key West; the lowa enough for eleven days, the Texas seven days and the Marblehead one day. This was assum- ing that they would have gone by the Yucatan Channel. He also gave an estimate of the length of time they could have remained and gone to Gonaives Channel, Cape Cruz, Mole Nicholas, Kingston, Port Antonio, Jamaica, Guantanamo Bay, the time of remaining on blockade being increased as the distance to the various points diminished. Coal on the Ships. Mr. Raynor brought out the information con- cerning the time the coal on each of the ves- sels would have lasted on forced draught, in chasing the enemy’s vessels, taking the amount of coal on each May 26, and leaving sufficient céal to return to Key West. Mr. Raynor read the Information from Mr. Dyson’s tabulated statement showing that the lowa would have consumed 243 tons of coal a day, the Texas 160 tons & day and the Marblehead 77 tons. The estimate would, he said, give the Brooklyn 2.3 days’ chage returning by way of the Yucutan Channel and 2.35 days’ chase returning by the Windward Passage; the lowa a_ chase of 1.2 days. The Texas would have a chase of three- fourths of a day and returning by way of the Windward Passage nine-tenths of a day. The Marblehead would have a chase of two-tenths of & day by the Yucutan Channel and four- tenths by the Windward Passage. The statement showed that the Massachu- setts could not have steamed more than fi teen knots an hour and that in doing so sl ‘would have consumed 180 tons per day. At this rate she could have chased the enemy for 1.8 days, returning via Yucutan Channel, or for two days returning via the Windward Passage. The witness sald in reply to ques- tions that his statement contemplated aver- age conditions of weather and of the vessels. Mr. Raynor—You have taken as a base for coaling a number of ports. You took Gonalves, the Moles and Kingston. Those are ports that have just been given you from which to make the calculation. ““These ports were just mentioned to me here to-day."” “‘You, of course, know nothing about. our right to coal in those ports?” I do mot."” Lieutenant Dyson was followed on the stand by Commander Raymend P. Rodgers, who was executive officer of the battleship Iowa during the summer of 1888, He testified to leaving Key West on May 20 for 'Cienfuegos, to join the flying squadron. Before leaving he had had: as a representative of Captain Evans, he said, a conference with Commander in Chief Sampson, at which Captains Taylor and Chad- wick were present. At that time he was told by Admiral Sampson that he had received in- formation from the department at Washington that the Spanish fleet under Cervera was pos- sibly in' the harbor of Santiago. He had not, however, been informed of any secret code for communicating with the Cu- ban insurgents near Clenfuegos. He had, he sald, taken dispatches for Commodore Schley, and while not certain whether there was mors than one package, he was under the impres- sion there was more than that number. One of the dispatches carried at this time was, the witness thought, that signed by Secretary Long and dated Washington, 12:30 o'clock, May %, and beginning: ‘‘The report of the Spanish fleet being at Santlago de Cuba might very well be correct, so the department strongly ad- vises that you send word immedlately by the Towa to Schley to proceed off Santiago with his whole command, leaving one small vessel off Clenfuegos.” Condition of the Sea. Commander Rodgers was examined at length cancerning the coaling of the flying squadron. “Could you have coaled the lowa on the afternoon of May 2? Mr. Hanna asked. “‘In the late afternoon, the time I speak of, the weather being fine and smooth, I there would have been no trouble at all,”" re- plied the witness, ! “With a ship_ like the Iowa with no broad- side guns, the danger in coaling at sea is en- tirely to 'the coliier.” *Is there any more danger to a colller with a battleship on- either side?"” ““There would be very great danger to a col- lier in coaling battleships with a-battleship on either side.” Captain Rodgers pelated two or three in- stances in which the ships of the flylng squad- ron were cleared for action upon signal from the flagship Brookiyn before May 31, when vessels were discerned in the distance. In each case the vessels proved to be American ships. Each time the signal was to clear to | action and make speed of twelve knots an hour. He also told of the bombardment or- recon- naissance of the Cristobal Colon on May 3L which the Iowa participated. He said the vessels were all in formation and following the flagship, which, in that instance, was the chusetts, The range was at first given as 7000 yards for this engagement, but the shots fell so far short that the range was in- creased_to 11,000 yards. These latter shots fell into the channel in which the Colon lay. Some of them must have fallen with 2500 yards of Describing Commodore Schley’s blockade of the harbor at Santiago, Captain Rodgers said that the fleet maintained a position of seven or eight miles out with the Marbleheud and the Vixen inside the. line. He remembered that th Marblehead was on the inside from the fact that some of the vessels in the squadron had fired at her. He could not say whether the fleet was further out in the day than at night, or vice versa. He thought the Vixen and the Marblehead could have been seen by moon- light, but not after the moon had set. Captain Rodgers had concluded his testimony in chief when the court adjourned for luncheon. Gunnery on Brooklyn. The afternoon session of the Schley court be- gan with Captain Rodgers still on the stand. He stated In reply to questions that he was the senior member of the Naval Board of Sur- vey appointed by Admiral Sampson to examine the wrecked Spanish vessels. The purpose of this line of examination was to bring out the witness'. knowledge concern- ing the effect of the Brooklyn's gunnery in the battle off Bantlago July 3. Captain Rodgers stated that the Brooklyn was the only vessel that fired five-inch shells and Mr. Raynor said that a careful computation based upon the report of the board of survey showed that twelve five-inch shells had been found on the ish vessels, nor presented a statement showing the number of shells found on the vessels of the Spanish fleet, and the Witness was asked to state the percentage,of five-inch shells, as- suming the statement to be correct, Captain Rodgers replied that the total number of hits was thirty-five, and that, therefore, the five- inch_shell bits constituted 34 per cent of ail the hits. Mr. Raynor said that the statement had been prepared by Admiral Schley. The witness also said he knew that the Brooklyn had eight-inch guns, but Mr. Raynor sald the admiral's computation was not _intended to cover that feature. His only purpose was to make the showing for five-inch guns, these being unmistakably the Brooklyn's. “Dear Schley” Letter. Cross-examined on_the dispatches carried by the Iowa, Captain Rodgers was asked if the “Dear Schiey’’ letter dated at Key West, May 20, 1898, written by Admiral Sampson, in which the statement was made that “I am of the opinion that our best chance of success in cap- turing the enemy’s ships will be to hold Clen- fuegos and Havana,’” was included in . these dispatches. The witness replied that he had no knowledge what the envelope = contained. While the examination on this point was in progress Mr. Raynor read the letter, includ- ing_the following extract: “If later it should develop that these Vessels are at Santiago, we could then assemble off that port the ships best suited for the purpose and completely blockade it. Until we receive more_positive information we shall - continue to hold_Havana and Santiago.” Mr. Raynor remarked that he supposed it ‘would be conceded that the word ‘‘Santiago’ as given above was a mistake, and that it should be ‘‘Clenfuegos.”” Captain Lemly re- plied that he would make no such concession, and a tilt follnwed between counsel concern- ing the accuracy of Government publications. It closed with an understanding that the ori- kinal document should be supplied to-morrow. In reply to a question by Mr. Raynor as to | the condition of the weather from May 24 to May 26, Captain Rodgers replied: “I do not recollect the events of the night of May 24. My recollection is that on the morning and throughout the day of the 25th the wind was fresh from a direction generally ahead. Our course was generally southeast- ward, The sea depends entirely upon the size of the ship. It was what I should call a mod- | erate sea. T recollect the wind continued fresh that evening. Next morning we must have | got around the cape headed eastward. The ( Weather had moderated considerably and on the late afternoon the weather was, I should say, fine with a_smooth sea.’ ‘How were the sea and weather for small ships like the Vixen and Eagle?’ T should say on Thursiay the weather for small ships would havebeen considered fresh and certainly my recollection of seelng the Fagle on that day was that she was making what you might call ‘heavy weather.’ I should say on that occasion the sea was what one finds in that neighborhood when there is a fresh wind." Position of the Vessels. The court asked a number of questions of | Commander Rodgers, the most important of | which, together with the responses of the witness, were as follows: By the court—was any other attempt made by the flying squadron, except that of May 31, to _destroy the Colon? . “None whatever to the best of my knowledge and belief. “What was the speed of the Iowa when passing the harbor of Santiago on the 3ist of May?’ “We_were directed to speed ten knots, and I should say that on the first run by we were making about that speed.” ““Were the Brooklyn and Texas so close to- gether at the,commencement of the battle of July 3 that a collision was likely?” “1 saw the Brooklyn and Texas at the be- ginning of the battle. The Brooklyn was then Iving a mile or more away from the Iowa, bearing the general directlon westward. The Texas was between the Iowa and the Brook- Iyn, and the Texas was not more than half a mile from us. When the Iowa steamed in the Texas was under our port bow and the Brooklyn, as I saw her then, was steaming in the direction general northeast. “Shortly after that the fire begain to get a little hot. We were struck twice and the car- penter came to me and said there had been a fire in one of the compartments. I went down to that compartment to see what had been done, and if the court refers to the possibility of a collision between the Texas and the Brooklyn, that must have occurred while I was below, bécause when I came back to the gal- lery outside the conning tower the Brooklyn was then oft our port bcw some distance from us, steaming in a westward direction.” “Did_Commodore Schley open in your pres- ence the package you handed him at Clen- fuegos? “ “To the best of my recollection, yes. Did he make any comment to you regard- ing_these dispatches?” ‘Not that I recall. He discussed or stated the conditions existing there. This was never general.”” “‘Can you from your conversation with Com. modore Schley designate the dispatch he re- ceived?” “T cannot.” At this point Commander Rodgers was excused and Judge Advocate Lemly, after stating that Lieutenant Commander Hodgson would be the next witness, pending his appearance again brought up the question as to whether the word “Santiago” had been substituted by mistake for the word ‘‘Cienfuegos’’ in the letter written by Admiral Sampson to Commodoge Schley on May 20, beginning ‘‘Dear, Schley.” Captain Lemly sald: Controversy Over Letter. “The word was originally ‘Santiago’ as it is printed in the Senate document. The difference appears to be a matter of punctuation, and In the letter, as it appears copied in Admiral Sampson’s copy-book, it reads ‘until we then receive more positive information we shall con- tinue to hold Havana and Santiago.” The word ‘then’ In the letter as printed refers back to other matters relating to Santiago, and the punctuation would appear to give it the mean. ing of, therefore, ‘until we therefore recefve, ‘which is not Intended, but it means really ‘until we then,’ after the arrival of Cervera at San- tiago, ‘receive further information,’ etc. The original however, will still be forthcoming. Mr. Raynor, after securing Captain Lemly's permission, read two or three sentences from Admiral Sampson’s letter as follows: “Please send Scorplon to communicate with those vessels at Santlago and direct one of them to report to the department from St. Nichoias Mole or Cape Haytien. The change which I bave made in the plans strongly advised by the department.. As soon as this veseel has com- munjcated with the department on her return to the vicinity of Santlago, learn the condl- tion of affairs and at once report at Havana or Clenfuegos, as he may think most advantage- ous. “‘This,” said he, “I want to call to the at- tention of the judge advocate.” Mr. Raynor continued: *I cannot take that word ‘Santlago’ to mean anything else but ‘Clentuegos.” It cannot possibly mean anything else. It is an imputation upon Commodore Bchley and I cannot permit that imputation to rest without summoning the author of that re- quest.” When the colloquy in regard to Admiral Sampson’s disatch closed for the time Com- mander Hodgson took the oath. He sald he had been the navigator of Commodore Schley’s flagship, the Brooklyn, during the war with Spain and was on the bridge on the day of the battle of July 3. Detalling the particulars of the engagement, he said: I heard the ex- ecutlve officer, Lieutenant Commander Mason, sing out: ‘Clear ship for action,’ and the crew immediately dispersed to quarters, I having sounded the general alarm previously. The commodore shortly appeared on the bridge. We were at that time headed about west-northwest, I told him that there was nothing doing, and he said ‘Go ahead.” I rang six bells and asked it he had not better hold her head steady tu sée what course the Spaniards proposed to pur- sue. I do not remember his reply exactly to that, because immediately l(terwl& T told g;m lllt;ey (\;er: e\'i:en!l)' making for us, and said: ‘Go for them,” and I rang four and put the helm aport. s by, Commodore on Deck. ‘‘Captain Cook appeared on the bridge time and I told him that everything ‘Wu:tclt;ll‘: nected up at the conning tower, and that we were ready to go ahead, and in fact we were going ahead. The commodore took his posi- tion on a platform he had had built around the conning tower where he could be in easy communication with the commanding officer inP‘lde, and I remained on the bridge. ‘The executive officer had given previously the order to mam the starboard batterfes. [ sang out to him we were going into actlon with port helm, and he shifted over to the port battery. We were then standing for the enemy, and as the guns were brought to bear Lieutenant Simpson fired a little off the port :z‘t‘)rv:ctth.}_flrst t\u: (‘1" the forward eight-inch 3 Tom 2 me on.we went . ably in toward them. e ‘wenf lown to where the comm ;‘;::lx"g‘hlt:l [‘.l lnl: the ]c‘onnln‘ w:gg,"-::: sing out, ‘] ‘nng ':X el ‘Look out, Cook, they are “Captain Cook sald he would and starboarded the helm a lltlmk!:“pm" t‘lhl:} the course of the leading vessel, the Maria ‘Teres which had made a broad sheer to port. He had hardly made that soeer, however, to port before he fell off again, for the reason. apparently, that a shot was fired from the Brooklyn's eight-inch gun. The Teresa got abaft our port beam and the helm was ported on the Broklyn immediately after. We were swinging with port helm. I heard the commo- dore sing out: ‘Hard aport,’ or words to that eftect, and Captain Cook sang out, ‘Helm is aport.’ 1 c%lt that time the crucial mo- ment had e in making the turn and I suggested to the commodore that that turn would run us into the Texas or close to her.” ‘What did vou say and what was the re- Ply?" asked the judge advocat: *‘As near as I can recall I sald: ‘Comwodore, if you go to the starboard you will run into the Texas,’ and he said, ‘Damn the Texas, 1 cannot heip that. She must look out for her- self. He will take care of that,’ and he also said, ‘T don’t propose to go in any closer and subject myself to a torpedo attack.’ “I suggested then that we back the star- board engine, and he wanted to know why, and I said ‘because it would give the Texas & wider berth and shorten our turning circle." Captain Cook objected to this and so did the commodore, but there was a moment's discus- sion as to whether it would be better to turn a smaller circle with less speed or take the larger tactical diameter with faster speed. It was decided that it was very essential to get around quickly, as the leading Spanish ship ‘was then standing to the westward and if the Brooklyn did not stop her she had a chanfe of escaping. So the helm was put hard aport » Chase of the Enemy. *“T sald I would run up on top of and_look out for the Texas. As I :v‘:ubgrgfi up I asked the chief quartermaster if he had seen a torpedo-boat, and he-said he had seen one blown up by a large shell way in the rear. I said I hnd not seen any, as § told the commodore previously. The . *however, was kept hard aport. The Brooklyn swung clear of the Texas and brought around with helm hard aport until she brought in sight ;!m le‘db‘:‘l Evl'l:‘(fih vmfl l, the iscaya, the eresa_bavin en off an !“k"“ - Mg‘h‘ d gone inshore, ‘"As soon as we were around at the o sition the helm was eased so that p::pep.rpa‘:: leled the course of the Vizeaya, which at that time was about 2400 or 2500 yards on our starboard bow. The Colon was probably on the beam or a little forward of the beam, the Oquendo abaft the starboard beam. The Oquendo very soon fell out and ran inshors afire and then we devoted our attention solely to_the Colon and Vizcaya.'” Judge Advocate—How near was the Texas to the Brooklyn when the latter cruiser crossed her bows? ‘I suppose it was about 250 or 300 yards." LEAVES VIGTIM IN TRAIN'S PATH Tramp’s Determined At- tempt to Murder a Comrade. First Beats Him and Tries to Hurl Him Into the Bay at Seattle. g Spectal Dispatch to The Call. SEATTLE, Oct. 4—To obtain 320 John O’'Brien, a typical tramp, assaulted and robbed Harry Calhoun, another vagabond, last night. Not content with kicking him almost into insensibility, he made an at- tempt to throw Calhoun into the bay. Un- successful in this, he placed Calhoun, who by this time had become unconscious, on the Northern Pacific track, where he would have been killed by an incoming passenger train had he not been discov- ered and rescued in the-nick of time. O’Brien was captured shortly after his murderous deed was committed. He was drinking in the Anaconda saloon on Charles street, and when brought to ths City Jail by Patrolman Humes was read- ily identified by Calhoun. The latter pre- sented a sorry sight. He was covered with blood and_suffering from two ugly scalp wounds, inflicted by the bootheels of his assailant. Calhoun remembers lit- tle of the affair, but has a distinct recol- lection that after he had been knocked to the ground his assailant picked him up and tried to throw him into the bay. He resisted and the effort was finally aban- doned. Kicking him on the head several times, O’'Brien then deliberately left the unconscious man lying across the railroad track and made his escape. A passerby discovered Calhoun and no- tified Patrolman Humes. The latter, aft- er some difficulty, aroused Calhoun and obtained a meager description of his as- sailant. Later he gained another clew and, acting upon it, entered the Anaconda sajoon, where he placed O'Brien under ar- rest. When searched O'Brien had $32 in his pockets. @ il @ ‘Have you ever given this estimate as nearer than that?" “Yes, sir. ““What have you given It before?” ‘One hundred amd fifty yards. “Why do you change it now? “Because I have read from my notes written the day after the battle and from notes I used on the Board of Navigation. I concluded from those that my estimate at that time when I gave it 175 to 250 yards was too near. Also, I was very much influenced by the thought that the navigating officer of the Texas would not _think it was less than 150 yards. “‘Just read® from your notes. The witness (reading)—We quickly put our helm aport and then around to starboard, pass- ing well inside the Texas. That was written by me the day after the battle. *Is, there any reference to the distance you were from the Texas in those notes?” “No, ir. “Do’ you remember whether anything was sald about blanketing the fire of the Texas at that time?"" Hodgson Was Skittish. . “When I told the commodore I thought we would run into the Texas, I think I did say we might get shot from one of her big gunms.”™ . “Have you ever said that you were ‘skittish’ ‘about a collision with the Texas at this time?" “Well, 1 was ‘skittish’ about it. I thought we were going to have a collision very likely with the Texas." “How was the collision averted from what you know of your own knowledge " “By our getting around so quick we passed ahead of her.” “You cannot tell me what was done aboard the Texas?"” “I have no idea. The judge advocate then questioned Com- modore’ Hodgson about changes in the log of the Brooklyn giving the account of the fa- mous loop. The witness said that Lieutenant Doyle had written it but that witness had given Doyle all the data for it. “What information did you give him with reference to the direction im which the helm was put in turning the vessel?” “I told him helm was put aport, tioned that particular incident.” “Do you remember whether you mentloned it or_no “No, I am not sure that T mentioned it ex- cept that we turned around to head for the Spanish ships."* “That was a very important move, was it not " ““Yes, sir; I put it in my log.”" “What do you mean by your log?" “Well, the logs of the forenoon and afternoon watch were written up by Lieutenant Doyle and Lieutenant Wasster, but as both those gentle- men had been (one in the turret and the other on the gun deck) fighting the batteries I gave them a number of points that might emable them to write their deck log correctly. After they had written up their log I went to the captain and told him I would like to put in a little information of my own to make it more complete, and there was an addendum written that day by myself, and I think that in that will be found the way the helm was put.” . ““When was that addendum made and put n?’ “Before noon, on the day following, as the log was generaily copled before noon.’ “Do_you remember any discussion on board the Brooklyn as to the direction the helm was put when she made what is known as the 12 T men- ‘Well, I think I remember the fact of putting an interlineation in this log, because an erasure was made of that word ‘starboard’ and I sus- gested putting in the explanatory words that we cleared the Texas.” : Change in the Log. “Do you remember whether any change was made ‘in the logbook in the recording of the direction In which the helm was originaily put?” I think I remember that erasure. The wordl ‘starboard’ was erased and the word ‘port’. sub- stituted."” “Do you remember discussing that in the presence of Commodore Schley and Captain Cook?"” “T do not.” “How was this first brought to your attention that it was entered in the body of the log that the helm was put to starboard ' ““Very likely by the watch officer wanting to make an erasure in the log after I rad ex- amined it.” “‘Do you remember, if at all, you undertook to check the log as written to show whether these polnts were correctly entered in the logbook or not?" “No, I do mot, except that it is mors prob- able this was ail done before noon of the suc- ceeding day, because the log was generally given to the captain by noon.” “Do you regard that as a correct enmtry In the logbook, that the helm was put to port in order to' bring the starboard - battery to “‘No, that was not the reason for which the helm ‘was put to port It was put to port to ng the Brooklyn around as qu! pos- Sibie to head off the Spamish vessdler “Would not the Brooklyn have been b n‘:l\'md quunex;gfl the hel$ had been put to starboard, as was recorded In the logbook originally " o “T_think ske would." “These words, ‘swinging clear of the fire of the Texas,” are they right?” ““That is right. That is a point that im- pressed me. Fortunately we got around with- out having one of the Texas' guns fired over u ‘The v ~ids, ‘clear of the fire of the Texas,” are the interiined words, are they not? “They are.” “Did you give any specific instructions, or make any specific suggestions to the officer who wrote the log with regard to putting in those words?"" “I think it is'Very possible I did. I think it more than probable that I did, because that was the fact that impressed me as the result of swinging with the port helm. I was very thankful we cleared the Texas and her fire.” ““Then, were those words put in relative to the change in the logbook from ‘starboard to ‘port™’ 2 *‘1 cannot say: I was not at that time con- templating any such searching investigation as this and consequently I thought that the log was written with the idea of giving a gen- eral and fair account of the battle without be- ing brought up under searching serutiny, or I ‘would have been more particular as to exact time and dates. ‘With Commodore Hodgson still on the stand the court adjourned until to-morrow. It is understood that Hodgson will be examined to-morrow about a series of letters which have passed between himself and Admiral Schley, and which were shown to a number of the per- sons in the courtroom to-day. + - SPLENDID ATLAS FOR SUBSCRIBERS All six-month subscribers of The Daily Call are entitled to a copy of The Call Atlas at the premium rate of $1 50. \ e sy