The Washington herald., 1907-12-08
BY FREDERIC J.sHASKIN.

While Uncle sam is assembling the
greater part Of his magnificent fleet for
a cruise in the Pacific, the seaports OF
the Atlantic are wailing over the fact
! that the Eastern coast has been left
/ practically defenseless, and any invading
army could be landed along her 1850
miles OF coast at the convenience Of the
enemy. Time and again the seaboard
States have petitioned Congress for more
extensive coast defenses. Time and
again opposition OF a violent type has
been met with. for the representatives
/ of an inland constituency could see no
/ direct benefit 10 their section from the
/ enormous expenditures needed Time and
again New England States have opposed
wars and threatened secession because
/ Of the damage that war would bring %
their seaside cities and commercial in
( terests.
While the coast defenses are as yet
/ totally inadequate, there are rather
| formidable guns behind the low mounds
that constitute Americas forts. On the
| eastern and southern coasts there are
/ twenty fortified and protected harbOrs.
/ battle ships Of the nations could come
I Kennebec River. Portland, Portsmouth,
I Boston. New Bedford. Nsrragansett. the
| eastern entrance TO Long Island, the
] eastern and southern entrances TO New
l York, Hampton Roads. Baltimore. the
Potomac, Delaware, and Cape Fear riv-
1 ers. Charleston, Savannah. Key West
/ Tampa. Mobile Bay. the Mississippi
I River and Galveston are now partially
/ defended. On the Pacific coast, where
/ good harbOrs are not so numerous, the
I harbOrs at San Diego, San Francisco.
( Columbia River. and Puget Sound all
have fOrtiBcatiOns
! The guns used are the giants among
the modern death dealers. There are in
these fortified ports S7s 12-inch mortars.
/ 81 S-inch, l0-inch. and Pinch rifles. and
/ 5s7 rapid-fre guns. The greatest de-
| pendence is placed In the Pinch guns.
( They are expected 10 deal telling blows
at the enemy's broadside. At nine and
half miles I.OOo-pound projectile Will
1 penetrate seven inches into the armor-
plated side OF the opponent At I'VE
miles Il VIII penetrate twelve inches
/ into the best Krupp aTmOr-the heaviest
armor usually carried by battle ships.
I A rife OF this type IS fOrty-two feet long,
! and weighs fifty-nine tons IL costs
/ S6l 009: its carriage costs $1,000. and when
mounted with a ike gun for proper
/ coast defense its battery. constructed OF
/ sand and concrete. costs $4,000. Each
charge Of smokeless powder Is So pounds,
/ and every time the gun is fired il costs
the government 800. The life OF such a
gun is not long. and no wonder Uncle
Sans ordnance bill grows alarmingly,
I and the nations representatives franti-
cally clutch the country's purse strings
when larger appropriations are asked
For the ninteen years ending with June
1871. the seacost defense spent judiciaIly
and well the neat sum Of SO 40, So p in
making stronger the resisting power OF
the nation. over twenty-nine million OF
this went for gun and mortar batteries.
4 fraction under thirty-six million went
for gun carriages, over five million for
submarine mines. nearly fye million Tor
ire control. and $4,000 FOR search
lights. and Ike harbor defense II IS es-
timated By the Taft board that at least
100000 more VIII be needed before
/ the nations sea borders are fmpregnable
proving the defenses at the entrance q
Chesapeake Bay. The day nearly a hun.
dred years ago when the English feet
came Up the bay. and from BaltimOr,
moved 10 the destruction Of Washington
is still a sore memory for the guardians
Of the peoples safety.
Fort Wool. first called Fort Calhoun and
then changed TO its present name wher
its first godfather proved too much Of a
Southern fre-eater, will come in for q
u goodly share OF the suggested RppT0pria-
ton. X stands as sentinel of Old Point
Comfort, not far from Fort Monroe, and
demonstrates the possibilities OF moderr
Engineering in making something out OF
practically nothing A slight elevation II
the floor Of the sea al that point. a small
standbar, was the base for building, and
on that for twenty years the government
worked in building up a foundation OF
which the fort was TO rest. Thousands Of
tons of stone from Maine and Pennsylva
MIA. We're dumped on the bar. until LAND
was finally raised above the surface. II
lS61 the walls were begun and in few
years the work was stOpped-Such wall.
were not proof against modern ordnance
for the worldwide fight between armOl
makers and makers of projectiles had
then begun. Military convicts and Con
federate prisoners were confined there IN
the old days. and now with SS.00o.000 al
ready spent, it awaits further help. and
Will in time prove formidable barrier II
the path OF invading fleets.
. II was from the humiliation Of the Brit
ish invasion during the War Of 1872 thal
a.,
land. and the fort was named for IN,
President then in Office. OF almost medi
eval design, an irregular hexagon in
shape. with a mOat surrounding the Older
part. the fortress is the most picturesque
one in the country. However, disappear
ing guns and other ordnance Of the mos
: modern type disabuse the mind OF am
} medievalism IN defensive appliances, and
serious men Of the artillery school O.
practice so about postgraduate military
work with an earnestness of purpose thai
harborS little good for the potential en-
envy. History adds bit Of glamour to the
old fortress. 1t was from this point tina
sherman marched to South Carolina il
1851, and Burnside modified his troop.
: the next year for the invasion Of Nortl
Carolina. Here jefferson Davis, Presi
dent of the fallen Confederacy. was i'm
prisoned until Horace Greeley defied pub
lie sentiment and went on hts bond.
New York will need 100000 of this $50.
oO0.OOo. The Long Island Sound entranc
on the east and the eastern and south
ern approaches need greater protection
; for the S.500.000 people within the cit
gates and for the city's fabulous wealth
| The Delaware River Will have nearly
2 million for further defenses. for Philadel
phia is almost as defenseless now as whe,
the English under Howe took +be cg+,