The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-03-12

mines where this h possible. In har-
bors like that Of New York. the mining
easements and the buildings for the storage
OF submarine materials have been com
pleted far In advance Of the supply OF guns.
Al the NarrowB, for example. an Important
part would be played by subsurisce tor
pedoes planted there. supposing that an
enemy's ships should force the outer or
Sandy Hook line Of defence and endeavor
TO pass up the harbor between Fort Wads-
worth aud Fort Hamilton.
Tho Notifications Board OF 1885 declared
that tho dogences OF our ports should be
fixed and floating, one or both. according
TO locality" And IL is q striking fact that
out OF total OF sil. 7lO, 500 which 1t proposed
for the protection OF New Orleans, 1t allowed
81, $40, 900 for floating batteries and torpedo
boats, while at San Francisco 1t allowed
sli .sO5. 900 for such batteries and boats out
OF a total OF S27, S6S, $50. Yet such floating
batteries were not TO be seagoinR ships,
but light-draught. heavily armored craft.
with enormous gun power. and their costli-
ness was to limit them to places where
the port is 80 near TO deep water that a
bombardment may not otherwise be pre-
vented" or to localities where the nature
OF the foundations forbids the construction
OF fixed defences, or where the width OF the
channel Is too great to be well swept from
shore batteries" As examples OF such
needs the Notifications Board cited the
eastern end Of Long Island Sound. which Is
an outer line Of defence for New York. and
Chesapeake Bay, which bears like relation
to Washington and Baltimore.
u,,k Ahat noard did not dacrv thA ValtiA of
Notifications. 1t proposed striking
system OF land defenoes as the primary
means OF coast protection. The error OF un-
derratlng that system OF coast protection
will appear from few simple considera-
tions. The first to suggest itself is that
land defences are much cheaper to construct
and maintain than equivalent projections
in the form OF war ships. This fact was well
put by Secretary PROCTOR In saying that
the cost Of land defences has not Increased
80 rapidly as the cost OF ships needed for
successfully attacking them. and further.
that forts "are not only the cheapest
to build, bat. once built, the cost OF
maintaining them can be reduced to the
minimum" This Ia a point certainly
worthy OF confederation at the present time.
Again. the purely naval defences OF
port might DO overcome by the con-
centratlon of an enemy's entire naval
strength upon that single port. But
even with moderate annual appropriations
for land defences. as Gen. SoHoFIRLD has
said. we can put the extended seacoast OF
this country In such condition that no
foreign enemy could intiict upon 1t any
serious damage" There are also natural
sites for defence which give great advan-
tage over any aggressive feet. For exam
pie, In Puget Sound. there are bluffs giving
q cross fire from Point Wilson and Admiralty
Head, and front fire from Marrowstone
Point, for total distance Of sixteen miles.
making 1t virtually impossible for fleet
to run the gauntlet Of forts there. even with
no distractions In the channel. But still
more important than exceptional sites are
the new disappearing gun carriages. which
make forts practically IMPROBABLE. and
give them an enormous advantage over
fleets. Finally. while both the thickness
of protection and the size Of the gun are
limited In the ship, they arc not 90 lin
tied on shore. and both can be made
greater. The advantages Of mounting.
OF firing from an immovable platform
instead Of from pitching ship. and OF the
plotting and study Of the entire area COW
cred by tho guns OF q fort. give them
greater efficiency. gun for gun. than that
OF equal calibres on shipboard.
Let the navy continue to be strengthened.
but let the land defences also be extended.
and pushed to completion with energy.