East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-03-24
FLEET COULD
REDUCE NEW YORK TO
JUNK SAYS TILLNAN
DEFTNsEs OF CITY WOULD Of
FER LITTLE PROTECTION
HE DECLARES.
Chairman OF Senate Naval Affairs
Committee, in Interview, Declares
Warshlps Could Steam Within
Range and Reduce skyscrapers in a
Very Short Time.
BY BURTON X. sTANDIsH.


WASHINGTON, March 24.-"A
fleet OF English or German battle
ships making an attack on New York
could destroy several billion dollars
worth OF skyscrapers in a half hours
bombardment. and steam away again
with but little damage, as far as the
defense are concerned That was
the statement of Senator Benjamin B.
TiIlman. OF South Carolina, chairman
OF the senate naval affairs commit
tee. in an interview granted the Unit
ed Press.
Every now and then we have
war game. in which fleet attacks
the forts defending some particular
town both fire enormous quantities OF
blank cartridges and shells. and then
the umpires speak their little piece,
always somewhat to this effect: THE
attack made by the fleet reflects
great credit on the officers command
ing IT, and shows the vessels TO be
most efficient OF their class. However
II was clearly shown that the fleet
could not have gotten past the forts
and destroyed the town.
Would Pound Skyscrapers-
Some day we will get an umpire
who will make this hackneyed report
To reassure the people in the city on
which the war game was tried. and
when we do there will be an awaken
ing. Why, IL We could attack the port
OF New York with the fleet which
this nation has. 1t would not require
any particular luck to reduce the
| buildings on Manhattan Island TO
pile Of debris II would be absolutely
and utterly impossible for the forts
to protect the city. The fleet would
simply pound down those skyscrapers
( until there was nething in sight to
shoot at.
I'm the first place. and in reply to
any startled question about Sandy
Hook. and the big 16 inch gun there
; let me say IL l were commanding a
fleet which attacked New York
would not bother with Sandy Hook at
all Knowing that the strongest foru-
fications are there, l would come in
! by Long Island Sound. l am abso-
lutely confident that a fleet entering
by that route, passing through Hell
Gate after decorating the mines that
! might be placed there, would have no
trouble at all in bombarding the city
I all II wanted to-"
Can Pass Hell Gate.
Senator Tillman paused and gazed
I proudly at a picture Of the New York,
steaming full speed ahead, with an
aeroplane flying above her.
LET me be sure about that now,
he said, taking off the receiver OF his
telephone. A few minutes later he
was deep in a maze of figures with
experts from the navy department
about depths of water at various plac-
es along the sound route.
Yes" he continued, "the battle
ship Massachusetts, Just passed
through He'll Gate the other day on
her way from the Brooklyn navy yard
to Newport. Now don't mean to say,
or have II understood, that I am in
favor of building a whole flock OF
battleships because 1 pay this tribute
to their power. We ought not to have
authorized two dreadnaughts this
year. 1t was righteousness carried to
the nth power. We want battleships
when we know how to build the most
effective ship, but personally would
not be surprised IL at the end of this
war not only every battleship alfoat,
but every battleship building will be
obsolete. Certainly those now built
and building are very nearly obsolete
now, when the submarine is con-
sidered.
Dreadnaughts Not Effective.
at may be discovered that il we
build dreadnaughts with three bottoms
and three decks. to guard against both
mines and torpedoes underneath, the
airship bombs from overhead, they
will be all right. Certainly those now
built are extremely vulnerable.
Instead of two dreadnaughts, II we
were to build two big ships, we should
have built two battle cruisers. Not a
single blow has been struck in this
war so far by dreadnaught. A num-
Der of them have been blown up, Dut
that did their country no particular
good. Battle cruisers have struck
several good blows. Their tremend-
Gus speed and big guns enable them
to make such spectacular fights as
that OF the Lion and the Princess Roy
al against the fleet of which the Blu
cher was part"