The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-26
General Gillespie Makes Report
 on PlOgTessOf Notifications
TOTAL OF $lO,366,1OO SPENT
seacoast Defenses Are More Than 50 Per Cent Completed and Nearly All Harbors Are Equipped
 With Mines-lslands.

Washington, October 25.-The annual re- port of Gen. George L. Gillespie. chief of engineers, U. s. A., for the year ended June 30, 1903, dealing with Notifications and rivers and harbors work. has been made public He refers first to the work of constructing Notifications that has been going on under the general scheme of the Endicott board. and adds:
 ''The degree of defense to be provided for coaling and naval stations scattered all over the world for the naval bases which must be promptly established, and for which appropriations are asked of congress by the navy department for the lulu. and for the lake ports and the St. Lawrence river. should preferably be de- termined by a tribunal similar to the En- dicott board. as recommended in my last annual report.
 'In the absence of legislation on the subject of insular defenses, mixed squad of engineers and artillery officers organ ized by authority of the secretary of war has already practically considered and reported upon plans for the emergency defense of several of the most important harbors in the insular possessions.
 Makes Suggestions.
 Before these preliminary plans are actually entered upon it might be well to invite the cooperation of the navy by the assignment of a certain number of naval officers upon a new joint board of army and navy Officers appointed to re- wise or enlarge the preliminary plans O.; defense heretofore prepared"
 General Gillespie says that the projects for defenses of thirty-one localities have been approved, and in addition defenses of the great lakes and St. Lawrence are under consideration. He adds:
 Projects for the defenses of San Juan, Porto Rico. Pearl Harbor, Honolulu har- bor. Hawaii, San Luis DApra, Guam, Ma nilla bay and Subg bay, have been, ap- proved by the secretary of war and actual construction should begin thereon at an early day It is believed that the time has come when 1t will no longer be possible to ignore the question of insular defense. The navy department is properly insistent that all it's coal stations receive proper defensive protection to keep off depredatory attack from hostile fleets.
 Sea Coast Defenses.
 'The seacoast defenses of the United States are now somewhat more than 30 per cent completed. Twenty-Five of the principal harbors of the United States have a sufficient number of heavy guns and mortars mounted to permit an ef- fective defense against maya, attack, and during the past three years considerable progress has been made in the instala- tion of an adequate rapid-fire armament, now the matter of first importance"
 At present there are provided for the defense of the United States 105 12-ineh guns, 33 10-inch guns, 96 S-inch guns, 567 rapid-fire guns and 976 12-inch mortars. Regarding submarine mines, the report says: | With few exceptions all harbors are now equipped with torpedo storehouses, cables. tanks and serviceable mining case material. Many of the latter are not of the latest type, and are complained of by the artillery as insufficient in size. As funds become available they will be re- placed by more convenient and commod- ious case material"
 General Gillespie submits a total esti- mate of s1O.S66, 100 for Notifications from the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905.