The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1906-03-07
COAST DEFENSE PLANS.
Prepared by a Joint Board Of
Army and Navy officers.
Defences Recommended For lnsular
Possessions - Secretary Taft Says
Estimates Of Board For Completing
Defenses Are 1886 ,6o6 Less Than
Sum Proposed by Endicott Board.


Washington, March 6. - President
Roosevelt sent message to congress
accompanying plans for coast defense
prepared by joint board of army and
navy officers in which he emphasized
the necessity for further defences and
reviews the history of defensive works
in this country.
The president calls especial atten.
ton to the recommendation of the
board that the entrance to Chesapeake
bay be added to the list of places in
the United States to be defended He
says the insular possessions cannot be
longer neglected if the United States
desires to hold them.
Defences are recommended for Ma
Mia bay, Pearl Harbor, Guantanamo.
Guam, San Juan and Honolulu, be
cause of their strategic locations. De
fences are recommended for entrances
to the Panama canal.
In his letter transmitting the report
of the board to the president Secretary
Taft says that the board estimates the
cost of completing the defences at
$50,S79, ,999, or $22 ,S96,606 less than the
sum proposed by the Endicott board.
The text of the message follows III
part:
Old Defenses Now Obsolete.
Our coast defences, as they existed
in 1860, were not surpassed in eff.
cheney by those of any country, but
within few years the introduction OF
rifled cannon and armor in the navies
of the world, against which the smooth
bore guns were practically useless,
rendered them obsolete.
For many years no attempt was
made to remedy the deficiencies of
these seacoast Notifications. There
was no establishment in the country
equipped for the manufacture of high
power rifled guns. There was no def
mite adopted policy of coast defense
and congress was reluctant to under.
take work the cost of which could
not be stated even approximately and
the details of which had not advanced
so far as could be ascertained-be-
yond the experimental sta~es.
The act of March 3, 1888, was the
first decisive step taken to secure suit
able and adequate ordnance for mill
tary purposes. Under the provisions
of this act, a joint board of officers
of the army and navy was appointed
for the purpose of examining and re-
porting to congress which of the navy
yards or arsenals owned by the govern
ment has the best location and is best
adapted for the establishment of a
government foundry, or what other
method if any should be adopted for
the manufacture of heavy ordnance
adapted to modern warfare for the
use of the army and navy of the
United States.
This board known as the "gun
foundry board made its report in
1884 and directed public attention, not
only to the defenseless condition of our
coasts but to the Importance and ne
cessity of formulating a comprehens-
i've scheme for the protection of our
harbors and coast cities.
AS result the act of congress ap-
proved March 8, 1885, provided that
''the president of the United States
shall appoint board
which board shall examine and report
at what ports Notifications or other
defences are most urgently required,
the character and kind of defences
best adapted to each, with reference
to armaments, the utilization of tor
pedoes, mines and other defensive ap-
pliances."
The board organized under the fore
going provision of law, popularly
known as the Endicott board, in its re-
port of January 23, 1886, cited the
coast defense should be based, and
clearly stated the necessity of having
our important strategic and CONNER
cial centers made secure against naval
attack.
In determining the ports that were
in urgent need of defense, since a fleet
did not exist for the protection of the
merchant marine, Notifications were
provided at every harbor of import
ance along the coast and at several of
the lake ports. For any particular
harbor or locality the report specifies
the armament to be used, the number
of submarine mines and torpedo boats,
with detailed estimates of cost for
these various items.
Value of Endicott Report.
While the details of the scheme of
defense recommended by the Endicott
board have been departed from, in
making provision for later develop
ments of war material, the great value
of its report lies in the fact that it
sets forth a definite and ineligible
plan of policy upon which the very i'm
proceed and which is as applicable to.
day as when formulated.
The greater effective ranges possible
with the later rifed cannon, the ne
cessity of thoroughly covering with
gunfire all available waters of APP |
proach, and the growth of seacoast |
towns beyond the limits of some Of |
the military reservations, have com
bined to move defensive works more |
to the front and many of the gun posi- |
tions now occupied have been obtained |
from private ownership.