The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-07-16
THAT GUN FACTORY.
Senator Squire Appeals for
Puget Sound, but in Vain.
A CHANCE FOR PUYALLUP BILL.
Appropriation Bills Being Rapidly Dis
posed of-The Washington Fish
Hatchery Appropriation.

WASHINGTON CRY, July 15.-lSpecial. l.
Senator Squire occupied the time of the
Senate briefly this afternoon, and pre-
sented in mastery manner the necessity
for gun factory on the Pacific coast He
began his speech by offering an amend
ment to the fertilization bill, then under
consideration, appropriating 81 ,0O0,0 900 to
begin the work of establishing gun fac
tory ON the Pacific coast and also provid
ing for a commission to be appointed by
the president to select a suitable site for
this proposed gun factory. He pointed
out how every country except the United
States was fortifying and building great
naval stations and providing for foreign
wars in the vicinity of the Pacific coast.
Hareferred to the fact that Russia was
building a defensive fertilization and
armament plant on the Siberian coast with
in easy sight of the United States, while
England has already built at Esquimalt
ycry extensive Notifications and estab-
lished immense defensive operations.
The morning and evening gun from that
point could be heard within our borders.
lie referred to the fact that when he was
governor of the then territory of Washing
ton he had pointed out in all his reports
and of the Washington coast. He pre-
sented the testimony of officers of the gov
eminent, showing the necessity of better
coast defenses and more extensive prepara-
tons for armed conflict. He showed the
growth of Seattle in a few years. and
named over the other large towns that
have grown up on Puget sound and which,
he said, were absolutely defenseless at the
present time. He also referred to points
further down the Coast and the immense
commerce of the Pacific Northwest, which
needed satisfactory protection from any
foreign invasion. He pointed out how
strong England was in her coast fortihca-
tons, and while he did not detract any
thing from the able defense which the
navy afforded he pointed out how coast
defenses and Notifications were superior
to those of naval defenses when the su-
preme test came.
He then undertook to show what the
cost Of manufacture and transportation of
guns was to the Pacific coast, and also
showed that 1t was impossible to transport
sixteen-inch guns across the continent,
and said that if it is feasible to mount six
teen.inch guns on the Atlantic coast then
the Pacific coast should be treated in the
same way, and that it was as important to
the growing commercial interests of the
Western coast that it have as large as the
best guns that were mounted on the At
lantic coast. He referred several times to
the testimony taken before his committee
on coast defense as to the necessity of bet
ter defenses along Puget sound and other
points farther south on the Pacific coast,
and also quoted the approval of eminent
engineers of the plan and feasibility of
building gun factory somewhere on the
Western coast. He said that there
were many places which were rivals
in the matter of location, and
each coast state believed it had the su-
perior point for such gun factory, and
in order that there might not be any diff
Guilty about that he proposed that a COM
petent commission should be appointed
by the president to examine sites and de-
termine which was the best
A large number of senator's listened
with great interest to the remarks of the
Washington senator, and while they
might have been convinced of the feast
biiity of the proposition they seemed to
think that it was not best TO put this in
the fertilization bill at the present time,
bat that it was matter that would better
wait til! there was House of Representa-
tives more fully in accord with going
ahead with important government works.