Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-17
AMERICA i'm THE PHILIPPINES
XVHI-An American Gibraltar
By Frederic j Haskin

I is mentioned. The discussion of such
a fate has done much to solidify pro-
American sentiment in the islands But
of course there is a minority, and there
is a small party In the Philippines
which pretends to hope for transfer
of the sovereignty of the islands to ia
pan, either by war or by diplomacy.
Japan apparently has no present de-
sire to secure the Philippines upon any
terms, having its hands full In Corea
and ManohTria.
Yet the Japanese Is wise individual
and he looks ahead. Within the past
few months several Japanese men have
been apprehended in the work of MAX
ing maps of the island of Luzon. They
are presumed to be Japanese army Of
ficers. So many stories of Japanese
spies" have been told that many per-
sons greet all such statements with an
ineredulous smile, yet often they are
true. For obvious reasons the military
authorities do not make exposures of
these facts, and they only come to the
public through leakage. Yet there Is
nothing in this to indicate that the
Japanese military authorities have
anything to do with it. Japan pro-
duces free-lances and soldiers of for
tune as well as other countries, per-
haps.
In the event OF a war between the
United States and japan, q conflict
which Is highly improbable in the near
future, the Philippines will be either
the greatest strength or the greatest
weakness of the American arms. II
the plans for defense are carried for
ward with dispatch, IL there is a naval
base here which will give a feet all
the advantages which it could have at
San Francisco, and If the fleet main
tanned in the Pacific is of sufficient
strength, there is no reason why the
Philippines should not be, in O. military
sense, as close to Japan as Japan is
close to the Philippines.
If, on the other hand, the plans for
defense are permitted to drag along, II
the naval base here is not adequately
equipped, and if the Pacific feet is not
fully as strong as that of the possible
Iantagonist-then an invasion of the
| Philippines might be expected, and
long land warfare on the other side of
| the world might be precipitated.
| In view of the liberality with which
| the United States is spending money
on fortifying Manila bay 1t Is difficult
to conceive of the possibility of retro
gressive American policy which would
leave the other measures of defensive
and offensive preparation unprovided
for.
To make this expenditure of money
| effective, 1t will be necessary for the
| United States government to adopt a
definite policy regarding the Pacific
ocean. When President Roosevelt sent
the great battleshlp feet around the
| Horn to Pacific waters there were
voices heard in the eastern states to
cry out: you shall not send our ships
away from our ocean," The voyage OF
the fleet probably did q great deal to
educate the American people to real
ization of the fact that theirs Is big
country, that it has two ocean fronts,
and that the Pacific ocean is Wide
water avenue leading to many lands.
In the Orient there is but one opinion
on the subject, leaving the Japanese
out OF the question. English colonial,
| Chinese official or American here on
| the spot" all agree that the best thing
ever done was to send the big fleet over
here and the worst thing ever done was
to take it back. Everybody agrees that
| the maintenance of a powerful Amer
lean fleet in the Pacific ocean will do
more than anything else to insure the
peace of the Orient.
Considering the Philippine islands as
! a base of military operations OF the Of
fensive order, it is important that work
be pushed as rapidly as possible to
make that base worthy, defensible, ad-
euuate and self-reliant. Halfway
! measures will accomplish no good and
will be a great waste of money. To
make Manila bay all that 1t ought to
be as a naval base will be an essential
! economy.
Wise statesmen know that war costs
more money than anything else, leav-
ing life and limb out of the question.
Many of these wise statesmen and stu
dents of the political situation in the
Orient believe that the cost of one great
battleship expended in the vicinity of
| 4 In a.
five Dreadnaughts, and will be more
valuable than a dozen of the strongest
battleships afioat as a make-weight for
peace.
| Tomorrow-AmerIca In the Philippines:
XyIU-Our Far Eastern Army.
hava the sum of $40. .642 OIL 200. to