The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-09-05
MANY CoALING STATIONS.
The United States Now Ranks Second
IN These Possessions.

ia These Possessions.
The expansion movement has permeated |
the Navy perhaps, in a more costly, per- !
manent way than any other CT the Gov
eminent departments. This is the coaling-
staten feature whose establishment means |
heavy expenditures in the future in three
main direetions-the cost OF requirement |
OF maintaining q coal supply and OF erect |
ing Notifications, and manning them ade>
quatcIy Here is an item III the cost o.
becoming a woTld-poNer, which is over
looked by the average layman.
While the new Navy had its birth in the
Administration of President Arthur. it was
! fostered and developed under Mr. Cieye>
lands first Administration. Since the first
! steps were made there has been expansion
| IN all directions, so that when the Span
! ish war closed the United States Navy
! stood fourth or fifth among those OF the
great powers.
As the United States had kept pretty
well within its own sphere. little attent!ca
was Tatd TO its coaIing facilities, both at
| home and abroad There were no stations
/ that could be properly termed coaling sta
! tious On the seab0drG save those q navy
! yards, and not one beyond the boundaries
! of the country except coal pile in Alaska,
one at Honolulu, and concession for sta
! ton way down in the Samoan ISLANDS,
| Great Britain was far in the lead of all
nations in the number and strength of her
! outlying coalinS possessions, Germany was
| second, france third, italy fourth, and
! Russia fifth. The rest of the powers, in
! Guiding the United States, were nowhere,
! But expansion has changed these condi-
! tions in less than TWO years, and now this
| Government ranks second among the pow
| eTs in extent of its number Of outlying
! lPfPnAaH ara
/ admitted to be as much of a danger as eu
| advantage to the country owning them.
| The coal there would be the property Of an
! enemy if its ships could anchor off the
! sheds Hence ii has been recognized that
! a coalIng station should also be a fortress
| which involves the expenditure of big sums
! of money TO maintain these defences sim
! ply TO provide coal in time of war. Coal
/ can be bought all over the world in time
/ CT peace-sometimes at exorbtant rates,
/ such as the Navy very often has to pay
/ in the Straits of Magellan and on the South
American coast. Golfers alone supplied
! the Navy. Coal is a munition of war just
/ as shot and powder, and one of the impor-
! tant questions for all naval powers in war
! time is coal supply When Admiral Wat
! son was ordered to command the special
! squadron designed TO operate against the
| Spanish coast GOLFERS were also provided;
SO were water bosts and repair ship. But
/ the squadron was not required, and so the
| Navy was not put TO the experiment Of car
! Tying its coal to such distant waters the
( result of the and the Administration
prediction for land everywhere have
! changed things materially, and what tn
| result viii be is ascertainable by future
| generate only. Down III the West In
dies the Navy for years recognized the i'm
portance Of a cOalng station and previous
&c the war had attempted 10 purchase three
| Danish islands 4 station has been secuT-
| ed IL Porto Rico. the finest in the West
| Indies and a concession will be obtained
from CrDa in due course Havana is now
the chief laval port and no doubt Will be
| the chief coaliIg station.
From Maine 10 Galveston coaling
stations are being constructed Re
| Gently land was purchased on French
| mans Bay, near Bar Harbor, with d
magnificent harbor near by and deep
| water for anchorage. where a large
| eoaling station IS to be erected. It will
| also be we'll defended. This will be the
Nays northernmost coal pile. AT Ports
mouth and Boston are other fine naval
| stations now being developed and al New
| London a station with capacity OF 10. 600
tons and all the machinery for promptly
loading vessels has been completed New
| York, League Island, and Norfolk are now
also well equipped Key West has become
fine coaling station, and at Dry Tortugas
the Navy IS completing great sheds and
piers with a capacity for ., 900 tons This
| will Re the Nays greatest coa,Ing station.
| AT Algiers La. there viii be another ex-
| tensiVe coal pile
| Previous TO the Spanish war and the
| United States hunger for territory there
! vas a little coal pile at Alaska and a
| concession from the Mexican Government
| for a station on the west coast Now
there is an immense coal pile at Homo
! luiE and plans are being perfected for
large station at Pearl HaTbor, near by
! Piers and sheds are being constructed at
| Pagc-Pago, where thousands of tons of
coal are to be stored. This viii be the
| Nays midway station between the ORR
ent ard the west entrance to the Mica
ragua Canal when that great waterway IS
built.
Still farther out in the Pacific the Navy
Will soon have a coaling station al Guam,
where he Governor General is now draw
ing plans and having surveys made Of the
harbor, and still farther west is the naval
station Of Cavite. with a capacity OF p. COO
tons. II the Government persists in hold
ing the Philippines C2yite is to be TO the
American Navy in that part OF the world
what Hongkong is to the British service.
1t IS to have not only the coaling plant,
but large dry-dock and navy yard
These are the Nays cosIing possessions
in the Pacific and do not include the right
for another station in Alaska. and are ex-
elusive Of the fine stations also at Puget
Sound and Mare Island
Negotiations are being quietly conducted
for an island well cut in the Pacific off
Peru, I'D possibly a coaling station will
shortly be established there. Had the Uni
ted States carried its war across the At
lantic, this Government pursuing its ter
ritory-taling policy. probably would have
seized the Baiearic Islands, in the Medit-
erTanean, and it would then have had
coal pile at the doors of all Europe Over
in little Liberia the Navy has a concession
and IL it becomes necessary it may place a
coal station there also. It cost many hun
dreds CT thousands CT dollars to establish
the stations and thousands to maintain
| them Their establishment in many in
| stances means the use of Notifications. and
Notifications require a military force; s.
that IN its present expansion system the
Navy is making way for more work for the
Army and an increase of the annual ex-
| penses of the Government.
Russian Love for the Gar
| From the Eiinneanolis Tribune