The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1898-10-28
NAVAL CONTROL OF PACIFIC.

United States civil-service commits
sion, has made one of the strong ar
gnments for expansion. In Harper's
Weekly for October 22d, he shows
why, if we have a coaling and repair
station anywhere in the Philippines.
it will be expedIent and advantage
Gus to take all the islands. If we
retain all the Philippine group our
only neighbors will be Japan and
Formosa, Great Britain in North
Borneo and the Straits Settlements.
and the Netherlands in the Dutch
islands. England and the Neither
lands control the natives of Borneo
with small military force and both
are friendly to American control in
the Philippines. There will be no
danger of friction so far as neighbor-
ing governments are concerned.
If we retain only part of the isl
ands, Mr.. Proctor says,the remainder
will Inevitably fall into the hands of
the European powers, and such dis
turbGnces will result as will necessi-
tate larger military force to hold
one island than, under our sole con-
troll, it would require to hold all.
If we retain only a coaling station
we shall be forced to carry coal in
time of war from San Francisco to
this station. If we retain all the isl
ands we shall have at our service the
coal deposits of the islands of Cebu,
Negros and Masbate.
Mr.. Proctor contends that it would
be supreme folly to retain Manila
and the island of Luzon and surren-
der the coal islands to other powers.
This would be putting the United
States at the mercy of other colonlz-
ing powers. Should we retain all
the islands the United States and
Great Britain would control the coal
supply tributary to the Indian and
Pacific oceans, and could confne
hostile naval movements of European
powers to European waters.
Mr.. Procter's conclusion is that
there would be infinitely less danger
of foreign complications if we should
I etaln all the islands than if we re-
tain only one or two OF them. He,
therefore is convinced that the Unit
ed States should never surrender the |
right to control the entire group. 1t
would be as easy to govern and de-
Velop the group as it was for England |
to govern and develop Australia and
New Zealand. We have IN abund-
ance men of large administrative
ability, equal to making the Philip
pines not only self-supportiDg, but
in time wealthy and progressive.
Mr.. Proctor believes further that the
increased responsibility of good gov
ernment in Cuba and the Philippines
will have most beneficial effect on
home government, and provincial
politics will give place to broader
craftsmanship.
Mr.. Proctor does not discuss the
question of duty to the Filipinos,
but confines himself to the advan-
ages that annexation promises to
he United States.
With the Philippines in our per
nanent possession we should be
odged at the very center of activity
a the Pacific area. with its popula-
Ion of S78,OOO,oOo population and
is sea-bOrn commerce amounting to
'5,O0O,O00,00O annually. With the
Nicaragua canal completed and in
'ur control, with Porto Rico, Cuba,
dawail, and the Philippines in our
we should be in position
0 secure more of the Pacific trade
han any other nation.
And so it comes to pass that a