The Alaska daily empire., 1914-11-28
BRITAIN HAs HALF
 or TEE FER iilll @

NEW YORK. Nov l6Eagp Stan ton Maclack. authoe oE ae1eral VOL umes dealing 9lh naval affairs sees striking arguments for ols aiaefi' can navy in ,he present European Nf Ho ays t would be pgudent for the people O. the United sae t this most critcal period oi tae world . history to consider carefuily tho ra- c.ai and territorial problems oi the globo as they prosont thmse.yea to- 5ay and shane our govonment poli- oies accordingly
 erhe the wo'9d Ia rapidly pproach- mg tho time when all che desirable iana8 will be proempted oann95 Do doUbtod Indeed. it is an oYerpopn-
 aiou of the iaud that 70 the under. lying cause of the present worldsMide uDheaval N9t that ihe earth ha8 actually reac6eo the acute stage of overpopulatlou. il ail its inhabitants were evenly distributed for the iat- est estimates show that the average is less than thirty persons to che square miles, while tho earth's capac- ity Is about 100 people to thoi unit of measurement
 eBut the earth's population is not evenly distFihuled While there are vast areas in che Western Hemls- phere In Africa. the great ielands of the ocean and even parts of Europe and Asia. which scarcely havc begun ,heir development there are many sections where the population, owinG 70 racial territorial and political I'm
 ,oeons. have been seriously congest- cd for many years.
 "So serious has tbis condition be- come that in China millions of natives have been compelled literally to alep off the earth. in Che city of Canton alone. it has been estimated that SOO,- 900 men. women md children, have psrmanent homes in sampans junks, aud even rafts. Many ol these tloat- Ing inhabitants seldom set foot on land. having been born, bred. and brought mp in the aquatic domiciles.
 "Cn all the rivers lakes. canalsi and sheltered waters Of the coast of China are to loo found thousands up- on thousands Of these permanent abodes on water occupied by families whi h have been pushed off the face of the earth.
 Even in Western Europe we find similar condition of overpopulation. la Holland several millions Of indus. trious people ahaye been forced of tide level land and arc now dwelling on the bottom of the North Sea. They in truth. have been crowded off the earth, quite as much as are Che enor mons roating populations of Eastern Asia
 ts}Ve get clear~r understanding of this serious condition when we real ize that of tho 52,6f1,t02 square miles. of land in this slobe fewer than 30, 000000 are suited for tho support of mankind. Ernest George Rayenstein, l, F.R.G.S. estimates the earth's fertile area 10 be trihe over 2S,000,000 square miles, Professor Slpan, oil Cotha. and other eminent geograph- CTS make esdmates chat vary slightly from Ravenstcin's but none of them reach the 30.0000o mark. which, there fore may be accepted as the extreme limit Of the earths fertility
 "cenluries of practical experience havo demonstrated the fact that these fertile lands will not support on an average more than 100 human beings per square mile from which it Is fair to estimate that the worlds p0pula- tion is limited necessarily to 5,000o00, l GOO people.
 Already it has exceeded more than 1 hali for this limit and it needs only | Q brief calculation to show how. un-t der natural conditions. the earth'sf population Of 1,60O.oO0oOO will reach the S.000.000.000 mark in a few gen. eradons.
 How long will it be before the l.500,0OO0O0 people of various bloods who are now confined to less than half the earth's fertile aroa VIII take lp arms against the 150.000.O00 Eng .ishspeaking people who are holding more than oDe-half Of the worlds fer .ile area?
 gn .he light Of these facts, preg- lant with appalling possibilities can ! we not appreciate the wisdom Of thel British statesmen who for several hundred years have insisted on main aining the lighting strength of Brit nias navy to Q point where it would 'e equal 10 that of the combined itrength Of any two possible adver- aries?
 Cannot we see that by the Yers means of this naval policy that Brit .in gained the supremacy of the seasi hat the English-speaking race waaI .bie to secure for ils pogtorlty le,- l00.000 square miles Of the most de- irable lands on the surface of the .lobe?
 ITO be sure. the cost Of maintain. ng enormous fleets all these years 7as serious burden to tho taxpay- ] rs. But how inlinitesimally small s he sum total Of BritaiD's naval ex-l enditures for thousand years ap- ears when compared with the incai ulable value 0f territory controlled Y the EngIish-speaking race today
 Nearly every other race in the | 'orld. for centuries, had neglected