The morning call., 1891-11-21
COAST DEFENSES.
Annual Report Of The Secretary Of Var on
the Work Accomplished.

devotes considerable attention to the sub
1ect of coast defenses. and says: "The
problem OF adequate coast defense has prac-
tically been settled. Fortunately it has not
| BEEN question Of party politics. There
has been much discussion and some differ
ences OF individual opinion in respect to the
! rapiGity with which the work should be ex-
| ecuted and as regards details. 1t has been
| generally recognized, however, in Congress
! and by the public press as a national con-
| cern-a thoroughly American policy. Nor
Is it new departure. The report of the
Endicott Board, under the act of Congress
| of March g. 1885, states that In 1860 our
| coast defenses were not surpassed by
| those of any country for efficiency either for
offense or defense, and were entirely com-
| petent to resist the vessels of war of that
| period But after the close of the war
there was a most rapid development in the
means of offensive warfare, while the forth
| ncatlonS which we had were not kept up,
and much less was new work undertaken.
| Our coast cities, which in 1860 were well
protected. In 1880 were defenseless."
SYSTEM OF LAND DEFENsEs.
The Secretary further says: This policy
necessarily contemplates a system nf land
| defenses as its E.ost important feature. We
| have some 1000 miles of sea coast, exclusive
OF Alaska. No great naval power has more
| than few hundred miles of coast to de-
fend, and yet even they protect their har-
| borS with heavy Notifications and high
| power guns. The cost Of land defenses has
not increased as rapidly as the cost of the
means of attacking them. They are not
| only the cheapest to build, but once built
the cost of maintaining them can be reduced
to the minimum. Neither are they an ex-
| pertinent, nor can they become useless, but
they may be built with view to fu rther
Strengthening if required. and capable of
mounting larger guns If necessary"
APPROPRIATIONS FOR SITES.
Two appropriations of S5OO,O00 each for
| the purchase of sites for fortifcatiOn and
| sea-coast defenses were made by the last
| Congress. AIlotments have been made un-
der these appropriations for sites for gun
| and mortar batteries at Glover Cliff in Bos-
ton HarbOr; Point Comfort. Fort Wads-
worth, Plumb Island and Sand Point in
| New ork HarbOr; Laguna Merced in San
| Francisco HarbOr, and Sheridan Point on
| the Potomac. Proceedings of condemnation
! have been commenced to obtain other sites
near Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton in
New York Harbor; WilIoughby Spit in
Hampton Roads. and Point LOb0s in San
| Francisco Harbor Over one-half of the
entire appropriation has been allotted and
about S3jO,000 expended. Other payments
are to be made as soon as the examination
OF titles by the Department of Justice
| Is completed. Inc balance of the appropri-
alton Will probably be expended during the
next five months, but it will not be sufficient
to pay the awards of juries IN cases now
pending. | recommend that an apprOpria-
tion OF $780, be continued annually Until
the important sites are secured IS will re-
quire this amount for several years to pay
for sites as rapidly as they will be needed
for use, and it is economy to acquire them
as quickly as possible after their location
has been determined upon. The point has
now been reached when. by the continu-
ance OF the present rate of appropriations
for coast detenses, which have been mod
crate, the work can be carried on systemati-
cally and jud!ciously. To stop or check the
work now would be to lose much that has
been done; to continue will be both safety
and economy. Each year some part of 1t
can be completed so as 10 become available,
and thereafter every gun noun ted will add
to its efficiency"
IMPROVED HEAVY ORDNANCE.
In relation to the manufacture of i'm
proved heavy ordnance for coast defense,
the Secretary says: " In 1888 Congress pro-
vided for joint board OF army aud navy
officers to examine and report what method
should be adopted for the manufacture OF
heavy ordnance for the use of the army and
navy, and the cost of buildings, tools and
implements therefor. This board, after
visiting the chief ordnance establishments of
Europe and the principal steel manufac-
tories oil this country, submitted report in
1884 which recommended the establishment
OF two gun factories, one for the army a
Watervllrt Arsenal, West Troy, n. Y, and
another for the navy in this city, and that
our steel manufacturers should be en-
couraged by suitable legislation to incur the
large expense OF erecting the plant neces-
sary for producing such gun metal as is re-
quired. Provision has already been made
for the manufacture by the Government of
ninety-eight breece- loading steel rifled guns
of high power, and 100 more have been con-
trac:ed for with private manufacturers. A
supply of submarine mines and seventy
three 12-ineh mortars are also under con-
struction."
MAGAZINE sMALL-AR
During the year a board has been app
pointed, consisting of officers from the ord
nance, cavalry and infantry, TO consider,
test and report upon magazine small-arms.
They have examined those In use In the
principal European armies, but a sat ST ac-
tory smokeless powder is an essential ele-
ment tor consideration in fixing upon the
reduced caliher Their experiments and re-
ports of similar trials made abroad indicate
that magazine arms are still so far from per-
lection that IL Is not wise to change from our
present excellent single loader to a maga-
tine system in too great haste. If we have
been slow in this matter, we have at least
been saved the great expense incurred by
most foreign nations in adopting an unsatis-
factory magazine-arm prematurely. The
board, which has not as yet made a report
ls still conducting experiments and is giving
American inventors every aid and facility
for perfectlng and testing their arms"