In times of peace a country may, to its peril, neglect its coast defense, as was shown by the condition of the defenses of the United States at the beginning of the war with Spain. Euro pean nations have for years divided their tide water regions into naval zones and have as signed to each zone reserves, torpedo divisions, lighthouse establishments, coast-guard services and signal stations.
In France the naval authority is made para mount and all naval affairs are in charge of the Minister of Marine, assisted by a chief of staff. Not only the mobile defenses, but the coast fortresses, submarine mines and the fort bat teries are under control of the minister or his aide. In the United States the army and navy are jointly responsible in several grand divi sions, under a chief of staff, with the Secretary of the Navy, as now, at the head of the de partment.
In recent times the navies of all leading countries have been enlarged, forts multiplied and strengthened, and more attention given to training young men in the tactics and strategy of defense, involving immense increase of national expenditure. In this general advance of naval preparation our own country is now maintaining a steady and quickened pace and questions of coast defense must here be solved with equal energy and intelligence. The work of providing a proper armament for the exposed harbors of the United States has been progressing as rap idly as the Congressional appropriations would permit. Since the outbreak of the war with Spain, and especially since the beginning of the European War, Congress has been more liberal with its provisions for pushing this work According to the annual report of the United States Board of Ordnance and Fortifi cation for 1895, at the rate of progress then being made, it would require 50 years of work to place the great stretch of seacoast in proper condition for defense. The board recommend ed an appropriation of $2,000,000 for engineer work in the construction of implements, forti fications, etc., and one of $5,000,000 for the con struction of guns, mortars, gun-carriages, sea coast armament and ammunition. Concerning future advancement, the board recommended that it be along the following lines: the devel opment of smokeless powders; the development of a high explosive that can be safely dis charged m a shell at a high velocity with cer tainty of detonation; the development of rapid fire field and seacoast guns and of an efficient system of fire control for harbor defenses. Re cent reports show that satisfactory progress has been made in all these lines except that the use of armor-plates in forts has been abandoned for the more satisfactory earth and concrete emplacements.
By the begiming of 1915 all ports of com mercial and strategic value along both coasts of the United States had been fortified, with the exception of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. During the previous year five 14-inch guns were manufactured, to supersede some of the 12-inch guns, hitherto the heaviest of our coast artillery, but no longer adequate to match the modern 15-inch guns with which the lar ger battleships are being equipped. These latest
14-inch guns are designed to fire 1,660-pound projectiles with a maximum range of 18,000 yards.
It has been proposed by a committee of the Fortification Board to mount 16-inch, wire wound guns at Cape Henry, throwing a pro jectile weighing 2,200 pounds. Mobile guns, of at least 12-inch calibre, mounted on special trucks that may be drawn along the railroad by locomotives, or along well-laid roads by huge motor cars, such as are being used by the Ger mans, were recommended for the defense of thuse sections of the coast not within the zone of protection of the permanent works.
The fortifications at both ends Of the Pan ama Canal have been completed and the guns mounted; similar works are either completed or under construction in all the outlying pos sessions of the United States. On El Fraile Island, in Manila Bay, several 14-inch, wire wound guns, each weighing 70 tons, are being mounted. The present policy of armament con templates the emplacement of at least one 16 inch gun in the system of fortifications guard ing every important harbor. The importance of these coast defenses may be realized from the fact that there is within range of modern gunfire, from 10 of our principal harbors, prop erty to the value of over four and one-half billions of dollars. Up to 1912 approximately $125,000,000 had been spent or appropriated for coast defenses.
The army troops of the coast defense are classified with reference to their duties as fol lows: Coast artillery regulars, who man the guns as far as possible; coast artillery militia, who are required to man certain guns in order to complete the personnel lacicing in regulars; coast artillery supports, whose function is local protection of fortifications. against quick land raids from unprotected points; and the coast guard, which is composed of large bodies of infantry, cavalry and field artillery, prepared to oppose formal landings by the enemy.
The regular establishment of the coast de fense at about the beginning of the European War was distributed as follows: In Manila Bay -.ere are 11 companies; in Hawaii 6, and in Panama 8. On 1 July 1914 the total force above .enumerated amounted to 700 officers and 10,988 enlisted men.
The establishment of the coast artillery is 1,201 officers and 29,973 men by a bill passed by Congress in 1916. This force is practically sufficient to man all the necessary defenses. SCE BLOCKADE ; BOMBARDMENT ; FORTIFICATION.
Bibliography.—Lieut. M. H. Thompson, U. S. Coast Artillery Corps, in North Amer ican Review, February 1915, (The Problem of our Coast Defence' ; Annual Report of Chief of Coast Artillery.