The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-04
TO DEFEND GOTHAM
UNCLE SAM HAS Forces AT WORK
IMPROVING SANDY
HOOK.
MONSTER MODERN CANNON.
MOUNTED IN FORMIDABLE FORTS
WILL HERE COMMAND THE
CHANNEL.
PROGRESS OF THE ART OF WAR
Fitting1y Illustrated In the Walls
of the Abandoned Old Fort
Hancock.
PROGRESS OF THE ART OF WAR
Special Correspondence Of the Globe.

| Special Correspondence Of the Globe.
| FORT HANCOCK, Sandy Hook, N.
j., Oct. 3.-Thinking that brief COM
munication from a former resident of
| st. Paul touching army life and the
work the government is doing in forth
| flying the approaches to New York
city may be Of timely interest to the
people Of the Northwest, I venture to
mail these lines. Every intelligent
American. whether he is tax payer
or not, must take a patriotic interest
! in the steps which are being taken to
secure against hostile invasion the
vital points along our sea-board.
| However remote the chance Of our
becoming entangled in the quarrels of
Europe or Asia, the same prudence
which insures domestic tranquility by
the organization Of police and militia
dictates that g. nation should provide
for the common defense In the most
effective manner known to science.
Hence mortar pits, equipped with
breach-loading motars Of the most de-
| structive pattern, long range rifle can
non, requiring steam or electric power
for their rapid manipulation, and, last
but not least, the machine guns, by
means of which one man may direct
continuous stream Of death-dealing
projectiies toward any point an enemy
| may leave exposed. No less important
are the floating batteries Of our
modern navy, or the torpedoes, hurled
through the air by noiseless pneumatic
guns, or shot from ships torpedo
tube so as to travel unseen beneath
ont ri writ
enemy's hull explodes them, or the
stationary submarine torpedo field,
dotted with rows OF hidden death-traps
stretched across harbor entrance. All
of these are receiving due attention,
believe, from the officers of our gov
eminent.
Sandy Hook. as your readers probably
know, Is a fiat narrow peninsula lying
parallel to the New Jersey coast and
extending It's widest, or northerly end
within about five miles of Coney is
land. and fifteen Of New York city.
1t contains three lighthouses and a
life saving station. The war depart
ment at Washington is about to con-
struct fort according to the most
approved designs of the present dav
to be called, after the late general,
Fort Hancock. The northern extremity
or the Hook contains the foundation Of
fort which was to protect the narrow
channel close by, through which ves-
sells Of the deepest draught must pass
on their way to or from the city The
work was abandoned as soon as the
race between ordnance and armor plate
rendered masonry useless as a defense
against hostile fleets
The massive walls of cut granite
still remain, and, until the space be-
comes indispensable in the DEVELOPMENT
of the Ideal fort Of the future, they
form a most startling reminder that we
are brought face to face with condi-
tons and possibilities Of which neither
our grandfathers of '76 and 1872, nor
even our honored defenders Of '61-'65
had any conception. Hard by the prov
ing ground, where saw a twelve-inch
proJectile shot through a thirteen-inch
plate as easily as I stick my fork
through piece of cheese their bat
tenants and embrasures look as mys
terious and significant as the pyrar1ids
Of the Nile. The surface of the Hook.
though Ihave spoken of 1t as fiat. is
not level like western prairie or a
tide-washed beach; but Is intersected
by low sand hills and winding coulees.
1t is mostly over-grown with cedar
trees not more than twenty-five or
thirty feet in height There are very
few deciduous trees. The underground
is covered with poison ivy from contact
with which several of our soldier lads
have suffered during our ten days en-
campment here, just drawing to q close.
This morning, I am writing, during the
wee sma' hours, we are to break camp
and return to our barracks at Fort
Hamilton. We left there In heavy
marching order a week ago last Mon
day morning, batteries G and from
Hamilton and L from Wadsworth We
pitched our camp here only few hours
later, having been transported by the
government passenger steamer the
Gen. Meigs. We found tents already
pitched for U.S. having been left by a
previous detachment of troops.
The Central Railway of New Jersey
runs a branch line to the headquarters
OF the ordnance department here and
carries passengers to the Jersey high
lands six miles distant. This line of
railway, running along the beach and
commanding an unobStructed view OF
the Atlantic, suggests a use to which
shore line railways have been put in
Great Britain. namely, the mounting Of
machine guns for use against an
enemy approaching by water. An IL
lustration, in the London News I be-
lieve. showed very destructive looking
piece of ordnance. tho not of the
largest calibre, attached to the surface
Of q fiat car. BY means of double
track the car can be pointed at right
angles to the line of railway so as to
command any point in the of1ng.
However let us exclaim with Pinck
ney millions for defense but not one
cent for tribute"
Ralph Russell.