The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13
The Dominant Necessity of its Com plete Fertilization and its Use in the Event of War With Japan Discussed by the Distinguished Dean of Greifs- wald University.
By DEAN ZADO w,
of the University of ereifswaId.

sTHE political importance of the Panama
 Canal is greater than it's economic
 value; it was built not primarily as trade route, but an instrument of war
 Without the canal the United States could or'y arrange for adequate protection to both its At lantic and Pacific coasts by means of two fleets; upon the completion of the canal transfer of one fleet or part of it from the one ocean to the other will be a matter of but a few hours, whereas formerly it took many weeks.
 The United States also saves the enormous expense of constructing second battle fleet, in which must be included the saving in fuel, stores, personnel and upkeep
 Of course, the Panama Canal will retain it's strategic importance only as long as it has no rivals. If, for example, any other power were to build the Darien Canal the Nicaraguan Canal and make it secure in military and political sense, the importance of the Panama Canal in international affairs would be mate rally lessened, the United States could not then control the passage from ocean to ocean of the war and trade fleets of the interested na- tionS The possession of such a canal by for eign power would enable an enemy fleet to ef- feet the change from one ocean to the other without either the knowledge or the consent of the United States and would afford to their op ponents the means whereby to effect surprise and to compel the United States to divide its forces. However, the completion of the Panama Canal itself should definitely put an end to all possibilities in the shape of rival canals
 A similar effect could be produced by the simultaneous attack of two large cooperating fleets, one in the Atlantic and in the Pa cific, even when the Panama Canal is the only one in existence. It is for this reason that the English-Japanese well the Russo-Japa- nese alliance is of such unpleasant importance to the United States for both alliances are suitable, in case of war, to bring into question the strategic value of the Panama Canal by means of joint action of the allied fleets. Hence the endeavors of United States foreign policy to effect arbitration treaties with England and with Russia without depending solely upon racial dissimilarities to make the alliances of merely nominal worth.
 From the foregoing premises it may he clearly seen that in strategical considerations lies the importance, to the United States of Mexico, Central America and Colombia, in whose territories it is possible to construct canals; with these considerations in mind the political happenings in those countries are bet ter understood. Thus may be explained the revolt of Panama from Colombia; the next to the last insurrection in Mexico, which occurred wien that country wished to enter into an al lance with Japan; the efforts made by the United State sto prevent the yellow races from obtaining foothold in these countries and finally the persistent endeavor of the United States to extend the Monroe Doctrine to in clude Central and South America
 In recognition of the fact that strategica1 sll- periority can only be maintained while the United States not only controls the Panama Canal politically, but while it is defended against sudden attack by sea. the canal is pro- tected on both coasts by extraordinarily strong Notifications of the most modern design
 AS far as distances enter into consideration there may be cited the following strategic data: