The San Francisco call., 1896-02-28
There Is Not Sufficient Protec.
tion to the Nation Solely
by the Navy.
FOR NEW REVENUE CUTTERS
Passage of the Army Appropriation
Bill With No Greater Delay
Than Being Read.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb 27.-ln the
Senate to-day the subject of the sea-coast
defenses of the country was elaborately
treated in a speech by Senator Proctor OF
Vermont, in which he advocated land for
tlications in preference TO the creation of
powerful navy. and it was announced
Immediately that the Committee on Forti-
fications now contemplated a trip to New
York to examine the defenses of that
harbor.
Bills appropriating $500, 600 for two first
class revenue steamers for the Pacific
Coast, and 100000 for public building at
Newport News, Va, were passed. The
army appropriation bill, with no greater
delay than caused by its being read in
full, also passed. 1t appropriates over
$23, 900 and is the fifth of the annual
appropriation bills that has passed the
Senate.
a resolution was reported from the Com
mittee on Contingent Expenses authoriz-
ing the Committee on Coast Defenses to
take testimony and to visit such places as
may be necessary, which was amended so
as to limit the examination to the defenses
of n ew York and agreed to.
resolution authorizing the printing of
$4,000 copies of the report on the introduce
ton of reindeer into Alaska was also
agreed to.
peculiar pension bill was taken up
and passed. 1t gives pension of $40 a
month to a private citizen, Christopher
Schmidt of st. Paul, Mimi, on account of
blindness resulting from a chance shot
which had struck him while passing be-
fore the military rifle range at Fort Smell
ling, MINI.
Proctor (R.) of Vermont then addressed
the Senate on coast defenses. The ex-
posed condition of the coast of the United
States, he said, required no proof, and the
necessity OF defending it should require no
argument.
1t had been stated recently by Admiral
Walker that if the English were to send
over such q naval force as they could
spare from Europe they would have their
own way; that something of fight might
be made for Sandy Hook and that nothing
would prevent them from taking the whole
coast. 1t could safely be said that we had
reached the point where the question was
not so much whether or not we shall de-
fend our coast as it is how we can best
accomplish it. Shall it be done by land
fortifications alone, by navy alone or by
a wise com bination of the two methods?
1t was fully substantiated by reason and
authority:
Flrst-That proper system of land de-
lenses will make our great cities safe from
any naval attack.
Second-Such a system can be con-
structed for sum many times less than
the cost of navy like the great navies of
Europe and for a sum that may reason
ably be expended.
Third-Land notifications are much
more efficient for coast defense than a
navy and, when once constructed, are dur
able, cheaply maintained and easily
strengthened.
Fourth-The defense of our cities cannot
be left to the navy alone, however large.
Flfth-A navy that would equal the
great navies of Europe is unnecessary and
Its cost makes such navy impractica ble.
Sixth-A navy quickly deteriorates and
is expensive to maintain.
Seventh-The construction of land de-
lenses should always precede the building
of navy.
Proctor went on TO elucidate those sey-
erai points. He gave the total cost of a
complete system of land defenses, as es.
timated by the Endicott board in 1885, at
about sos, S,000,00 That estimate, how
ever, did not include $6.0Oo,oOO for Puget
Sound. The cost of the existing navy
would be, on the completion of vesse Is
now under construction, over $11O, 900 900.
For the sum with which we have pro-
cured our navy we could have rendered
our seaports practically safe against the
| combined assaults of all the nayies admit
tedly superior to our own and could have
occupied the first place in the world as re-
CARDS our fortified frontier and still have
money enough left to provide good share
for the additional floating batteries and
torpedo boats necessary.
at the close of Proctor's speech the Sen.
ate bill for the construction OF two first
class steam revenue cutters for service on
the Pacific Coast Ito cost not to exceed
S25O,OoO each) was on motion of Squire
(R.) of Washington. taken from the calen-
dar and passed.
The army appropriation bill was then
taken up. The bill appropriates $23. 279.-
4O2. The bill was passed without amend
ment, fixing the number of HOSPITAL stew
ards at 100 instead of 112.