El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-27
1ASHINGTON, d. c., Oct. 81
M a type Of fighting ship that
w il r-Ovine of utmost value in

n "A De OF ~ Nuns eAAAk AAAaN g
w is proving Of utmost value in
Z the present war is the monitor. said a
naval officer Of high rank. Our al
7 lies are using such vessels as float
ing batteries for bombarding enemy
Z strongholds along the Belgian coast
and in the Adriatio, their small draft
enabling them 10 operate in waters
] too shallow for battleships.
1T is a pity that We gave them
up-or. at all events are building no
more OF them-inasmuch as they are
admirably adapted for protecting our
harbors and river-mouths. seven
first class monitors can be built for
the cost Of a modern dreadnaught- II
We had 40 or so Of them, our sea-
board cities would be comparatively
safe from attack
Ever since the civil war We have
kept on building monitors Of improved
patterns, until quite recently, the last
two. the Tonopah and Tallahassee.
being first commissioned in 1908. But
suddenly the navy department made
Up its mind that they we're back
numbers. and, though nine OF them are
still on our naval list, practically
dropped them. The newest four. in
Guiding the two mentioned, are now
doing duty as submarine mother
ships.
IF it were a question Of open-sea
fighting. monitors would be Of little
use to us. With q speed Of only 10 or
II knots, they would be at the mercy
Of swift battleships; and they could
not keep up with a fleet But this
means only that they would not be
serviceable in the first line Of def
ense: il does not signify that they
you'd be less useful in the second
line-in other words for defending
the coast.
Floating Forts Are Needed.
What We need. TO supplement our
coast defenses on land. Is an adequate
number OF floating, seagQing forts.
mobile and heavily Eunned-iu other
words, monitors Of the latest, inn
proved type. There should be half
a dozen-preferably eight or nine
in New York harbOr. Each 81 them
should have four 14-inch rifles. sup
plemented by battery Of quick
firers mounted on the turrets snd on
steel flying deck fitted between the
turrets.
The monitor IS the staunchest
craft that floats. and nothing short
OF a mine or torpedo can sink IT, It.
is srmored over its entire length; but
even without such protection il would
be wellnigh invulnerable. inasmuch as
its deck lying nearly flush with the
surface Of the sea, the water itself
serves the purpose Of armor- The
light draft Of such a ship enables her
TO run into or out Of any port on our
coasts. South o. the Chesapeake
there is no Atlantic harbor that is
accessible to a battleship at all stages.
OF tide
Cannot BE Seen Far Away.
Consider the Monterey. for ex-
ample Her main deck being only
90 inches above the level Of the water.
she cannot be seen from a distance Of
three miles (which is about the min
imum battle range in the maritime
warfare Of today. and 20 strike her
with a projectile from that far away
would be as difficult a TO hit the
edge Of q visiting card a. so PAGES
with a pistol bullet
a battleship towers 25 or 80 feet
above the water. nearly as high IS an
ordinary house. and is an easy target
n a range OF eight miles a craft
like the Monterey presents no target
worth mentioning and her guns