The San Francisco call., 1895-11-13
OUR NATIONAL DEFENsEs.

The recommendations made by Major
General Miles are briefly that the army be
strengthened and the coast better de-
Tended with forts and batteries. He de-
clares that we ere absolutely at the mercy
of invading forces, and that while we
might easily throw a million men into the
defense of any threatened port they could
not make an effective resistance to the
landing of the invaders under the safe pro-
lection of ships guns. He calls attention
to the fact that while something is being
done for the protection of San Francisco
harbor those of Puget Sound and San
Diego Bay are utterly neglected. and that
the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico and
all of the Atlantic coast north of New
York are defenseless.
To supply the vast system of defenses
whose need he indicates would cost the
country incredible millions of money.
The question is if, accepting the PROPOSE
sition that so much treasure has to be ex-
pended, its use for the purposes stated by
General Miles would be the best to which
it might be put.
1t has never been the policy of this
Nation to be prepared for war or an inva-
sion on an extensive scale The main
reasons for this are that the country has
never pursued a course which would in
vite attack from any source, and, being
isolated from the rest of the world by
oceans, is able to defend itself if it should
be invaded. 1t has inexhaustible natural
resources upon which the people might
subsist under a perpetual blockade, and
the patriotism and fighting spirit of its
people are their ablest defense. The popu-
lation is so great as to be able to over
whelm any force in reason which any
other nation might succeed in landing on
its shores, and the only possible danger
would be the uniting of number of
nations in an attack. There is no likeli-
hood that this latter contingency would
ever arise, as it is impossible to imagine
what benefits any alliance OF foreign
powers against US would bring them in
the event of success. The subjugation of
the American republican spirit to
monarchical rule would be an impossible
task.
Until General Miles produces better
reasons for expending the millions for
defense that his recommendations would
require majority of the people will con-
tinue TO believe that the country is free
from the dangers which he points out and
that money can be spent to far better ad-
vantage than IN strengthening the armed
defenses of the Nation. Internal improve
ments on vast scale are needed, and the
making of them and the cultivation of a
higher political sense woulo increase the
resisting power of the country. Develop
ment of the rich natural resources of a
country q yraolfh q i
self-reliance that are more potent as de-
fenses than forts and armies.
1t is we'll that General Miles has raised
these questions, for the two great political
parties are preparing to hold their National
Conventions, at which we may be sure
these great problems of internal develop
ment and armed defenses will become i'm
portant issues. Very likely these issues
will be found antagonistic to each other,
ard the choice between them will be a
serious political matter. II we imagine
that one party would advocate armed de-
fenses and another internal Improvements
it is not difficult to foreSee which would be
victorious at the polls.
One of the great aims behind the move
ment to bring the Republican National
Convention to San Francisco is to call the
attention of the party to the overshadow-
| ing need of certain internal Improvements.
a limited strengthening of our coast de-
lenses, or at least a wise distribution OF
them, would not be incompatible with ex-
tenslve internal improvements; but after
the need and value of these latter are
learned 1t is safe prediction that they
will be given preference over the idea of
strengthening the National defenses. For
these reasons it is all the more the urgent
duty of the West to do all in its power to
| secure that convention.