Evening star., 1915-07-18

need for floating batteries disappeared.
Another American invention that came
at the same time caused the only other
great departure from the Endicott
board plans. They had provided for
huge steel turrets to protect the guns,
because the only mountings known for
coast guns were fixed carriages. The
new invention produced a gun carriage
that could swing the enormous twelve
inch gun up to the firing position as if it
were feather. and withdraw it again
in the very instant that the projectile
cleared the muzzle. Immediately the
highly expensive steel turrets became
unnecessary. 1t became quite sufficient
to mount the big guns in a sunken en-
placement open to the sky and pro-
tected simply in front with mountain
like masses of earth, fortified with
steel and concrete.
4
This merely structural change has
given the American defenses their Wis
ible character. Instead of works dotted
with steel shields like the backs of
mammoth turtles, the United States
harbor defenses are tranquil, beauti-
fully sloped hills and terraces with not
a hint of armament.
Oddly enough, the only radical change
in American defense construction that
is suggested today is that turreted pro-
lection be reconsidered. There still is
small fear that fire from the sea, even
with modern accuracy. could get a
great coast gun in the brief instant of
its elevation above the parapet; but
Increased accuracy, increased power
and number of ships guns indicate that
their fire may search the tops of the
gun emplacements much more closely
than had been considered possible here
tofore. fleet of eight modern dread
naughts could throw 11S large -caliber
projectiles against a single target in
one minute. While none of these
shells probably would strike the gun
or even fall into the hidden emplace-
ments, it is urged that fragments of
bursting shell and smashed concrete
will endanger the gunners and disable
the numerous installations needed for
operating great guns.
In the wide and sometimes vehement
discussion Of national unpreparedness
much stress has been laid on the fact
that American harbor defenses can be
the land side. The public should not be
misled into imagining that the works
are wide open in the back and that
anybody can walk in. They are con-
structed to withstand quite formi-
da BILE assault by such landing parties
as warships might put ashore when
operating exclusively as fleet not ac-
companied by troop transports.
1t is quite true, however. that the
defenses can be taken from the back
by a military force of any considerable
size. provided with fairly heavy guns.
That this is SO is not defect of the
works. 1t is a weakness of the mobile
army, whose function it is to resist
such an attack and to prevent even
the possibility Of it, The harbor de-
fenses were built to fight ships, not
men. They are not fortifications
Huge though they may seem, they are
nothing but huge gun mounts.
II
There are no fortif1cations, properly
speaking, in the United States, nor are
any contemplated in any scheme of de-
fense. fortification is great, COM
plete circle Of protective works ar
ranged either to surround an important
city or to hold a strategic point that
an enemy cannot dare to pass until
the fortification has been reduced. or.