Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-21

3 " ShsS ssSa sssCO sRs spfsE Ssvs BEEN
Eareessq ossroEis hsyg gsp,INnsS Y,os
day by i SINGLE sun. rho Chief Of start
NossS sss Asy tss, aS a. @ aasS%s
lhtionS IN anticipation of war. we need 1l,IeO,-
$50 rounds Of held-artiiiery ammunition.
SHORTAGE OF FIELD ARTILLERY.
Extract from table. presented By BTissder
ltsfy Arslrs. House q Representatives. jan
s...'Totsi Batteries field artillery completed
Note.--As each battery consists Of guns
se ssps hs, we hee Sn ga a,ad nSd tnin
lsit stated that es an sec@ugps%tion @ % In antiei- i
elusive OF giant suns).
ENEMY COULD LAND
The following letter from Admiral
George Dewey to Representative Angus
tus p. Gardner purports to show that
landing on United States soil could be
effected by an enemy:
OFFICE OF THE ADMIRAL. OF THE NAVY,
.wAsHINGroN. Decsmber 10. iSf5
House e RsprsssntstIyes. wsshinsten, D. c.
10 write you setting Z forth mS views sN ON Tie he
question oi tine possibility Of large hostile
w NtN7tl.
which appeared ID the Century last month 49,
Mr. wooGs ares fR esteds SO'r from epiS Esstport
Me' Ss h,. To- Ssps Henry VA and In this area
and Kennebco Rlvrs, ct Portland, Portsmouth.
nse @ sad Ny be sdfoS ssssrn at to aTe
borr bslsnd sound; % a. At the sntESnSe to NsT York
on the upper Potomsc River, era and at Hampton
Roads Roads OF these aefenses only those at Port
Island Sound and fhe entrance to New York
protect the coast, the others are solely harbor
Il Is true that large hostile force can land
on the open coast wherever the transports can
and especially when their landing is GOV.
sL sLsea 5y the Euniire OF the naval escort even
most r.eent example Of RHS' tRs Is the landing OF
the Allied troops on the Gallpoli Peninsula
the landings near Fort Fisher, and the landing
From Esstport n Me-. ' to S0Sse Cape s0i MsnPy. va
there are but very few places where large
two miles 81 tho coast, ana the extent Of this
shore line that Is too preeipitons or too ragged
only foree"thet can prevent such a landing is
navy m 81 Ssf o to
In saying that hSstiIe expedition ,s n.a can Iand
our cosst-dstenss g guns. mean ' that it Is pSysl
cRlly possible, and with no very great diff,
Ssg DO S S oSsd Sst Sy SSs 9sss sSss
on the Peninsuas Of Maine nor on the the 81 sand
uunes OF NBW JerBeys DeihWutes mhTEihTu
and the mainland T they 'i viii prefer Ssr' to land
where there are railroads and good roads
leading to their objective, which would prob
ably be one OF our large cities. Such places
are numerous along. the coast Of Msssachu-
sets both shores Of Massachusetts Bay. the
eastern end and south shore OF Long Island
and in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays.
landing place sheltered from the force
OF the sea would greatly facilitate the dis
of hostile force. but Ia not n
vital necessity such sheltered places are too
numerous to name. but among them are
Frenchman's Bay; Penobsoot Bay. Blue HIN
Bay. Sheepscott River, Casco Bay. in Maine;
Rocitport, Gloucester. Salem, Plymouth. Prov
nceton. Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. in
ch husetts: Fort Pond Bay. and then to
the southwark Delaware and Chesapeake Bays.
Only the navy can prevent landings at those
places. and that navy must be strong enough
10 defeat the enemy; and should we have such
navy the enemy would not attempt an In
vasion as long as 1t remained in existence,
Our main defense and protection from In
aston must therefore always rest with the
navy. which must ever remain our first and
BEST line Of defense. This defense. unless
ldeduat, Is impotent; and as before stated,
ldequacy is not reached until the navy is
strong enough to meet on equal terms the navy
,f the strongest probable adversary.
GEORGE DEWEY.