Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-17
AMERICAS GREAT WAR CAME
Navy win Try TO Surprise the Forts and
Capture Them.
NEWSPAPERS As RECOGNIZED FACTORS
New England Coast end Long Island
VIII ne, 90 an Extent,
Under Martial Law
for Weeks.

Never In the history OF the United States
have there been found Joint naval and
military maneuvers on a scale even dis
family approaching those scheduled foI AAis
month. And for the fret time in the history
OF the world there wilfbe recognized a new
and important factor In war-the newspaper
world. The newspapers will be considered
as enemies; the fleets must beat them n
they can. The government does not desire
that the newspapers shall not try to get
the news; indeed, the authorities want
them to try In every way possible. But
they want their ships and men to prevent
them from getting II.
30, In one way, this mimic war will be
real. 1t will be q mimic war for the pos
session Of the coast and an actual war
against the reporters, whose dispatch boats
will be treated as enemies scouts to be
avoided or captured. Secretary Moody re-
CARDS this as a very important part Of the
maneuvers. He desires to fnd out Just how
secret the movements Of q fleet may be kept
Ia time Of actual war and he realizes that
II the movements Of a feet can be CON
eealed from newspaper men bent on hiding
them out, they can be concealed from any
body. Just h plan has been adopted to
prevent the newspapers from getting in
formation meant TO be secret the secre-
tary won't tell. but II is known that a care
ful and elaborate scheme has been pre-
pared and the experiences OF the Spanish
war have been drawn on in formulating II.
II any Information meant to be secret is
obtained by the newspaper men, the meth
obs by which It was obtained will be care
fully and fully reported TO the department.
ana after the maneuvers are over such in
ntana0o Mill - .Nal- -.
vising a satisfactory preventive Of similar
occurrences In case of actual war.
Newspapers as Enemies.
1t was proved with the little affair with
spain that newspapers we're not only fac
tors OF civilization, but factors OF war. For
the hrst time In the history of the world
great heets went out to make history. ac-
eompanied by a great feet bearing the men
VINO were to write II. II was realized sud
denly that the future naval commando
could not regard the newspaper dispatch
boat as a negligible quantity. So in these
most up-to-date maneuvers planned by the
Navy department the newspapers have had
q place assigned to them.
The strategy Of each Of the two opposing
commanders will be directed to out maneu-
vering the hostile fleet and the newspaper
0N NUS aNN6 Vi II newspaper
forces will aim at put maneuvering both
fleets. 1t will be a pretty and most interest
ing contest, entirely new to warfare. The
department has refused to give out even a
general sketch, of the maneuvers, but the
a=st part 81 the maneuvers, which Will be
purely naval, will consist Of the attempt Of
a feet, supposedly hostile, to elude a feet
watching to intercept II and effect a land
Ing on the coast, In all probability at some
point between Martha's Vineyard and the
eastern entrance to Lohg Island sound. The
opposing commanders will not know, except
In a general way, just what vessels COM
pose the fleet against which they are oper-
ating, and some very startling surprises
may be sprung upon them by the managers
Of the maneuvers. Some naval officers would
not be surprised II the European squadron
or the South Atlantic feet. or both. should
suddenly appear on the coast. For all any
body knows, ships from one or both OF these
Equadrons may now be on their way to New
England waters.
All the available ships of the North
Atlantic squadron will be employed
battleships, cruisers and gunboats, as well
as . feet Of fifteen torpedo boats and
twelve torpedo boat destroyers. All along
the coast, piercing searchlights, some Of
100, 000-candle power, have been established
to search with their fiery eyes at night
for the coming Of the hostile fleet. Wire
less telegraphy will be thoroughly tested
during the maneuvers as to the practic-
ability Of using II under war conditions
for communicating between the different
vessels. Many novel and modern appli-
anees will be experimental with, and In
ali respects the present maneuvers will be
the most up-to-date affairs Of the kind
ever attempted.
Expense Not Considered.
The question OF cost is not to enter into
the matter. The object is to have the
maneuvers comprehensive and thorough, no
matter what 1t costs, for 1t is believed
that the results will justify the expep-
diture, however great II may be.
Coal will be al important item OF ex-
pense. A battleship of the Oregon class
burns seventy-hve tons OF coal at a speed
Of eleven or twelve knots. and the amount
burned rises rapidly for every knot above
that. One Of the fast cruisers burns about
100 tons a day ordinarily. and twice that
at high speed, and coal costs the govern
ment about SO a ton. Though a good deal
OF the target practice will be done with
the economical subcaliber, a considerable
portion OF II will be done with full serv-
ice charges and service projectiles. To Are
one Of the big turret guns on a battleship
with full service charge and regular pro-
jsetile costs from $500 to $500 each time.
Torpedo boats. owing to their forced
drought, are great eaters OF coal, and
the cost OF firing ships guns, even though
they may hot be the great turret guns
10 considerable. So 1t will be seen that
the cost Of the mAneuyers will mount up.
Il is generally believed by naval officers
that the objective point OF the ships de-
tailed to represent the hostile deet is
Newport. That port Is a great strategic
point In Mr.. Moody's war. Just as It was
in the revolutionary war.
sandy Hook Unlikely.
OF course. It is entirely possible that
. neet may appear on New York suddenly
BY way Of Sandy Hook. But that is not
likely. For an attack on Sandy Hook