Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-02-06
MORE COAST F0RTsEKAFB EF THE NEK.
THEY WILL sE AT GAN PEDRO ON
PACIFIC AND CAPE HENRY
ON ATLANTIC.
RESULT OF STRATEGY GAME
Army and Navy ofleora Seyspal
Ysafs Age PErseyed w Gould Not
Prevent Japanese invssson-can.
Orose Nov waking Up.
nyGEoReE CLINTON.

nysGEoReE ckINroN.
Wasn1ngton.TCoQgfeas has avaf.
@aed 20 what It thinks "a the necea.
sity OF additional t~ortfncauona an thu
Atlantic and Pacincs coaata. fThe -
preparations committee Of the house
nees recommended that there be In
Guided In the forttncationn Bill The
sum OF %260,OO0 to start the work Of
providing great batteries OF F14inch
guns at San Pedro, which in the har
Dor OF Los Angeles, and 1t has recon.
mended also that 31607900 be aDprc-
priated 70 secure Land ct. Cape Henry
nc the entrance to Chesapeake bay,
Wher another great f~ortihcation win
be erected in the near future.
There ID history connected With
tAe EFFORTS to secure the enlightenment
or he&vy gums Mt these two harbor
entrances and In its way it has in
terest. Touching the Western coast
In the vicinity OF Los Angeles. 1t
may be remembered that just prior
to the close of the Roosevelt admin
~istration it RAJ feared that this coun.
try was on the verge Of trouble with.
Japan. At that time army and navy
omcers were not altogether satisfied
that the country was in a condition to
sustain q conflict with the eastern
power.
The army officers connected with
the wal college In Washington and
naval officers connected with the
at Newport worked out Jointly a prob
en- In warfare. It was q game" in
q way which was played. On
side Of the table was Japan and ON
the other as its opponent was the
United States, and the moves we're
made by experts at the game OF war.
Japan won.
What the War Game Disclosed.
LAymen thought that the findings of
ne men Of the militant services could
not be considered seriously, but later
it became known that the problem as
it was worked TO it's conclusion was
accepted by military authorities ev.
erywhere. as having been sanely
solved with the conditions of the game
as they were. AS the result of that
strategy study congress has just ap-
propriated $250,000 to begin the work
of fortifying the approach to the coast
OF southern California at San Pedro.
1t was found by the strategists that
with our feet as it was-at that time,
Japan could land a sufficient force
OF men on the coast near Los An.
geles, hold the country upon which
an immense army could subsist, com
mand the three mountain pass aP
proaches from the east and keep Mt
bay for q long time as great an Amer
lean force as could be assembled to
attempt to force the mountain passes
to dislodge the enemy. Puget Sound
Is fortified, and so is San Francisco.
Congress now intends to complete the
chain of Notifications by adding the
defensive link at San Pedro.
Fortress Monroe, Virginia, has had
In its sole keeping for years, the safe
ty Of several American cities. 1t in
the outpost defense Of Washington
and Baltimore, and with Fort Wool,
which Is a low lying mid-channel bat
terry. it stands N al aggressive SEN
ttnel, keeping watch over Washington
and Richmond.
Southeast across the m1ngling wa
tiers of the bay and tho ocean lies
Cape Henry, the rough coast of which
is visible on clear days to the gunners
on MOnroe,s parapet, but no projec-
tile which their great steel monsters
can hurl is ever likely 70 prove enec
tive against ~battleships stealing in
around Cape Henry under the owe
of fog or darkness 70 make the run
up Cape Charles into the waters Of
the Chesapeake.
Congress has committed itself to
the entering wedge appropriation for
a government fOrtiAcation mounting
14inch guns to be constructed on
Cane Henry. When this is completed
it is probable that Richmond and Nor.
folk. washington and Baltimore, a
sleep in condolences that no foe can
come by water to their troubling.
II. through the fortress of war, yes
sells of a foreign navy shOuld succeed
In beating their way by the forts at
the mouth Of the Chesapeake, they
win and dimculties still ahead Of them
in he approach TO Baltimore. There
are modern Notifications near the city,
and while there are no 14inch guns
on he parapets, the caliber of the
mounted pieces probably 10 sufficient.
because OF the short range and the
conseouenG accuracy of IRE, to put out
Of commission any ship which sue
ceeds in running the batteries below.
The Potomac river does not oner
channel room Sufficient for b~attleships
of deep draft and broad beam, and SO
II is likely that the Notifications just
halow the capital will be all sufficient
to kaer an already badly battered en-
emv out of Smelling range of the God.
dess of Liberty who potses herself on
the dome of the capitol.