Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1915-03-27
COULD EASILY Destroy
LITTLE OLD NEW YORK
Senator TilIman Points Out How The
City Could be Levelled by
Foreign Foe.
By BURTON X. STANDISH

ing an attack on New York, could de-
stroy several million dollars worth of
skyscrapers in d half hours bombc rd-
meat. and steam away again with but
lltt'e damage. as far as the defense
are concerned" That was the state
ment OF Senator Benjamin B Tillman,
OF South Carolina, chairman of the
Senate Naval Affairs Committee, in an
interview granted the United Press.
Every now and then we have a
war game, in which a 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, al
ways somewhat to this effect: The
attack made by the fleet reflects great
credit On the officers commanding it,
and shows themselves to be most effi-
clent OF their class. However, it was
clearly shown that the fleet could not
have gotten past the forts and Destroy
ed the town
Some day we will get an umpire
who Will make this hackneyed report
to assure the people IN the city on
which the war game was tried, and
when we do their will be an awaken
ing. Why if we could attack the port
OF New York with the fleet which this
nation has, it would not require any
particular luck to reduce the buildings
on Manhattan Island to a pile of de-
brls 1t would be absolutely and ut
terly impossible for the forts to pro
tect the city. The fleet would simply
pound down those skyscrapers until
there was nothing in sight to shoot ot
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 if / were commanding a
fleet which attacked New York |
would not bother with Sandy Hook at
all. knowing that thue strongest fort
1fications are there, | would come in
by Long Island Sound. | am abso-
lutely confidently that a fleet entering
by that route, passing through He'll
Gate after decorating the mines that
might be placed lnere, would haze no
Trouble aL ali III Dumbarding the city
all it wanted to-"
Senator TIllman paused and gazed
proudly at 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 maze Of figures with ex-
perts of the Navy Department about
depths Of water at various places
along the sound route.
Yes, he continued, the battleship
Massachusetts, just passed through
Hell Gate the other day on her way
from Brooklyn Navy Yard to Newport.
NOW | don't mean to say or have it
understood, that | am in favor Of
'eiANAAiS q "ilOlS LUCK OIL DaILlSSnlDS
because | pay this tribute to their
power. We ought to have uthorized
two dreadnaughts this year. 1t was
rldiculously carried to the nth power.
We want battleships when we know
how to build the most effective ship.
but personally l would not be surpris-
ed If at the end of this war not only
every battleship afloat but every bat
tleship building will be obsolete Ger
tainly those now built and building
are very nearly obsolete now, when
the submarine is considered.
1T may be discovered that if we
build dreadnaughts with three bot
toms and three decks to guard against
both mines and torpedoes underneath,
and airship bombs overhead, they will
be all right. Certainly those built are
extremely vulnerable.
instead of two drpadnauphts If we