The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1915-01-20
ARE BEST Of FORTS
United States Defenses, How.
ever, Are Short of Men.
Works on Corregldor Almost as I'm.
pregnabIe az Gibraltar or HeIsoIand
Great Fortiflcations Which
Guard National Capital.
BY EDWARD 8. CLARK.

(Staff Correspondent Western Newspaper
Union.)
Washington.-Since the war broke
out in Europe much has been heard
about Helgoland as an impregnable
fortress. In some statements it has
been said that next to Gibraltar, Hell
goland is the hardest fortress nut to
crack in the whole world
Now comes the United States to
maintain that it has fortress that
Is not only not second to Helgoland
in strength, but perhaps not even to
Gibraltar itself Army and navy men
seem to think that the fortress Of
Corregidor which guards the entrance
to Manila in the Philippines can hold
off any of the worlds forces and alb
solutely prevent any possibility Of
successful attack on Manila by way Of
its immediate front.
Corregidor only recently has been
put into trim. Now it is understood
that its big guns are all manned and
that soon it will have a trained force
of men equal to the occasion Of
working the weapons of offense for
a period as protracted as any war is
likely to be. In some respects 1t is
said Corregidor resembles Gibraltar.
Much has been written recently
about the Notifications on the sea
coasts of the continental United
States During the discussions in the
nf tln
ject of the military preparedness Of
the United States 1t has been said
that our forts and our guns are all
right, but that we have not men
enough to man them. From the re-
port of the chief of coast artillery,
General Weaver. it is apparent that
what has been said just about sums
up the situation. Congress 1t is ex-
pected will provide men enough to
man our guns, for otherwise we will
be in a position of having spent lot
of money for tools which we cannot
use.
In the year 1914 the British at.
tackled Washington. In order to reach
this city today foreign foe. unless |
1t can land an army. will be compelled |
to run by the Notifications at the
mouth of Chesapeake bay and by 9TH
err Notifications which protect the |
reaches Of the lower Potomac.
Fortress Monroe, which is one of the
guards to the entrance of the Chesa-
peake, is an old post and the layman
who looks at it and sees the old par
apets with their granite facings can
not conceive that it would withstand
the shots from modern guns. The
truth is that old Fortress Monroe Is
occupied only for show purposes and
for the uses of peaceful garrison life.
Connected with the old fort are the
new Notifications with their big dis
appearing guns Fortress Monroe
not only the entrance to
the Chesapeake but the entrance to
the James river
In Hampton Roads. whose waters
are at the mouth of the lanes and
mingle with those of the ocean, there
is low-lying American fort with
powerful guns. 1t is an aid to For
tress Monroe, and between the two any
fleet no matter how powerful, would
have hard time of it trying to
break an entrance either into the
James river or Chesapeake bay.
Recently the government purchased
land on Cape Henry and there another
fort is to be built. Ships trying to