Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-02-13
WALKS AND TALKS
Can The United States Fight All
the Rest OF the Worid7
By JULIUS CHAMBERS in the Brooklyn EagI

AAA( AA@oA - -
By JULIUS CHAMBERS in the BROOKLYN Eagle
Que by one, the great powers of
Europe are showing the cloven footl
Great Britain has already left her trail
across the diplomatic desert into which
the Washington Government has gone
asiray. Now comes Germany, equally
pugnatious and dissatisfied with the
methods by which this republic con-
ducts its own affairs. Germany 'fears"
the imminence of war between Japan
and the United States, Berlin authori-
ties ASSERT The choice of the verb in
that sentence is interesting, because
nothing would delight Germany, as
well as England and France, more
than the seizure OF this country's colon
iaI possessions in the Pacific by the lit
tie blown men of the Far East. The
most Influential German newspapers
are virtually advising Japan to strike,
without warning. One authority actu-
ally goes as far az to suggest tie seizure
of the Pacific end of the<Panama Canal
before American battleships can be got
there In sufficient number to defend it.
Little by little, the isolation of the
United States, not only as regards
European Powers but ALEC the import
ant republics of the Western Hemis-
phere, is apparent. The purpose is OBJ
vious. Refusal to participate in the
San Francisco Exposition is due to
confident expectation that before that
great show opens, this republic will be
engaged in a bitter warfare with some
one of the powerful nations of the world
and the exposition will thereby be re-
duced to unimportant proportions in
the eyes of civilization.
X X \
Meanwhile, Congress goes right a.
long doing out millions upon millions
for useless public buildings throughout
the country. Money that ought to
have been spent on battleahips has
been v asted beyond recalll The s'pork-
barrel" is as much of an institution as
under the past-and-gone, blatant, in
different ''stand patti regime.
An aggressive nation, such as Japan
or Germany, doesn't care much for pre-
text to go into a a
Japan Is overburdened with debt;
but the restless condition of her people
resembles that of France prior to the
unnecessary precipitation of the dec
laraiion of war against Prussia. The
Mikado must keep the minds OF his
subjects Employed There is danger to
his own institutions in inaction. Vet
Grams of the Chinese and Russian CAM
paigns are weaned from the pursuits of
peace; they hunger and thirst for war.
Colonel Goethals will do well to
work the dredges night and day until
at least half q dozen of the best fight
ing craft owned by this government
can be transported to the Pacific.
As for Japan's seizure OF Hawaii, as
well as the Philippines, the best ex pert
opinion comedies the possibility. 1t is
far too late now to fortify either one
place or the other, sufficiently to repel
invasion. Fifteen years of precious
time have been lost. Recent informa-
ton comes from Honolulu that the ex-
tinct crater of a volcano near Diamond
Head. on the island of Oahu, has been
converted into a fortress of much
strength for the defense of Honolulu,
but Pearl Harbor, beyond gun range
to the northeast, is practically unde-
Tended. 1t is N of the deep bays Of
the world, aud would undoubtedly he
chosen as the place for a Japanese
landing.
The serious fact about the Hawaiian
situation is that there are upon the
single island of Oahu about 80, 900 Jap
anese, most of them veterans of the re-
cent successful wars that the Island
Empire has waged. At present, the
garrison OF United States regulars would
be utterly inadequate to cope with this
force, alone. 1t is said, auth~oritatively,
that these Japs can be modified in
twenty-four hours, and that their sup
ply of the latest patterns of small arms
is adequate to give every man 3 weapon.
This is a menace, even, il strained re-
~lations between the parent nations did
not exist.
To my way of looking at the matter,
Magdalena Bay, on the lower Califor-
nian coast. will prove TO be a bone of
contention much nearer home. For
many years the United States possessed
by tready a right to use for target prac-
tice that marvelously protected sound
for it is not a bay, but a broad water
wav. sheltered from Pacific gales by a