The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1897-11-04


our nearest rival.
Japan has FIVE battle-ships and
one under contract, four armored
cruisers, fifteen protected cruisers,
fourteen gunboats and lightly pro
tected cruisers, six torpedo gun
boats, and forty eight torpedo-boats
aud destroyers, Her total naval dis
placement is 130,057 tons. Ours is
216,765 tons in both oceans. Our
ordinary Pacific fleet consists OF one
battle-ship, two monitors, four
cruisers and gunboats. We have on
the coast OF Asia six cruisers in addi-
ton. We shall need, in order 10 be
a match for Japan, four or five more
battle. ships and about seventy FIVE
other craft Of varying sizes. The
whole would cost between $4,000,
900 and $lO0,000O00 with an annual
charge of $lOO0O,OO0 for mainten-
ance and wear and tear. II we
should get intn war, with all this
costly apparatus, the expense would,
of course, be much increased. We
should need defences on land as
we'll as on water. Honolulu and
Pearl Harbor would require sys-
tenn of ratification all the more
complete by reason OF their distance
from the military support of the
United States. The amount to be
spent upon such works would prob.
ably be determined for us by the
contractors.
The main question suggested by
Mr., Herbert's article relates to the
effect of all this upon the national
character. We go abroad to get
something that we do not need,
something that we never had before
"a distant colony or dependency.
The possession of it requires us to
arm. 1t turns our thoughts away
from their ordinary peaceful chan
mel more OF less. We spend our
money for implements OF destruc-
ton. Other nations, seeing our
armament increasing, add to their
own, aud then we add to ours. We
follow the bad example Of the old
world, where it is said that every
peasant goes to his work carrying a
soldier on his back. That example
which has so long served ae warm
ing to US becomes an objsct Of imi.
tation-distant imitation, perhaps,
but who can set bounds tn war
spiri, once enkindled?
Mr.. Herbert tells us that demo-
cracies are very touchy. He tells us
that France declared war against
Prussia because the government
could not resist the Paris mob, and
that Greece rushed against Turkey
for a similar reason. He says, too,
speaking of Americans, North and
South, "that an opportunity to
make common cause against a pub
lie enemy would meet a widespread
welcome" and he means this re
CARELESS Of the reasons for fighting.
He means that fight about some
thing or about nothing would meet
with a widespread welcome. 1t
would also meet with widespread
disapproval unless it were fight in
| self-defence, but the favor with
which a war would be welcomed
would depend much upon our pre-
vious preparation for it. When we
get ready to defend Hawaii against
an Asiatic world in arms, we shall
be all the more ready to hurl de-
fance at the rest OF the world in
arms, and, according to the Herbert
hypothesis, all the more likely to-
What wa want OF Hawaii more
than we now have, nobody has ever
pretended to tell. Ii we want a
coaling station and fort, we have
that now, or at al events the right
to make them. The existing treaty
with the islands gave US this priv.