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June 10, 1919.

SHALL WE HAVE IMMOBILE ARMIES, ANCHORED NAVIES AND A GROUNDED AIR SERVICE

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In the latter part of the nineteenth century, certain members of the Mafia, a Neopolitan secret order, murdered the Chief of Police New Orlea ns in a most ope and defiant manner. A posse of indigant citizens broke into the city jail and lynched about ten suspects who were there waiting trial. The Italian Government withdrew its ambassador and threatened war if indemnitie and apologies were not forthcoming, since the victims of the mob were not yet American citizens.

The United States then awoke out of the long dream of freedom from armament costs and started to build a new Navy and new coast defense. The Endicott Board was formed and after quite a review of the subject recommended a large number of defensive projects among which were many shore batteries to be manned by the Army artillery.

Then there went up cries of protest from various sources. Virile, horsey Field Artiellerymen cursed against their fate of sitting along the shore beside cement emplaced armament. Choleric old sailors of the harbor haunting and shore dwelling types fumed against this encroachment on their assumed guardianship of the coast. They had seen the gradual abandonment of the old Engineer Army forts along the shores and had nursed the hope of unlimited shore duty.

Then came talk of Blue Sea Navies and Ultramobile Armies. Shore monitors were no longer built. Battleships grew into dreadnaughts. Cruisers acquired new speeds. Oil burners replaced coal burners. The blue sea navy became a reality.

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The Artillerymen suffered in silence, a faction could stand the disgrace no longer, they succeeded and called themselves the Field Artillery Corps. The Coast Artillery Corps remained at its thankless task with Buffingtion-Crozier carriage hung onto its neck like a millstone. They saw ships' guns gradually outrange them. Then ships guns began to creep up their score in accuracy. Then in the air over their open emplacements and their complicated vulnerable and immobile carriages there soared increasing numbers of seaplanes and airplanes. Then the great war, with the mobile Army drawing upon the Coast Artillery Corps in increasing numbers for details and quartermaster, adjutant generals, etc., until coast defense became a memory. The coast defense forts became recruit rendez-vous for artillery soldiers for the mobile army. Then German submarines showed up off the coast and began to do business. The Coast Artillerymen manned again the six inch rifles of the harbor defenses. There was talk of using 12-inch mortars to fire depth bombs Then we heard wonderful stores of sailors and Navy personnel firing great rifles near the Argonne, but we didn't hear of a single submarine being actually sunk by the Navy off the shores of America. There were great stories in the papers of mosquito fleets of thousands which were hunting down those dreaded raiders. What the cost of those fleets were in personnel, shore stations and boats, it is hard to say. But the writer is willing to bet that if one-tenth the same amount had been spent on a few Blimps and a few red-blooded deep sea sailors had taken to conveying ships up and down the coast, there would have been no more shipping losses.

Transcription Notes:
couldn't figure out handwritten notes on margin