New-York tribune., 1898-10-17
PACIFIC.

The Pacific possessions Of the United States vere
characterized by the late Secretary Blaine As i'm,
psrial in extent and OF extraordinary growth" He
estimated that the American territory denendlr,
for commercial outlet on that ocean comprises a1
area of eight hundred thousand square miles-onIy
three, however. OF the eleven States included IA
this territory actually having seaboard. These
eleven States contain per cent OF the population
ana 10 per cent OF the wealth OF the Union accord
ing to the calculations Of VI. @. Muhall. and the
three coast States possess about ca per of the
wealth Of the group. Yet. while the centre OF so
much wealth and the natural ocean outlet for IT,
San Francisco the seventh city of the Union. has
as yet barely per cent of the sea borne foreign
trade. Speaking broadly. the Pacific States have
at present about per cent Of the whole foreign
trade of the Union. What a margin. then. remains
for expansion in these splenddly endowed States
fronting that enormous ocean within whose basin
may be counted the major portion Of the popua-
ably not as many hundreds as there mill
Ions of white residents IN these States: Australia
was still terra ncOgnita Austras. and the wide
range OF Oceania was but geographical express
sion.
nor the son OF a prophe, yer some tnlrty years
ago he made a prediction In the United States Sem
ate that the Pacific Ocean its shores its Islands
ard the regions beyond VIII become the chief
theatre of events in the worlds great hereafter" ="
We are now seeing the fufment OF that prophecy
4 dozen years ago there was race for island
gra bbing in the South Seas that might easily have
resulted in a great European war, and which left
the Union Jack as the predOminatlng flag on the
broad bosom Of the Pacific. The game did not at
the time seem worth the candle. but who can say
what part these insular groups may yet play in
the deyelopment of the Pacific? They are. at any
rate stepping stones between the two vast border
lands Britain has tapped the North Pacific by
railway TO Vancouver. just as Russia Is tapping Il
by railway to Nladvosok. The Anglo Saxon races
are fllng up British Columbia and the Pacific
states Of the Union just az the Amur and Man
h,,ria will soon be iled with emigrants from Rus
,i, Thus IS Europe streaming into Asia, while
Ianar stands as n young giant between the old
o"d the new and China looks on in placid igno-
rance that the front OF the Word ~ oeing changed
and she more than all
WeI may the thoughtful American ask what will
hannen n the redundant population OF Asia re-
yerses its old westward flow into Europe and turns
oos,uard 10 submerge the American shores OF the
9an,gc What will happen is such a racial struggle
,or oxIst.nce the world has never yet seen. Let
us not deceive ourselves. The development OF the
d. ciac ia no mere question OF commercial geog-
ranhv hut means the creation OF Il new series OF
tionaiIties OF to-day will lose their Identity What
viii he ,he American Of the twenty century?
And where will he the American negro?
II seems Inevitable that the chief industrial out
at of the United States should be To the west. In
,he markets Of Europe the manufacturers or Amer
tra have 10 compete with the experienced and re-
snurceful producers OF the old World on their own
o,ronnd whereas In the Pacific area both nave TO
conne,e on neutral ground. 10 which America has
IN. advantage OF contigutty. with the enormous
ond enormously increasing productivity or the
American Union. export valve viii become more
ar1 moro absolute necessity or Industrial eNis-
,snce II will naturally be found toward what We
call the Far East. I'm Australasia and Throughout
nnxt deyelopment of American competition Will be
in the ocean carrying trade. As very sgnlneant
T,ct ve may recall that In the decade lNSi ~
while the shipping on the American r'SlS''
ON the Atlantic coasts decreased about one
hundred and thirty thousand tons. the reg.
later on the Pacific coast increased by ab0u,
one hundred and twenty-five thousand tons me
tonnage at present entered In and out al the srea