Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-10-14

CUBAN LABOREko BUILDING OUR NEW NAVAL STATION
by Frankie rpente for e
BIZ the SaLurday EvenIng NeWs.

trees. Another planter in this same
region Is said to have owned 300 acres
of coffee trees some time before the
war, ana to have gotten for 10 years
an annual income of S4000O from his
coffee and fruit. Now that the United
States owns property here, American
colonies will probably be formed to buy
up the good lands OF the immediate An
terror.
GUARDING THE CARIBBEAN.
II behooyes the United States to hurry
up rs naval stations on the Caribbean
sea. We are acquiring bigger interests
in this part or the world every year.
We have. through the Monroe doctrine,
taken upon ourselves the office OF an
International policeman. We have al
ready put the handouts on Santo Do
mingo and made her a debt prisoner, as
it We're, and there Is no telling when
we shall have trouble with other ISL
ands II the Caribbean sea Is to be
the American Mediterranean the Amer
lean government will have to protect
IT, II can do q great deal by means
Of this naval station az Guantanamo.
but it should have equally strong sta
lions at the other passages, such as
the Mona passage, between Porto Rico
and Santo Domingo, and at the Nir-
gin passage, between Porto Rico and
the Danish Islands. At present we have
a station at the eastern end OF Porto
Rico in Culebra, a little island which
lies just off the northeast coast 1t
commands the entrance to that pas
sage and Is said to control II quite as
well as Gibraltar controls the entrance
10 the Mediterranean. We should, how
ha Ta1a
other side OF the passage. We offered
TO buy ST. Thomas some time ago and
Denmark refused, 1t is believed that
her refusal was caused by Germany,
who may possibly want a coaling sta
ton there for herself IN the future.
THE PANAMA CANAL.
We need these naval stations especl-
ally on account OF the Panama canal.
The Windward passage, between Haiti
and Cuba, Is we'll supplied by Guanta-
namo This Is the main highway, All
our ships from New York TO the 18TH
mus go past Guantanamo. and all other
vessels from the North Atlantic do like
wise We should have SANTANA bay, at
the other end of Santo Domingo, to
control the Mona passage, and we are
guarding the Yucatan passage by our
naval stations Of Key West and Bahai
Honda on the other side Of Havana,
SANTANA bay is so close TO the Mona
passage that tt commands IT, The bay
Is 80 miles long and ten miles wide,
win deep water basin ten miles long
and FIVE miles wide with good holding
ground. II is sheltered by mountain
ranges on its north and south sides.
some Of the mountains rising to about
1900 feet The mountain ridge on the
north runs out into "A peninsula about
ten miles wide. This peninsula can be
fortified against attack by land, and
thus make a Coalng station secure.
The bay could easily be defended by
works at the entrance. SANTANA bay
would shelter our whole Atlantic
squadron and be Of enormous value to
us.
Key West is important not only on
account of the Caribbean, but as q de-
Tense TO the Gulf Of Mexico and the
Mississippi river. aud the same may
be said Of Bahia Honda. Key West
lies right In the entrance TO the Gulf
of Mexico, ana II also commands the
Yucatan channel around the corner. As
II Is now We have ships going from
New Orleans through this channel into
the Caribbean a great deal of our
trade with Panama being between COL
on aud the gulf ports. The United
Fruit company steamers run regular
lines 20 Panama and to their big fruit
estates about the Chiriqul lagoon.
OUR ISLANDS ABOUT PANAMA.
Uncle sam has Islands ON both sides Of
the Panama canal. He has several In
Panama bay. some of which viii be al
most at the entrance 10 the canal when
it is completed. Others have formed
the landing places Of the steamers go
ing north and south. On the Island
Of N0os the Pacific Mail steamship
company for "a long time had its head
quarters. Naus and Perlco, which adj
join IL, are connected by an isthmus,
and between them there Is n bay which
forms "a good anchorage. on the 18th.
mus steam vessels Of $500 tons can be
easily belched, These islands belong
20 the United States. and the end of the
Panama canal when II Is finally dredged
out win he not very far from them.
OUR ISLAND or NAVASSA.
The most OF us do not know II, hut
the Island OF Nayassa belongs to the
United states. II Is not down on the
map as an American possession, and
indeed. one finds IL one color on one
map and another color on another, so
that people do not seem TO know Just
10 whom Is belongs, It Is. however
the property OF Uncle Sam. n was
owned by Baltimore parties some years
ago ana President Harrison. in his third
annual message. unclaimed our ap-