Norwich bulletin., 1914-12-03
GREAT eRITAIN's IMPORTANT
 GEOGRAPHIC POSITION
Has Given it Far Greater Power Than Area and Resources Would Be- speak.
Especial to The Bulletin )

Especial to The Bulletin.)
 Washington, D. c. Dec. 2.-That geography after all is the basis of the greatness of Great Britain. and that the great national ability to save and conserve the earnings of centuries that has resulted from her geographic posi- tioE stands her in good stead in these days of trial is the conclusion of Dr. Roland c. Usher who has just pre- pared for the National Geographic So- ciety an incisive study of the factors that have made 'the tight little isle" across the Channel from continental Europe a far greater power than her area and natural resources would be- speak.
 We must not lose sight of the fact" says Dr. Usher, that the strAtegical geography of Europe has given the English advantages of position which were more important in the past thai
 great armies that the English Chan nel was, in the days of sailing ships, a | more effective barrier against invasion
 than any army could have been. The | strategical importance of Belgium and | Holland. too. vital to England, was very fortunately also vital to Ger
 many and France. The English have
 never, single-handed, been able to | keep either France or Germany out c | those countries in time of war; hI | they have somehow or other, alwa managed to play off France again ! | Germany, or Germany against France, l and in the long run keep them both | out of Belgium and Holland. England has protected herself by arousing the | fear of others, and it must be admitted that Germany in Belgium threatens l Paris a good deal more effectively l than she does London, and that Louis XIV in Holland was even more dis
 tasteful to the German states on the
 Rhine than he was to the English
 pr. Usher calls attention to the fact
 that England has never known, sfncs
 William the Norman married Yorkshire
 such ravaging by armies and con-
 sequent economic loss as continued in
 Europe for centuries. In the long run
 England became approximately richer
 than larger countries with much more
 extensive natural resources which
 were decimated by war. Neither ex-
 traordinary diligence nor skill needs tC
 be brought forward as the explana.
 tion of the beginning of England'i , capital fund. It was by that most tn usual but simplest of all things-sav' ] ing"
 !, While England was free from tn, wastes of an invading warfare. Ger
 many was being literally eaten up b! such conflicts as the Thirty Years War.
 In order to rest secure from attacI by the more powerful land empires ol the neighboring continent, it wa necessary for England to dominate tn : Channel with it's fleet. This donina 5 ton was established beyond question 7 by the English defeat of the Spanisj r Armada. But, Dr. Usher explains, il
 obtaining control of the Channel, tn English also found themselves donli f mating the oversea commerce of tn 5 nations of Europe. The Englis f Channel was the needles eye whicl f all ships had to thread that saile f from French. Belgium, Dutch or Ger . man ports upon the Channel and tn T North Sea. The dangers of the sea d way along the western coast Of tn y British Isles make it impracticabl
 even for the powerful ships of tn = present day.
 r Among the essential of nations ] 1 strength, Dr. Usher enumerates thos
 of territorial unity. or natural stat f boundaries; racial unity, or a con t sciousness of the citizenry that the o are one people; a religious unit!
 which, in the case of England, consist
 in a broad. workable toleration of in i dividual beliefs; patriotism, or tn l consciousness of the people of commo aims and purposes; and a unity of ad ] ministration, or a condition where a