Omaha daily bee., 1891-11-11
hE1nn 4.

A dispatch from San Francisco n lew
days ago stated that some excitement
was created in that city by the an
nouncement Of extraordinary activity in
the navy yards. The natural inference
was that the government was getting
ready for expected hostilities, and in
view Of the almost defenseless condition
Of San Francisco the impression caused
some anxiety. In the event of u
war with Chill, of which there
now appears to be little danger, the
metropolis of the Pacific coast would
probably receive the first attention from
the war ships of that cogntry, and they
might destroy n great deal of property
there. New Orleans is another %yulner-
able point where a few CHILEAN ironclads
could do n very considerable amount of
damage, and the newspapers of that city
are demanding that congress shall pro-
l for its adequate defense. The
Atlantic seaboard cities would not be in
very great danger of a visit from vessels
OF the southern country, but they arc so
exposed as to be practically at the mercy
OF first class wal ships.
The subject of coast defense has peer
discussed for years, but without any
practical results of consequence The
late Samuel j.. Tilden addressed
a very earnest letter to President
Cleveland shortly after his inaugu-
ration urging the necessity of better
defenses for cities of the s%eaboard, butit
received no serious attention from that
administration. Officers of the army
and the navy have pointed out the Sul-
nerability of the seaboard at vital points
and estimates OF the cost Of adequate de-
fcnsive works have peer submitted from
time to time to congress. Both the sec
rotary of war and the secretary of the
navy referred to the subject in
their last annual reports as q mat
ter hat called for prompt at
tention or the part of the government.
Secretary Proctor said: mo great civil
lied nation today has more Just cause
than ours to look well to the condition
of its coast defenses, and none, since the
civil war, has so wholly neglected
them" Secretary Tracy graphically
pictured the destruction and suffering
pIuu hllShu W Cttuocu ny al SlCulN .
fleet that should enter the harbor
ofNew York, and strongly pointed out
the duty OF the government to give
adequate protection to the exposed sea-
ports. The last congress made IL com
paratively liberal appropriation for COM
mencing and continuing the construc-
ton of qua and mortar batteries for the
defense of Boston, New York, San Fran
cisco and other harbors,. but popular
apprehension of the Importance of this
matter has not been sufficiently acute.
The people outside of the seacoast cities
and states have failed to appreciate the
danger and to realize how much
there is at stake, while counting too
much upon the ability of the country to
rapidly prepare to meet any emergency.
Besides, every movement to properly
fortify our ports has met with demo-
cratic obstruction, and until the last
congress that party was able to make
such obstruction effective for years. 1t
needed such Il menace as is involved in
the CHILEAN difficulty to impress the pop
ular mind generally with the fact that as
one of the great nations of the world,
having more or less intimate relations
with all other countries, we can never
be entirely free from the danger of "a
disturbance of such relations, and that
we ought at least to be prepared to de-
fend ourselves in case of an attack. I'm
doubtedly this subject of coast defense
will receive earnest attention in the
message of the president and the war
and naval reports, and it ought to be a
safe prediction that it will not be
ignored or its Importance be underesti-
mated by congress-.