Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-11-23

public of a situation in a country
where public opinion rules.
The Philippine islands have cost
us $500, 900, 600 thus far, and we
have moi yet provided for their de-
tense or decided what We are going
to do with them. The lesson of Ro-
iestvensky's effort TO go from the
Baltic to Tsushima without coaling
stations seems to have been lost to
our national Legislature.
Within 100 miles of Manila is
the home of the concentrated Japan
csc feet. Our fleet on the Atlantic
is 1874 miles away from Manila by
S6ez and about 1000 miles away
by Cape Horn. 1t would have to
make a longer voyage than Reject
vensky did. On the way the only
coaling station and drydocks would
be by the Cape Horn route-and
those at San Francisco. Coaling sta
tions and drydocks mean to the man
of-war what food and sleep to to the
soldier.
The only use of the stations at Ma
Mia and in Hawaii would be to fill
the enemy's bunkers. Thanks to con
g%ressional delay there is not a single
gun emplased at Hawaii, at Guam, or
at Kiska island in Alaska. Some bat
teries have been emplaced at Manila;
but there is not a single coast artil-
leryman in any of our Pacific depend
encies.
The difference between an ade-
quatdiy defended harbor and an in
adequately defended harbor is the
difference between holding a door
way against a thug with a revolver
and with your arms tied behind you.
Our regulars have no superior man to
man; our ships have no superior ship
to ship-no equal, | think with con-
dence as an American. But our San
Francisco gunners can not defend
Manila nd ships can not keep
their bottoms clean without drydocks
or run without coal. For the guns
we have ready in the United States
we need forty-five thousand men, and
we have only ten thousand.
If Japan made war or us tomorrow
she could reach Manila in six days
with eleven battleships and six ar
mored cruisers. Before our Atlantic
fleet could reach Cape Horn she could
put a fully equipped army corps of
over forty thousand men into the
Philippines. Against overwhelming
naval odds our for armored cruisers,
which are en- route to the Far East,
would have to seek a rendezvous with
the Atlantic fleet. The big floating
drydock which was towed via Suez
would probably have to be destroyed
or fall into the hands of the enemy.
Our ten thousand infantry and cav
airy scattered over the islands would
be besieged.
Bv the time our fleet had arrived
Japan would have made a nayai base
at Manila or Subig bay and would be
standing ready in her own doorway
to receive the stranger. We would
have absolutely no harbor which We
could enter. She would choose her
time and place for the fight, allowing
us to stew in the tropical sea and use
up our coal supply. All the advan-
tages of position Togo had over Ro-
j~estvensky he would have over Us.
The confidence of the Japanese is
enormous. According to naval pre-
under such a handicap we
ought to outnumber the Japnese by
four to three, which is the present
of our superiority. After we
had won we would be securing only
the island we had lost-and lost be-
cause we had not made Manila a Sc
cure harbor.
When the canal is built the At
lantic feet will have a route 10 the
Pacific, and with Hawaii aud Manila
well fortified protected bases will be
in readiness. Then it may take it's
time to 60, and it may fight with
clean bottoms. Are we going to hold
the Philippines? Are we going to
maintain ourselves as a great power
the Pacific?
Japan's want of funds and not our
strength is the present guarntee OF
peace. However, it is not wise to
count too much on wealth and num-
bers. This would be a naval cam
paign pure and simple, and naval
warfare is cheap beside land warfare.
The main extra expenses of a force
always on war footing are ammuni-
ton and coal. Out of the vast sum
we have spent in the Philippines only
$40, 0O0, 900 is charged to the navy.
Any policy of Japan's or ours
which tends to make us unpopular in
the Far East Injuries our position as
her commercial competitor. That
sentiment on the Pacific coast which
would break our treaty obligations
with a friendly nation can only be
logical by advocating half a dozen
new battleships at the next session
of congress and a provision for the
speedy manning and the rapid con-
struction of our Asiatic coast de
lenses. The best way of keeping any
nations friendship is by never giving
her any selfish object for being I'M
friendly. Besides, no American VINO
mas been in the Far East ever likes
to consider that his flag is under the