The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-01-26
OUR INFERIOR NAVAL POLICY.

VI n.
The hesitation O; our government, 20 in
stant.y grasp rs opportunity 20 build and
control the Nicaragua canal Is IN striking
and unfsvoraole contrast with the splen-
did, sagacious naval policy OF Great Bit
ain. Does anybody suppose tha; Great
Britain would daily long in dealing with
such an opportunity as the Nicaragua
cansi7 Does anybody suppose ina; If our
congress refuses 20 accept us present op-
porsunity OF control Grea; Britain viii not
soon or late build and control an Istamus
canal. Great Britain has the same
right 70 inves; IN and control this
cana. as the United States has
and she Will not forever wait our
pleasure in this matter. TIE naval policy
o. England commands our admiration.
In the English channel she holds the Jer-
sey Isles. Passing 20 the Mediterranean,
Great Britain holds Gibraltar st its mouth;
n the sea itself she holds Mjnorca. Ma
jorca, Eloa, Malta and Cyprus. The Eng
lish flag controls the Suez canal and Alden
ST the mouth OF the Red Sea. Sailing down
the west coast Of Africa you find the Eng
lish dag flying at Sierra Leone, ST. Helena,
Ascension, ct the Cape OF Good Hope.
You find her flag a. Maurtius. a; the mouth
Of the Persian Cult; at ku-rachee, ST
Bombay, Ceylon. Singapore; at Rangoon
and Mandaiay; at Hongkong; 81 New
Guinea: al the FIJI islands: a. Australia;
Eng!and's flags flies at the Bermudas, the
Bahamas, Jamaica. Barbados and
dozen OF the lesser West India islands.
She has settlements in Honduras, Central
America. and a colony in Guiana. South
America. She owns the Falkland islands
al the extremity OF South America, and
Tristan d'Acunha in the southern ocean,
OF the coast Of Africa.
Wherever q naval station can be planted
and maintained on the surface OF the
globe, there flies the dag OF England
England has established a chain Of naval
s;rongholds upon the four great roads by
which ocean commerce goes the two old
ones around Cape Horn and the Cape of
Good Hope, and the two new ones, one
VIA SueZ anu one across the American CON-
tinent 10 Vancouver, B. c.. and the Occi-
denta! steamship line 70 China and Japan.
The enormous nstural and acquired ad-
vaniages OF Eng and are very great, and
the promptness NTH which for 21O years
she has utilized and increased her CON-
meEc!al advantages compels our admi.a-
ton.
five don't wake up and seize our Cd.
portunity England viii one day purchase
the coutro. OF the I-sHs-is;hmian passage
from ocean % ocean az Nicaragua o. Te-
huan.epec. President Grant in vain
urged our purchase OF tie bay of Samana
as 8 co2..ng and naya. station. Grant
oonprsAende3 that this country for Sc
cncity needed ei cas-. one great naval and
coal.ng station n ne Yves. Indies and he
saw snd tried 10 make congress see the
importance Of our ownership and political
contro. of !rsas-.stap.aa canal a. N.ca-
EagCA The example OF England's splen-
DID naval ard commercial sagaclts, which
hss q. scer8ed The value OF me natural
commercial highways Of the world, ought
- stimulate us boldly 70 c.ose our hand
on orr present opportunity 10 contro, the
) .carsyua tyans-lstamian passage from
ocean 20 ocean and Use il 20 Cur hes, sd-
vaatage.
II I'VE d0n'iimits;e EnCland's instructive
example, Why, The building Q; the N:ca-
raga4 canal VIII lanculsh Tor years. until
English capital Will sc. control Of this
valuable water way just SIS j. d tha. Of
SGez. The Pacific coast OF The United
States, SIS we have repeatedly pointed o1t,
: today 81 enormous disadvantage, CON-
pared with the Atlantic sea5oard. 20 re-
Ccive s Jar share 81 the commerce Of the
world. We are On the wrong side OF the
oon;lneu; 10 compete for the trade OF The
world, bet !. The United States congress
vas % enough and sasac Gus enough 70
s.cert its opportunity - contro, the
Nicaragua cana. and the trans-ista T, an
passage from ocean u ocean. the Pacific
coas. would gain immensely By this scIion
and the disadvantage o. being on the
wrong side OF the trading world would De
vastly decreased. We are a. the extreme
western end OF a long, expensive railway
haul and until We can get cheaper ana
quicker wster frelsnts - the markets Of
the world than round the Horn We VII
produce but small surplus. because We
cannot market X 81 s. profit.
The Nicaragua canal controlled anu
practically owned By our government can
solve the situation 70 advantage and moth
ing csc can. Without the Nicaragua
cana, no rapid growth neei lie looked Tor
on the Pacific Coast, because We cannot
market large surp.us Al a Vvod; ii We
produce Il. II this canal i ever bult and
controlled ~ the United S.ates il would
compe. u 80 reform orr ridiculous uay4.
policy. We should then be obliged 10
bull1 large navy ana - establish navA.
stations If toe Nicaragua cansl Was
bul,t and under oar control tomorrow Ne
would rna ourselves with iepo. Of sup
p.les 40 nearer 10 Greytowa shaa New