New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-28
THE TRIBUNE.
"BE PREPARED FOR WAR;"
SENATOR PROCTOR ON THE NEED OF
COAST DEFENCES.
LAND FoRTIrICATIONs. HE DECLARES WOULD
MAKE TIE sEAPORTs IMPREGNABLE-
MUCH BETTER AND FAR CHEAPER
THAN THE MAINTENANCE OF
4 GREAT NAVY

THAN TIE MAINTENANNfs VI
a GREAT NAVY.
Washington, Feb. 27.-Mr Proctor Rep, VII ad-
dressed the Senate to-day the subject OF coast
offences taking for his text the words OF WASH
ington ITO be prepared for wa is one oil the most
effectual ways Of preserving peace The exposed
condition of the of the United states ne
said required no proof, and the necessity OF de-
Tending il should require no argument 1t mad been
stated recently by Admiral Walker that II the
English were 10 send over such nava. force Us
they could spare from Europe they would nave
their own way; that something of fight might be
made for Sandy Hook. but that nothing would pre-
vent Them from taking the whole coast The sub
iect Nh Proctor sail had been periodically as
cussed in Congress, and had been alluded to IN
Executive messages and in the reports OF various
departments. but these discussions had not peeh
followed by any decisive action However they
had not been without their value. They had led
10 official investigations and official reports ana
had ACCOMPLISHED the great result OF impressing
upon the American people the necessity OF some
action In this matter II could safely be sah that
the poin, had been reached where the question was
not 80 much whether or not the coast shouh ne
defended as II was how could best be accomplished
The Army, the Navy. the press the people those
IN authority and those not, voiced the sentiment
that the coasts sadly needed protection ana tH't
protection should be provided. but now Shal "
be done by land fortifcations aone,''by Navy
alone wise cOnlDiHGlOn Oh t'.c ~" '''''HN'''
1t was fully substantiated by reason and au-
thority: 80
That proper system Of land defences VIII
make the great cities safe from any naval attack
Such system can he constructed lor d sum
many times less than the cost OF Navy IKE 'he
great navies of Europe. ana for sum '"al may
reasonably be expended.
g. Land fortifcations are much more ei'c'e"' io'
coast defence than Navy and when once con-
structed are durable. cheapy maintained and easily
strengthened.
The defence of cities cannot be left 10 the
Navy alone however large
S. Navy that would equal the great haVies Vi
t7uropef,s unnecessary. and its cost makes such
Navy lmpracticabe.
=. Navy quickly doter!orates and Is expensive
to maintain
I The construction Of land defences should al
ways precede the building Of a Navy.
Mr. Proctor TO e.ucidate these points
He gave the total cost of complete system or
land defences as estimated by the Endicott Board
in 1856 as about ssS 10000 That estimate however
did not include $4,000 for Puget Sound The cost
of the existing Navy would be. % the completion
OF vessels row under construction over sloo"""
but there wa rot one snip in the Navy mat was
not overmatched by the admission or naval oIiicers
by foreign ships
MAKE THE SEAFORTS SAFE
After an analysis Of The American ana iofeish
nayies Mr. Proctor proceeded as follows;
Such is our Navy. but suppose that Ike sum
had bean expended On land coast defcnces. what
would the country aow have 10 show for the eN-
penditure? There no higher engineering authori-
~ on this subject than General Abbott He says
that 1.-THE entire coast would be placed IN con-
diton of security, even If operated against pN INC
largest naval means which could be brought ak&lSt
it, Admiral Walker said before the committee
that If our harbors had been properly !Ortlncd no
squadron would attempt TO take them fOf the
sum with which have procured our Navy "
could have rendered seaports practically saie
against the combined assaults Of all the naV!es au-
mttedly superior to own, and coulc nave o.
cuDicd the first place in the world as Regards our
fortified frontier and stN have money enough ielt
ia provide a good share OF the additional noatng
batteries and torpedo-bOats necessary. The plans
OF the Board would have gwen us land delehces
calculated to Withstand all methods OF attack, even
after the improvements that may reasonably De
posed works assumed an attack with high cX-
Dosyes. and planned 10 resist sucn an attack.
The gums were heavier than any mounted on any
shin abroad, except few coast-defence vessels
lnotably the Italian) which no one even sugeessel
can cross the Atlantic Ocean. yet even these We're
matched BY those estimated for our defence. since
,he date OF the estimates for land delehces Inc
s,,ns on shipboard have exhibited constant ten
dency 10 decrease IN relative power -
rhe proposed land defences for the same sun
,,o,,,d rnornt 1876 guns of eightnch caliDre ana
inward az against the Navy l5c gums anu wouIu
avc mounted 800 rapd-hre guns oil 'Ve-hch cAIIDr
&c against the Nays ls7 Thee plans: II carried
80, wniId provide Boston alone with III guns aho
uon,,srS ~ eightnch 70 slxteen-inch caiores as
sralns, the 1873 guns of eighi-inch caHDrc IN oui
wSoie new Navy At New-York there would De .o'
Guns and rnortars Of from clSht-!nch 10 sixteen
inch caljbre as against the 1876 guns OF the ehlr,
Nav A. San Francisco there would De Z51 guI,s
and mortars OF from eight-inch 10 sNlceh-I..on