Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-05-09
SOME STARTLING FACTS.
The Visiting Senate Com
mittee Get Posted.
OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBORS.
Hints of What They are Doing
Toward Going Us lone Bet
ter"-Tlme to Stir.
Associated Press Dispatches to the HEnALDi

Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALDi
SAN Francisco, May S.-Before the
United States Senate Committee, this
afternoon, General Miles spoke at length
on the subject Of coast defenses, stating
what had been done and what ought to
be done for the protection of the Pacific
Coast in particular. General Miles said
that Puget Sound had never possessed
any defenses, although its ports are
within sound Of the guns of the British
Notifications. The defenses OF the CO.
lnmbia river at Fort Candy and Fort
Stevenson are practically obsolete and
useless. The same state of affairs was
SAID to exist in this harbor. The state
ment was made that naval vessel of a
foreign power, provided with modern
armament, could easily lay off the Golden
Gate and throw shot into the centre
of San Francisco, eight m lies
distant. By the aid of maps
aud charts, General Miles ex-
planned, in detail, how the Notifications
of this harbor could be made efficient.
He assured the Senators that this harbor
vas the easiest in the United States to
naturally defend. He would have NOR
tar guns on the Ocean Beach to occupy
Point Labo, Fort Thorn, Point Bonita,
Point Diablo, Like Point and Point
Cavallo, with powerful guns. At the
three last named points he would have
dynamite guns. He would have three
complete lines of defense, the last being
marked by Fort Mason, Angel Island
and Alcatraz.
AS a rough estimate, he thought
$25, 100000 would be sufficient to max e
the entire coast defenses all that could
be desired. There was no reason why
all the guns necessary shouldn't be made
on this coast, the raw materials being in
much more abundance than in the
British possessions north of the United
States.
In response to the questions from Sem
ator Dolph, General Miles said the
proper Notifications at Point Wilson,
Mileslon and Admiralty Heap, in the
Columbia river and Puget Sound Sec
tions, would easily protect the interior
against any foreign naval force. The
British Notifications on Vancouver
are, in his judgment, valued indepen-
IDENTIFY of their proximity to the United
States.
"In other words" ssid Senator AL
lison, "even if we might buy British
Columbia, the British would still desire
to retain Vancouver.
The committee will, to. morrow, by in.
vitation of General Miles, visit the vari-
GUS Notifications of the harbor.
All the afternoon session was occupied
in the discussion of letter from Good all
Perkins & Company, relative to the
steamship traffic between British Co.
lumbia and the American Coast ports.
1t was predicted that, in time, Canadian
vessels would run in competition with
Pacific Coast steamers, and the encour-
agement given to British steamship
companies by the British Government
in contrast to the action of our
Government, was commented upon. Capt.
Goodall stated number of facts not
contained in the letter, and said that of
the shipments north from here about 10,
per cent. goes east by the Canadian Pa
cific, and about the same amount by the
Northern Pacific. In his judgment, the
subsidized steamer lines of the Dominion
Government will in time prove fatal to
the American lines, unaided by the Gov
eminent. The British vessels cost fully
% per cent. less to run than American
vessels, and American captains receiving
S2OO per month get only 500 on British
vessels.
During the week, representatives of
the various trade organizations will tes-
tify before the committee.