The Washington times., 1921-10-16

cal depredations were carried on by
other petty African rulers on the
Mediterranean. until 1904. Then.
after two years of fighting. Commo-
dore Barron, u. 8. NJ. subdued the
last of the pirates Of the so-called
"Barbary Coast" II was during
this war that Decatur sprang into
fame. by recapturing the Phfladel-
phia from the Tripolitan pirates un.
der circumstances Of peculiar diff
Guilty and danger.
The original influence of arma.
ment on foreign trade was in pro-
tecting merchant ships from pirates
on the sea. A use which came later
was In protecting storehouses In
which merchants put their goods In
foreign countries. where they wish.
ed to establish trade with the bar
barians of the vicinity. Some Of these
storehouses grew gradually into
trading stations of considerable size
guarded by adequate military forces.
under command of military gov.
ernors.
Such trading stations were estab-
lshed In the Mediterranean by the
Phoenicians and others, centuries
before the Christian era; and some
expanded into great cities that ruled
provinces. OF, these. one OF the
greatest was Carthage, on the north
ern shore of Africa. which long dis.
puted the commercial supremacy Of
the Mediterranean with Rome.
Finally, in the year 146 B. c., Rome
vanquished her completely, de-
s;royed the city wholly. and became
the undisputed mistress of the sea-
ARMAMENT NECESSITY.
The instance of Rome and Car
thage is instructive. because it
shows how, when two nations COM
pete for commercial supremacy, the
one possessing the greater arma.
ment can simply invent pretext for
war las the Romans. did. and OBJ
tain commercial supremacy by force
of arms las the Romans did. Or.
dinarily. II was not necessary for
Rome actually to go to war; threat
was sufficient, or only a gentle hint.
or even the mere expression Of her
desire.
The action Of Rome against Car
thage was not a new procedures; for
such procedure had been going on
for centuries. sometimes in little
fights between little tribes, some.
times in great wars between great
nations. Neither was 1t "the last
time that such action was taken, for
history since then has repeated
again and again the same sordid but
exciting tale. Venice. Genoa and
Pisa fought for the commercial DOM
inence of the Mediterranean and the
route by 1t to India; the strongest
in armament always winning.
Then Portugal and Spain, after the
discovery Of America in 1892, the
voyage of Admiral Vasco de Cana
around the Cape of Good Hope in
1898, and the circumnavigation of
the earth by Magellan in 1519.1522
reduced enormously the value Of
Mediterranean commerce, by open.
ing an ocean route to India and by
colonies in America.
Portugal was crowded out by
Spain. and then England attempted
to crowd out Spain. The contest
went on for. nearly hundred years,
and was finally decided in favor of
when she defeated the in.
armada in 1888.
But Holland then managed to Sc
cure the major part Of the carrying
trade Of the world. Her ships ira
versed all the seas, and brought
home not only the fruits and prod
ucts of every kind that all the world
but also ,he money that
was paid for carrying them by for
eigners. She even carried cargoes
for English merchants.
CROMWELL'S SEIZURE.
In 1861, Cromwell stopped this by
his epochal navigation act, after
having built up formidable navy.
Then, In accordance with instruc-
tons. the British admiral, Blake, on
a Dutch fleet under DE
rromp, demanded a salute. De
rromp replied with a broadside. and
the First Dutch War began. Three
wars followed. The last ended In
1914. As result, the Dutch lost
nearly everything that they had
fought for and fell into the condi.
lions of second.rate power, IN
which they have ever since existed.
1t may be pointed out here that
he original and actual cause Of any
war has often been far different
rom the apparent cause. The APP
parent cause has sometimes been a
highly laudable one, embodying
'ome great principle; sometimes It
'ss been an occurrence. such az a