The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-08

uuircments Of the Endic3tt board IN coast
defences No moro had been built, he
said, because, owing - the imprOv1mh ntS
in gun making W fe ! thGt wa can cope
with the enemy with cheaper and sm1ller
guns" whvreat th'r. wls a biz chSer.
Then Mrior Dixon og Fort Il"nc1c': CAV,
some lgurss about thc gUa. telling how
it took Gao ponds Of powd = & fra II, that
the proieCtlla weighs no pounds and
il looked il. for IL stood u~"rl" % Nth "a a
mRn-then il went 2t.34j feet y second,
and no on. Gen, Crolier added that every
estimate made in regard to the power Of the
gun had been realized cXaotl5 and that the
gun was "A great success.
The visitors then gave thor attention 10
half "A dozen ~ inch guns lyiny on tenn
porary trucks. which had cen i,rH1 at a
target, ard they were especially glad 70
examine the broken armor lir'" IN two OF
these targA lut;re s,cd with great cams
against SAND heaps Then they examined
two new targets-n avv targets supposed
70 represent sections Of IN" iattlcshlps
Iowa and Corne,tiCut-whc oh will lie fired
NJ by sole Eattlesh.ps a mile or so away
in a week or two.
All hands we're then shuntcd to the prov
ing tat-rry. Here they saw about every
kline of run the army uses mounted on n
long concrete platform and ready Tor tusl-
ness, with scores of ether guns lying ehlnd
thick rnassCS of concrete Whiting their turns
10 be tested. 4 long wooden tridRe ran
over these guard places and ON this the
guests assembled, while Major Dixon had
two sergeants shout through h bowling
gale what he was going - do.
stop Up your ears waS the constant
warning cry and then a gun would go on .
Over to the southeast IA great shot would
strike the water and then a monster geyser
would spurt nigh. Many Of the shots went
ricochcrlng downth coast Spoutlng geysers
until thry were out of sight. SlX-inCh,
IS Founders, a great disappearing 10
inch rifle that sank ack IN rs place as soon
as il delivered the goods a. gracefully as a
dancing girl sits down when the hing Is
over. ~ inch field guns and a 3 inch
gun that apat Slrapnel, which burst spite
fully as tho shells struck the water, were
included in the performance. II was half an
hour of roar and boom. with the spectators
dancing on their toes TO Keep warm.
Then the move was made on the forth
fcations. Gen. Murray took charge here,
and he too made speeches against the
fifty mile gale. He gathered the folks
in a easement of a II inch gun and told OF
the great Improvement made in five years
in shooting. These guns he said, are
worse than useless II they don't hit some
thing. That's what they are for Then
he said that five years ago this type OF gun
could bp nred once IN tnGee MINUTES, anu
the percentage of hits was fifty at a range
of from 1000 to 1900 yards. Last year.
he said! more than half Of the guns
fired made a record Of 100 per cent. IN hits,
the range wa increased 1900 yards and the
average time used for a shot was only
forty-three seconds. Gen. Murray figured
up that in increased efficiency, in time,
distance and accuracy the gunners had
made these guns worth thirty times more
than they were five years ago, and therefore
49,. a4N nnn non NBaf Ind nann lnanf in tho
new coast defenceS of the country in recent
years should be multiplied by thirty II
their real value TO the country should be
computed.
An exhibition followed of raising and
lowering a II inch gun ard swinging 1t
around by electricity, and then came sub
calibre firing practice in another gun OF
the same size. III spectators simply
howled as the little one pound proJectlles
were placed in the monster gun and shot
of with the solemnity of a big charge. The
visitors liked the fun 20 much that a dozen
went forward to the muzzle OF the piece
and leaned against It a. II was splitting
out the little prOjectiles. After that the
various batferies-a sense of loyalty forblds
that details should be given-were visited.
A sergeant stood beside an electric hoist
that was supposed TO he bringing up the
shells and a visitor asked:
Got plenty of shooting stuff down therey-
sob. yes" was the reply; enough 10 sink
q few Japanese warships."
Which shows what the army men are
thinking about these days. The visitors
found themselves finally in the centre of a
big mound that has been dug out deep
and walled up inside. in which here was a
little house, out Of sight of all creation.
In that house were electric things, buttons
and signals, n they marked certain spots
In the hanne whereby a mine could be
exploded right under any hostile ship
passing in at every hundred yards or so
A walk of a mile brought the visitors
to the hidden mortar be Cteries. four guns
In a nattery and enough batteries, forty or
fifty feet in a monster mound. absolutely
out of reach of hostile guns. The mortars
were of the II inch variety. TIT visitors
gathered on the brink of one of the pits, a
signal was given and a sharp command to
load rang out. Instantly there darted
from the classmates men with trucks carry
ing the proiectiles. These were rolled into
place and tilted up and rammed home
More men ran out carrying powder. The
guns were then locked and quickly tilted
backward until they were in almost a
vertical position. "Frel" was the command
and a mighty roar came out OF the pit
;. with a cloud Of smoke. All looked high in
the sky and there plainly in sight were the
sprojectiles started for Mars. Up and up
they went and passed completely out OF
sight. A minute or two afterward there
z was an enormous splash in the ocean, and
that showed that the shots had come back
with no tale TO tell Of where they had been.
This was followed by an exhibition OF
shots from a battery half a mile away with
n. black powder and high explosives along
THE shore and resulting showers Of sand
(. Then came the explosion of a land mine,
K one of the kind that is used to mine the
harbor and blow mp ships. 1t was put In
the sand to show what its effect would look
like. II seemed az if ten acres Of sand
rose and tried to turn itself into a mass
of cumuli and then into a thundercloud
The spectators we're s~pellbound.
After thai there were visits to an old
battery where they used to lift up IL inch
guns on an elevator before firing them
and exhibiting by contrast the advantages
of the disappearing carriage invented by
Gen. Crozier, where the u simply slides
back into place and ont Of sight by the force
of it's own recoil. Ballistic Instruments that
show TO the wise all about the force OF
guns and powder and projectiles were
exhibited at the ordnance headquarters
and the party started home digging Oft
and brushing of the sand and with sly
~disgruntled and one amused alien Scotch
ON board.
The exhibition was said to have cost the
Government something like $4,000, but
II proved 10 the satisfaction of 600 men
and women that New York Harbor AT least
was safe from attack by a foreign power.