The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-04-29
TYBEE STATIONS
ARE NOW CERTAIN
THE PLANS WERE APPROVED
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON BY SPEC
IAL BOARD.

Board Composed of Col. j. b. Quinn,
Col. Harry Anderson, Mai. Henry
L. Harris and Capt. L. $. Lyon.
joint Report VIII BE Made to War
Observation-Disclosures from Them
Expected by Col. Quinn in About
Two MOnths-WOrk Will Then Be
Speedily Rushed to Completion.
With the approval of the plans
drawn up for the two new signal sta
tons at Fort Screven by the special
board appointed to examine them, the
completion of the big improvement in
the coast defense is assured. The ex-
aiming board reached Savannah yes
terday afternoon and proceeded at
once to Tybee and within a few hours
completed it's work.
Col. James B. Quinn, division chief
of United States Engineers, acted as
president of the board. Col. Harry
Anderson, commandant of Fort Screw
en-, also served on the board. The
visiting officers were Maj. Henry L.
Harris, c. A, U. S. A. the senior Off
Ger of the general board, and Capt.
Leroy S. Lyon, the junior officer of
the general board.
Before reaching Savannah the two
officers had visited Galveston, New Or
leans, Mobile, Pensacola, Tampa and
Key West. They will leave early this
morning on the Angler for Fort FIRE.
mont, at Hilton Head, near Beaufort
From that point they proceed on up
the coast as far north as the Maine
ports.
Only Minor Changes Made.
Anticipating the visit of the officers
and desiring to aid them in every way
possible, Col. Quinn had prepared a
map of the fort and its surroundings
and the proposed location of the two
stations. Every detail had been mark
ed on the map.
This map was taken to Tybee and
the points represented thereon pointed
out. After a careful study of the field,
and a discussion of the relative merits
of the points selected, and others which
seemed available, the board practically
adopted the plans as drawn up. Sew
eral small changes were made but none
of any great extent
Recommends the Stations.
A joint report will be forwarded at
once to the War Department. This
report will recommend that the sta
lions be established in accordance
with the map prepared by the engin-
GERS in Col. Quinn's office, subject only
to the changes made by the board dur
ing its inspection and examination of
the field. The entire matter will then
lie with the War Department.
Col. Quinn expects that within two
months at the most he will receive in
structions from the department regard
ing the commencement of the work
No time will be lost in rushing the i'm
provements to completion, as it is de-
sired to have the best possible defense
at all ports. The improvements will
mean an aggregate expenditure of at
least $685. 900.
The Range-Finding System.
The new range-fnding system which
is to be installed here. is one of the
most elaborate in the world. Through
its aid gunnerS at the fort can strike
a vessel twelve miles out at sea, though
the vessel itself is invisible to the gun
ner. The following is a brief summary
of the method used:
At each of the new stations men with
glasses and the proper instruments for
measuring angles and distances will be
stationed. The line connecting these
two stations will form the base line of
a triangle, the exact length of this base
line being determined by the special
board yesterday. The stations will be
connected with plotting room by tel
ephone, and from the plotting room the
gunners will receive their instruction
AS soon as a vessel is sighted an i'm
aginary line will be drawn from each
signal station to the vessel, and the an
gle made by this line and the base-line
accurately measured. This will be at
once telephoned to the plotting room.
together with the allowance to be made
for the movements of the vessel.
In Plotting Room.
In the plotting room, by means of
these measurements, the exact position
of the vessel can be computed. The
guns will then be aimed at the proper
angle and when fired the ball must
strike the vessel. The base line, on
which so much depends, has been fixed
at about 2,400 yards. The land on
which the stations will be erected has
already been described in the Morning
News.
Maj. Harris stated that the i'm
proVements are among the most valu-
able that have been made by the gov
eminent in some time. 1t is estimated
that the entire cost of the stations
along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts
will aggregate $625000 This may be
considerably reduced. The chief ex-
pense lies in supplying the stations
with the proper instruments, electrical
attachments, telephones, searchlights,
etc.