Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-05-02
Genera.l D. o. Howard Discusses our
Means Of Resistance in Case
of War.
The Awful Force Of the Heavy Pro
jectiles Now ia Use in Foreign
Countries

OF course, there is very little prospect Of
war with Italy just now, yet the umors Of
war. and the firm stand That our states
ron take when any new complication
arise, show Us plainly that We ought to
| have oar lines Of defense welt arrangedand
in place. The fishery embrogio, the
! Behring Sea controversy, the strlses made
| bv The Slavs. 20 es and other foreign peo-
BE, who have been bred to fight against
all organized authority, Tie dynamite an
archist- )u- cities. who sbOmlnate all
/ good government these and the unrea-
sonable attacks aimed against our army
and navy, insisting that the army aud
navy he abolished, must make all thought
full men ask What are our means ot de-
| fcnse2
The village or city mas its police; the
state'its militia; the court distric their
marshal, their sherifs and the posse
comitati But what defense has the ma.
| ton which is called upon to meet and deal
with other nations on equal terms OF dig
nifty and sovereiguity2 What are the
| practical means OF defense on which the
president aud his cabinet can rely
Certainly this Is no time to reveal 10 a
nation, apparently disposed 10 provoke a
quarrel. our strength OF our weakness.
But it is time for being reasonably pre-
pared at least for a defensive attitude Ia
a report made 10 the war department FIVE
year. ago . said, The prevalent state
ment that under al circumstances numbers
Of brave, tru" men are a sufficient defense
to any true country Is a pa.pable mistake.
It is certainly inviting attack TO
present rtca and beautiful city to the
greed Of nations that assurdedy are not
yet wholly governed by benevolent con.
sheraton
And now we see that other mo-
tiyes than the greed Of other nations
may tempt somebody to attack us, en-
danger yur seaport towgs and imperil our
commerce.
Lieutenant GrebIe, an artillery officer, in
a letter TO me five years ago, presented
some facts which / quote rs applicable to
the present situation. de SAYS When
we think that those guns tthe two hum
drei FOUNDER Parrjj were carried by yes
sells tot Wy unarmo-ed or nearly unarn0r-
ed that hey could not remain long enough
under the IRE Of land batteries to make
their own fire destructive. we see why
granite force with eight foot walls were
considered strong enough to protect our
harbors Now when the iron aunor Of war
ships has increased from four TO thirty
inches, and their arament consists Of guns
ranging up 10 seventeen and 0ue-haH
inches caibre, weighing more than one
hundred tons, and throwing prolegtiles
weighing two housand pounds, fired with
seven hundred pounds OF powder, having
d muz1le energy Of forty thousand and
fifty thousand foot tons, and capable Of
penetrating twenty-five to thirty inches of
wrought iron nrariy nI.e away, of
course the old forts cannot stand against
the new engines OF war Since 1872 heavy
ordinance has Increased wonderfully Ia
power and size, and equally great inn
provements have been made IN powder and
proiectiles Foreign nations have spent
millions liza developing and perfectjng
heavy guns and vessels to carry them. Now
guns are aHoat which send ton OF metal
some nine miles with accuracy enough to
Int a city, and carrying seveuty-fye pounds
OF nitro-gelatlne. In August 1888, a steel
projectlle weighing 1913 pounds was, fred
trOm the .wenty-tou NhltwOrth steel gun.
through eighteen inches OF wrought iron,
tiirty-sgven inches Of wetpackej sand,
one haias Of timber and then sixteen feet
more VI sand lhe prolecule was discov-
cred practically unirJured The eight
ton gun will penetrate twenty-five feet Of
granite and concrete masonary or th:rth-
two feet OF best Portland cement concrete.
At Spezia, in May 1880, the Armstrong
iO0-t0n hreeCh loading rife. seventeen and
seyen-tenths inches callbra, fired "a pro-
jectIa through forty odd feet 1T sand into
fsH D. D. q