The morning call., 1891-01-14
NOTHING TO FIGHT WITH.

Mr.. Blaine is reported by the Washington
correspondent of the Chicago Times as say
ing that he could 90 no further in the
Behring Sea controversy with England as
insistence on our rights meant a resort to
arms, and the United States had nothing to
fight with. That speech does not sound
much like Blaine. 1t might come from the
London Times, the London Standard or the
Chicago Times without causing much sur
prise. The United States has not a navy to
match with that of England, but it happens
that the Behring Sea controversy does not
have to be fought out in Behring Sea. The
first point Of attack might be British Column
bia, which in a moment of weakness was
yielded to Great Britain thirty odd years
ago. Another vulnerable point is England S
ocean carrying trade. If we have few fight
lug vessels we have quite a fleet of COM
merce-destroyeTs. All Americans remem-
Der what havoc the Alabama and her asso-
= ciate5 played upon American merchant YES
sels during the Civil War. We could fit out
h number of vessels of this class-vessels
which can oYertake ordinary merchant
steamers and run away from any armer-
plated fighting vessel that might be sent
against them. 1t is not simply the English
carrying trade which would be exposed. but
her foreign commerce as well. England's
industries are dependent upon a supply OF
raw material from other countries and upon
open and cheap communication with the
ports OF countries in which her finished
goods find a market. This trade is open to
attack both coming and going. Without
cotton, wool, fax and other raw material
the great English manufacturing centers
would be idle and without the markets
which are found in different foreign coun-
tries there would be no sale of their prod
ucts if at work. The American CONNER ce-
destroyeIs would attack their CARRYING trade
in both directions. To the United States
the ocean carrying trade is of comparatively
little importance. We do but little of it in
peace and might do a little less in war.
Nearly all the raw material worked I'D in
our factories is home product. II the for
-egn supply Of sugar, wool, silks laces. fine
cloths, wines, ETC., should be cut off we
could worry along without them. 1t woul d
not be long before our own fields and fac
tories would furnish a good quality of these
and similar articles. We might run a little
short of tea, but coffee can be produced in
this country. While our seaport cities would
be exposed no one imagines that any army
England can send across the Atlantic would
penetrate far into the interior. England
has no regular army to be dispatched on
such missions and our supply of material
for our army is much larger than hers. In
the end we should in al probability have
Canada and other countries would have En-
glands ocean carrying trade and, to a large
extent, the markets England has supplied.
Inc INJURY to us would be in dollars and
cents-to England, loss of territory and loss
with England, and no one expects one Rnt
when Democratic journals try tn make
political capital by representing the conntrv
in a defenseless condition it is well to revia,y
the whole situation. In war each belliperent
chOOSps lis own mimi of nttnnIr