The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-08-05
A NEW POWER OF THE FIRST RANK.
A British Opinion of What Might Happen
in Bigger Fight.

(From the London Saturday Review)
America has already annexed Hawaii.
She will certainly take Cuba and Porto
Rlco as we'll, and If the Spaniards do not
make it up with her quickly, the Philip
pines and the Canaries to boot. Those
who think America will be restrained
by German bluff or by Franco Russian
menace do not understand her or her
people. The seaplen on the German
ships, 1t appears, are fraternizing with
the Spaniards in Manila. And it may
we'll be that William the Witless takes it
for granted that he can curb Americas
onward progress when he pleases or at
least share in the booty her arms may
win.
But the war lord is mistaken in this
assumption. The Americans are not
neople that can be bullied, and the slight
est attempt on his part to bully them
would result in war which would
quickly enlighten him to the limits of
German power.
In spite of the German superiority in
battlehips. it is our settled belief that the
navy of America, even as 1t is at present,
lis strong enough to beat the navy of the
kaiser, For the Germans are neither
sailors nor gnners, while the Americans
have proved themselves to be both. Ne
believe that the Americans would win
from the beginning, but even II superior
ity in material did give the Germans q
victory or two in the beginning, the end,
in any case would be certain.
America can build ships faster and bet
ter than Germany, and in such war she
would put forth her utmost strength.
Besides, America has very large mercan-
tile marine, and thousands OF hardy, able
seamen, that most people know nothing
about Tt would surprise good many
Europeans to learn that the shipping that
passes through a. canal connecting two
Of the greater North American lakes is
considerably larger than all the shipping
that passes through the Suez canal
America, we say, has tens of thousands
of frst-rate seamen, whereas there are
hundreds of men serving at present on
the sea till a year or two ago. And the
sailors trade is the most difficult trade in
the world to master.
II For these and other reasons we believe
that America will not be stopped IN her
imperial progress by German bluff nor
daunted by Franoo-Russian menace. We
should not even now be afraid of the is
navy and that Of France, for the Ameri-
can superiority as gunners would give
them an enormous advantage, but in
such conflict we should probably take
hand and probability would change to
certainty if Russia dared to support her
ally. The truth is that a new power of
the very first rank has pushed itself
among the nations, and our hopes that
there was at least one people who pre-
ferred peace to power and So urity to self
ACKNOWLEDGMENT have been disappointed.
Now, how will the advent of this new
power affect the European equilibrium?
Even il we do not "take at the foot of the
letter" that newborn affection which the
Americans now profess for us it seems
to be plain enough that the circumstances
which have brought about the reconcilia-
ton between the two kindred peoples will
go on making for closer and ever ncloser
union between Great Britain and the
United States. After all, we have the
same blood, the same religion, the same
institutions, the same democratic govern
ment, the same language and the same
tastes. We both love trade and commerce.
and a working mixture OF freedom and
equality before the law to which. no other
people has attained. From the selfish
the Americans will take both the
Canaries and the Philippines, and If they
wished (which is unlikely for port on
the coast of China BESIDES they should
have our help in getting it.
The s'weary Titanic that Matthew
Arnold spoke of, with every muscle
strained by the weight .of empire, chal-
lenged on this side and on that by new
competitors, menaced now and then by a
combination Of envious enemies, suddenly
finds standing by his side a stalwart son,
who though he has his own place in the
world, and his own ambitions, yet seems
inclined to say that the old Titan shall
always have at least a fair field, and per-
haps, If the worst comes to the worst,
some little favor. And that Is the way
we Britons feel about America.
This fact that the two nations which
stood against each other at the beginnin g
of the 18th century now stand together
as friends, if not allies, will probably
turn out to be the most important fact in
the history of the Goth century.