Arizona republican., 1915-02-19
| Cnited States Has Plenty of Resources if They Can Be Organized. He Says: Auto and Aero Corps Are Essential
RANGE AND CALIBER
 TO BE INCREASED
Report to House Finance Committee Contains De- tailed Suggestions for Raising Uncle Sans
 Coast DcfcnSnS in Power
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPA1cHI

WASHINGTON. Feb. lS.-Guns of greater range and power than any tnat might he brought against them iarc asked for the American coast defenScs in an army board report submitted by Secretary Garrison and made public by the house appropri ations committee today. The board advises that the old tyne of twelve inch guns and mortars are not equal in range rr power to the major calibre of the guns afloat"
 Secretary Garrison recommended the immediate Improvement of some of the coast defeLses SD the range of the old tweVe-inch guns may be increased to twenty thousand yards He suggested that wherever new works are constructed the larger guns be sixteen inch folty-five Calibre weapons.
 The coast defense program is out- lined to cost forty millions
 The lessons of the European war; Garrison said, in submitting his re- port, demonstrated that aeroplanes are absolutely essential for scout 1 ing. and that automobiles are inn | rortant in transportation.
 ! Reviewing the coast defenses. he l said. it will not only be impracti- cable to defend with seacoast forti- fications all possible landing places cn the coast of the United States 1 but if IS considered thar this country has abundant resources for dealing with any force which lands if it sees fit to organize those resources and maintain them ready for use" 1 The boards report said. in part:
 After full consideration of the question presented by the Secretary i of War. the board finds:
 That the old type twelve-inch guns and mortars are not equal in range and power to the major eaIibre guns afloat
 That by such minor changes in i the carriage of the old type twelve inch gun at present emplaced as will i permit an elevatoin of fifteen de grees and by the provision of a cer- tain proportion of lighter proiectiles | of approximately seven hundred weight an effective range of about twenty thousand yards can be given these guns: that these changes should be made
 That the great majority of our fourteen-inrh guns. with certain slight changes which have already been ordered and by the supply of q portion of the proiectiles of lighter . ANCIobf fbgy,
 l nlshed, are suitable in power and range to meet any that may now be brought against them. That policy should be adopted of providing through annual appropriations for such undermining of Qualifications as ] VIII result in keeping pace with the improvements in armament afloat Ihat in the case of those works where modernizine involves very ex- 'ehslNe changes in emplacements. gun carriages, etc. it will be the policy to construct new works and provide new armaments adequate for the de- mands of the situation.
 That the old works shouId he I held, when practicable and desirable as a secondary line of defense
 
 That wherever it may be neees- sary to construct new works eeno- clally at important points. sucb ae the entrances of our principal bar- bors. naval bases etc. the maio, calbre guns should be at least six- ieen-lnch. 43-calibre gun. mounted ST as to have the greatest possible nro-
 tecton and an all-around fire whart
 II may be necessary to have snch fire.
 That the mortars 10 be installed
 III future should be of not less thar
 twelve-inch calibre with a range ot
 at least 21,0G0 yards.
 That thls weapon should he tb,
 numerically preponderant type in oln
 coast defense, as it is cheap. has 7
 'ohg life. can lee easily protected i,
 very effective against ships. anf
 can be used as q valuable adiunc
 for the land defense. It must nnt however, at any important pont h, adopted to the exclusion of higl
 power direct fire guns.
 Garrison's Statement
 The project as revised to date Garrison sad. calls for 1901 gum and mortars of caibres from three ,inch to siXteen-mch inclusive. o this number LISA or g1 per cent hay been provided for. all of which. ex cept sixteen are now mounted il : Qualifications. There remains to b :. appropriated for IF guns and nor ' tafs.''
 ? For the coast guns, the secretar r said, the allowance of ammunitio s vas based on the quantity sufficien ; for q two hour engagement for hal