The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-12-14
The Pacific: Mancuver Ground o.
Fleets and Diplomats.

Washington. Dec. 2.-'1f the "a
cific were merely great ocean oe-
void OF islands or with as few bits
of land as those in the North At
Iant;c probably tIerc would be no
Pacific problem says a buiieeln
from the Washington, d. c., head-
CHARTERS of the National Geographic
Society in connection with the con-
ference called by President Hard
ing for the discussion OF the lfhl-
tat:on of arnlaments and Far East
ern duesti~ rs. I'm other words.
continues the bulletin. each island
might be :isuaijzed not inappro-
priate!y as the dot under vast
tazv question mark. To split halrs,
il is not so much the problem OF
the Pacific that is botherlng the
world. as the problem OF its is
lands.
IF modern fleets had to be oper-
ated 5000 miles from home with
out fuel bases, or If cables had 10
snan such distances under water
without relay stations, offensive na-
val warfare and Geographic COM
nounication over wires woulc be
practically impossible. The great
powers Of the. world woke UP TO
this fact in earnest about gen.
Grafton ago and began taking over
island bases and stations In the
Pacific that had previously seemed
of little more significance than
stages for exotic dances and can
nibal feasts Before this, islands
and the lands bordering the worlds
greatest ocean had been acquired
chiefly with the idea Of exploiting
their products, and only the larger
areas were considered important.
With the realization Of the valu-
able parts that naval bases and re-
lay stations might play in the fu-
ture, there developed a keen inter
est in even the tiniest rocks and
/ coral rings.
L. S. Bss Big stake in Pacific.
LAS landlords Of the domains
that bound the vast bowl Of the
Pacific now sit three great vltally
! interested powers - the United
States, Great Britain and Japan. In
addition there are four nations
; hardly less interested-China, Rus
sia, Holland and France. Among
those countries whose interests are
by no means negligible are Mexico,
Chile and the other west coast
Latin American states. Spain and
Germany, once interested at least
to the extent that France is now
interested, have passed from the
Pacific; but in passing each has ac-
centuated the problems of the
United States.
What may be called the stakes
of the various countries whose
lands hem in the Pacific vary
greatly on q basis Of their coast
lines. Leaving minor convolutions
OF the coasts out of consideration
/ in every case, the United States
leads in miles Of frontage ON the
Pacific with more than 1900 miles,
counting both the sweep OF the
| Aleutian Islands and the part OF
Alaska above them. The Phlilp-
pines add a direct frontage OF
about 1000 miles more on the 9TH
er side of the great ocean.
Russian Coast Line Important.
"Asiatic Russia is second with
approximately $500 miles from
Behring Strait 20 Chosen Ckorea).
counting the coast line of the sea OF
Okhotsk. comparable in size to our
own Gulf Of Mexico.
Across the southwestern corner
of the Pacific, British territory
stretches from Dutch New Guinea
to New Zealand. distance OF
about $500 miles. but with
break of over LOCO miles between
Australia and New Zealand. In a
way. however. Australia may fair
" be considered entirely a Pacific
land, giving Great Britain by far
the greatest coast line. The con-
tincnt has for protection coast
line OF approximately 5000 miles,
easily reached by fleets from the
j Pacific, and it matters little from
naval point of view that half the
water that bathes this long shore
line is called the Indian Ocean.
Canada adds approximately 500
miles to British Pacific coast lines
The islands that constitute ia
pan stretch along Asia from near
the tip of Kamchatka to the
southern point Of Taiwan (F'or-
mosa). and thus have a frontage
on the Pacific Of about ZOO miles.
The coast line of Japan is mitch
greater. however. due to the wes-
form frontage on the Sea Of
I Okhotsk. the Sea of Japan, and the
Yellow and Eastern Seas.
Philippines Screen Asiatic Lands.
screened by the Philippines
and the British possessions in
northern Borneo. the Dutch pos
sessions have a direct frontage on
the Pacific of only about 1000
miles: but their total coast line.
counting that on the Indian ocean.
is many times that figure. China's
coast line, too, is screened, by Ja-
pan. 1t amounts to about 2,oe0
miles. French Indo China. be-
hind the Philippines. has a coast
~ Of aho,,t 600 miles on the