The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-12
relations now existing than does England by initiating the increase of armament
 naFansa of tba Canai

relations now existing than does England by initiating the increase of armament.
 Defense of the Canal.
 Had the war with Spain not been fought or had it not resulted in a happy termin- ation for the United States, and yet had we determined upon the construction of an isthmian canal, our position in the West Indies would have placed upon us a heavy handicap in attempting It's de- fense.
 However secure we may feel in the per- manancy of the present entente with England. the possible dangers of the sit uation are apparent to outsiders M. De Varigny, writing In L'Illustration, says: That the Washington statesmen take account of the fact that the cutting of the isthmus is difficult, costly and, in case of rupture with England. dangerous, we cannot doubt. But such is the fasci- nation of great enterprises, of grand words and grand theories. that Senators and Representatives hesitate to oppose the current of opinion that IS bearing along the masses.
 'rhe work has begun, and we can only hone that 1t will succeed. There cannot be too many gates of communication be- tween different peoples. United States undertake to open this. Can they do 1t, and, doing it. will they give up the advantage they will thereby acquire! The future will show"
 If we don't immediately increase our ship building program, we will be guilty of criminal negligence toward the great advantage we will gain by the construc- ton of the canal
 We have within our grasp the oppor- tunity for dominating the worlds com merce Shall we close our hand and se- cure the prize, or shall we shut our eyes and open our palm, relying upon. 2the maxnanimity of England not to come and pluck it from us? Should we not compel our legislators to, If need be. slice few millions from the public building and padded river and harbor bills and apply the amount saved to carrying out the recommendations of our naval board?
 Previous to the acquisition of our isl and colonies the argument was made against the maintenance of a large navy that our isolated position made us safe from attack by any fleet which our con- centrated force could not overcome.
 Santa Lucia with the powerful new masked batteries of S-inch and 92-inch guns Is today the most strongly fortified point in the West Indies. But with the certainty of the early construction of the isthmian canal came q sudden new ap- Dr6GtalOH enjoyed by Jamaica by virtue of it's posi- ton.
 With the sole exception of Cuba no other point in the Caribbean is compara- ble with it. A glance at the map will make this evident.
 Besides its proximity to the Windward passage, which it commands, 1t is the center of a circle of about 300 miles radius which passes through the Mora passage and Yucatan channel and touches the mainland at Venezuela and Yucatan.
 A Fortunate Occurrence.
 We "builded better than we knew" when we wrested Cuba and Porto Rico from Spain. Although Spain was decay ing nation and. therefore, not to be great ly feared. her ownership of these islands with splendid naval bases at Havana, Cienfuegos. Santiago. Cuba and at San Juan, Porto Rico. was a constant menace to our commerce between our Atlantic and gulf ports our Atlantic ports and the