The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-03
SEATTLE. TUESDAY. NOR. 3.
IMPORTANT TO THE PACIFIC
COAST.

The Chilean trouble has brought wildly
home TO the United States the necessity Of
the Nicaragua canal to the military pro-
lection Of the Pacific coast, which without
this canal is at present absolutely defense
less against the iron clads of petty state
OF 3, 600 900 Of people. The United States
can, with comparative ouickness. send
troops by rail to San Francisco and by
transport to Chile, but We cannot send
iron clads across the continent; nor fortify
and arm our sea ports in less than six
months so as to offer anything like effec-
tive resistance 20 an iron clad armed with
sixteen-inch guns, that can at a distance
Of ten miles throw shells into our
cities. The argument for the Nicara-
qua canal has hitherto been its
vast commercial importance 10 the
Pacific coast, but the breeze with Chile has
brought home TO reflective men the imper-
alive necessity of its construction to the
military defense of this coast.
The construction and control Of this can
al has nothing to do with the obsolete Mon
roe doctrine, which had local application
and served transient purpose. Wecould
construct and control the Nicaragua canal
upon the same broad ground of national
self-interest that England asserted when
she obtained control of the Suez canal.
Our government would not need to ask
any better terms of the civilized world in
regard TO the navigation of the Nicaragua
canal than England asked concerning the
suez canal.
We could not. five would, enforce the
untenable doctrine of american Con-
troll" for the league of the powers of
Europe that compelled England to make
the Suez canal a neutral commercial
waterway between the Mediterranean
sea and the Indian ocean. is entirely COM
petent to compel the United States to
stand by the spirit and policy of the Clay
ton-Bulwer treaty of 1850. But we must
build the canal speedily. for the world Is
not bound TO wait our pleasure to open
this waterway whose construction con-
Germs the commerce of the whole world.
England found French company, under
the government of Egypt, working the
Suez canal, and it bought controlling in
terest. If the United States waits until the
present Nicaragua Canal Company COM
pletes its work it may wake up some day
to find that England has exercised her
own right and secured a controlling in
terest in this canal.
If it was worth while for our govern
ment to help build the Union Pacific and
Northern Pacific transcontinental rail-
ways it is certainly worth while for it, as a
military necessity to the defence of this
coast, to aid in rapidly pushing to COM
pletion the Nicaragua canal. This canal
will do for this Pacific coast what the Suez
canal has done for Europe. Before the
Suez canal was built the waterway Of
Europe to India and China was around the
stormy Cape of Good Hope, a long and
dangerous passage. Today the merchant
marine of Europe. after il passes through
the Straits of Gibraltar has q smooth
passage TO the Indian ocean. So
with the Nicaragua canal completed the
merchant marine Of both Europe and
America can escape the stormy passage
around the Horn, and by g comparatively
short and safe voyage through the Pacific
reach Australia. China ana Japan. The
completion OF this canal and its control by
the United States in the same limited
sense that England controls the Suez
canal was the brightest dream of Grants
last years. lie believed this canal was es-
sen,iai, not only to the rapid commercial
development, but the adequate protection
and succor Of our Pacific coast in event Of
foreign or domestic war.