New-York tribune., 1896-11-27
FORTIFYING THE COASTS.
SPLENDID PROGRESS MADE ON MOD
ERN DEFENCES.
.rcprraRY LAMONT IN HIS ANNUAL REPORT
SHOWS WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
AND WHAT Is EXPECTED IN THE NEAR
rrr,,RE-opERATIoN OF THE WAR
DEPARTMENT REVIEWED.


r.sh,nyton Nov. 26.-Secretary Lamonts
-, -, tho operations of the War Department
~ 1sos shows total expenditures aggregating
oor,v Sj2OOOOo and an unexpendcd balance
~ yearly S2.OOO.OUO turned back into the
r,oosurv at the end of the fiscal year. For
..a three years Of Mr. Lamonts administration
-. -. a,,rr,us has amounted to more than $1,000
OO0
IN July l. 1893 on the modern coast deiences
-. ,no country only one high-power gun was
.oa Nv July |, 1891 there will be in po-
'.,or seventy high-power breech-loading guns
''' .,ne,v.hve breech-loading mortars Of mod
Wv aas;cn and by the following July, on com
,o % work already under way or provided
,oS Gums and 1913 mortars will be in place.
w. ,.,.orv Of two or three of these guns takes
-,,oce Of the former pretentious fort and is
Az, r,ore effective An eight-inch gun weighs
.oar and a half tons, is twenty-three ana
,rorter feet long. requires a powder charge
:. 20, mounds and throws projectile weighing
oon ,ounds about nine miles. A ten-irch gun
,a,s thirty tons is thirty and one-hat 1eet
49, REQUIRES a powder charge OF 2''o pouhds
- ,hrovs projeCtile about twelve miles
....o,veinch gun weighs fifty-seven TONS is forty
80. ,ong. requires a powder charge or -"
-. and throws a 1000 pound projectile
r,,osn miles twelle-inch mortar weighs
~ ,oo ,o,nds is thirteen feet long. requires
..wdsr charge Of 1O5 pounds and throws filled
s,o,act,le weighing SEQ pounds over Ave miles.
Tho defences now under consideration are dls-
,ributed among the ports OF Portland Me-
portsmouth, n. H.; Boston. Narraganset' i'ay'
eastern entrance to Long Island Sound eastern
and southern entrances to New-ho orK' anu a'
rb,Iadelphia Baltimore, Washington hampton
Roads Wilmington. Charleston. savannah re!
West Pensacola. Mobile. New-Orleahs' "a'
weston. san Diego. San Francisco. the NOUN vi
.,o columbia River and Puget Sound. All the
emplacements have been located WIN we" -
carving out the project of the Fndicott Board
on Fortifcations organized under the ACT vi
Congress of March J. 1880. as reNlseu u! '"'
nerrnanent Beard of Engineers
The total amount appropriated for seacoas'
defences including cost Of sites. fort1cations
and armaments since the adoption OF the pres
~, s.,sr,e is SOC 451 600 of which more than
one-third was carried pE the ao' p"'' "
last session of Congress-
Before the end of the present year 'here VIII
80 o,even twelve-inch forty-two ten-nch. eight
six rapid-rre guns and IL mortar
emplacements.
nv July next there should be completed four
teen twelve inch. forty-six ten-inch, ten elsh'-
inch and twelve rapid-fire guns and liz mortar
.r,n,acements. And by the close of the coming
vear this will be increased TO tWeh'y-one
.u.eIve-,nch sixty-sx ten-inch, twenty-five eight
,n., ond sixteen rapid-fire guns and lot mortar
DISAPPEARING GUN CARRIAGES
" ,he belief that the problem Of a satisfactory
a,,o,,ear,ng gun carriage had been solved. the
,,ronr,a.i .ions Committees were Informed at the
ra,.,ous session Of the present Congress that the
Do,or,ment proposed to spend more money
for gun-lift batteries thus saving s2o""'oo'
rh. construction OF these carriages in as large
numbers as the appropriation would permit was
Immediately undertaken at the Government
carriage factory, at the Watertown Arsenal ana
under contract.
A still more difficult problem was the designing
Of disappearing all-round IRE carriage lo' '"e
twelve-inch breech-loading rifle. How difficult
problem II was will appear when II Is ho'ed tia'
such a carriage must endure. without breaking
or straining any Of its parts. the tremendous
shock due TO the balistic force necessary to pro-
rel 900 pound projectle at velocity OF -'IVo
feet per second. lowering its hftytwo-ton gun for
a distance OF nearly eight feet to secure posi-
,,cn for loading and returning it to its firing po-
easily and by mechanism not likely to get out OF
order and easy TO be operated by the average
soldier The technical difficulties involved may
perhaps be better appreciated when II Is cohs'o-
cred that a similar case would be that of a fifty
ton locomotive and tender running at speed
OF twenty miles an hour. which is required 10
ha brought 10 a full stop from this speed within
a distance Of sixteen feet. or one-third OF
its length vet so easily and gently that al the
end OF the motion there shal! not De the
slightest Jar. Both these problems. also IL Is De
leved have been satisfactorily solved. one
twelve-nch all-around traverse disappearing
carriage Is now under construction, ana elSht
and ten-inch carriages Of similar design are
about 10 he begun
Secretary Lamont says his predecessors IN
office at the head Of the War Department had
FOR many years the difficult task Of arousirg the
public mind 10 a realization of the National de-
fclences in the matter Of coast defence As the
interest which has been awakened has grown
deeper successive Congresses have made more
liberal provision for the accomplishment Of the
adopted scheme. Therefore. in submitting the
estimates FOR another year. he feels that II is no
longer necessary 10 repeat the arguments rcit-
Grated so many times. While earnestly inviting
attention to the great work still remaining TO be
done it is also his fortune TO have the more
grateful duty of exhibiting the important results
actually accomplished. as well as the splendid
progress which Is now being made toward the
early completion Of the work
ARMAMENT OF TROOPS
The armament OF troops with the new maya
zine arms was completed In May and the armory
Is turning out 12J rifles carbines a day under
the appropriation made last year. All the am
muniton for small arms now made Is supplied
With smokeless powder Of American manufacture
and of satisfactory quality.
The total expenditure for river and harbor I'M
provements ordered by Congress during the year
ending June 80. 1896. including those Of the Mis-
eissippi and Missouri River Commission. was
*l1o3J.OOO. Including the amounts appropriate
ed by the act Of June 3. 1896. there was available
Tor expenditure on rivers and harbors on July
$2602OOOO The Mississippi River Commission
has decided TO discontinue the plan to improve
the river by bank protection and TO adopt the