The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-30
MISTRESS OF The SEAS.

greatest naval power in the world at
an early day. He is an authority quail
| flied to speak on that subject, and his
| prophecy is certainly destined to full
fillment.
The reasons that he suggests, based
/ upon material considerations, are am
/ pie and unanswerable. They lie in the
abundance of our resources. AS he
puts it, The United States is already
potentially incomparably the greatest
naval power in the world" This is
equivalent to the old refrain of the
British lingo, we've got the shops,
we've got the men and we've got the
money, too And it is no idle boast. /
The United States could, if it saw
| fit, place upon the ocean in very few
years the mightiest navy that the
world has even seem We have all the
raw material that enters into the con-
! struction of the man@of war. We have
shops in which that material can be
| turned. into the finished product with
skill that no other nation rivals. We
can make all the machinery, all the
| guns and furnish all the supplies. And
In addition to the splendid plants of
the navy yards maintained by the gen
| eral government, we have about a
dozen private shipbuilding concerns
competent at any time to take the con-
tract for building cruiser or war,
ship on short notice.
Behind this lies the productive ca
| pacfty of our people. They have grown
so used to taxation that, from all ap-
pearances, they rather like it. At this
| moment they are piling UP surplus,
in addition to expenditures that touch
an enormous figure. sufficient to fur
nish navy in itself. All that they
have to do is to say the word and
gigantic navy will appear. No other
country is financially Situated SO as to
compete with us for a moment. Elk
perts who have studied the situation,
as has Lord Brassey. see this at
glance.
That which we can do we will do.
When the upbuilding Of a real navy
was begun, now more than twenty
years ago, the idea was but to prepare
a few ships equal to the modern ar
maments of other peoples, as pre-
caution and a defense. But we have
not stopped at that line, nor will we.
mi Of ;,,tn nd the
expansion of our commerce have Gre
ated a need keeping pace with our
constructive work. Our frontiers on
the Pacific will be guarded. Our in
served. For allTt time we must be
ready to protect Cuba against any in
truder. Whatever he the POLITICAL fate
of the Philippines, this country will at
least guarantee t6their people the same
protection against aggression that it
has extended to Cuba. And the VOL
ume of our trade with the Orient will
soon be such that the bulldogs of our
navy will need to be posted every
where as sentineIs land policemen of
the seas. cd
1t was not the defense of her coasts
that called into being Great Britain's
navy so much as it Was the defense of
her commerce. Actual invasion by
foreign foe is a thing little to be fear
ed when the sea rolls between; but the
preying of an enemy upon merchant
marine is a danger that rises in the
scale in proportion to the amount and
the value of the trade affected. While
the United States was nation unto
itself, living within itself, content for
the most part with the domestic
market, it required only an efficient
coastguard. With the position of mis-
tress of the seas it must take up of
necessity the office of guardian of the
seas. AS long as human nature re-
mains what it is. with the predatory
instinct as sharp as ever and only a
little restrained by the refinements Of
civilization that obligation will re-
main.
The requirements of our commercial
position call for a navy. The power to
bring such navy into being resides
with us. Our rise as trading nation
is no surer than the increase of our
naval resources. The battleship, on
peaceful mission, follows the flag Of
commerce, whether or not it may have
preceded the merchant ship with it's
red alarm of war. Lord Brassey sees
the future clearly.
1t is understandable that the Hon.
Charles A. ToWne should have the In