The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-12-19

sisted oil very eloquent letter addressed
to Speaker Carlisle two years ago, says
the Birmingham -lg', urging that the
best disposition TO be made of the $780,
600, 900 then announced to be the surplus
in the Federal treasury, would lie in its
expenditure upon our coast defenses.
Mr.. Samuel j. Randall considered the
matter of the great statesmans appeal,
and decided that the Democratic party
was not in position 10 Justify its support
of such an appropriation. Sir. TIlden,
with that careful enquiry respecting the
drift of public opinion which was pecu-
liar in degree to himself. had declared
that the people would become practical
ly unanimous in favor of his suggestion
as soon as they could be informed on the
defenseless condition of our coasts. He
cited the fact that he had found seven
hundred of the leading newspapers of
the Union committed to the immediate
fortifying of our chief harbors after
modern methods.
An exhaustive paper on the subject
of our defenseless coasts appears in the
first issue OF the latest and sblest of the
American magazines, Scribner's, from
the pen of Capt. r. Y. Greene, of the
United States Engineers. The question
is very wide one. In a newspaper
column we can only suggest the more
salient points.
Practically, does the geographical posi-
ton of the Atlantic coast of the United
Stat s render il safe from bombardment
by 70 reign ships of war: What is the
character OF the present foreign ships Of
war, and their armament: What is tn
resisting power of our present harbor
defenSes:
Ii Is two days steaming from Bermud-
as to New York. 1t is two days steam
ing from Halifax to New York. AT
both Bermudas and Halifax, the British
government or any foreign power under
the protection of the British government,
can rendezvous any number of vessels,
or any amount of men or materials of
war. Ii Is thus made manifest that the
great cities of our Atlantic coast are in
easy reach of hostile nations from across
the Atlantic. 1t is not true that, -
geography is n safe protection to US.
We come to the character OF modern
| ships of war and their armament. In
these we find one of the great achieves
ments of the nineteenth century. The
| English brought eight iron clad modern
ships, with modern guns, to bear upon
! Alexandria, and in a single day de
| stroyed Notifications equal to any the
| United States possesses-hetter armed
than the United States is now able to
| arm a single one Of its forts. Ii Ii
strange that from the United States and
| from the Confederate States enterprise,
in the war between themselves, all the
! European ideas of armored ships, torpe-
does and the entire system OF coast at
/ tack and coast defense has terminated.
| We have stood still since the war be
| tween the States. Europe has taken up
/ the cue and has armed itself so as 10 ef-
! feet complete revolution of the art of
maritime war and coast defense. The
Krupp and Armstrong guns are the cul
mination of an attacking force. The
!6inCh rifle gun of 1856 il - feet 6
inches long; weight 10 tons: charge
500 pounds of powder; the proJeCtIle Is
a cone weighing $500 pounds. The
velocity of the projectile is one mile in
three seconds, and its range is over nine
miles. Al distance of more than half
a mile this enormous Projectile pene
trates thirty inches of iron. or twenty
four feet of concrete masonry, or seven>
/ ty-fivc feet of earth" These are the
guns that England manufactures for her
gest ships of war. The great pow
ers of Europe, including England, have
ships carrying GOI guns, and half a doz-
en- ofjwhich could speedily batter down
any fortress. now in possession Of our
government.
The next subject OF mention is the
| chara cter of our defenses. Capt. Greene
pertinently remarks that there has been
an age of masonry coast defense an age
of earth-work coast defense now we live
/ in an age of iron-turret coast defense
! The Government of the United States is
| yet in the earth-work age of defense. 1t
! has done al solutely nothing in the iron
/ turret age. The iron turret coast de-
| Tense has been forced upon all the mari
time powers of Europe because of the
revolution IN the attacking force from the
water side.
| The Gruson cupola is a favorite Euro
| pean coast defense. There are twenty
eight Gruson cupolas in the several con-
tinental countries of Europe.
/ 1t may now toe asked why should the
/ United States defend its harbors: To
this we reply, that question was an
swered when the United States actually
constructed hsrbor defenses of masonry
and earth, which are now no longer of