The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1908-10-09

Britain has only q fraction OF ou
wealth and but half the number O
our people. Germany is fast build
ing navy to equal England's; We
Germany has only window on the
sea. France, in actual fighting power
will be ahead of us in single year
Vet the call of the deep is not ir
the French blood and France doe:
not and never can aspire to nava
supremacy. Even Brazil is building
twenty-eight modern battleships-
enough to shame us in any view OF
the worlds navies. And Japan Is
working night and day upon a fleet
which before we know it will make
her in fighting power, the master OF
the Pacific. I wish every warship OF
every nation on earth might be dock
ed forever in the shipyards of uni
versal peace; but since they will not
be for a hundred years to come, we.
the greatest maritime people on the
globe, ought to be the greatest pow
er on its waters.
We want this navy for peace, not
war. Helpless men and nations have
less peace than men and nations who
are prepared.
Mankind's hope for peace is in
court of the nations such as the
Hague Tribunal has begun and ought
to develop. The American peace
program at the Hague Tribunal
should have been adopted; and If the
American navy had been as great
then as it should be and will be in
the future, our proposals for peace
would have been listened to by the
other nations with some respect. We
must show other nations chat in any
possible war with America any hos
tile nation is hopeless because we
are prepared to build navy so great
that we can, not only outclass them
on the water, but bankrupt them in
their attempt to meet u.s. The time
is swiftly coming when the nations
Will be forced to compact of peace,
and an invincible American navy will
do more than any other influence to
usher in that glad day.
The second great reason for a
mishty navy is economy. All the
world knows that Spain would never
have gone to war with us and that
Cuba would have been freed by di-
plomacy IL before the Spanish war
broke out we had had four more bat
tleships than we then possessed. That
conflict hung on the supposed
strength OF our navy as estimated bN
other nations. Comparing Spains
navy and ours, before the war broke
out, there appeared to be a fighting
chance for Spain; and therefore her
pride and the interest of other Eur
opean nations decided Spain to risk
the Issue OF arms. Only four more
battleships would have demonstrated
that Spain was outclassed; and so
she could and would have found d
method of settling the dispute by di-
plomats and statesmen instead Of
fleets and armies. Yet that war cost
us hundreds of millions of dollars
and streams Of American blood
while the battleships which would
have prevented that war would have
cost us all told less than twelve mil
lion dollars.
In the battleship fight in the Sen
ate those who opposed us shouted
ECONOMY; but it is ECONOMY" to
look ahead; it is economy" to pre-
pare for war SO thoroughly that war
Will become impossible.
All nations must be made to see
that conflict with us means defeat
for them. This can be shown only by
mighty navy. Both our strength
and our weakness is that the oceans
separate us from our rivals; there
fore, our security on land depends
upon our supremacy on the sea.
III we have navy that can destroy
any fleet sent against us no foreign
soldier could land on our coasts; but
II we have a navy large enough for
one coast and which therefore must
be sent thousands OF miles from our
Atlantic shores to our Pacific shores
and then back again, we invite at
tack from any nation which thinks
1t has cause for attack.
therefore our navy must be sc
great that mighty fleet can be sta
toned permanently in Pacific waters
as we'll as on our Atlantic seaboard
This is the basis of the America n
navy for the future-a fleet for both
oceans; fleet for our western coast
and beet for our eastern coast, eli.
| ther one of which can be reinforced
by the other through the Panama
Canal when that great work is fin
!shed. Every sufficient harbor on
the Pacific slope should have float
ing docks where our Pacific ships
can be overhauled, and at least two
ports on the Pacific should have
great government ship yards prepar.
ed not only to keep our ships in re.
pair, but to build new ones wher
needed
The money spent in paying Tho
thousands of Workingmen thus EN-
ployed would be the premium OF
the Nations insurance policy for
peace. Not only would peace b.
made certain, but in making it Ger
tain our own citizen would receiv
the money paid to make it certain
INCREASED INTEREST
Shown In Kansas as Taft Passe
Through State.
Topeka, Kan, Oct. 3.--Beginnin