The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-10
This Country Is
Moi InVinCibIe
From the Globe Democrat.
GRIIE OIL ID nntinn 1hn1 the sci

From the Globe Democrat.
1TlE OLD notion that the separation
of the United States from Europe
by several Thousand miles OF ocean
would render this country safe
from all possibility of serious at
tack is effectually destroyed by SPANS
achievements in the transportation of
troops and munitions of war in the Gu
ban conflict. An official statement re-
Gently published at Madrid shows that
between November, 1925, and May, 1897,
Spain sent Isl ,73S enlisted men to Cuba,
with 6,26l officers, including forty gen
erals; 212 542 guns. 800, 406 kilogrammes of
powder, 92,0SS67O cartridges, 1912 swords
81 cannon, l. mitraileuses and $500
shells. During five or six months of that
time. too, according to- the same state
ment, Spain sent across a still broader
cXpanse OF ocean 10 the Philippine
Islands $500 soldiers and SSl officers. with
all needed equipments of war.
o
Here is an exploit i'm carrying large
armies long distances by water which
was never even remotely approached by
any other nation. and which, sixty or
seventy years ago, would have been
deemed to be beyond the resources of
any two or three first-class nations OF
Europe in the same length of time. Dur
ing the seven years war of American in
dependence England sent less than 5O-
900 troops to the United States. and in
the two and three-quarter years of the
I war of 1912 a smaller number of troops
were shipped by England to Canada and
/ the United States. The number of SOL
/ diers transported to Russia during the
/ Crimean war by England, France and
/ Sardinia, although the average distance
/ traversed was only about third as
! great as that Travelled by the Spanish
| troops, and the physical obstacles en-
| Countered were much smaller was far
| less than Spain has sent to her two coll
onies during the instructions. And vet,
| compared with the great nations of Eu-
! rope, Spain is feeble and bankrupt
country which has been thought too
| insignificant to be invited to join any
! alliance, bund or other combination into
which the important European states are
| leagued.
There is a lesson here which the Unit
| ed States, in view of possible complicd-
tions in the future with one or more OF
the great nations of Europe, should heed.
| OF course, with our superiority to Spain
on the ocean, we could, in the event of
war; prevent that country from trans
porting a large army to any point on our
coast, or even to Cuba, If she were able
to hold the island. We could, indeed, in
the event of war with France, which
has the second largest navy in the
world, prevent that country from trans
porting sufficient troops here to seriously
menace us If she were to get n foot
hold on our coast, while Germany, Rus
sia, Austria or Italy, singe-handed.
could not dangerously harm us. With
England. however, the situation is diff
ferent. England is not only many times
as strong on the ocean as the United
States is, but it has a base of operations,
Canada, on our border; her standing
while the part of that army which is
stationed in the United Kingdom Is four
times as large as ours. 70 be sure, our
llS0OO militia would be available in case
of invasion, as an addition to our Is, ,UOu
regulars, and we could. in the course OF
a few months, arm, equip and drill SOC,
900 or 600, 900 more men. 1t is well for the
United States to understand, however
that the conditions under which wars
are waged have changed in recent years
Englands 'silver streak" is an impas-
sable barrier to invaders so long as her
navy, as now, is superior to that of any
three other nations in the world. The
United States broader barrier would be
an inadequate protection in time of wal
with any league of which England was
a partner.
Our easy confidence of half or a third
of a century ago of being able to "whiI
all creation" needs, for it's justification
today, to be supplemented by a large
and an immediate increase in our navy
and a considerable increase in the regu
lar army.