National Republican., 1885-12-09
T1LDEN,s MESSAGE DISCUSSED.
His Scheme for Coast Defense Criti-
cised by an Expert.

cised by an Expert.
A copy Of letter from Hon. Samuel j.
Tilden to Hon. j. G.. Carlisle, speaker Of the
House Of Representatives, on the subject Of
coast defense was shown to Chief Engineer
N. b. Clark, U. s. N, an expert on the
subject, by a reporter for the NATIONAL
REPUBLICAN last night. He appeared
familiar with the brevet message to Con-
gress, and freely discussed II upon tenta-
tive remark
"You will observe by the letter." he said,
"that he proposes TO depend almost en-
tirely on land forts as "a means Of defense;
now every professional man knows that
such method is entirely inadequate 10
accomplish the object sought-the protec-
lection Of the seaboard cities from naval
foe-and as to our valuable coastwlse com
merce, II could be entirely destroyed, even
II our entire coast was completely lined
with the most formidable Notifications,
armed with the most powerful guns.
With simply land Notifications, a COM
parative weak maritime foe could do for our
coastwise commerce what the Alabama and
her consorts did for our foreign commerce,
even though we expended o thousand mil
lion dollars on sea coast forts. Besides it
would be unbecoming the dignity Of q great
nation like ours to depend on the mere
passive defense which land batteries afford; /;
our defense should be active, we should
meet the enemy on the sea, with an equal
or superior force, and capture or destroy
him beyond range Of the homes of our
people.
sour experience during the civil war
proved there was no fort equal in resistance
to the sand fort. 1t was easy to construct,
and when damaged could be repaired with
facility; but guns, ships, and engines can
not be improvscd, as they require a consid-
cradle expenditure Of time, besides much
experience in construction
ises p,
"Instead of expending a considerable
sum Of money In the construction Of sea-
coast forts, Il would, without doubt, be far
more advantageous to the country to con-
struct the admirable sea-coast canal first
proposed by Admiral Ammen, u. 3. NJ,
connecting all the sounds, bays, and inlets
which project inward from the sea, In an
almost unbroken series, from the mouth of
the Rio Grande In Texas to Eastport, Me-,
and up the Mississippi river to the great
lakes If necessary.
"such water line of internal communi-
cation would give complete protection to
our coastwise and lake commerce in time Of
war, would greatly lessen the cost Of insur-
ance In time OF peace, and would enable us
to concentrate our fleet, consisting Of
cruisers up to $500 tons displacement, de-
Elective rams, and torpedo boats, at any
point threatened by an enemy; so that 1t
would be very bold commander who
would venture to appear within our waters,
knowing he would have to contend with
such system Of Defense"
"Would this be better than Gordon Of
iron cladsp pn
"The massive weight and strength OF the
ordinary armor-clad are simply elements Of
weakness when such vessels have to con-
tend with swift and handy defective rams
and torpedo-boats, and Mr.. Tilden is per-
fectly right when he doubts the expediency
OF constructing such ponderous vessels for
our navy, but light cruising vessels can be
constructed, having heavy guns mounted
on defective shields, which can contend
successfully with heavy armor-clads."
"Do you discountenance forts entirely T'
"Without doubt the entrances Of all i'm
portant harbors should be defended by two
or more forts, but beyond that land bat
teries serve no efficient purpose. In addi-
tion to the forts guarding the entrances to
harbors there should be naval force equal
or superior to that likely to be brought
against us, these consisting OF light cruisers
and rams, armored on the defective prin-
ciple, while O number of swift torpedo
boats would be stationed in the harbors,
ready to concentrate ON telegraphic notice
ut any point along the canal where an
enemy may appear.
Another point worthy Of consideration
is the tolls that might be collected on GER
tain portions Of the canal; they would &c
far toward paying the interest on the money
invested. For instance, the portion Of the
canal connecting Chesapeake and Delaware
bays would command all the tonnage from
Baltimore and the north, as well as to Eu.
ropean ports. The present Is most pro,
pitious time for constructing the different
classes of small vessels which our navy re.
quires, as both wages and material have
not been lower for years.
at is mistake to suppose that iron ol
steel vessels deteriorate more rapidly thar
land fortiflcation; they both become obso
lete in style at about an even rate; the
British iron-clad Warrior was constructed ir
1858, and her hull is reported at the present
time TO be In as good condition as when She
was first launched, having had no other re-
pairs than scraping and painting"