Evening journal., 1915-10-28

the river and harbor bill came up IN |
the first session Of Congress in which
sat. became convinced that it was |
a work Of great benefit to the ma
tional government and outside any
local benefit II would be to my State,
would justify the national govern
ment in expending large sums OF
money to further it.
/ What Engineers Recommend.
Senator Salisbury detailed his eff
] forts in behalf Of the project to con-
4 vert the Chesapeake and Delaware ca
nal into a free waterway, and said
I finally he had prevailed upon the SEN
ate to pass a resolution calling upon
1 the Secretary of War for the opinions
D., Of competent engineers as to the ad-
! yantages or disadvantages, CONNER
cial, naval or military, OF the acqul-
I sition by the government of this ca
nal.
Il pinned my faith on the report
that these officers would make" con-
tinued Senator Salisbury. There is
now lying in the Office of the Vice
d President of the United States the
report of the Secretary of War, made
: pursuant to the resolution which the
Senate adopted and 1 am going to tell
you to some extent what it is.
"This report has not yet been pub
lished. but It is a public document
This report when the Senate meets
1 will be laid before it for considera-
|, ton. This report will be in the
hands of the Senate comittees when
they are considering what expendi-
lures shall be made for the defence
, of this country and the promotion Of
its commerce, and in this report the
highest military authorities charged
with the duty of advising on meas
ures to be taken for the defence Of
this country, declare that such canal
will be of very great military i'm
portance and constitute an important
part Of our coast defence system
They go into details regarding the
concentration of naval forces TO re-
sist invasion and of the great advan-
! tage an improved canal would be
! here as an obstacle in preventing a
land attack through this section on
Wilmington and PHILADELPHIA. They
. believe that a hostile expedition
would probably be landed at the fine
: undefended harbor at Lewes. Del
and that a sea-level canal along the
|, line of this canal would be OF very
: great military Importance for the
: movement OF craft which constitute
= an important part of our coast de.
e fence system, and would also form
] an almost impossible obstacle to the
passage of troops advancing 10 at.
r TACK wilmington or Philadelphia, and
e moreover would be Of great use il
. Transporting men and material foi
} the coast artillery in both the bays.
;, This enlarged canal, they say. is a
g necessity for the larger project of one
d connecting the Delaware with New
1 york Bay across New Jersey. a dis.
k tance OF thirty-four miles, and that Z
u canal through the whole distanc,
n would make the landing OF hostil,
J. troops almost impossible between
e Narragansett and Chesapeake BAYS.
g IL IS the duty Of the Federal Gov
l. ernment 70 defend our shores. We ar
10 warned by foreign writer's that sue
d cessful attacks might be made upoi
Q, us. The places that might be attacke
-e are in some measure indicated. Ou
W own military authorities concur an
ID specifically state that an oversee al
k tack would probably be made rigt
k solutely undefended harbor at Lewel
,r What is my duty under these circum
e, stances? What Is the duty of tn
le Federal Government?
A. "The answer is easy. Our State ha
a right to demand and as one of he
8, representatives it is my duty to dc
re mand, to urge, to ceaselessly insis
al that the Federal Government shall
sy its duty. shall defend this fine unde
o. Tended harbor of ours, so vulnerabl
a. to attack; shall make it at least prob
r ably improbable TO make such an al
is tack and if possible render our poT
ty Of Lewes impregnable. / hope thi
en- will come about. hope the govern
a ment will do its duty
le I'VE, VINO represent you in Congress
a II we do our duty, must see that you
a proper claims are heard at least an
"a it may be we can feel sure that the
IN are listened to and, when shown NOR
No important to the general welfare, sha
ne be attended to-"
r. Congressman Miller's Speech.
~ Congressman Miller in his speecl
- dwelt on the question Of military an
ot naval preparedness and showed thu
% the forts of the Delaware River al
' ~ greatly undermanned. In the cour'
- OF his speech Congressman Mill'
, said:
~, "The citizens OF this locality al
mnu m to be congratulated for the patriot
'ur impulse which prompted them to ha'
,, e a Waterways and National Defenl
ny Day at the time OF their home-comir
la- carnival week Both these subjec
are brought home TO all Of us in th
iy locality with particular emphasis, n
me only because the shores of our Sta
'ur and the cities within that State a
sa- adjacent to one Of the largest waite
'or ways in the country, the Delawa'
All River and Bay. but because this san
ett water-course makes necessary Goa
be defenses for the proper defence Of Il
a territory, bordering on the Delawa
the River and Bay.
ees Some months ago Representati'
ips ]. Hampton Moore of Philadelphi
the headed a party Of about 500 peopl
pes who came to Delaware City to inspe
tea the Chesapeake and Delaware Can
en- and also the defenses Of the DelawaI
TO represented by the forts over yond'
rec I am glad to see that you have as ol
ten OF your guests and speakers toda
the Representative Moore. because he
bic one the greatest friends Of your waite
ways that you have in Congress, al
ex- he has been one of the first TO she
int the true state of affairs with respe
i've to our coast defenses with particul
ad- reference to those of the Delaware.
ON "The people Of this locality Y