Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-12-19

of the Spanish-American War some
persons were troubled because the
shore resorts of the country were suf-
fered to lie left to the mercy of what
proved to be the wellnlgh harmless
Spanish fleet. Apparently they as
sumed that 1t was essential to the
success of the enemy that II should
shell summer hotels with great ex-
penditure OF powder. Once again an
American fleet. comprising n large
proportion of the vessels of tho At
| lautic squadrons, is to have the East
ern coast of the country for period
of several months. No war Is now
In progress. but the "radioplane."
swfter than thought In its flight, pos.
sessed of the power to lift ships from
their watery ways and transport them
thousands of miles through the air.
has yet to be invented. What would
happen to New York or Boston OF
Baltimore or Washington should war
break out Unexpectedly? Are these
ports amply protected?" asks the man
in the street.
The War Department makes little
noise about the condition of the coast
defences. Such activity as one sees
about the Notifications reveals little.
me sun spreads Il flood of gold upon
The soft, grassy covering of the slop-
ing sides. and, somehow, one does not
think OF them as impregnable for
tresses. Such guns as one sees look
innocuous enough. They do not seem
as formidable as one imagines they
ought to look. In fact. however, these
iortresses are mailed fists with n vel
vet covering. Army officers assert
that no hostile war vessel could reach
the upper bay of New York Hnrbor
II could be seen. 1t would be an
initiated Before 1t reached the Mar
rows.
Gunnery has shared In the modern
tendency to specialize and to become
highly scientific In its practice. Gun
ners are now specialists. A battery
In highly organized mechanism
working almost automatically. In the
old days the men who fired the gins
paused to see what they fired at. To-
aay. with guns capable of throwing n
thousand pound shell as far as the
eye can see on clear day, the men
VINO discharge the guns 10 longer ne
1essariiy see the object which Is TO
ne STRUCK by the giant hail they re-
tease. Until the shot is fired the gun
i,seii cannot be seen above the para
pet lifting the target has become
nh,ios' an exact science. BY mechani-
cal means the striking of target has
uecoine so nearly an infallibllity that
.he Jugs which tow the floating tar
se.s are separated from them by Only
DIN hundred feet of line. The men
upon inc tugs have no more expecta-
.'on OF neing struck than If they were
ihlIe behind the gun. They never
TIT ri. pat'eries nave frequent practice.
the song of the shell to the men On
the tug is not like the song ~ tho
Lorelei. for death does NOT fo,lon, ~ ~,
lis wake. To be sure, like motorinr
one has to become accustomod -
E IaIe what seems like impending death.
",.h IN me gunner, rs in the chauf-
ieur, and In the gun, as in The metz
car. Is an essential.
What is done by the guns in some
vi our forts is illustrat nv what
mas recently been accomplished nj
swo OF the forts alon gthe Atlantic
coast AT Boston recently n target
Iour and a half miles from the fort
ana moving along the horizon NJ The
,ale OF I'VE miles an hour was strnct
every shot fired from n 1O-jncb
battery IN less than four minutes tho
lumber OF shots being six. The fol-
loving day battery of 12-inch p,n.
reformed tn the same feat. bunchinr
~ ,e .snots more closely than did the
t linen guns. The shots of both hat
ts were so close together at tho
salee. mat they might have been IN
~ rectangle 10 by 20 feet
r.t .ery Parrott, Captain Kilborn NJ
y, ''ess monroe, recently was caIIe,S
,,p pIn 70 nre Mt a moving tarkef I'm
a MIN distance away. Actually r.
was ABOUT three and one-haIf m;,as
way ;. Pyramidal in shape, e. Ioolled
GO II moved across the water oho,t
as leg-o-mutton sail on a sIisf
mouid appear at distance NJ sorr
ea INES. every shot was a hi. ana tba
T ruul'h and last destroyed the tarcn .
ne entire round was fired IN So
minute and nine seconds. ois
one of the firing tests T. ca,,.a
me command" N this test tho a,,,,
.ers are expected to change tho aao
lonh one target to another Of th 70
three IN the string as directed and I LIZ
without changing the speed os tho
r nse: me targets are supposed to REM ane
NJ en nt,,, me vitals of warship. ,rbir
my INCA, .nical vessel is considered 70 bana s
a. i,eeDoard. or height out of water
~ I,Wenty,four feet. In estimate
s sau n,ts, the basis is that OF renre
Sa battleship A shot wbio,,
uJes not actually MT the target A h,,t
mn,cn- would have pierced ves no,
n nau ~ ceen where the target was 's1 ~
t ou.,d nit Officers on tho t,,o
~, me targets work ont the score
insy means of the range rake" This
90 r da implement which looks like y