The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-10-08
OWNERS OF THE WORLD
In Point of Territory the United
States Ranks Only Fifth at Pres
ent-How the Earth Is Parceled


ent-How the Earth Is Parceled
OFF.
From the Times-Herald.
In extent of territorial possessions
Uncle Sam ranks fifth among the great
landlords of the world. Britain, Russia.
China and France each own a larger
portion of the globe than that belong
ing to the United States. "Territori-
al expansion" will have to accomplish
considerable before we can better our
position, Judged by area alone, among
the possessors of the earth.
The whole world is in the hands of
some sixty owners. For while there
are several times sixty different coun-
tries yet most of them are only depend
ent states: not owners, but mere ten
ants, so to speak, of the face of the
earth. Sixty national landlords are
not many for a world having $4,000, 900
square miles of land surface, yet the
tendency of the times is to make the
number smaller rather than larger.
Since 1915 there has been a gathering
in of large areas under few govern
ments. Small sovereignties have COM
bined or have been swallowed up by
SredteT ones. Uncle sam swallowed
one the other day. During the last ten
years especially the greater nations
have shown an almost Unsuitable greed
for territory. At last they have turned
to rend one of their own number China.
that for thousands of years has owned
so large a portion of the globe, is about
to be dismembered and absorbed and
its name dropped from the list of the
worlds owners.
To partly take the place of the ma
tions that are losing their hold upon
earth some new sovereign land
holders may appear. Independent Cuba
is already announced to fill the gap in
the list left by Hawaii. But the times
are against these newcomers. Cuba
herself, not yet quite born as a re-
public, is already half christened as a
colony of the United States.
Striking boundary lines as we'll as
possible We find that the greatest land
| holding nations, those having tern >ry
| exceeding one million square miles, o
as follows:
| So miles
British Empire .,....................l137 137l ,59l
| Russian Empire Observation-Disclosures. S66O,19i
| Chinese Empire NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 4,2lg, i01
| French Republic .................... 1921 ,il9
United States OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 36O9, go
Brazil Observation-Disclosures. 32O9,S1S
| Argentine Republic ................, l,77S. 1886
| turkish Empire OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. l,5IS, 100
German Empire .................,... l22S, 800
These nine nations own over three
| fourths of the world.
The figures given for the United
| States include Hawaii, but not the
| yet indeterminate territory we are to
| acquire from Spain. Hawaii did not
bring with her very large portion of
the earth. Yet $40 square miles make
/ goOd-sized stepping g-stone for Uncle
Sam on his way to the Orient. AS to
Spanish territory, If we take the mini
mum proposed. Porto Rico and the vi
cinity of Manila, the acquisition will be
only about 1000 square miles. If Por-
to Rico and all the Philippines be re-
tained the United States will be larger
by about 11S,000 square miles. In
other words. our recent territorial
gains through peaceful annexation and
by conquest have total area some
where between that of Massachusetts
and that of New Mexico. If we anti
cipate little and add Cuba the total
area gained becomes about that OF
California.
All this expansion does not change
our position in the list of great land,
holding powers. We yet stand little
| below France.
If we make a next smaller group of
countries, placing in it those having
areas from half a million to a million
square miles, we again have nine ma
tions, as follows
So. miles
Congo Independent State ..,.,...... 800, ,OOC
Portugal ,SSI, ,U9s
Netherlands .'',...','.,.,,,....,..,.., ,i90, ca
| Mexico ''''...'''''''''''''''.' 6LoO
feTSld ''O-o,OO.
Nenezueid '.'.'''''''''''''''.'. ,0JS,9il
BOLIVIA. ,06 ,36.
spain .,,,,.'.,'''''',,....,..,. ~
Colombia ........,.,.....,.,....... .0lj, 93S
These two groups of nations own
seven-eighths of the globe.
Spain's position on the list is a pre-
carious one Before the war she stood
better, just below Persia. The figures
given show her size after the loss of
Cuba. They will shrink some further
in the hands of the peace commission
ers. II the Philippines become Amer-
can territory Spain will drop out of the
group altogether. The nation that
once owned more OF the world than al
most any other will have shrunk Ia
less than twice the area of Texas.
Another nation i'm this group In
which Americans are interested is