The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-13

homely expression, they wished every TUX
TO stand on its own bottom.
! That was the principle observed III the
naval search problem. No arbitrary values
were given to either the defense squadron
| or the hostile squadron. Each was judged
hy correct comparison of its strength
with its opponents,
f! OF course il was harder to make such an
| arrangement as between forts and ships
and those who had the drawing of the rules
| felt that. while comparative strength OF the
| two opponents must be taken into considera
! ton whenever it could he determined.
| there were many cases where arbitrary
| values had to be assigned.
ONE POINT DEMONSTRATED.
Portland is admirably sit uated to resist
! attack from an enemy's fleet. 1t Is APP
preached by narrow channels, all capable
of being mined and no array of battleships'
no matter what route they followed, could
get close to the city without passing directly
under the guns Of some of the forts.
The old masonry defenses have been
abandoned for modern ortifications having
the most powerful ordnance of the latest
improved type. These have been well
located but it was made evident by the
games that one at least could be subjected
to the fire of war ships which, creeping
along the shelter of the land. would be
safe from he shells of this battery.
Portland lies on the westward side OF
that great islandthronged body Of water
known as Casco Bay It's principal water
approach il The main ship channel running
along between Cape Elizabeth. on the west l..
and Cushing Island, Peaks Island. House
Island and Great and Little Diamond islands,
on the east
To the east of Peaks Island and Great
Diamond Island and between them and
Long Island, is another water approach.
Hussey's Sound, capable of accommodating
vessels of the greatest draft. There are
other but more roundabout approaches.
which, however. cannot with safety be
used by big war ships.
Many admirable harbors exist in Casco
Bay. affording ideal points Of refuge or
bases for a hostile feet. fact which Adj
miral Barker recognized and Of which he
took advantage.
poRTLAND's DEFENCEs.
Portland's modern defences are five in
number. Fort Williams is at Portland
Head, on Cape Elizabeth, defending the
main ship channel and capable also of
delivering its fire over Peaks Island at
ships attempting to reach the city through
Hussey's Sound
On Cushing Island is Fort Levett capa-
BILE of the same work that Williams can do.
and nearer the city, at Spring Point. on Cape
Elizabeth, is Fort PEBBLE, Portlands last de-
fence if hostile armorclads should succeed
in passing the other batteries. On Great
Diamond Island. centrally situated between
the main ship channel and Hussey's Sound,
is Fort Mckinley, with powerful mortar
battery, which, the artillerists of the army
say did wonderfully accurate work.
On Cow Island. just off the northeast
corner of Great Diamond Island and at the
head OF Hussey's Sound, is battery of five
finch modern rifles.
1t was against this formidable array OF
defences that Admiral Barker had to con-
tend with his Red Fleet, as il was officially
termed. Greatly crippled by the absence
of the battleshp Massachusetts, which
ran foul of rock while leaving Bar Har-
Dor, and of the battleship Indiana. her
sister, detailed to stick by her in her trouble.
Admiral Barker found himself at the begin
ming Of the war games with only four armor-
clads. one Of them of an obsolete type.
THE ATTACKING FORCE.
He had cruisers and other unarmed
craft a-plenty, but these would count for
little in real warfare against modern forts,
npl th., in ba
posed to be counted on the basis of actual
strength. Admiral Barker divided his fleet
into four divisions or squadrons, and this
formation, which was preserved throughout
the joint manoeuvres, was as follows:
First Division Battleships Kearsarge.
Illinois and Alabama torpedo-boat destroyers
Truxtun, Whipple and Lawrence; gunboats
Scorpion and Peoria.
Second Division Battleshp Texas. cruiser
Chicago, training ship icivil war frigate,
Hartford.
Third Division Cruisers Olympia and
Baltimore, auxiliary cruiser Panther. gum
boats Newport and Vixen. torpedo boat de-
stroyers Worden and Stewart.
Fourth Division-Auxiliary cruisers Yankee
and Prairie. cruiser Topeka. training ship
told time friGate, Essex tug Nina. golfers
Marcellus, Caesar and Sterling.
With this conglomerate assemblage Of
vessels, Admiral Barker was expected to
attack the modern Notifications of Portland
None of the battleships had krupp armor.
a fact that reduced their fighting efficiency
under the rules of the war games.
Each Of the three armorclads of the first
division had four 13-inch guns in turrets,
the Texas admittedly behind the times
had two lO-inch guns in turrets and the
Olympia had four turret guns of inches.
Only thirteen of these vessels, and this
includes the destroyers and the two old
training ships, were built originally for
Use az men-of-war. The Yankee, the
Prairie and the Panther were, prior to the
Spanish war, engaged in the West Indian
fruit trade, and their presence in the At
lantic training squadron has caused that
very useful aggregation to be dubbed
"the banana fleet"
The Topeka WAS a small cruiser, built
abroad for a South American country,
which didn't pay for her, and sold by the
builders to the United States Government
at the outbreak of the war with Spain.
The Scorpion and the Vixen were originally
private yachts
These things are mentioned merely to
show the odds against the Red Fleet in
the task that had been given to it by the
powers that be in Washington.
BOARD OF ARBITRATIoN's WORK.