The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-05-11
THE MAINTENANCE OF THE MON
ROE DOCTRINE.

The suspected encroachment of Ger
forcible manner to the ability and inten-
ton Of the United States to maintain the
Monroe doctrine. The question Of ability
is one which should receive the prompt
and careful attention Of the government.
1t involves the maintenance of navy
every vessel OF which should be in thor
oughly seaworthy condition and well
manned cssd well armed with modern
rapid.fire guns, and. having such navy,
the most important consideration, in view
of the limited coal capacity of war YES
sells, is the establishment and main
tenance Of fortified coaling places at suit
able points along the shores Of South
America, both in the South Atlantic and
the South Pacific.
Without such coaling stations, which
could be manned by marines trained to
manipulate heavy artillery, a navy would
be comparatively powerless, its effective
ness being limited to the circumscnbed
area of its cruising capacity without re
coaling; and If that area could not ef-
fectively include the whole of the east
and west shore lines of the South Amer
lean states, they could not be protected,
and the Monroe doctrine could not be
upheld against a strong power determined
to Ignore 1t. The land forces Of the
United States are practically invulner-
able for purposes of the defense of the
United States. Any hostile attack by a
foreign army would result in the inevita-
BILE defeat of the invaders. But 1t would
not be practicable, even if it were expe-
dent, to use United States troops on land
for the defense of one or other of the
South American republics
The maintenance of the Monroe doc
trlne will naturally and for grave politi-
cal reasons fall upon the navy, and If
the free movement of the navy is pre-
vented by the neglect to provide ade-
Quate coaling and docking facilities, the
warships Will not be in a position to per
form the work.
1t is all very well to talk about estab-
fishing coaling stations off the coast of
China, at Guam, or on the Alaskan coast,
but no one will steal Alaska, and the
possession of the Philippine archipelago
and the mid-Paciic islands by the United
States Is one Of the greatest dangers TO
the enforcement of the Monroe doctrine.
No foreign power, however strong or ag-
gressive, endangers the Monroe doctrine
one-half as much as does the policy which
has resulted in the requirement of the
Philippines and their conquest. IL the
United States is to continue to preserve
the American continent from the en-
croachments of European monarchical
powers it must be prepared to effectu-
ally meet force with force, and the sur
est way to deter infringements of the
Monroe doctrine, laid down by President
Monroe, is not to waste the power Of our
navy by imposing on 1t the protection of
islands 700 miles across the Pacific, but
to concentrate its force in the threat
ened quarter, which is the coasts of South
America
If 1t is not the intention of the present
government to maintain the Monroe doc
trine, there is only one thing left for the
people to do, and that is to get a new
government No doubt the task of de-
Tending the integrity of the South Amer
lean republics and of holding the Philip
pines at one and the same time is not
too great task, in competent hands. for
the United States to undertake, but if the
task remains in the hands of Mckinley
and his advisers. past experience and
the evidence of the present situation in
dictate that :hey had better, in the inter
ests Of the Monroe doctrine and the peace
and dignity of the United States. devote
their exclusive attention to the main
tenance of the integrity of the South
American republics.