Evening star., 1901-07-10
BIGGEST FORT IN AMERICA.
Great Britain Awake to the Tactical
Value of the Halifax Defenses.

BIGGEST FORT IN AMERICA.
Value of the Halifax Defenses.
From the New York Sun.
Work was begun at Halifax last week
on what is intended to be the most formid-
able fortification in the western hemisphere
For a number of years the British govern
nent has been Strengthening the defenses
of Halifax. land and sea. The armament
of the garrison. which had become anti
quated. was renewed with modern guns of
high power, and the British North Amerl-
can squadron, whose summer rendezvous
is at Halifax, has been increased from
year to year until now it includes some of
the finest warships in King Edwards navy.
Within few years after the completion
of the Canadian Pacific railway, often
spoken of Britains military highway
from ocean to ocean, Esquimault, on the
Pacific coast was fortified, too, and gar
rison established there. This awakening
to the tactical value of these two widely
distant points in the Canadian dominion
has aroused much interest on both sides
of the border, but no explanation of it mas
been vouchsafed other than the general
one of the Increasing Importance of Carf~
ada as integral part of the British em-
pire.
work has renewed public curiosity as to
the details of the plan for the new fortifi-
cation, but, as usual, the authorities are
reticent and only a general outline of what
is to be done has been made public
far. But some additional particulars
have been aScertained In an unofficial way.
and these serve to heighten the interest
in the great project The site selected is
three miles west of Herring Cove on the
neck of land that runs out on the west
side of the harbor into the Atlantic ocean
and terminates in Cape Sambro.
1t was at first proposed to build the fort
on the shore and have ii rise sheer above
the sea. after the fashion formerly adopt
ed by most European countries, but this
suggestion has been put aside, and the
fort will be located a short distance in
land and will be hewn out of the solid
rock. The imperial authorities selected a
large granite cliff which has hollow in
the center. The main part of the fort will
be located in this hollow, with works to be
constructed of cement giving the appear
ance of a solid cliff.
1t is said that in it's general form the
fort will follow the design of the armored
turret of a modern battle ship, and there
will be other features of the work that
will follow out this analogy with a
ship.
The main armament will consist of six
teen guns, the authorities say, but their
exact caliber they decline to tell.
These guns will be fired by instructions
from coming tower, and the men han
ding them will not be exposed They
Will WOrk the guns from below, getting
the sight and other directions from the
coming tower. much as the mortar batter
les at Sandy Hook. N j.. are worked. The
guns will, Of course, be of the disappear
ing type.
Speaking of the guns for the new fort
recently military official said that they
would be Of the most powerful kind In
adoption. He was reminded that the
United States already had a 16-inch gun
mounted for the defense of New York
harbor. and was asked if he wished to be
understood as saying that the Halifax
guns would be larger than this
There will be no 16-inch guns in the
armament Of the new fort was the re-
ply But l meant what 1 said when l
stated that they We're to be the most pow
erful in adoption in good military prac-
tice'
BY this it would seem that the military
man is of the impression that the great
piece of ordnance at New York Is an ex-
pertinent that has not yet demonstrated its
merit; also that he wished 1t to be in
ferred that the new pieces here would hot
be of such large caliber.
The existing fOrtihcations in and about
Halifax are on small scale. and their
armament is Of recent design. Such extern
sive improvements had been made of late
years that the port had come to be con-
sidered as very strongly defended, but the
works will be on a scale that will en-
tirely overshadOw the old ones.
Promise of Telephone Competition.
From the Kansas City World
The World knows nothing of the merits
Of the proposition that has been made to
put an independent telephone company into
operation IN Kansas City. but ii is to be
hoped that the new concern Will presently
become actuality. 1t Is evident that the
present monopoly holds itself entirely SUI
periOr to the regulations of the city, and
that nothing but competition will force it's
managers to give anything like a decent
service-giving rvice adequate to the
price charged is out of the question, for, as
telephones run, IL is not possible to render
S96 worth of telephonic communication in a
year with single instrument.
There is plenty of room here for an inde-
pendent company. There is not a single
subscriber TO the Missouri and Kansas
Telephone Company who would not hail
the advent of new company and put In
another instrument on such terms as II
might be expected that a new company
would make. There are 5000 subscribers
to be had for the asking in this town. and
Mr. Rozzelle's declaration that he is not
at all alarmed by the threat of new COM
pany does not have much force, IN the
light of the fact that there Is not a single
one Of these subscribers who is not exas-
perated by the inefficient service and exor-
bitant charges of the monopoly.