The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-01-04
NAVAL TRUCE OF GOD"
Shall the Ocean Be Made n Free Com
mon for All Nationsr

| Shall the Ocean Be mauc u EH"o So.-.
mon for All Nationsr
The test of war, so long as II remains
inconclusive, must mean experiments
of destruction terrible to conceive of'
and ever leading on to vaster possipiii-
ties of ruin and expense. The hnalty
in view means condition under which
naval warfare stops, because either the
chance of victory or the possibility OF
resistance has been eliminated from the
problem. The purpose of this paper is
to submit that this end is presently at
tainable by the combined action OF the
chief maritime powers making the
ocean the free common for all nations
and declaring against it's use for bellig-
erent purposes. Land fighting VIII g"
on while the warlike passion remains
| in the heart of man, but ii seems feasi-
BILE that n perpetual truce of Cod
| should set apart the ocean. n great per
yading system of international law now
rules ocean traffic. Under mutual
treaties drawn up by maritime con-
eress each power might agree to main
tain it's quota of n general navy for the
needs of maritime police service. ms
would cover the chief utility of navy
in time of peace, the charting OF coasts.
the planting of lighthouse and danger
signals, the scientific study and eNper'
iment which navigation profits by, the
work of rescue, the prevention and pun
ishment of crime on the high seas and
the destruction of derelicts. Such
united navy would enforce all DEGREES
of admiralty courts and would compel
the resort to arbitration in all the NeNed
and reXing questions between sea
bounded people. If the chief naval
powers once entered into this plan all
the lesser ones would be constrained to
ioin the league. The obstacles which
stand in the way of n universal land fed
Grafton do not exist for nautical corr
federacy; for the sea is kingdom, an
empire or republic (as one may choose
to style it, of and by itself. 1t has to
greater degree n community OF
thought and feeling, an unwritten law
of usage and a nautical homogeneity
rising above the bonds of race and
speech. The forecastle of almost every
ocean-going ship is cosmopolitan.
Then, again, owing to the larger use
of steam. navigation tends more and
more to settled routes. The fisheries
are confined to narrower limits. The
coasting trade of nations, between their
own terminal points, follows. of course,
the one familiar track. The old mercan-
tile adventuring, in which ships were to
l.. 4.
a thing of the past, and much of the sea
is as solitary as a painless forest. Hence
the duty of an international navy could
be concentrated with great advantage
at certain stations and along ocean
lanes. One can readily grasp the value
of sea patrol along the three-mile-
wide track of transatlantic commerce.
With ships of the highest excellence,
stored with provisions and supplies of
every sort, carrying salvage crews and
cruising with almost the precision of
life-savers of the coast guard as they
walk their beat on shore, the chances of
every shipwrecked or distressed vessel
would be vastly bettered. The derelict.
now one of the leading perils of the sea,
would disappear from the list of marine
dangers, and the dread of icebergs and
field ice would be greatly lessened if
cruisers were constantly watching for
and reporting the drifting danger. One
frequent maritime incident is for yes
sci in distress to be spoken by another
under conditions which even the I'M
selfish and almost boundless generosity
of the seafaring class cannot overcome.
A masters first duty is to his ships
company, the crew and passengers un.
der his care. The sea Samaritan, with
his men on short allowances and Grip
pied craft, may, however, unwillingly
have to pass by on the other side. How
greatly would he be relieved were his
the moral certainty of being able, with
In "a hours, to report the case to a
naval commissioner whose special Office
would be to hasten to the rescue.
One source of jealousy between naval
nations is the establishment by rival
powers of coaling stations. If these
have to be strongly fortified their ex-
pense is great, and each power is anx-
ious to maintain as many as possible.
This would at once be changed under
the new plan. The common interest
would then be to select with a single
eye to convenience the best spots and
to place there the largest facilities re.
quired by steam avigation.-Atlantic
Monthly.