Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-05
BUILD SHIPS
or EAT DIRT,
CAPTAIN HoesoN COINS APT
PHRASE FOR NAVY
SAYS HE is AFRAID JAPAN
MEANS WAR
In Alliance with Britain New Repre-
sentative Believes He Secs Evil
donee Of Mikado's Plan
70 DO Things

70 DO Things
fWABHfNGToN. Oct. 4,--"Build chips
and eat dirt" Capt. Richmond Pearson
liobson. the countrys most strenuous
auvocnte Of u greater navy and tho new
member Of the house Of representatives
from tho Sixth Alabama district, coins
,nis phrase as descriptive OF tho condition
~ ~ whieh no believes the people Of the
on.eu states ind themselves by reason
VI ,neir iuilure TO appropriate moro lib
eraliy IN the past for tho navy.
SaP,. hobson, who has arrived In
wasllnston Tor the coming session Of
congress, does not mlnce words In dis
cussing the possibilities OF war with
Japan ana the sending OF Uncle SANS
Dig neet to the Pacific. lie goes further
than the department In It's announce.
ments, plans. etc. and says tho fleet
should go to the far cast and be kept
there.
''The only possible hope of peace ia to
get our entire fleet out to the far cast"
said capt Hobson.
IF Japan cannot find some further
preteXt between now and the sailing of
the fleet, 1t is not unlikely that she will
cause the soScalled yellow press of Japar
to infame the people Of Japan and use
this as a basis to make representationa
to America to withhold the further prog
ress of the fleet. and II necessary, pre-
tend with regret that she has to urge
and insist that we do not send the fleet
farther. All in all we are In very criti-
cal juncture In our country's foreign re-
lations, and at a period when the Panama
canal is not complete, which will be our
dangerous period, the period that will
be sought by Japan. backed by the pow
ers to bring on war.
Must Eat as We Build
During this period, because of our ut
teriy Inadequate navy. our people must
be prepared to not only be exceedingly
calm and conservative. but to accept any
form of humiliation that may come. We
have neglected the question of defense
so long that we must now eat dirt Our
policy must be to build ships and eat
dirt; and we cannot stop eating dirt until
after the ships are built"
Capt. Hobson believes the clash with
Japan may come in February, if post
poned that long, by reason Of affairs in
China.
THE official announcement that the
empress dowager of China will abdicate
next February on the Chinese New Year
brings to the front the whole question of
the fate of that great empire said he
American diplomacy inaugurated under
Secretary Hay and continued under Sec
IctdIy INOOI SeCuTeQ L06 duOpllOn, Will
ingly or unwillingly, by the powers of
the 'open-door policy for China. Since
Japanese ascendency in the far east.
plan has been on foot to overturn this :
just policy and to substitute for 1t the
dangerous sphere of influence policy
Japan, along with the military pow
ers of Europe. has misgivings lest, with
fair chance and no favor, America
might secure the lions share of the COM
H.
has organized a movement by which
America is to be left out and China is to
be subdivided into spheres of influence.
Upon this basis japan has negotiated
special new treaties with the European
powers by which treaties the limitations
of the various spheres rof influence have
been. defined.
This question has an important bear
ing not only upon the future commerce
of America, but upon our peace and the
peace of the world. The spheres of in
fiuence and policy would unquestionably
lead not only to dissensions and wars be-
tween the powers as to the subdivision,
but would ultimately lead to the absolute
preponderance of Japan over China and
the Transformation of the Chinese from
a peaceful into military people, and
lay the foundation for an ultimate strug-
gle between the white race on the one
side and the yellow race on the other,
for the supremacy of the world. On the
other hand the open-door policy in China,
based on justice and equal rights for all.
would guarantee the ascendency of peace
full activities in China, would open up
to that country a great commercial fu-
ture which would reflect vast beneht
upon all nations. and would lay the
foundation for the two great races to
meet each other as friends and comrades
and not as enemies in war.
Arranging the Alliances
ssBut the question has a more pressing
and vital significance for us. These new
Japanese treaties with the European ma
tions, and especially the treaty OF all1-
ance offensive and defensive with the
British, are parts of the diplomatic prep
arations that Japan has made for an at
tack upon America.
Her naval and military preparations
are practically complete, and all that
now remain is for for to secure pre-
text for such an attack; this fact ex-
plains the apparently unaccountaole atu-
tude of Japan upon every little trifiing
incident that occurs anywhere in the
country.
1.-THE English are hundred times more
stringent upon the Japanese entering
Australia, South Africa or New Aeaianu'
but no matter what incident occurs III
these countries there is no comment,
The slightest thing in America is seizeo
upon to create strife and 1rictlon De-
tween the peoples and humihate our soy-
ernment. with view to creating crisis
from which they could find plausible
excuse in the eyes OF the world ior
ing the worlds peace.
sThe understanding with the other ma
tions is doubtless that Japan VIII throw