Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-02-04
OUR UNPROTECTED LAKES.
Reason to Believe the Treaty of 1917 II
AbrOgated.

AbrOgated.
If the treaty of 1917 is still in full
force, provisions that are unquestion-
ably in favor of Great Britain restrict
the naval power of the United States
on the great lakes to single warshir
OF somewhat obsolete design on Lake
Ontario, and to two vessels on the up
per lakes. neither to be better than
the one which protects American in
terests on Lake Ontario A few
Facts will demonstrate the unfair.
ness of the treaty so far as this coun.
try is concerned.
Under the provisions of this inter
national agreement, Great Britain,
by means of the st. Lawrence River
and the canals, could place formid.
able fleet Of gunboats on the lakes at
any time. The prosperous cities that
line the lakes would be at their mercy,
for the United States would be un
able to protect them with a single
warship worthy of the name That
the relation between this country and
England should lead to war is not
probable, but it is not impossible, and
under the circumstances it is not wise
for great nation to leave an exten.
siye portion of its richest and most
prosperous frontier exposed in an alb.
solutely defenseless condition.
More than seventy years have
elapsed since the treaty of 1917 was
entered into, and with them have
come changes which call for the alb
rogation of that agreement, if it is
not already abrogated. Vessels OF
two or three times the tonnage con.
templated when the treaty was Ell.
tered into can now make the passage
from lake to lake, and the st. Law.
renee Canal Improvements will open
the way to the sea. The significance
OF this appears in the fact that the
route to tide water is almost wholly
controlled by Great Britain. In the
event of war her vessels only could
force a passage to the lakes. En-
gland now has in her navy 1873 war
vessels, with total tonnage of 161,-
247, and carrying S75 heavy guns be-.
sides | 200 of small caliber, rapid fir
ing and machine guns, which could
rass through the Welland Canal and
enter the great lakes. Almost any
dozen of them could control the en-
tire chain of lakes, for they are new,
fast and have the latest improve
ments, three-quarters of them having
been built since 1885. With their
powerful long-range guns, very few
of these modern warships could in
flict great damage or exact a CORE
spending indemnity. Some of them
are always on the st. Lawrence, at
Quebec or Montreal while others are
at Halifax and within easy call. If
war threatened others could be placed
at these or adjacent points. and at
the first sound for the onset could be
rushed through before it would be
possible to prevent.
1t is claimed that the clause re-
ferred to of the treaty of 1917 had
been abrOgated and that the United
States is no longer bound to refrain
from the establishment of navy on
the lakes. An esteemed correspon-
dent of the Eree Press, writing some
weeks since from Chicago, called at
tention to the fact that notice was
given by the President in May, 1864,
that the clause referred to should be
terminated, and that Congress subse.
quently ratified his action. A refer.
ence to the public documents and
proceedings of Congress bears out this
statement. In his message to Con.
gress on the 9th of December, 1864,
President Lincoln said:
In view of the insecurity of life and
property in the regions adjacent to
the Canadian border by reason of
recent assaults and depredations COM
mitted by inimical and desperate
persons who are harbored there, it
has been thought proper to give
notice that at the expiration of six
months, the period conditionally stip-
ulated in the existing arrangements
with Great Britain, the United States
must hold themselves at liberty to
increase their naval armament on the
lakes if they shall find that proceed
ing necessary.
In February 1865 Congress approved
the Presidents action by adopting
resolution "that the notice given by
the President of the United States to
the Government of Great Britain
and Ireland to terminate the treaty
of 1917 regulating the naval force on
the lakes, is hereby adopted and rat
ified as if the same had been author.
lied by Congress-.
1t would seem, therefore, that
there is no obstacle to proceeding at
once to the better protection of our
immense interests lying along the
borders of the lakes by the construc.
tion here of suitable naval arma-
ment. If there was any flaw in the
proceedings by which it was sought
to terminate the treaty, the neces-
sary steps should be taken over again,
and at once, so that there may be no
delay. War with England, as already
stated, seems improbable; yet within
the past few years public opinion has
run high on several questions in dis
pute, and in the Presidents message
there are matters referred to as in
dispute, any one of which might lead
to opon conflict. In any event this
Government has noright to leave the
western frontier exposed as it is
Detroit Free Press.