The herald., 1895-06-11
The New Battery of Pneumatic
Guns at the Preside
A DELAY IN THE WORK
The Destroyers Will Have Full Sweep
OF the Channels
Technical Objections to the Placing Of the
Battery Overcome-Lack OF Fresh
Water Caused Delay
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
WASHINGTON, June 10.-By next fall,
if all goes we'll, the new battery OF pneu-
matte guns located at Fort Winfield Scott
on the Presidio reservation, intended
for the protection of San Francisco,
will be turned over to the war depart
ment. The battery is even now practic-
ally complete, but owing to the difficulty
Of securing an adequate water supply,
upon the application of. the contractors
the war department granted an extern
SION OF time until November 9th next
for the delivery. To operate the plant
powerful steam pumping equipment IS
necessary to compress the air which
throws the projecuiles laden with nan
ton of dynamite, and Of course the steam
plant requires water supply for the
boilers. When good progress had been
made in putting up the battery and
machinery the contractors found to their
dismay that not drop OF fresh water
was to be found on the site. 10 OBTAIN
water they were obliged to run pipes half
mile to tap. the conduit leaolng 10 tne
Presdio and then To install pumps 10
force the water up to the blum. Ihey
have contended that the government
should defiay the expense OF this work,
as the water is intended for the supply OF
the fort, but as the contract was SO
worded as to require them TO iurnish
every appurtenance necessary to the
operation OF the battery, the success OF
their application is doubtful. This bat
tery is composed of three 15-inch guns,
one more than the battery installed at
Sandy Hook for the defense of New York
J "bor.
+ will also be placed so as to give it full
sw .ep of the main channel leading up to
San francisco. Al present there are two
OF these batteries in use, and while 1t is
contem plated to install one in Boston
harbor this project may have to be
abandoned. The difficulty lies, not in
the lack of money, but i'll serious obJec-
tion that has been made by the engineer
officers that tn dynamite guns would, In
such place as Boston haIbor, endanger
the hole of the costly and elaborate sys-
TEN of submarine defenses planned for
the protection of the harbor.
Whenever theldepth of water is not too
great at the entrance to a large harhor,
the engineers have placed, or intend to
place, in case of war. submarine mines
and anchored torpedoes lying beneath
the surface of the water. The accepted
plan of operations against such obstacles
to the entrance of fleet is to send
ahead small. boats, which by firing torpe-
does or heavy charges of powder in the
channels, succeed in exploding the hid
den m ines by the shock, thus clearing
the way for the larger ships. This plan
was used with success by the Japanese at
Port Arthur and Wei-Hai-Wei, so that
the engineer officers lee. that it is neces-
sary to protect their mines in turn by
placing them under the line OF fire OF
their shore batteries. which would be re-
lied upon to keep off the torpedo boats.
But in the case of the dynamite batteries,
it has been urged that the effect OF a
ss in shot would be to explode all
the mines in the vicinity of the place
where the projectie strikes. This would
open the very channels that the guns are
designed to aid in Keeping closed against
a hostile fleet. Fortunately. the objection
does not lie against such harbors as that
at San Francisco. where the water is so
deep that submarine mines cannot be et-
fectivelly used, but it undoubtedly does
apply to many of our other harbors.