Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-17

ment, and there would be no opportunity
for much naval maneuvring, although Il
would possibly be good war" for the hos
tile feet to attempt to draw the defending
feet by making a. least a demonstration
on the Hook.
But II Is generally conceded by naval
as we'll as army men that the Sandy Hook
approach to New York is practically i'm
pregnable. The works might conceivably
BY demolished by a steady. concentrated
overwhelming FIRE OF long duration from
q mighty fleet. But that would not be
m%aneuvring; It would simply be pounding
And even II Sandy Hook we're demolished
and taken, there would be the same fight
70 make all over again, for the hostile feet
could barely steam past the Hook before
II would find itself in a zone OF FIRE from
the two huge forts Of wadsworth and
Hamilton, either one OF which Is powerful
enough to tight a whole navy alone.
But q hostile feet in possession Of New
port would be able to make that place a
base Of operation for an invading army
moving to the west on New York through
Cincinnati to taxi the city in the rear,
moving around it's eastern defenses and
coming in out Of reach Of it's southern ones
And, Of course. New York, the queen Of the
western waves" would be the objective
point in q campaign OF invasion. Hostile
expeditions sent out from Newport would
p~aralyze the industries Of the wealthy and
p~opulous New England states. Massa-
chusetts and Rhode Island, with their
great cotton and wooden manufactures, and
Conn ecticut, with It's textile industries and
its manufactures Of arms and ammunition,
would be unprotected before the invaders.
The outer line OF New York's defenses,
which lie at the eastern entrance OF the
sound, would be shorn Of It's usefulness,
and such Of them as are on the mainland
would probably be taken In the rear and
captured. New England is l~argeiy-almost
entirely-supplied with coal by long tows
which night and day crawl up the coast. A
hostile feet in possession Of Newport would
be able to stop all this traffic and reduce
New England 70 dependence upon the single
existing coal railroad for its supply Of fuel.
Probable Plan of Attack.
A hostile feet could hardly hope to make
a successful direct attack on the defenses
at the eastern entrance Of Long Island
sound; still less on those which guard the
entrance to New York Harbor by way Of
Sandy Hook. To seize Newport and make it
the base for land operations evidently would
be the most practicable plan OF a cam
paign Of invasion. The section Of coast on
which the supposedly hostile feet In these
maneuvers is descending is guarded by great
modern forts. either recently built and
armed or recently supplied with new and
powerful batteries.
In Buzzard's bay, Fort Rodman defends
the harbor Of New Bedford. the entrance Of
Narragansett bay is defended by Fort
Adams at Newport, and Fort Wetherlll,
which looks to It across the narrow en-
trance to the harbor, and by Fort Greble
on Dutch Island, situated where the wes-
ern entrance to the bay is narrowest. Then
come the forts which form the outer line
OF the defenses of New York to the east
ward. This group Of powerful defensive
works lies about thirty miles to the west
ward Of Newport and consists Of Fort
Mansfield at Watch hill, Fort H. @. Wright
on Fishers island, Fort Niche or Gull
island, Fort Terry on Plum island, ana Fort
Trumbull on New London harbor.
Whether the hostile feet, II 1t eludes
the opposing squadron. will attempt to
take the defenses Of Newport by a frontal
attack or will try to effect a landing some
where on the adjacent coast and take the
forts In reverse, is one OF the questions
to be answered by the attackers. II 1t
eludes the feet on the lookout for 1t the
commander Of the hostile squadron can do
whichever his judgment dictates. His prob
lem is to give the slip to the defending fleet
and so to manage that the newspaper feet
shall not discover his approach and give
notice Of his whereabouts until he has
struck his blow. two rather diflcult propo-
sitions.
Yet, when we remember the success of
Cervera In masking his movements, the
question does not seem incapable OF solu-
ton. Vineyard sound offers every induce
ment for q call from a hostile feet. for It is
entirely unattended, and from Vineyard
haven 1.-THE old Holmes hole) the great
tide OF m which continually passes
through Nantucket and Vineyard sounds
and out over the shoals could be held at
the invaders mercy. It will be remem-
bered that during the civil war a con-
federate cruiser ran into Vineyard haven,
destroyed all the shipping in the neighbor-
hoad and got of to sea again scott free.
vital Problems to Solve.
There are all sorts Of possibilities in
that strip of coast from Martha's Vine
yard to Montauk, and when this years
maneuvers are over and the results
summed up we shall know a great deal
about them. The question which the
mohOhNOAo u " Oih Out w QuebllOus
Of vital and national Importance affecting
every part Of the country. This attack
Is not an attack on New York alone, but
on all its sister cities. great and small,
indeed on every hamlet. For the great
market Of the west IL In the east, through
the east to other countries, and the key
Of the east seems to be about Newport.
The second part Of the maneuver, While
not calling for the display OF strategic
skill as the first part, will be more spec
tacular and noisy, and will simulate the
conditions OF actual combat. After the
hostile feet has succeeded or failed in Its
attempt to evade the feet on the watch
for Il and effects a landing on the coast.
the two fleets will combine to form one
great naval force and attempt to csptare
some Of the forts within the held Of opera
lions. The forts will be defended by the
army and the militia Of the adjacent states,
and will be assisted by a few small vessels
supposed to have escaped the humiliation
Of the rest OF the American feet. All the
forts mentioned have been supplied with
great quantities Of blank ammunition,
Mine fields have been laid out to cover the
channels. and every other defensive pre-
caution has been taken.
The commanders OF the forts will not
know which OF them is to be attacked until
the hostile feet appears before them. the