The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-27
RY RICHMOND F. HOBsON.

" v
 In the previous article 1t was pointed out that the spheres of Japan and America have overlapped along the coast of China and on the Pacific ocean. The present situation on the Pacific is much like the situation on the Mediterranean in the early days of Rome and Carthage The drift Is setting directly toward war. hmperial- tstic Japan, exaerging from medieyahsm fresh from theRictories over China and Russia. is pushing forward her prep arations along carefully designed plans, while confiding, unsuspecting Amer lea drifts toward the cataract without thought or misgiving. The pity of this situation is that If America were awake and conscious she would take the measures which alone can insure her own safety and avert the approaching cataclysm.
 If we had adequate naval bases in the Philippine Islands and the Hawai- ian Islands, and if we had large navy, so that, while keeping a large fleet In the Atlantic for the defence of our coastline and the maintenance of the Monroe Doctrine. we still were able to maintain constantly in the Far East a fleet larger than the Japanese navy. then 1t Is clear Japan would not seek war Americans have virility
 
 they are people of peace. Different from the citizens of other great na- tfons. they seldom see a soldier or hear a drum or bugle. Far from the tur- moils of the Old World. the kinsman of the other nations, without inherited hatred of any Kind, they are absorbed. from January to December. year in and year out. in the activities or peace
 Thus America would never seek war with Japan, and, if she were well pre- pared. Japan would never seek war with her Then the two expanding na- tiens would adjust their differences in kheir overlapping spheres according to the rules of justice and right, assur- ing enduring peace.
 With our vast resources we could we'll afford the cost of maintaining such strength, especially when we realize that the cost of the navy to. maintain peace would not be the hum aredth part of the cost of the war that ls absolutely inevitable without 1t,
 Unfortunately, our people. particu- tariy those living inland, seldom think pf such things, and go along blindly. feeling that there is plenty of time. that war is very remote-if it Is ever 10 come-and that after war comes the nation will rise and stamp upon the ground and make the world tremble. forgetting that in modern times you cannot improvise trained army. much less a trained navy, for which each bat tleship requires three years in build ing forgetting that modern wars are absolutely won by preparations made in advance long before the battles are fought
 It is only natural that our people should be forgetful of national defence. Herein lies the inherent weakness of republics. The republics of history have all been short lived. With larger individual liberties, the citizen be- comes absorbed in his own affairs, es- pecially its it's defence, and his country goes down before countries with cen- tralized governments, where national defence and war are given more atten- ton.
 Heretofore, America has managed to get through, largely because the ocean was a barrier and it took a foreign