The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-09-30


the United States is about to COM
plete the Ps-ama canal, many ma
| tiOnS are int ag themselves in
the question OF ". fortification and
have succeeded in raising discussion
of the proposition. The United
States, however, is going ahead calm
ly with plans for defending the canal,
which are before President Taft, and
the question, if any serious opposi-
ton develops, must be settled in con-
gress this winter.
The eyes of the powers are turned
toward the little strip of land 10
miles wide and 40 miles long,
through which the United States, to
the creaking of the steam shovels
and the boom of the exploding dy-
Mantle, is rapidly opening the big
ditch which is to unite the Atlantic
and the Pacific oceans.
| The Panama canal is no longer a
project. 1t is now reality. AL
though the date set for the opening
| is 1915, the engineers are confident
that ships will be taking this short
cut between the oceans year soon
er, or 1914.
Two years or even yea a. :. for
eigners were content to admire the
energy and skill which was sweep
ing away giant obstacles. Today they
are wondering what its effect is to be
on world politics and what adv. Mt
ages are to accrue to the United
States through control of this strate-
gic waterway.
| For this reason, more than any
other, foreigners are debating the
question of the fertilization of the
canal At the present moment also
this consideration is of paramount
interest to the United States because
the defense must be in place by the
time the canal is open for traffic.
The two problems, therefore.
which are agitating the officials of
the United States and of other coun-
tries, are whether we have the right
to fortify the canal and whether we
can do it successfully if we have the
right.
| No less an authority than Rear
Admiral Evans has said that it can
not be done. The board of army ex-
perts says that it can. The task Of
fers difficulties, but they are not in
surmountable. The essential feature
of the defense plan is that the big
guns of the shore batteries must be
so placed that no fleet in time of war
can draw near enough to the en-
trance of the canal on either side to
bottle it up against another fleet.
If the canal is to be strictly neu-
trail it must be kept open to ships
of any belligerent nation. This can
not be done if a fleet of one of the
tcOmbatants can stand on the en-
trance at sufficient distance to be be-
yond the range Of the guns of the
shore batteries and pick off hos
tile fleet coming through ship by
ship before it could deploy in battle
formation If this were the case the
canal would be as effectively bottled
as though the Lusitania were sunk
in it's channel, for no fleet of battle
ships would run the risk of figh,
under such adverse circumstances.
For this reason the Notifications
must be so placed that the coast guns
can stand off fleet at sufficient dis
lance to allow another fleet to pass
through and form in battle line fol-
it's own defense before coming in
range. AS the coast gun and the
modern big gun of battleships have
approximately the same range, it viii
be necessary to mount batteries in
Notifications on islands commanding
the entrance of the canal.
Fortunately no artificial islands
need be built to obtain this end. On
the Panama side there are several
admirably situated. On the Colon
side there is one which will serve
the purpose. From these positions
the batteries or mortars and big guns
will command a stretch of water
} large enough for the fleet to man
euver in.
The guarding of the canal at in
terror points is not so difficult prob
} lem. A garrison will be maintained
within the zone which can patrol
the route. The vulnerable points
will be the locks, which could easily
be disabled by the explosion of a
stick of dynamite and serious dam
age might be done in the same way
at one of the dams.
Precautions will also be taken in
time of war between any nations to
prevent the sinking of ship in the
channel to obstruct the passage of
a fleet.
There is little doubt of the ability
of the United States to fortify the
canal effectively. Whether or not it
has the right to do so according to
the agreement with Great Britain is
a more involved question.
Apart from treaty considerations
the right of the United States cannot