Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-06-24
THE DEFENszs OF SAN FRANCISCO.


The San Francisco Bulletin in recent
article expressed the opinion that though
the present Notifications of San Francisco
harbor 'swould be riddled and laid in
'fheaps of bricks and mortar by the IRON
q clads of any foreign power that saw tit
:. to attack us, yet that it would be quite
possible to defend the city successfully by
means of torpedoes. The question of the
defenses of San Francisco is undoubtedly
an important one, for there can be no
doubt that if the United States should at
any time become involved in war with a
maritime power, the Pacific States would
be open to attack at that point. The har-
| Dor Notifications of San Francisco are no
doubt antiquated and weak, and they are
armed with guns of such small caliber
that they could hardly be expected to
make any impression upon an ironclad
feet, even supposing that the practice was
good enough to admit of hitting the enemy
at all. That there might be some doubt
casion of the famous naval sham battle,
when the forts blszed away at d stationary
mark for the better part of a day, without
hitting it once. As hostile ironclads would |
Of course not be stationary, but on the |
contrary would be moving at compare
lively high rate of speed, it is evident that |
the contingency of their passing all the
batteries safely must be taken into ac-
count. If the assailants should attempt to
pass the forts under cover of fog, which |
they would have an opportunity of doing
almost every day in the year, it would be
extremely difficult for the gunners to hit
them, even if they were in good practice.
1t is true that torpedoes might be en-
ployed to guard the entrance to the har-
Dor, though it viii not do to put too much
confidence in them, since the devices for
picking up, removing or isolating torpedoes
are becoming so ingenious as to detract
seriously from the trustworthiness of these
explosives. Nowadays, when feet med
exploration in steam launches, fitted with
special appliances for discovering and cut
ting out torpedoes, always precedes the at
tack, while the ironclads are surrounded
with network of wire extended on booms,
which is nearly certain to catch and ex-
plode harmlessly any torpedoes which the
launches may have overlooked. 1t is evil
dent that in the case of San Francisco if
the torpedoes failed there would be no
resource left moreover There is no fort in
that harbor that could Withstand the as.
saults of a first-rate ironclad for an hour,
and should an enemy once pass the Golden
Gate the city would be at his mercy.
This, however, is by no means the
worst of the situation. The worst is that
an enemy could destroy San Francisco, or
hold it to ransom, without passing the
Golden Gate at all, and consequently
without running any risks from the forts
or the torpedoes. With the long range
guns now forged, an ironclad could lay two
or three miles off the Cliff House beach,
and throw SHELLS into Montgomery street.
What can be done in this way was shown
the other day during the bombardment OF
africa, when one of the Chilean ironciads
threw shells between six and seven miles,
pitching them clear over the city, from be-
You'd the range of the guns in the fortifca-
lions, into the open country far behind
1t is evident that vessels armed with such
guns need not trouble themselves about the
San Francisco forts at ALL They could
simply ignore these structures, and by
Smelling the city from the sea bring it to
terms in half an hour. They could do
more than this. They could lie outside
the bav ard destroy the Notifications of
Aloatraz and Fort Point at their leisure,
and without the risk of losing a man in the
attack. The fact is that for practical pur-
poses San Francisco has no defenses, and
a war would very quickly cause this to be
realized most unpleasantly. It may indeed
be doubted whether Oakland would be
safe from hostile shells in such an emer-
gency, but certainly nothing but prompt
conld prevent the destruction
of San Francisco. Nor is it probable that
anything can be done to protect the ocean
of the city by torpedoes Forti
fications of the very strongest and heaviest
character, armed with the most powerful
long range guns, and placed outside of the
Golden Gate, with seward faces, would be
necessary to meet effectively an attack
from the Pacific, and even then it is very
doubtful whether the city would be safe
from the enemy's fire. The truth is that
San Francisco is most unfortunately stu
ated for military purposes, and therefore
precautions ought long since
to have been taken to protect her. At
present it is necessary to realize that she is
practically without any defense, her forts
being merely for show, and as little use
against modern ships and guns as were the
pasteboard batteries which the Chinese
erected on the Pei Ho some years ago, for
the purpose Of overawing the outside bar
barians.
THE c2sE or BRAuLAUGH.
The House Of Commons was the scene
Of an extraordinary excitement during the
7 1 -. /