The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-19
OUR COAST DEFENCES.
Needs Of War Department For Com.
ing Year.
ESTIMATES OF SECRETARY LA
MONT TO TREASURY DEPT.

Great Improvements that Have Been in
Military Equipment Since Is9S-Then
our Coast Defence Works Had Only
One Modern Gun in Position.
Washington October 18.-Seoretary La
mont will tomorrow transmit to the Sec
rotary of the treasury his estimates of
the appropriations required by the War
Department the next fiscal year which
aggregaae $50, 675, ,638.
The estimate for tue running expentes
of the war office in Washington is 81, 454.-
a36, showing reduction in the annual
expenses for salaries and contir geucies
in that Office of S621, 942 for the estimates
OF four years ago.
The other estimates include: pay OF
army as fixed by law, S15, 522, $50; sub
sistsnce of army, $1,e59, $50; quartermas-
ters' supplies, $4,000, 600; incidental ex-
penses Of the army, 5000, 600; barracks and
quarters, including hospital construction,
1886. 900; army transportation, 50, 500, 600;
clothing, Sl,10o.G COO; ordinance depart.
ment, 81, l5l, 600; military academy. .s521,-
sl2; military posts, national cemsteris
and national parks. 90, 44s. s14, rivers and
harhors, S5, 84e. 600, to meet payments
on existing contracts, the department at
this time being unable to say what sum
will be required by future contracts for
which authority exists.
The estimate for Notifications and sea
coast defonse is increased to SIC, S24, ,298.
In connection with his estimate, Score
tary Lamont made public the following
statsinent Of the condition of this work.
Tie first OF July, 1893. but one modern
gun WAS in position. The first of July,
1897, we shall have a completed defenoe
with 13 l2-inch, 81 10-inch, S-inoh, four
| ra 2id fire guns and so l2-inch mortars.
| For the 10 years preceding 1890, no ap-
| propriasions were made for engineering
| WORK on our permanent coast defenceg,
except small and steady decreasing sum
annually allowed for the "proteotion,
| preservation and repair'' of existing work
| which though obsolete as a main reliance,
had been SO incorporated in the modern
defensive projects as to play an import
ant auxiliary part.
In 1880 was made the first appropria-
tion, 81. 221, 900 for modern gun and NOR,
tar batteries, followed by one of $3.50, ooo
in 1891, and by another of $500, 9s9 in
1892.
Inc guns ana mOrGars are or American
design and manufacture, ssand tn, calibre
larger thansany carried by our ships. He
gives an estimate showing the condition
of the coast fefences after expenditures
| authorized by ao5 of June 8, 1896, and
the emplaoements with guns and mortars
that should be in position. The state
lnent includes the following. Portland
Me-, two 12-inoh, five 10-inch guns,
twelve 12-inoh mortars; Portsmouth, N.
H.. two S-inOb Quus
The secretary says that if the present
estimates of the war department for per-
manent defenoes should receive the fav-
orsble consideration of Congress we
shall have by June 80, 1898, the follow
ing completed Items in the system Of
dsfence; Emplacements. thirty-nine
12-inch, eightyfye 10-inch. thirty seven
s-inch, 129 rapid fire, 1884 1a-inch mortars;
sixty 1a-inch, ninety 10-inch, seventy-fiye
S-inch, one hundred and twenty mine
6-incb, with mounts, and two hundred
and ninety 12-inch mortars. The extreme
range of tho 8-inoh gun is nine miea,
of the l0-inch gun II miles; 12inoh gun,
13 miles. The 12-inch breech loading
mortar fires projectile Weighing 1000
pounds and attains a range of five miles
for cast iron mortar and six miles
for an all-steel mortar.