The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-12-01
COAST DEFENSE
SADLY LACKING
Report of General Storey, Chief
of Artillery.
DEFICIENCIES POINTED OUT
LESSON OF THE WAR IN THE
FAR EAST.
DEFICIENCIES POINTED OUT

Washington. Nov 3o.-Brig&dier General
Storey, chief of artillery, L. 5. a. in his
annual report 10 General Chaffee the
Chief of staff dwclls upon what he re-
CARDS as the most urgent demands OF
Tie coast defensss- He says that the best
and NEST economical use of the entire
armament for the coast requires one COM
Tlcte relief to man each and every Clc-
mont of defense. and adds:
1t IS uncomfortable that congress after
&pprUpriating millions fOl national de-
tense would be willing il its attention
we're drawn TO the fact, 10 leave this de-
tense ineffective for want of a proper
organization to man and conduct it, He
says that if torDedOes are cO-operated
WIKI proper armament as at Port Ar
thur and Fladivostok it is not probable
that any enemy however enterprising,
would attempt 40 force their line OF de-
Tense.
Torpedo Defense.
g., ITO secure at the present time" he
continues the greatest measure Of ma
tlonal safety at the least cost the entire
torpedo defense of our narbors should
az once be made complete. and. he adds,
III would be criminal neglect if | did
not urge as earnestly as i can, the inn
mediate completion Of the torpedo de
tense of an our fortified ports. Today
this defense is lameutabiy deficient both
In material and personnel.
Continuing, General Storey sans:
war no amount of money could procure
submarine mines i'm time TO be of service
for our harbor defense The materials for
such defense are ma je only to fill orders
and their delivery would occupy many
months and only such as might be on
hand could be utilized for an early at
tack.
Men Should Be Trained
The report further says that even with
complete material for torpedo defense. II
j. practically Vaiueless without trained
personnel carefully instructed how 10 OBJ
cfate Ii and that today we practically are
without such force. Only about 400 men
can be assigned ne says. for service
requiring about 1000. IL would hc unwise,
the report remarks to attempt 10 provide
a personnel FOR the submarine defense
from the present force of coast artillery
since there are today only One-hat the
number of officers aud men required 10
man and serve the armament already
provided.
General storey SAYS there has been de-
Ncloped in our coast artillery system OF
fire action which as ar as he can ascer-
tain is not equalied in the world. but its
accomplishment. ne says. depends upon
a. standard equipment. which IS not COM
Nleteiy installed i'm any OF our arOOrs
Tie says that they have 20 improNise IN
many harbors means of position finding
in order to conduct artillery practice.
Example of Russia.
ne itbI ~llONitl- maui ~ tiA- AeAAs'
Fi3n coast artillery at Por Arthur
against the japanese fleet ms caused
surprise" the report rectcs Dat the eX-
PLANTATION Is that the artillery mere Wlen
the ranges are 10ooO to l2.e00 metres does
not shoot at All or shoots without re-
suits.
The report adds:
1T would be impossible If We have our
position finding equipment completely in
stalled FOR hostile vessels 10 remain 1000
cor T. 000 meters from our batteries OF
twelve-inch guns or moTtars for two or
three hours and not be destroyed. L re-
grct however. TO have TO say that even
at this day most Of our tortured harb0rs
are not better supplied with a position
finding equipment than apparently IS Port
Arthur II a war were 60 break OUT we
would not have the trained force re-
UGred 10 serve our guns ctIecuNeiy.
However good our suns are yet one-halI
of them would not be OF much more use
than 80 many tons of inert metal.
Field Artillery Short.
GcucraI storey is Of the opinion that
The field artillery falls fifteen batteries
short OF the number tacticaliv needed
for tho present infantry and cavalry
81 tauizatiOns and in this connection
SAYS
There is no first class power which
htS 50 SystcmaticallE neglected its field
artillery as the United States
M, his judgment the cNpcrica-c of the
J,uSso-Japauese war show the foreign
Practice OF having usually about four
guns per .n00 men IS better than the one
proposed for our service.