Evening star., 1915-05-13
The COAST GUARD IN
WAR.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

The United States is preparing a new
defensive force for use in time of war.
This force is to grow out of the coast
guard. which was created by the last
Congress by combining two historic
agencies of the government, the rev.
renue cutter service and the life saving
service. The duties of these two guard
ians of the coast line, both romantic
ana heroic. and occupying warm places
in the hearts of all seamen. were along
kindred lines. In fact. they overlap
ped SO frequently that it was thought
advisable to put them under a common
head
But the act of Congress that brought
ABOUT this coalition specifically stated
that the coast guard should, in time of
war, automatically become a part of
the navy and be subject to the orders
OF the Secretary of the Navy. Because
" ,nis provision, representatives of the
coast guard and of the navy have been
so4ng over the ground very thoroughly
Rat they might have definite plans
iappeu out Tor this new war auxiliary
IN case an emergency should arise
Consideration has been given for in
stance. to the part that the force Of
the old life-saving service might play
ana some striking possibilities have
been developed. These men are scat
.erea from one end to the other of the
many headlands and promontories.
Ihey are SO stationed that thev NAV
see as far as possible out to sea Their
business has been to look out for ships
INA. We're IN trouble and to lend aid
where there was distress
When this orga anization came to he
CONSIDERED with the idea in mind of
making use OF It in time of war i'm
portant possibilities Immediately re-
Healea themselves Might not this
lookout for ships in distress, also keep
It's weather eye open for the vessels Of
an enemy? Might not these hundreds
OF shiiled observers. strategically To-
Gated. pick up many facts of interest
TO the navy in time of war?
The Navy Department has a number
OF wireless stations scattered along
the coasts,
Many Wireless Stations and thes
Offer Means for News. \, m : : = :" ne. !.
from vessels at sea to Washington and
from Washington back to those ves-
sells. These wireless stations offer a
means through which the coast guards
tions of the Ife-savers may be con-
nected with the scattered wireless sta
tions. Then, when a coast guard picks
up bit of information, he may tele-
phone it to the nearest wireless station,
and from that point it may be relayed
to Washington or to the ships of the
navy at sea.
But it is also planned that these coast
guards may play a more militant part
in case of war than in acting as OBJ
servers. Consideration has been given
to the possibility of developing them
into expert marksmen. The conditions
under which they live give them much
opportunity for rife practice. 1t is pro-
posed that they be given rifles and in
structed in their use and developed to
high degree Of skill. 1t is further
proposed that they be given machine
guns and thoroughly trained in the
use of death-dealing instruments.
Then, when war came, the particular
province Of the coast guards, in addi-
tion to acting observers would be
the protection of the wireless stations
These would probably be points OF at
tack. The skeleton towers of these
stations do not offer very attractive
targets from the sea. and it would prob
a bly, be necessary that parties be sent
ashore to destroy them. Certain OF the
coast guards would be concentrated at
the wireless stations. and there. with
rifles and machine guns, they would
be able to put up such resistance that
the destruction of wireless station