The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-10-13

NO 40 toSponsioio not only Tor the con-
duct Of the army. the estimates for
appropriations for military expendi-
lures. and for other things directly
connected with the department.: but ne
also must be q diplomat and q gov
ernor. for he 10 the highest officer nav
Ing especial charge OF the Philippine
Islands and the other insular posses
sions OF the United States. and now
he Is the chief captain OF the greatest
engineering enterprise ever under.
taken by mortal mantle Panama
canal.
Most interesting OF the ordinary
duties OF the war department are those
which relate TO its primary function
OF defending the country from poten-
tial foreign foes. Under the direction
OF the ordnance bureau all the NUM-
tons OF war are provided, from the
big fourteen-inch coast defense guns
down to cartridges for any army rifle.
The heaviest guns weigh as much as a
railroad engine. and shoot q projectile
as heavy as ten ordinary men. II sup
plies the army with automatic guns
which can fire eight rifle bullets In q
single second. No battle ship can re-
sist the concentrated fire OF modern
coast-defense guns. II has become
only question OF Workmanship. and
the coast defenders have solved that
problem by becoming the best marks
men In the world. lney are now pro-
vided with sixty-foot moving targets
and the troops at Fort Hancock. New
Jersey. some months ago scored four
shots In less than one minute with a
battery OF two guns. All four shots
struck In q rectangle 24x63 feet The
target was four miles away. travelling
five and half miles an hour.
! With such firing as this II would be
impossible for an enemy's fleet to
run by the Narrows below Governors
Island. New York. In addition to the
big coast defense guns. there In >
| liberal supply Of mortars shooting SIX
teen-inch projectiles- These have
scored as high a. 10 hits out Of 100.
These mortars are at all times out
Of sight Of the enemy. and are fred
after the most careful calculations, In.
volving tie force OF the winds. tenn
| perature. and many other conditions.
Their projectiles carry charges Of as
much az sixty pounds Of high explo-
sives and do great damage.
The manufacture of ordinance for
the army requires large force OF
skilled mec Lanics. A number of gun
factories are operated. the largest for
the army being at Watervleit, New
York. The most powerful and the
most delicate machinery Is required
In the making OF a big gun. There
must be giant machines which will
make shavings fly from huge blocks of
steel as II they were wood ribbons
from q carpenters plane; chrome
graphs SO delicate that they will reg
lister the smallest part of a second /;
and gauges 30 accurate that they will
measure the thousandth part OF an
inch.
| The war department resorts to some
remarkable methods I'm providing a
complete coast defense system. At
Honolulu 1t has made use of the crater
OF an extinct volcano. burrowing out
secret chambers and underground
channels In the mountain In a way
that makes IL almost as impregnable
as Gibraltar. In the roadway between
Cape Charles and Cape Henry, where
the Chesapeake Bay finds it's outlet in
to the Atlantic ocean, an artificial ISL
and Is to be constructed, and one OF
the strongest fortresses In the world
will be erected there. II will largely
supersede Fortress Monroe In It's COM
mand Of Chesapeake Bay, and will at
once be the guardian Of Norfolk,
Portsmouth, Newport News, Balti-
more, Washington and Richmond.
The engineer corps Of the army Is
made up Of q remarkable set of men
All appointees to this corps have been
honor men ut West Point. In this
way the very best material turned out
by that institution II In charge of the
construction work Of the army.
Through its work the United States
now has what 10 believed to be the
most complete system of coast de-
fences In the world. From Portland,
Maine, to Puget Sound every harbor
has been so protected by Notifications
that tie danger Of invasion by hostile
forces II almost nil. In addition to
the coast defences, the corps Of engi-
neers has charge of all other fortiflca-
lions In the United States. and Of all
river and harbor work done under the
authority Of congress. II makes all
/ s-A ktzns