New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-06-07
PROBLEMS OF WAR.
One Million Dollars UM BE Spent
to SOIve Them.

The inhabitants Of Staten Island and Bay
Ridge this week are to see all the panOply Of
war except bloodshcd. Hostile fleets will sail
through the Lower Bay toward the Narrows.
Troops will go trampng through the streets or
across the fields to defend the Notifications
Real shells ranging from six to twelve inches in
diameter, driven by full charges of powder. just
as if war were in full progress and New York
were being assai!ed by a great fleet of battle
ships, viii screcch through the air and plough
the waters of the harbor.
There are doubtless persons who will wonder
why shells OF such gigantic proportions should
be distributed over the waters of the Lower
Bay the gateway of half Of the foreign COM
merce of nation of S0,H@.W0 people Cant
this practice at shooting be done where there l.
less danger of doing DAMAGE perhaps the
thoughtless will ask. An army officer, if he
thought himself privileged to talk would reply
that New York would be one Of the choice pick
ings of war and that ii is essential to have prac-
tice in the manipulation of the engines for pro
tectng the city # it is To be protected properly
The noise accompanying this display of mill
tary energy may lead some persons to think that
Staten Island is the centre of a war but III
reality it viii be only local evidence Of what
is likely to be the most important. because most
practical. military practice ever held in this
country one million dollars having been aP-
propriatcd for the purpose, coast defence drills
by the regular army and the coast defence rcgi-
ments of the state militia are to be conducted
on all the coasts of the United States and in all
the military departments there are to be camps
of instruction at which the state militia and na-
tional infantry and cavalry Will work out to-
gether practical military problems.
-I,o he Trtjf flea jtn
there will be not only firing at targets ana prac-
tice in detecting at night the approach of an
enemys feet personatcd by few govern
mont tugs. but the solving Of such problems as
this:
The enemy has landed force of 10000 men
at Long Branch with the intention Of approach
Ing the Qualifications of New York in the rear
and cutting them off
This Will set the officers in command 10 study
Ing methods of protecting The Notifications. They
will issue orders, and the troops will take the po-
sitionS they would occupy in real The prac-
Using officers and troops viii be expected actual
ly 10 defend the fort and fire the guns if the
enemy is met. The solutions of the various
problems in all their details will be placed On
file at the various Notifications for the use of
the def, ndcrs in case Of actual war. 1t is
pected that in course of time every possible
and defended by different sized forces will be
actually worked out in this way, ready for
in case of an emergency.
While there have been notifications for prac-
lice in the United States since President Grants
time, they have never been carried out on the
scale which has prevailed since President r ose-
welt came into office. This years Will be the
third meeting Of the combined forces of regulars
and militia since President McEinley's death
The first was at Manassas and the second. in
1906 at Mount Gretna. Penn. More troops were
mubilizCd 1T Manassas than at Mount Gretn;l.
than will hc at a single camp of instruction this
year II was discovered that Il Manassas the
problems involved too many men to be prof
able the marching for militia being too siren
NOUS for them to learn the lessons mapped out.
They became too exhausted to gain advantages
from their instruction. Since then the plan OF
having camps Of instruction in different parts of
The country has been devised. This involves a