Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-03-20
congressman Hear Represent.
alive Miller's Reference to
japanese Scare

i Representative Clarence Miller Of
4 Minnesota, in q recent house debate
over Notifications referred to the
l~Japanese scare In Hawaii nearly
two years ago TO Illustrate his point
with regard to coast defenses. The
following extract from the Congress
sioHaI Record contains much that has
4 been little known here outside Of Of
4 fetal circles:
Mr.. Miller-I want to say something
about Hawaii was In. Hawaii In the
i hour when the Japanese scare was on,
i and IL was q scare, whether rightfully
Tor wFongfulIy It does not matter. Brig
Gen. Funston had charge Of the island
as commanding officer He was very
/ Kind to me. He discussed with me In
detail the predicanent he was In. He
was not hooking for Japanese troops
Tor the troops OF any other nation to
land In front OF the big guns, in front
OF the batteries of mortars, twelve Il
inch guns that protected Honolulu and
Pearl Harbor, but ne was looking to
forces that might land anywhere all
around the island. He did not want
! greater guns TO keep off the fleet, but
land defenses to protect the seacoast
Qualifications In the rear Those big
guns could beat back the mighty ships
lof any nation, but the soldiers of any
nation could land all around the Is
land, take the batteries from the rear,
and then do with the cities as they
pleased.
The gentleman's committee recog-
nized that finally, because In the bill
OF q year ago they carried an appro4
priation, ! think. Of nearly $500, 1000 TO
complete these very Notifications
which that situation had disclosed as
being SO vitality essential. That gap
i has been closed, but it is not the only
gap. We have them everywhere We
have them in the Philippines and we
have them everywhere IN continental
United States.
The trouble Is with the coast FORTH.
cations today--and the gentleman's
committee is not to blame for 1t; the
trouble Ii that they can stand off d
fleet; they can protect a city from a
fleet sailing up and bombarding It; but
they cannot protect the city from the
landing forces, and every military Of
ficer in the eoast-fortification service
knows that They have admitted frank
ly that a reasonably small number of
troops can land here and there, al
most anywhere, put the fort out Of
business and then the ships can march
calamity up and lombard the city;
and the city Of New York stands in
that position today. So does every
other city OF the land. Every gun
points TO the sea-not gun points to
the land and our guns are not of the.
all-around fire type. New York feels
snug and safe behind Fort Hancock.
But any nation, provided it can dis
pose Of our fleet can then land troops
on the Jersey coast, take Hancock In
reverse, and march. on to New York.
with their ships booming along. A
fort Of the type we have serves today
only to make certain that an enemy
viii not hand at that particular spot
and that our fleet can use that harbor
as q rendezvous.
Mr.. Gardner-Will the gentleman
yield?
Mr.. Miner Yes.
3 Mr.. Gafdner-The gentleman says
that he feels that the coast defenses
are adequate to protect all cities from
bonbardment and that that Is diff.
ferent function from protecting from
land forces elsewhere. Is the gentle
man aware that there was a discus
sion Of that matter which does not ap.
pear In the hearings?
Mr.. MillersI am not.
Mr.. Gardner lis the gentleman sure
that the defenses of Boston. New York,
San Francisco are sufficient to pro-
tect the cities as they have grown?
Mr. Miller--I am not sure Of that. ]
merely assumed that for purposes OF
discussion One thing more. / hope
the gentleman from San Francisco is
here saw him here q moment ago..
Talking with Gen. Funston about the
protection from land attack, he said,
that he had charge of San Francisco
and its Qualifications when the great
fleet came around on its journey
about the world.
This great fleet. the mightiest ever
assembled beneath the American flag,
was then commanded by one of our
heroes or the practical. fighting type
He had served in two wars and in
every water of the globe. When his
fleet reached San Francisco, in con-
yersation with me. Gen. Funston said:
q showed him the Notifications de-
tending the harbor of San Francisco.
and I said, Admiral, are they not
eplendidrs He replied, Fine; they can
beat Off the mightiest fleet of any ma
ton IN the world: but can land TO-
900 men down here near Monterey
and can capture your city within "a
hours ana / said, I know you can. |"
The solution of that. 1t seems to me,
as has been properly expressed by
many military men, is that we need al
larger personnel in our coast defenses,
and that is the emphatic thing stated
by Gen. Weaver in the hearings.
While we are pretty long on guns at
the present we are miserably. con.
Itemptibly short Of men, and you can
not man fortifications anywhere with.
out men. We will never have a real