Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1906-02-23
1t Japan is Backing China
in Her Trouble With
This Country.
OUR PACIFIC SQUADRON Is
Not Large Enough to Furnish
Japan Single MOuthfuI
of Resistance.
PACIFIC COAST IS DEFENSELESS

Washington. d. c., Feb. 23.-The
alarming conditions in China have
awakened the government officials, at
n rather late date. to the totally in
adequate preparations for trouble in
the Tar east.
In case the difficulty is confined to
our dispute with China, the navy and
army will have little difficulty in
dealing with it. But that complica-
tions of a more serious character are
threatened is amply proved by the
urgent steps which are being taken
TO strengthen the fleet on the Asiati ic
station. The Chinese navy is so
/, weak and so Intellectually manned
that it would not take long for the
TWO battleships, Ohio and Wisconsin,
win the aid of the two cruisers, the
Baltimore and Cincinnati, and the
gui boats, Concord, Raleigh and
Rainbow, to quickly dispose of it,
But what If Japan interferes?
II must be admitted frankly, that,
with the small part of the American
navy now in Chinese waters, clash
with Japan would not result in any
thing but overwhelming defeat for
the United States. The Japanese
naval forces in the orient outnumber
our eight to one. Japan has prac-
tically all of its naval strength con-
centrated in those waters. AS
against our two first class battleships
Japan has nine first class battle
ships; as against our two small cru
isers, Japan has % cruisers. half of
which are more than 5000 tons dis
placement. The proportion against
us is even more in gunboats, torpedo
boats and destroyers.
1t is a fact that today our Pacific
possessions and the entire western
coast of the United States are prac-
tically defenseless against naval at
tack. If war should break out tomor-
row, San rancisco, Los Angeles, Sc
attic and Tacoma would be obliged
TO depend upon land Notifications
and the services of the regular and
volunteer army for defense. Weeks
and even months would go by before
the meaSer fleet on the Pacific coast
could be reinforced by other war
ships now under construction or
cruising in the remote waters of the
Atlantic.
Orders to strngthen the naval rep
resentation in Asiatic waters have
In addition to the order detaching
the Chattanooga and Charleston from
Admiral Sigsbee's fleet, in the Medi-
terranean, plans have been made to
send the Brooklyn and Tacoma by
way of the Suez canal to Join the
fleet under Admiral Train. The Ore
gon has been ordered to stay in the
far east, although in need OF repairs.
spared from the Atlantic squadron
has not yet been determined. Much
depends upon the attitude of Great
Britain. Should that nation stand be-
hind Japan in any trouble with the
United States, it would be impossible
to concentrate any large part of the
American fleet in Asiatc waters.
From a strategic point of view, the
Atlantic coast is quite as important
as our Philippine possessions or the
Pacific frontier.
Ii the truth must be told. then,
the United States is entirely unpre-
pared Tor serious trouble in the far
east. The lack of a suitable naval
base, either on the Pacific coast or
IN the Philippines is now being i'm
pre2sed upon the members of the
naval committee In congress, as it
has been very apparent already tC
members OF the general board and
10 the president The big floating
drydOck. Dewey, is still months way
from its destination, and the Pacific
coast has but one drydock, namely. al
Bremerton, near Seattle, with suf-
ticient capacity to dock our battle
ships
But the most striking feature of the
situation as developed in the dis
cussions in cabinet meetings and
elsewhere, is the very conspicuous
absence of any preparations for de-
Tending the naval base with its dry
docks and other facilities at Olon-
Sapo in the Philippine Islands, or al
Cavite, near Manila. With a mere
handful Of ships on our outer line OF
defense, it is becoming evident that
any money spent for drydOcks or
ship yards in the Philippines would
be So much temptation for a hostile
nation to grab them, should the op-
portunity come.
In any case, it is becoming plain
that a secondary naval base must be
established on the Pacific coast To
which our forces might fall back
when OyerDOWeTed or Outnumbcrpd