I
The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page
i
Copyright. 191 by American-Examiner. Great Britain Right Reserve!
r
LhdeJantr
AVariner
"Steadily the Government Marches On with It Purchase and Option. The Bayonet of Uncle Sam's Marines Ptuh Before Them
' u c.l: Li. c :... -t ki . u l r: .-J All
How the Government's Decision to Make
the Famous "Resort Its Greatest Naval
Base Will IDipe America's Frivolous
Fashionable Colony Off the Map
DrhMfociew
ft '- New-
m. . port!
r . - ..-v. : ".. .'1 J
J. ' ' J ! '
Newport. Feb. !.
N' EWPORT ft a purely frlvo
lou Bummer resort must go.
The millionaire palace, the
''farms." at present the pride of
the country, are to -become things
of the past. The military and
naval authorities of the United
States are preparing to demolish
Newport, and It is only a question
of time when Newport's iron-bound
coastline will be a coastline ot funs
and mortars. This work oi demolk
tiou has been going on slowly but
surely tor year. It Is only re
cently that the Government has
showa Its haul plainly. -
Ot course, the Government real
ties that the millionaires and so
ciety d nmes are Important we
must have them. But It also real
ties that as a naval station and
military base the Queen City Is
of the most vital Importance. Nar
raganaett Bay, the large body ot
water Indenting the whole State
of Rhode Island, Is the most Im
portant strategic waterway on the
Atlantic Seaboard. Admiral French
E. Cbadwlck, when Commandant
of the Newport Naval Station, said
this, and he smiles now when be
sees the present developments.
It Is because of this Importance
that the Government U quietly bny.
tug up grent tract of property
along Newport's water front and
acquiring options on the valuable
properties adjoining Fort Adams.
The estate ot Edwin D. Morgan,
Lewis Cass Ledyard, young John
Nicholas Brown, the once-rtcbest-bov-ln-t
he-world; Seth Low and
Mr. Elsie Frcncn Vanderbllt He
In this danger tone.
Newport is oo an Island ten miles
long, the Isle ot Aquidneck, to
l
Indian same for Peace. At the sea
end of tbl Island, Is the Queen
City, with rocky peninsular run
ning Into the ocean and . Into the
bay. Kaeh on of these points I
to be fortified. The rest ot the
Island Is to serve the navy in one
way and another.
To the north, Coddlngtoit Cove,
now the practice ground for the
submarine and torpedo boats, is
to be made Into a huge dry dock,
the largest In the world. Codding
toa Point, now owned by Louis
Bruguiere, Is to" be heavily forti
fied. Mr. Bruguiere's new colonial
mansion will be done away with.
It cost several hundred thousand
dollar, but It is In the way. It
may, perchance, be turned into
barrack. Enlisted men will per
haps eat In the banquet hall where
Mrs. Stuyveaant Fish and Mr.
Herman OelrVhs bav dined.
All the north (bore with Its val
uable Summer houses has been sur.
veyed by the Government Options
on the snore from Coaster Harbor
Island to Portsmouth, have been
acquired. And if availed of. what
marvelous change there will be.
What will the new Mr. Alfred
VandrbUt doT She hai at last,
after divorcing her first husband,
succeeded In winning a Newport
position. And now. If the Govern
ment carries ont Its plans, her po
sition will not be worth tuppence.
Poor Mr. Alfred!
But why thi concentration at
Newport? Why destroy the magi
cal city built by millionaires? The
answer is easy. Because Narra
gansett Ray Is the key to the whole
ot the New England and Middle
State. Tbl bay, with Its miles
of good roadsteads. Its unusually
wide channels, lies half way be-
? (y & r Vo
tween New Tork nd Boston. It
controls the approach to both cities
by land and water. Should a for
eign army land, to-day, OD the un
protected shore of the bay, It
would find the way north to Bos
ton, the way south,-to New York,
clear before it! The Government
la thus more eager to fortify New.
port and its waters than New York
or Boston.
Making Kewport the biggest na
val base in the country mean tb
almost perfect protection ot New
York and Boston. Torpedo boats,
submarines, dreadnaughta can be
sent out from this bsae and reach
either city In a few hour. When
all the vessels are equipped wlih
oll-bunifug engines, these few hour
will be cut In half! There la am
ple room for an aero-nautlo school.
Right here, within a radius ot a
(ew miles, every department of a
most complete united service can
be developed. And developed on
I Ha torgett teak. There 1 room
for everything.
Last season, Stuart Duncan, a
Newport multi-millionaire, secured
permission from the aaval author
ities to keep his big airship on the
grounds at Fort Kearney, just
north ot Narraganaett Pier. His
dally practices were an object les
ion to the service.
The expansion o. the naval base
means also the expauslon of the
military iiost. Fort Adam I tb
second largest fortress In the coun
try. It will be made one of first
Importance If the War Department
Is permitted to carry out Its plans.
Fort Adams occupies the largest
front of land Jutting out Into the
bay. All around this point are
beautiful estates, worth many mil
lions. The estate of Arthur Curtis
A
Diagram
matic
Map
of
Newport
and
Pier.
The
Black
Parts
Show
the
Sections '
Which
the
Govern
meat
Now
Owns
or
' Has
Options
on.
The Darker
Shade!
Portions
Show
the
Parts
Covered
by
Private
Option.
James, Just completed, and furnish
ed, at a cost of a million and a half
touches the fort, and so does Ilea
con Rock, Edwin Morgan's hand
some bom. Nearby are a dozen
other properties, and on all this
the Government ha laid covetous
eyes, and si many options as It
now deems neces-
aary. On thea
properties t h a
War Department
trains Its- heavy
gun and, taya,
"Gentlemen get
out, or you will
get hurt"
Newport mil
lionaires are In
a sad way! Their
homes, their very
playground 1
threatened by the
Service! The Gov.
ernment not only
says. "I need your land to
build upon," but "I shall take
the waters of your bay, as
well!"
And why not? For year
Narraganaett Bay, big
enough to float all ths navies
or the world, ha been tb
playground for American
millionaires. For years, it
ha been the pleasure ground
of any one owning a sail
boat or steam yacht. The
Government baa given them
a free rein, but now it can
do so do longer. The bay
It shores, lie i!and, Its
water mut be given over
to the United Service. And
naturally this mean the de
molition of the Queen City.
The whole country la in.
teres ted in the latest develop.
menL The whole country
want to know if the pic
turesque side of Newport 1
to become a thing of the
Pt Will military sentrle.
pace the cliff walk where
Jill the Breaker. Marble
House, the Berwlnd palace
become military prisons, bsr
rack for enlisted men? Will
these mansions where the
officer of the Servlc and
their wive are bow anubbed
become. In turn, the proper
ty of the Government? Well
not soon, but 5M '
All part of Newport are
affected by the. rumore4
changes. Last August Mr
T. Buffera Taller Itaggered
hi friends by buying up the
polo grounds on th. n
Drive and other large piou
In that direction. Why did u.
Taller purchaw thl. nndeop
pparently nseles land?
provide a playground J.
milllonalr. frlendi? No! tt !
oe highest point of L
the ocean frontf Newport?"' ,?
control, the one Hum S
r.h"bor "IB" be developed.
Already Newport we . fortine,.
mllltary aide (how. en thl Impor
tant property.
Jut an; tb polo ground pur
chase.. James and Mr. Duncan
bought In a large property os the
harbor front, between Mr. Tander.
bllt and young Brown estates.
Why did they make these tppar
ently useless Investments? When
Fort Adam is extended and the
whole southern part of th harbor
I taken ever by the Government,
these properties ul be Included.
For year, right under th eye
of th circus , Fort Adam his
changed character completely. The
for.incatlon sre distinctly modern,
and up-to-date. There is a large
colony ot oncers' wive, daughter
nd sifters living ra the reserva
tion, but not even tb wife of the
commanding officer kinrs where
the most important fortifications
are! Not even a Junior officer
can go Uiroogh the whole fort
lie does not know all the secrets!
Mrs. Alfred Vanderbllt
No, 2 Formerly Mrs.
McKim of Baltimore
Who Has Attained New.
port's Height Only to
Newport Van-
ish.
f V ' ' : , i JiV See All Newport Van-
" J I If " ' ' " a
rJty I Hit ? v i ii
111 tv1 t rt s? - .. v rUih I it 1
'? r Sa.'SJ"''-'' ' JT Vl " "'eor'A 1
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I It y.. -., f : ;
V -1 u - f ' J.- O t,. ' -
til II- i h '? j; , IwS
vitt' ' .jv "if j A v
if I kt. . ti f -:. o ? f .,--, ; A Vm
tn f;j'.:r..(, ... ' j ' i i ra
. I',.:'.: .. . a- r w- - v , f
all
No on workman worked on
arts of these fortlflce.tlons.
That wall I left becaus of It
blitory. It I almost ss old as the
country, but it bss nothing to do
with tb fortification.
And o it is. all along th coast
Innocent looking rocks hide heavy
guns aad mortar. Nothing la what
it aeema to be!
And how ran tb cliff dweller, a
mile or two away be affected by
the eztenUoa of Fort Adams? No
one admit that a military post is
a quiet neighbor! Gun. must be
tested, tnd when the heavy guaa
at Adam and Greble are being
fired, the whole Island quivers,
windows are broken, valuable
paintings dashed to the floors and
wall injured. .Things are bad
enough as they are. With th de
velopment of the future they will
be far worse. Last October resi
dents near the fort were driven
away during th heavy firing. Mr.
Vanderbllt and Mrs. Morgan ran
away to escape the noise they re
turned to broken windows and
cracked wall.
Newport itself 1 but a part ot
the general fortification, all sides
of the bay must be fortified.
Jamestown, Just across from Fort
Adams, bristle with gun and
earthworks. The Summer home of
Mrs. Isaac Clothier, of Pniladel
pbla, is in the midst of sn arsensl,
and the end is not yet Property
owned by Mr. Price WetherilL lso
of Patladephla, has been bought by
the' War Department
Behind Jamestown, in what is
railed the West Passage, is Fort
Greble. This fort controls the
passage to Providence, It protect
the bathers at Narragansett Pier
and also the ocean entrance to
Newport harbor. The guns on this
island can drop a shell twelr)
mile. awsy.
With these gun added to. with
the guns on the nearby shores in
creased, what pleasure will yachts
men bav in tbese waters? Not
long ago Mr. Harry Payne Whit
ney yacht was struck by, a shell,
last August a big fishing schooner.
as struck by a steel projectile.
The projectile went through th
deck, passing between four men
grouped foreward. and luckily for
all hands, sank Into the water tank.
That accident was not due to
carelessness, every precaution was
taken. At the investigation, It was
found that something was wrong
with the deflector. But inch ac
cident (poll the bay as a play- '
ground. It will no longer be pleas
ant for Colonel Astor to take lun
cheon parties out on the Noma, or
for Commodore Gerry to take pic
nic parlies out In hi big Electra.
Th water ot the future belong to
the Army and Navy.
There la something amusing la
seeing Newport at last held at th
mercy of the United Service! How
the wive, one disdained, will
chortle when th circus set move,
weeplngly onward!
Th Gould family do aot care to
spend their Summers la Newport.
If they go ther next Summer they
will ee the bouse where Jay Gould
planned Black Friday transformed
into hospital annex. Tb naval
hospital, a new building, occupies
the lawn of the old place, th big
old house remains, nut it doe aot
look as it did when Jay Could lived
there
When the eircus set swoop down
on Newport next Summer U had
better bring along p enty of ab
sorbent cotton. Th Government la
dredging the Inner harbor, the
channel must bo widened so that
warships can move about with
ease The dredger works night
and day and on Sundays, tool It
make a weird sottud which caa be
beard all over town, and it Is most
nerve-racking.
The cottager complained fa the
Fall, but the Government told
them they would have to stand It
There are thua many thing whi?a
will demolish ths playground of Um
circus aet Tb Government will
eifectualry drive them ont without
buying their estate.
To look at thl whole develop
ment calmly. It certainly would
seem that Newport, th queen of
U watering place, is doomed to
get her- very soon. -