Arizona republican., 1906-12-07
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
 ON COAST DEFENStS
Something More Urgently Needed b} This Country Than the Strengthen ing of the Navy.


 Washington, D. C., December 2. (Spe.
 cial Correspondence to The Republi-
 can).-One of the subjects of which
 President Roosevelt will treat in his
 message to congress will be the depior- able condition of our coast defenses.
 Deplorable, not so much through the
 lack of Notifications. guns or mach
 inery. although much remains to be
 done on all three. but especially be-
 cause of the lack of men necessary 10
 keep the guns and machinery in order
 Tn times of peace. to say nothing Of
 maintaining them should war break
 out. What the President will have to
 say on this subject will be short but
 to the point and he will take a firm
 stand in favor of legislation calculated
 to remedy existing conditions. He has
 already placed himself squareIy on re-
 cord. and only six months ago address
 sed a special letter to the senate in
 which he pointed out that the increas-
 ing importance and wealth Of our ports offered more inducement to an enemy.
 The fact that we now have a navy does not in any wise diminish the i'm portance of coast defense; on the con- trary, it emphasizes their value and the necessity for their construction" he said recently. Tt is an accepted naval maxim that a navy can be used to strategic advantage only when acting on the offensive, and it can be free to so operate only ofter our coast de- fense is reasonably secure and so rec ognized by the country"
 The President takes the ground that the security and protection of our in terests require the completion or our coast defenses, and that the plans for the national coast defense board should receive the generous support of con- gress.
 In his forthcoming message the Pres ident will reafiirm his position. espe- cially so far as pending legislation pro- viding for the reorganization Of the coast artiltry is concerned. The sen ate committee on military affairs has favOrably reported a bill to separate the field artillery from the coast artil- lery. on the ground that they are two distinct branches of the service The bill provides for the gradual increase during five years of 296 officers and 5.043 men for the coast artillery and S5S for the field artillery The great trouble of the coast artillery has been to secure and keep trained electri- clans. engineers and firemen. It will surprise many to know that most of the cost of Notifications is for cleo trical machinery. fire control,r and search lights, the fire contIol' being the system of telegraphic and tele- phonic communication between forts and batteries. and with observing sta tiOns. Millions of dollars have been spent. and additional millions will be spent to establish power plants and in- stall costly electrical machinery. and yet the coast artillery is expected to take care of them with enlisted men at SIS. S15. and SIS a month. For ex- ample: Sixty engineers are absolutely and the bill provides for that number at $7SO per annum each. The places of these engineers are now filled by privates and -commissiOn- ed officers. the pay of the highest being SIS per month. As such engineers can 1 get from s75 to $100 per month in pri- vate life it is almost impossible to get l them to re-enlist after they once quali- ! fy as engineers. and thus the costly | and intricate machinery of our coast ! defenses is almost constantly in the ! hands of untried men. In addition, the | work of constantly breaking in new | men is extremely trying to the officers, ! and discouraging to those who are at to bring the coast artillery to | a high state of efficiency
 A private statement Of the condition ! Of the coast defenses of 2S fortified ! ports shows that to man them with one ! shift of officers and men, that is to say. each man at his proper station. would | require 4O.675 men. and 1884 officers. | There are today available at the diff ! ferent forts 1O.713 men and S57 off, | cers, scarcely enough to keep the guns | and machinery from rustins
 Commercial interests in general. and | those concerned with ship ] ping and terminals at our great ports. ! will be interested in this matter if they | take the trouble to investigate the | facts Take New York for instance. f with Forts Totten. Schuyler. Slocum. | Hamilton and Hancock, | with big guns. torpedos. | search lights. etc. It would require 22f | officers and 5.662 men to man these Il 'orts alone. without providing for any ! -elief whatever. That is more than | of all the officers and half 4 ,f all the men now engaged in taking ' are of all the coast defenses of the | ,ntire United States.
 Other cities present interesting sta | istics. There is San Francisco. the eIminal of the Hartman and other