The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-31
OUR SEA COAST DEFENSES
AND THE NEED OF DEFENSES FOR
 NEIY HATEN R.iRBOR.

Powcr--Rererenoe to Work Done Hither- to to Awaken Publi c Sentiment and se-
 cure Proper DeCenses.
 The appended is an interesting arti- cle by Captain Charles II. Townshend of this city, which was printed in the Weekly Record of January 2S, 1892, It relates to the crying need and inn mense importance of having adequate sea coast defenses at strategic points on Long Island sound and the en- frances thereto, 8 matter which Cap tain Townshend has indefatgaby and most ably championed for twenty-five years, and the importance of which is now apparent to all. Captain Town shend has just sent three bills to Con- gressman Sperry, one of them the Dolph bill, relating to sea coast de- fenses hereabouts, and cutting from the New Haven Journal and Courier of that date, outlining the whole proposed scheme and plan for fortifcatons and defenses of the approaches to Long Isl- and sound and the defense of New Ha- ven harbor All this was Supported by a resolution from the chamber of con- merce which appointed a committee consisting of Captain Townshend, eX- Governor Harrison, Hon. N. D. Sperry, General E. E. Bradley, and others to draft bill to present to the Connecti- cut General Assembly, requesting that immediate action be taken on the sub- ject, The bill so presented passed both houses of the General Assembly and the assembly ordered copies to be sent to our senators and representatives in Washington with instructions to wig orously urge this important measure, and it was ably advocated and UT gently presented. This effort brought forth good fruit, for the chief of engi- neers was instructed by the secretary of war to prepare plans for the de- fense of the eastern approaches of Long Island sound which places Cap tain Townshend has seen in the office of the engineers of the U. $. army, and which represent a proposed expendi- ture of $6, 200, GOO for batteries on the islands and gun lifts, and two steel plated turrets.
 The article referred to above is as follows:
 In the early part of the last decade the attention of congress was called to the importance of sea-coast defenses by citizens interested, and through the agency of the United States engineers. About this time Horatio G. Wright, chief of engineers, being native of tion of the coast and knowing its i'm portance gave notice to the govern- nent, in one of his reports, of the un- protected state of the coast and urged that something should be done at once.
 The attention of congress becoming aroused, the matter was for two or three years considerably agitated, and about 1SS6 or 1887 several bills were pre- scented by different members of con- gress. Finally congress appointed 8 committee on coast defenses, to which the different bills were reported. Most of the bills were presented by members from the Pacific coast. the most promi- nent being MT. Dolph, United States senator from Oregon, who submitted a bill March 18th, 1SSS to the committee on coast defenses, which was ordered printed.
 The bill called for the expenditure of $126, ,377, 800, under the directions of the President, for the purpose of providing Notifications and other defenses for va rious ports named. The armament therefor, and the purchaseeof sites for the said Qualifications were to be sub stantially in accordance with the re- commentators of the committee on coast defenses, until congress should otherwise provide. It was also provi- ded that this appropriation should be apportioned between the various ports in accordance with the consolidated es- innate of the cost of said defenses, and that the work should be, as near as might be, commenced at the same time at each of said ports, and that it should proceed as rapidly as said annual ap- propriations would admit of.
 To the New Haven Chamber of Com merce is due the credit of first agita- ting this matter in the east. All meas ures in their incipient state came from the INeW f1dVeH CndnlDef or commerce, as early as 1875, 1876 and 1880, calling attention to the importance of protect ing our towns from being put under tribute. At an annual meeting of the State Board of Trade held in Hartford January 21, 1891, a resolution was pre- scented by the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, recommending the erection of harbor and coast defenses, and par ticularly the fortification of the eastern entrance of Long Island Sound as be- ing the most direct approach to the port of New York and coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut.
 This resolution was adopted by the State Board of Trade and took occa- sion to send number of the printed reports of this meeting all over the country, to different members of the government, secretary of the navy, sec retary of war, chief engineers, Admiral Walker, of the white squadron, the ad- miral of the North Atlantic fleet, and Connecticut senators and representa- tives.
 The result of this action on the part of the State Board of Trade seemed to be to arouse in the minds of the officials