Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-13
NEW YORK IN NO PERIL
HOSTILE SHIPS COULDN'T GET
NEAR THE CITY.
Defenses Of the Fortifications Powerful
Enough to Keep OF Enemy's
Fleets.

The statement by Prince Louis in New
York recently that the two fleets in the
rivtr there could reduce thecity to atoms in
less time than it would take his cook to
make an omelet occasioned some smiles
among army officers who know the charac-
ter and size of the defenses of New York.
We should be sorry to have Prince Louis
try it," Gen. Crozier, chief Of ordnance, Is
reported by the New York Times to have
said, when the statement was shown to
him, both because we should regret the
emergency which would bring him over
and because of the unfortunate results to
his fleet
What he says would be easy is impos-
every shell could destroy completely one
building, which it could not, there would
not be shells enough to do the work he de-
scribes. But that is by the side. The truth
is that neither his fleet nor any other could
get within range of the city, to say moth
ing of working by the Notifications and
entering either of the rivers.
Forts at Sandy Hook.
''The forts. at Sandy Hook control the
entrance to the barber. Any ship going up
to New York must pass close under their
guns. Those forts are very powerful, and
they are backed up by the other forts. also
very powerful, at the Narrows Forts HAM
ilton and Wadsworth. The batteries at
these are not only strong on the offensive,
but they are placed that 1t will be very
difficult to infitct any considerable damage
upon them.
There need be question of a hostile
fleet endea voring to get into New York
from the Sandy Hook side. Nor will 1t be
any easier for such fleet to come from
the Long Island sound way.
There the first obstacle it would meet,
always provided it did not encounter a
squadron of battleships, would be the forts
at the race off New London. II it should
get by them it would still have the guns
of Fort Slocum, at David's Island, to run,
and if it should manage to put them out
Of action. and still have any fighting
strength left itself, it would have to meet
the combined fire of Willets Point and Fort
Schuyler. All of which is simply impos-
sible.
IF any one wants to get an idea of what
strength land fortifications have against
ships let him think about what happened
at Port Arthur l do not know exactly
how strong Port Arthur was, but l am
sure the defenses of New York are strong
er.
Port Arthur Defenses.
The japanese never hesitated to attack
the Russian ships when they emerged from
the cover of the defenses at Port Arthur.
They We're not afraid to fight the Russian
fleet. But when the Russians ran under
the wing of the fortress the Japanese drew
off, and waited for them to come out again
1t was not until the land forces had set
tied with the fortress that the Russian
ships hiding there were destroyed.
Yet all that time they constituted
very potent menace to the Japanese in all
the movements of all their military trans
port service, and it was of the highest i'm
portance TO capture or destroy the ships.
In spite OF what 1T meant to them, how
ever, they never once made an effort to go
into the harbor with their ships Why?
Simply because of the guns of the forts.
For just the same reason no fleet will try
to get by Sandy Hook or Willets Point"
Gen Crozier, of course, could not go into
any statement of the exact strength of
New York's defenses further than his COM
pariSon of them with those at Port Arthur
But it is known that they consist of nu-
merous batteries of ten and twelve-inch
rifles, well as several batteries of heavy
sixteen-inch mortars. The great sixteen
inch rifle made at Watervliet arsenal a few
years ago is almost mounted at Sandy
Hook, and has been proved to be thorough
ly efficient. AS matter of fact, it is
more powerful than is needed, and although
it has been found to work to entire salts
faction no more such heavy guns are being
built.