The age-herald., 1898-05-14
PORTO RICO
 A RICH PRIZE

ships this islaiid, and especially its capital, the fortified aod strong harbor of San Ju- an de Porto Rico, were the objective points of almost every British expedition against the Spanish West Indies. That was because fleet of sailing warships had to own place where damages could be repaired, where fresh provisions could be obtained and where the sick and wounded men could be treated. Now, in the day of the steam- ship, the possession of a fortified harbor near the scene of any considerable naval action is a necessity. The most desperate personal bravery is useless without It. The need simply has been changed from that of the old day to new and paramount one, that of coal. Without coal a modern fleet is helpless. It lacks not only motive power, but even the power to fight it's big guns. for they are worked with steam or with compressed air or electricity. which demand steam as the prime mover.
 In the whole western world Spain has no coaling bases when she is deprived of Cu- ban and Porto Rican ports. It is all well enough to speak of coaling at sea, but there is no naval commander who does not know that 1t is desperate chance to take in the face of watchful and strong enemy. Coal
  sels, even though they be practically un- armored and lightly armed like our great fleet of hastily equipped auxiliary cruisers.
 The possession of Porto Rico, then, at this time, even though it's direct value to us were not great. is of enormous indirect benefit because it cripples Spain. Without Porto Rico as a port of coal and supply base. the Spanish vessels must steam more Inc, tfrff xuaSt fn reach the next port, that of Havana, and every mile that they steam in this direc- ton means mile further into possible trap from which they never may emerge. They can reach Porto Rico from the open sea where at least they have an even chance to maneuver and a fair chance to run if they must, for their squadron'S speed is good. But let them once be forced to steam further west and they are in a network of islands and channels where a battle means that they must take It as and when 1t is offered by the enemy and where defeat means surrender or destruc- ton.
 Porto Rico is the most eastern of the Greater Antilles. Stretching westward and northward thence like big chain are San Domingo, an independent and neutral is- land; Jamaica, British and neutral pos- session; and Cuba, hornets nest block aded from the sea and inimical on shore ex- cept in a few harbors which may be in the possession of the United States at any time. The strength of this chain may be understood best from the fact that in of the more recent geological periods these islands formed a bridge of solid land be- tween the North and South American con- tinents.
 In peace Porto Rico is of great value to the United States in two ways-one as a rich and productive possession, and the other as keq to the Caribbean sea, a sea which will control the great Nicaragua canal. It is settled as a matter of the high est policy that this great canal must not be left uncontrolled, and that no nation except the United States must be permitted to hold that control. We cannot exercise the authority without a foothold in the West Indies, and the only really good po- sition in the West Indies is the groud known as the Greater Antilles. In that group Great Britain owns fine coaling station and military, naval and commer- cial base in the Island of Jamaica. San Domingo is controlled by the two independ- ent republics of San Domingo and Hayti.
 The possession of Porto Rico will com- plete chain of defense which will bring the control of the waterway directly under the two great Anglo-Saxon nations of the world. That those two nations will have more interests in common from year to year is clear, for the other European pow CTS are following policies which bid fair to make 1t question soon Of Great Brit ain and America against the world, in- dustrially, at least. With Hawaii on the Pacific side, and Porto Rico on the Att lantic entrance. the greater part of the commerce of the Orient Is in our hands, and we will exercise the same enormous in- fuence on the world that Great Britain does now through her control of the Suez Canal.
 Apart from the importance of the island in this respect, Porto Rico should be a profitable addition to the territory of this country, for it is not only wealthy, but its climate is much more healthy and support- able than that of other West Indian islands. It's shores are mountainous, and there IS comparatively little fever in It's cities. Har- bors are not abundant, but they are good, and its principal city, San Juan de Porto Rico, could be made a great trading port if it were in the hands of a thriving com monwealth instead of in the grasp Of bankrupt and selfish nation that cares only for the last bitter cent which it can grind out of the country.
 The island is beautiful one, and makes a delightful place to visit It is as large as two Rhode Islands, having an area of 3,550 square miles. It is about 100 miles long and 36 miles wide. Its population numbers about S00y000, of which there are about 230O0 in the pretty capital of San Juan de Porto Rico.
 Dotting the rich mountain sides that face the lazy seas are many sugar. coffee and tobacco plantations. There is gold on the island, as there Is in most of the West Indies, and this particular one was the scene of much fighting in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries on account of the stories of its wonderful wealth.
 Columbus discovered Porto Rico in 149s, and Ponce de Leon, in his search for gold and the fountain of youth, conquered it in the early part of the sixteenth century. The Spaniards went through the quiet and peaceful place like furies for many years, and did not desist even when the original inhabitants had been exterminated. Slaves were brought from other islands, and they in turn, were killed.