The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-12
SHOULD F0RTIFY THE CANAL.
We SHOULD ALSO INCREASE THE
SIZE OF OUR NAVY.

Conclusions Reached by Capt. a. II.
Mahnn i'm Discussion of the Mon
roe Doctrine-Germnny and France
the Nations Most to he Feared In
the Matter of ControiIing the Mic
aragua CnnaI-We Must Protect
Our Commerce.
New York, March 11.-In a paper Q,
THE Monroe Doctrine and Our Navy,c
which he has written for the forVhccm.us
issue Of Lesie's Weekly, Capt. a. T. Ma
han says:
THE growth of our Pacahc coast the
increasing commercial Consequence Of the
Paoihc coast, and the quest .ons arising
about China, It's future government and
it's trade, makes il necessary to connect
our Atlantic and GuN seabOard with The
| Taciec by canal across the isthmus es-
| tab!.shing thereby consecutive water COM
munication between the two, as we.l as
| shortening the access from our eastern
| shores, 10 ASIA. The is.hmus and
It's immediate surroundings thus be
comes the greatest of our ex-
ternal interests. Scarcely secondary
|
oil sea roads to the isthmus run through
| it and it contains many strong positions.
the acquisition Of which by a formidable
| European state would in war endanger
our shipping, mercantile and naval, pass
| ing between our Atlantic ports and the
| Pacific by the canal.
we must remember that other nations.
| and especially European-because the most
| active-are interested likewise in using
| that canal. and for the support of their
! interests, in gaining positions. To their
| doing so we oppose the Monroe doctrine.
| Therefore, if we intend TO make good the
affirmations Of the latter we must
| be prepared to resist, forcbly if
need be, any attempt to obtain adjacent
| territory or ports which may serve as
| stations for q navy hostile to ourselves.
II is natural that European nations
should wish such positions; that Ger
| many, for instance, as has been lately
rumored. should wish the Danish Islands,
| st. Thomas, etc. Her right to buy them
| is as good in international law as ours;
the Monroe doctrine depends not upon
! legal right, but upon the moral right OF
| our indispensable interests, and derives
its chief support from the fact that 1t IS
not worth while to incur our enmity,
pushed, perhaps to the extent of war
Now. the one preparation for war, IN
| maritime region like the Caribbean, Is
| a navy large enough to be effective. Ports
are quite secondary. They are necessary
10 q navy. which needs a local base OF
| operation, but they are useless without 1t.
| especially in the Caribbean, because con-
ditions there are so backward as to give
no local resources. Positions held there
not only must be fortified. but everything
| to support shipping must be imported and
a steady stream of supply maintained.
This can only be done by the navy, keep
fr4rr tha s,1,
| secures our other merchant shipping.
ITO do these things, which is called con-
| trolling the sea, the navy should, strictly,
! be superior to any which can be brought
against it; but this extreme conclusion is
| qualified by other circumstances, such as
our nearness TO the Caribbean sea, our
national power through our great re-
sources, the dangers to which our posi-
Bile opponents may be exposed in other
| quarters and from other enemies We
| cannot in the near future expect to have
navy nearly as large as that which
| Great Britain must keep, but ii is easily
| within our means to rival that of France
or Germany, the only states other than
| Great Britain whose interests might lead
| them actively to dispute the maintenance
| of the Monroe doctrine.
| Reflection upon this condition will in
| dictate the size necessary to our own fleet
and also the wisdom of cultivating those
cordial relations to which Great Britain
| has invited us, which or interests and
| our institutions advise and the existence
of which will put it out of the power or
worth of any other state to quarrel with
us about the Monroe doctrine.
| 1T is to the interest of Great Britain
| that we should take naval charge of the
American isthmus, provided she can feel
sure that we will do 1t effectively, or
| that our preparations and our deeds will
answer to the words of Washington and
| Monroe"