The Washington times., 1924-02-13
U.S.DEFENSE ON
PACIFIC POOR,
CLAIM
Obsolete Guns, insufficient
Personnel Render Forts
Vulnerable, Charge.
BY COPELAND G. BURG,
International News Service.


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1S.-Pa'
cific Coast defenses are utterly
lacking in protection.
San Francisco, Seattle and Ia
coma, as well as the United States
navy yards at Bremerton, Wash,
are open prey for invading sea
forces, and Portland, Ore, is only
slightly protected.
These are conclusions officially
reported by Brigadier General
Henry d. Todd, jr.. commanding
the Ninth coast artillery district,
which comprises all coast defenses
on the Pacific, after tour Of in
spection of the Notifications guard
ing Puget sound and the mouth OF
the Columbia river.
Out-of-date guns,i designed In
1895, are used in the Northwest
and in the coast defenses Of San
Francisco, according to General
Todd, who points out in an official
report to the War Department at
Washington that these coast de-
fenses would be utterly unable to
protect units of the American bat.
tie fleet while leaving harbor and
before they would take up battle
formation"
Guns Obsolete.
The Pacific coast defense guns
were installed at a time when the
best foreign battleships carried but
four 12-inch guns and twelve g.
inch guns. The coast defense
guns are unable to reach objects
beyond 1900 yards.
Todd of nj.
ficially, each ship Of the British
Royal Sovereign" class carries
eight 15-inch guns and fourteen
6.inch guns, the 15-inch guns be-
ing able to outrange our 12-inch
guns by at least 100000 yards.
Japanese 'Nagato" class ships
carry eight 16-inch guns. which
greatly outrange American 12-inch
weapons.
According to General Todd, not
only is equipment OF obsolete type.
but garrisons are so depleted
along the coast that a surprise at
tack could not be successfully re-
pulsed.
The cities of Seattle and Tacoma,
in Washington, and Portland, Ore'
gon, ns we'll as the navy yards st
Brer erton, WASH, are now almost
completely unprotected, and In the
event of attack by such a nation
as Great Britain or Japan, boasting
ships with powerful guns, they
could easily be blown off the map,
General Todd's report shows.
IF an enemy determined to make
a base near the mouth of the Co:
lumbia river he could outrange am
overpower the batteries there just
as be could at Puget sound. When
it il considered that one OF the
missions of the Puget Sound forts
is to protect hte Bremerton navy
ward and the large cities of Seattle
and Tacoma, with their docks, rail-
way terminals, banks, manufactur-
ing concerns, etc, $1,000.000 would
be q very small amount to pay,
constituting, as it would, n premium
for life insurance for that entire
locality. To construct carriages
for the 16-inch guns needed in
Puget sound and mount them in
concrete emplacements near Fort
Worden would not cost more than
81 900 900, which is less than one
fortieth the cost of one battleship."
Present armament at the ColUm-
bia river forts should be complete
ly manned, he states:
The war strength authorized by
the War Department for the Puget
sound forts is 1926 officers and
men and 1,341 for the Columbia
garrisons.
"In case of Sudden attack these
forts could not put up much re-
sjstance until the units of the re.
serves had been enlisted, equipped
and transferred to these FORTS" the
Todd report states.
General Todd believes that i'm
mediate action should be taken to
remove the antiquated equipment
on the Pacific coast.