Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1882-02-16

A Real Need.
The suddenness with which wars
are liable to spring up is matter
known to all students Of history.
There was scarcely any introduce
ton to the Franeo-Austrian war,
and the Franco-Prussian struggle
was almost as much of q surprise
TO the quid-nunes, so instantly did
blows follow words. Thus far the
United States has been signally
lucky in keeping at peace with the
outside world, but how long this
most desirable state of things will
continue cannot be copjectured. A
week or month may change all
this. and find US plunged into q
war with one or more powerful ma
tions. It is the possibility of such
developments that makes the
criminal negligence of the Repub-
lican party In not providing our
harbors with adequate defensive
works, and in allowing eur navy
to become forty-third rate, a mat
ter for much legitimate indigna-
ton, especially when it ia borne In
mind that prodigious sums have
been wasted by extravagsnt Re.
publican Secretaries of the Navy.
Notifying as the confession is, the
United States are not now in con.
dition to withstand, on this Coast,
such an Insignificant maritime
power as Chile. Tuesdays Chrosa-
icle has the following just observa-
tons OH our defenceiess condition
on the Pacific side of the CONT
nent:
Beginning with San Diego, there
is no pretsnse OF any defensive
works there. The harbor and city
are az destitute of forts and guns as
they were under the Mexican gov
eminent. The open roadstead of
Wilmington is In the same condi.
ton; and 80 OF Santa Barbara,
Monterey and Santa Cruz. A sim
gle fast vessel, like the Alabama,
could put all these places under
contribution or shell them at any
time. The main defenses of San
Francisco are earthworks on the
hills back of Lime point and Fort
point; and the guns are not equal
In power to those of the Chilean
ironclads, Almirante Cochrane,
Bianco Encalada, or to the Peru
Wan Huascar, captured by the
Chileans in the fall OF 1880. Nor
have We any vessels or vessel on
this coast that could not be sunk
in half al hour by such ironclads.
Fort Point itself is practically aban-
doned. The inner defenses of the
hsrbor are located at Black Point,
Alcatraz and the lower extrem-
ity of Angel island. They are
net OF y quality to check
the approach OF ships with nine
inches of iron plating, backed by
teak, such as the Almirante and
Encalada. Moreover, it has been
proved 10 the late South Ameri-
can naval fights that the Chileans
possess guns capable of throwing
shells with all the precision need
ed for destructive bombardment
of this city, at distance quite out
OF range Of the earth works at Fort
Point and Lime Point. They
shelled CallaO at distance of five
miles, and ut four miles threw
their projectiles clear over that
town. They could lie at safe dis.
lance from Fort Point and throw
their shells into the new City Hall
on Market street. So that, if they
did not choose to venture upon
the passage through the Golden
Gate and under the guns OF Alca.
traz and Black Point, they could
still shell the city and put it under
contribution from the open sea.
But once in and around Telegraph
hill the entire shipping and water
front would be at their mercy, and
they would be able to dictate their
own terms.
How long we shall continue our
"happy 60 lucky" policy is a prob.
lem into the solution of which
our people ought to enter at once
with all seriousness. A country
with the pretensions of the United |
States ought to have navy. That
1t ought not to be built in Ameri-
can ship yards or under the super
vision OF American contractors, is |
an equally patent fact, and for the |
reason that the skilled Republican |
thieves to whom the work of build.
Ing the ships would be entrusted,
would steal nine dollars to the one
they would put into the vessels
which Congress might order to be
built. We might as we'll put our
pride in our pockets and buy
navy ready built, as Chile, Peru
and many European countries
have done. Under such System
we would get our moneys worth
and crew of parasites would be
disc0mfitted. That we must have
the navy is conceded by all
thoughtful people. 1t need not
necessarily be very large one,
but it should be large enough to
,nabIe us to more than hold our
,wn with any of the second and
bird rate nations. 1t should in
'lude two or three heavy iron clads
or the Pacific and three or four
lines that many for the Atlantic
cast. As to the rotten old huIks
y hfah GOm noae nur nraaant poaudo |