The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1916-02-11
NAVAL BASE FOR
MOUTH OF COLUMBIA

AAeN' - Dt'DO ~UAi pdl5hs lao Cl I'LL
thought out the question from man.
angles and today gives the people o.
Astoria and the Columbia basin his
candid views thereon. He says:
81 am not an alarmist. l antici
pate no immediate invasion of this
country in general nor this coast in
particular, but since the unheralded
and, to the man in the street, unsus-
pected outbreak of hostilities a year
ago last August, unveiling at it did
secret alliance after secret alliance,
preparation after preparation, l am
very far from belonging to that
school of good people who dwell in
mental and moral security. Please
God, we will have no war. But if it
should ever become expedient for a
nation, or an alliance of nations, to
attempt an invasion of the United
States, (and who can authoritatively
state that it will not?), if that day
ever comes, in what manner will we
be prepared to meet the emergency?
The Bread Question.
"By we, l mean most especially we
at the portal of the Inland Empire.
For of all the points of attack on
American soil from the Pacific ocean,
the Columbia river is the most at
tractive for the very soundest of mil
itary reasons. We have spent mil
lions of dollars teaching Orientals to
eat bread. Europeans taught u.s. To
the north are vast stands of timber,
very valuable as building material
but poor fodder for man or beast To
the south is the citrus belt Armies
might enjoy grape fruit, oranges and
lemons for appetizing, but it is ques-
tionable whether they could fight on
a steady diet of citrus fruit But
straight up the Columbia, and reach
ed by water grade, lies the great
wheat belt of the Northwest, where,
once established, an invading force
could grow fat and prosecute a cam
paign with astonishing comfort.
Realizing this, and it is incompre-
hensible that people should not rea-
lie it, the question confronts us,
what we shall do about it? To this
question, there is to my mind but one
answer.
Block the Game.
at is essential that this accessible
entry to unlimited forage be effect
lively blocked, that the very thought
of invasion of the Columbia basin
should be made ridiculous. The
method by which this may be ac-
is being successfully dem
onstrated to the whole world by the
coast line of Germany.
"Dreadnaughts are needless Ger
nany's dreadnaughts are bottled W
m the Kiel Canal. Citizen soldiery is I
needless. Germany's soldiers are eff {
ecting invasions, not repelling them. /
Big guns are incidental; they would z
De unwieldy against fast ships. On i
lone of these things does Germany S
lepend, and yet the greatest fleet the t
world ever saw has not even attempt c
ID to attack Bremen or Hamburg, in |
which harbors the merchant ships of
he enemy nation are securely repos- e
ng.
Basis of Security.
German efficiency in coast defense
xhibits itself in such cunningly laid 7
nine fields that even the British Ad
nd the day and night patrolling of
hese mine fields by light cruisers,
estroyers and little patrol boats.
"And If that method is effective !,
gainst the mightiest naval power on
he earth, allied with the fleets of :
hree of the great powers, all pos
essing naval bases within a few :,
undred miles of the German coast,
hen how great security could we not :.
xpect from it's inception at the :;
louth of the Columbia riverl And
is perfectly apparent that we must
ave a naval base at the mouth of
le river for fleet of battleships, .
,out boats mine layers, submarines
nd destroyers to complement the :.
line fields. :,
The Interior Should Respond. ol
1.-The people of Portland should eC
scognize this need, as should the A
ntire Inland Empire, and should tn
lck us in our efforts to assure our
lives of an iron-ribbed protection in r.
lse of any possible contingency. 1t Ii
not matter of pork barrelling. ia
ather, it is a case Of the common de
)od of the Pacific coast and the ac
nited States. AS the point of the or
'eatest danger, the throat of the of
land Empire should be most thor FL
lghly and conscientiously balwark L.
against attack. And furthermore,
must bel" 3.