The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1895-11-16

Synopsis OF the Auu04t report or MAI
ten. Miies
Washington. Nov: is.-The report
the United states army. which was
made public Monday. differs In many ma
terial respects from statements I'm regard
10 It's contents previously published.
Gen. Miles believes that the peaccable
condition among the various Indian tribes
~ largely attributable 20 the presence OF
troops at suitable points. and 10 the adj
mirable conduct OF the experienced army
officers who have been placed IN charge
OF the principal agencies. While II n eco
nomlcnl and desirable TO have the reserve
forces OF the army near the great centers
OF communication. Gen. Miles urgently
contends that these points should be
selected for their strategic value. and that
the tendency towards concentration should
not be carried 10 tho point OF depriving the
western settlements OF proper protection.
Under tho head or coast defenses Cen.
Miles states that the condition OF these
dsfcnces Is such as TO require decided and
immediate action for their Improvement.
Some progress has been made towards
defending San Francisco. and a few mod
ern guns and rifles have been placed.
These, however. are but q small part 90
what IL needed for the defense OF the har-
Dor. while San Diego Is IN tho same condi-
ton as Puget Sound. entirely az the mercy
OF any strong naval power. which could
blockade every important port on the Pa
cinc coast within 30 days. While the rail-
roads might transport million brave men
20 the coast. they would be useless without
appliances 60 cope with the modern en-
einea OF war. and with all our intelligence.
pride. inventive genius and enterprise ws
are as lar behind In the modern appliances
or war as China or Japan. Such were the
conditions. says Gen Miles. as stated by
him In his report six years ago. and such
tton OF slight progress made at san Fran
cisco
The entire gulf coast and all the great
cities or the Atlantic coast northward TO
Philadelphia are entirely without modern
gums. With one exception the cities north
Of New York are In similar condition to
those south OF II. Some guns and morfars
have been constructed and some shipped
TO their destination. carriages for them arc
under construction and emplacoments
have been made 20 a limited extent.
He shows that torpedo plants are useless
without protective batteries and that the
water IN our principal harbors Is so deep
that light draft war vessels might pass
over torpedo mines without danger. lie
asserts that tho recent manouvers In Eng
land have shown that even the powerful
British navy Is unable 10 defend the Brit
ish coast against a foreign feet There
foro he argues that the main reliance must
be upon coast batteries. lie strongly rec
ommends the construction of all the high
power guns and systems OF defenses called
for In the general plan OF the board OF
ordnance and fortiiications. and 10 meet In
part the expense OF this costly undertaking
he suggests the application OF the funds
that might be derived from the sale OF
abandoned military reservations.
lie approves the use OF bicycles and mo-
tor wagons IA the army and recommends
that force OF twelve companies 10
equipped with these devices.
Gen. Miles argues for an Increase In the
strength OF the army. saying that there ~
no reason why IL should become crystal
lized and kept at one strength. as IL has
been for years It should increase with tho
growth of the country and be determined
by the census at minimum OF one soldier
for every 1900 population and a maximum
OF one in 1000.