The Opelousas courier., 1904-10-29
G~IRRALTAR'S DAY GONE.
noTEp FORTRESS Is NO LONGER
or GREAT IMPORTANCE.

Il dominates One OF the Most Free
ouented Waters In the WorId-lf
trust Were Put in 1t as a Naval
BASE Great Britain Might BE Dis
appointed.
nor nearly 200 years, or since its
,anture in 1904 by the British Admi-
al Rookie, down to a very recent
neriod, the rock Of Gibraltar has been
+he synonym for impregnability, and
10 possession has been thought to
invest Great Britain with an abso-
1,te control over the entrance to the
Mediterranean, says the Philadelphia
Inquirer.
II dominates one of the most fire.
auented waters In the world. From
eyary quarter Of the wide horizon
which Is visible from its summit the
steamship tracks converge. Those
.cnning from the east, from the ports
Of the Mediterranean, from China, IN
dia. Australia, and the far Pacific,
cross those which arrive there from
England and the United States, from
france and Germany, from South
America and western Africa, and
every day throughout the year near
~ 200 vessels defle between the COL
INNS of Hercules and pass in sight
of the gigantic fortress which stands
there on guard.
Such being the case. It Is no WON
der that Great Britain, with its vast
commerce to protect and it's distant
colonies and dependencies to guard,
should these two centuries past have
held on to the place with such a to-
nacious grasp, Or that 1t should have
spared nothing in it's efforts to i'm
Drove to the uttermost the natural
advantages of the position, and to
make Gibraltar, in very fact, tho key
to the inland sea at whose entrance
It's is situated. The control of the
Mediterranean was never SO impor-
tant to Great Britain as 1t is today,
when the road to India and the East,
which used to lie around the Cape of
Coed Hope, has been diverted to the
Suaz Canal and the Red Sea, and to
make use Of that control against what
ever opposition may be encountered
has been and is the constant solici-
tude OF the British government.
! Everything that is possible has
been done not only to render Qibral-
tar impregnable, but to develop it's
full utility as a naval base. The
reck has been honeycombed with gal
Ieries and stocked to the limit with
provisions and munitions of war. I'M
manse cfsterns have been built to
hold the water of which the place by
nature is devoid. There is a stand
ing coal pile of 100000 tons and the
regular strength Of the garrison is
10000 men. On the summit Of the
hill 200 guns Of heavy calibre and
modern pattern have been installed,
and al the harbor was insufficient for
the present need the British govern
msnt lately undertook its extension,
and is now engaged in the execution
De plans, at an estimated cost OF $22,'
10000. which 1t expects to complete
tn about a year or eighteen months
from date.
Yet a grave doubt has been raised
as to the wisdom of this expenditure
and there are those who declare that
the trust which is placed in Gibral
tar as a naval base mighS il put tt
she test, be disappointed. That the
position dominates the entrance te
the Mediterranean has ceased to be
true. Il did SO i'm the days OF sailing
vessels, because owing to the set o.
the ocean currents such vessels were
compelled to come close to the roci
In order to get through the straits
Things are different now. From Glib
raltar to Ceuta, on the African coast
Is fourteen miles, and, as there Il
plenty of deep water of Ceuta, yes
sells propelled by steam al traverse
the narrows beyond the effective
range of the British guns. The domi
nation OF the Mediterranean by thu
fortress is at an end. But that is no
all or the worst. The experts haV'
discovered that the port, the town
the new harbor, the barracks, every
thing, would be within range OF heaV,
artillery placed on Spanish soil any
where along the whole stretch OF tn
Bay Of Algeciras at distances yaryinl
from 5000 to 10000 yards.
It Is unnecessary to demonstrat
the gravity of that circumstance. It
effect upon the military value OF GIT
raItar is obvious. In view OF 1t 8
good an authority as Sir Charlie
Dixie is arguing that IL Spain coul
be induced to exchange Ceuta for Gil
raltar 1t would be q good bargain TO