Morning journal and courier., 1891-04-09
OUR COAST DEFENcEs.

OUH COAST Dhr HNOGSs I Their Weakness-Needs of Our Navy |
 What the United States is Already
 Doing in the Case-A Foreign Pow.
 er,s Best Hold in Attacking Us
 New Contrivances for Harbor De.
 fences-Features of General Haw-
 ley's Address on the Subject.
 Features of ex-Governor Hawley's ad- dress at Hartford on the above subjects, now especially interesting, are as follows:
 For our navy we especially need light, speedy cruisers. These would be pene- trated by the modern projectiles, but for that matter any ship would, and the lighter vessels have an advantage over the unwieldly and ponderous vessels. We want ships that can easily get around the world and uphold our honor and rights in foreign lands.
 Our nation should have adequate repre- sentation at the troubles in Chili and else where It is useless to attempt to build indestructible war ships. Nothing can
 stand against the modern projectiles. It is the general rule that no man can make
 that which another man cannot destroy. In anticipation of government contracts
 the Bethlehem steel works have put about $3,0OO,OOO into plant for the especial
 production of the new steel guns. These are made by shrinking successive rings of
 steel upon the gun, much like the method of placing tire on wagon wheel. The butt of the gun is thick to bear the brunt of the strain, while toward the muzzle the | gun tapers out. Great power of resistance is thus obtained in these guns. l don't see how it is possible, however, to make
 sixteen or twenty-inch guns of this descrip- | ton, as no metal can stand it. The con- l oop,,,,ittaa anpnintp1 l this matter found that the coun-
 try is independent in the abil-. | ity to- produce and manufac- 1 ture this steel ordnance. It was decided | to have private parties forge the parts and l have gover" ment shops in which to bore
 and turn and finish the'guns. But it now
 seems probable that private parties will be competent to conduct the whole process of | manufacture. At the Washington navy yard there is now a fine series of shops | where the heavy metal is handled in a way
 to be seen nowhere else in the world, and
 anyone who has the slightest mechanical
 taste will find keen delight in seeing the | ease with which the work is done. We should have more navy yard facilities for manufactures and repairs.
 | One great drawback is the difficulty
 which men away from the coast have in | seeing the necessity of all this Some ad- vance the foolish idea that we are smart | enough to take care of ourselves in the event of a war. They forget or do not know that modern war strikes like flash
 of lightning. European nations are fully | armed and are sleeping on their arms. | They are not going to say to us, we are | going to get up and hit you by and-by. If Great Britain saw fit to attack us, she would doubtless assemble her fleet at Hali- | fax. This is about 420 sea miles from Bos- | ton, or about 35 hours. What could we do | in such short time as thats At Bermuda English ships only 60 hours from Bos- ton; at Jamaica, 133 hours; at Quebec, 154 hours. If the Spaniards should at
 tack us, their ships at Havana are
 but 100 hours from New York. | With three or four days notice what could we assemble at New York to | oppose the enemy? There are means of re- | sistance at distance and in months | time we might be able to get something to
 the spot. The opposing fleet would come | unexpectedly. It would take New London, l the key to New York. The ships would | doubtless get near enough to shell the | metropolis. The commerce of the city would be cut off. When it is considered that New York needs 700 tons of food from
 outside daily, the meaning of this can be | understood. New York would have to be l
 to ask. To be sure old hulks could be | sunk in the channel on short notice, but | this would cut off our own ships as well as | those of the enemy.
 | Among the new contrivances for harbor
 defence are the mines, which consist of a
 large globe of steel filled with explosives
 and anchored at 8 certain depth under wa
 ter. A person on the shore can, by means | of connecting wires and switch board ,al- I c..o o1 L.
 safety, but if an enemy's vessel approaches
 the mine can be instantly fired. TheWhite- l head topedoes are made so as to keep at a
 stated depth beneath the surface of the
 water. It is not possible to put the heavi-
 est guns on board ship, for the recoil is
 so tremendous that the decks would be
 crushed in. Ten miles is too great dis
 tance for heavy firing from @ vessel.
 In the city of New York it is estimated
 that there is s1, 1855, ,O00,0 ,00O worth of de-
 structible property. In eight chief hsr-
 bors of our coast there is $4,500, ,000, ,00O
 worth. New York alone pays over six
 millions for insurance each year. A com
 paratively small sum would protect all
 has begun. We have some fine ships, and
 the people want the work to go on, but
 they have not made themselves heard with
 enough urgency at congress. Our me
 chanics improve upon the productions of
 other nations. Whatever is undertaken
 here is better than the original. We do
 not follow others, but enlarge
 in new directions. We shall have steel
 mortars of considerable length, and rifed | Experiments have proved that these have | a wonderful accuracy. At distance of 5000 yards the projectiles from rifled l mortar deviate on an average only three and half feet from given spot Our | gunners are confident that, knowing as they do the exact location and distance of harbor channels they can calculate exactly for a shot toward vessel The rif1ed mortar is so accurate that vessel would be a large target and would certainly be struck even at great distance. No ship can possibly be built | which could stand the terrible powder and l weight of projectiles from such mortars as they descended upon it's deck. But doubt less the most formidable of modern con- trivances with which we could guard our harbors would be ram, weighing per haps 1,500 tons. She would carry no guns; would draw but little water. Her sides would be shaped so as to afford no hold to the enemy if they attempted to board her. She would be able to make
 fifteen or eighteen knots per hour. Let such craft strike any ship and the latter could not escape being crushed.
 State Grange To-Day.