El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-01-03
w 7ITH the completion Of fortified
M lions now in course Of con-
w struction the American people

M lions now in course of con-
w struction the American people
will be able to sit back with feeling
of security from danger of foreign in
vasion.
AT the time of the Spanish American
war the nation found itself all but I'M
protected in this manner Should the
foe have been one of the really strong
powers instead of poor, weakened, en-
ervated Spain, there is no telling how
serious the results to the cities of the
seaboard might have been. New YORK,
Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Norfolk,
Charleston, New Orleans. Galveston and
San Francisco were all open to attack
Only obsolete guns and inadequate
forts projected them, aside from the
protection they were afforded by the
navy.
Profit by Lesson.
But after the peace of Paris the mill
tary authorities OF America began to
reflect how different it might have
been If we had met stronger nation in
the arbitrament of the sword They
felt that we would ultimately have won,
no matter what the power against us,
but that it might have been with every
seaboard city of the Atlantic coast In
ashes as a. part of the price of victory.
1t was lesson to them, and the Span
ish-American war was no sooner closed,
and the stock taking of its results end
ed. until the military minds at Wash
ington began to bestir themselves to
the creation Of modern system Of
coast defences.
Every Port Well Guarded
Out o. thelr planning has grown one
of the worlds most complete systems
for defending the coasts of nation
from attack. From Portland, Me, TO
the Puget sound every Important har-
Dor is being put in such shape that the
fleet does not exist that might hope to
force an entrance. With the complete
system of high powered guns. mortars,
search lights. fire control and every
thing else that tends to give a fort ad-
vantage over battleship. it seems that
the last word is being said in the way
of preparation for possible trouble
Even the necessary munitions of war
are being gathered together to be held
in reserve for the time when they may
be needed.
When the voyaSeTs OF the world sail
into our harbors they see frowning forts
of stone standing like sentInels on
guard To the uninitiated they look
dreadfully dangerous and formidable,
yet they are only the relics of by
gone age in warfare. They are In real
ity more dangerous than open ground,
as the splintering of the stone would
do more damage 10 the inmates of the
fort than the missiles Of the enemy.
Where ne danger TO the enemy lies
is not in the stone forts. but in great
guns buried from sight behind ter
races of sand covered with nought but
an unoffending green grass.
Mortnrs Big Guns.
Behind those little hillocks lies the
safety OF every coast city In the nation
These hidden mOrtars and guns may be
relied on to sink any fleet the world
may send against them. The mortars
are gigantic short muzzled guns that
may shoot at any angle short OF
straight up, and when it is known that
they have a record of 20 hits ont of a
possible 100 shots. IL VIII be seen that
they have business way OF doing
things.
The big guns with the long muzzles.
the ones which must be leveled at the
enemy, are mounted on disappearing
gun carriages. The gun is loaded
aimed according TO the directions given
by the fire control station, and then
raised into position. When IL is fired
the recOfl throws il back and down into
the pit There it is loaded, driven up
intop lace again and fired. Thus the
operation is repeated until the enemy is
at the bottom OF the sea, or a flag of
truce flies al the masthead.
Remarkable Gunnery.
Most of these guns now in use are
of IL inch bore, They can begin pour
ing steel into an enemy that is 10 miles
or more away, and at five miles they
have frequently registered 100 hits out
of 100 shots, most OF them being so
accurately aimed that they would go
through hatch without disfiguring
the paint on the sides. Two of these
guns are placed in a single pit anu
together they can keep a shot in the
air nearly all the time, their combined
capacity being a shot every Is seconds
Larger Guns Being BUILT.
1t has been found that the u inch
high powered guns are too short lived
for economical use y gun with larger
projectile and q little less speed will
do practically the same damage wnon
it hits, and the injury by melting the
rifling out of the bore is very much
less. So II inch guns are now being
built. These will carry projectiles
1860 pounds. and will be fully
as effective as the higher powered II
inch guns. Some of these are wire
wound and others steel jacketed