The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-11-30
AMERICAN COASTS
AT MERCY Or FOE
General Story Declares Personnel
Meager, Equipment INSULT
cient, System Weak.

: Washington, Nov. 3o.-Brigadier
General Story, chief of artillery, q. S.
A., in his annual report to General
Chaffee, chief Of staff, dwells upon what
ne regards as the most urgent demands
OF the coast defenses. He says that the
best and most economical use Of the en-
tire armament for the coast requires
one complete relief to man each and
every element Of defense, and adds:
1t is uncomfortable that congress, after
approprlating millions Cor national de-
tense, would be willing, if its attention
were drawn to the fact, to leave this de-
tense ineffective for want-of a proper Or
5gan1zat1on to man and conduct it.
He says that if torpedoes are CO.
operated with proper armament as at
Port Arthur and Vladivostok, it is not
propab!e that any enemy, however en-
tterprlslng. would attempt to force their
line OF defense. He continues:
To secure the greatest measure Of ma
t1onal safety at the least cost, the en-
tire torpedo defense of oar farbcrs should
at once be made complete. 1t would ba
criminal neglect if did not urge al
earnestly as 1 can, the immediate compile
ton OF the torpedo defense of all our
fortified ports Today this defense is Ia
personnel. -.ra
II we were suddenly confronted by war.
no amount of money could procure SUBJ
marine mines in time to be of service fer
our harbor defense. The materials for
SUCH defense are made only to fill orders
and their deliveries would occupy many
months and only such as might be on
hand could be utilized for an early attack.
Personnel Is Meager.
The report further says that even
with complete material for torpedo de-
tense, it is practically valueless with
out trained personnel carefully in
structed how to operate it and that to-
day we are substantially without such
a force, Only 400 men can be as
signed, he says, for service requiring
about five thousand. It would be un,
wise, the report says, to attempt to
provide a personnel for the submarine
defense from the present force of coast
artillery since there are today only one
half the number of officers and men re-
quired to man and serve the armament
already provided. -..
General Story says there has been
developed in our coast artillery a sys-
! TEN of fire action which is not equaled
in the world, but Its accomplishment
depends upon standard equipment,
which is not completely installed in any
Of our harbors. The report goes on:
The poor showing made by the Russian
coast artillery at Port Arthur against the
t Japanese fleet has caused surprise, but
the explanation is that the artillery there
when the ranges are $1,000 to 49, 900 me-
tiers does not shoot at all or shoots without
results.
It would be impossible, if we have our
position-1nding equipment completely in
stalled, for hostile vessels to remain 1000
or. $4,000 meters from our batteries Of
twelve-inch guns or mortars for two or
three hours and not be destroyed.
| T# - Our Harbors Weak. ~
I regret, however, to have to say that
even at this day most Of our fortified har-
bors are not better supplied with po-
sition-fnding equipment than apparently
is Bort Arthur. Z : s Ia :, i 3 ) zg5S 4
! IF a war were to break out we would
not have the trained force required to
| serve guns effectively. However good
| our guns are, vet One-half of them would
not be Of much more use than SO many
tons of inert metal.
= General Story is of the opinion that
| the field artillery falls fifteen batteries
short of the number tactically needed
for the present infantry and cavalry
organizations, and in this connection
says; e., 49, 49, ez.+ o,ouu ,,o,,o,. sio,
has SO systematically. neglected it's field
artillery as the United States.''
In his Judgment the experience Of
the Russo-Japanese war shows the for
eign practice of having usually about
four guns per one thousand men is bet
ter than the one proposed for our
service.