The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-02-11
BIG QUESTION
Is POLICY ON
TRADE FLEET
With Conference Over and
Partnership in Naval Power
Established, Mercantile
Shipping Problem Up.
Will CAUSE ARGUMENT
BY MARK SULLIVAN

sloht III eNOluliOH, anu It's SuulnS al
fords a convenient stopping place to
pause moment and take stock of
the place in the world which the
United States now has
This evolution in the relation of the
nations of the world TO each other has
been going on very rapidly since the
lst of August. 1914. What might have
consumed generations of more orderly
history has been compressed into a
few years.
Al all times there is a position in
the world which is called the dominant
power In a more restricted sense, it
Is frequently spoken of as Mistress
CT the Seas"--a phrase which is rea-
sonably accurate. inasmuch as world
dominance has practically always
gone hand-in-hand with naval and com
mercial dominance on the sea
Germany's phrase for this position
was THE place in the Sun 1t was
ihat place that Germany sought to
take from Great Britain; and it is
Germany's lack of success and other
incidents attending her effort that led
10 all the dislocation out Of which we
are just emerging.
Three Elements
This position of dominance is com
posed of three elements on armed
force and economic supremacy. What
ever nation at any time has these
three elements combined, has domin
ance. The three clemens are. first
supremacy in mercantile shipping;
second, supremacy in finance, in the
sense of being the greatest reservoir
CT wealth, and through that being the
greatest lending nation in the world;
and, finally. supremacy in armed
strength on the sea. Whatever nation
combines these three has the position
that Germany coveted.
For close to two centuries 1t was
Great Britain that held this position.
Germany wanted it and went after it.
She did not get it, but as often hap
pens, 1t went, or at least started to
go. to nation which was in the be-
ginning disinterested observer
namely, ourselves
U. S. Did Not covet
America did not covat this posi-
ton nor envy it to Great Britain II
was true there were some who felt
that in the course of time due to nat
ural forces and through the ordinary
processes of peace. it would leave
Great Britain and come to us
The late Ambassador Page was one
who saw this trend. and he speaks of
It in his letters, which are just now
being published Mr. Page, however
had in mind an orderly process OF
evolution. These orderly processes
were suspended. and the trend was
enormously accelerated by the war
OF the three elements of dominance
he first to leave Great Britain was
that of the greatest lending nation in
The world. Before the war was more
than few months old, Great Britain's
necessities had caused her to call ir
her money from all over the world.
We Became Lenders
Before il was year old. she had be
gun to borrow enormous sums, chiefly
frcm us. Very shortly we ceased tC
b. what we had always been-a Dor
rowing nation. Before the war We
owed some five or six billions of dol
lars abroad, and used to pay ou
about three hundred million dollars
year in interest. By the end Of the
war we had completely and strikingll
rN' 'ersed that position.
Instead of our owing money Il
Europe. Europe owed us upwards o
e"mparably the greatest lending ma
lion in the world.
As respects the second element
r"melv, supremacy in mercantile shir
ring. Great Britain continued to bol,
hsr dominion; in fact, she holds i
Yet. AZ the beginning of the war w,
were negligible factor in the world
mercantile shipping We had less thai
Of MI l,.;t tai, I,
more than half of it.
Destroyed Ships.
, But with q true instinct for the eS
, sence of the thing she was after Gel
many began to sink Great Britain
mercantile fleet During the war tn
German submarines destroyed close 4
ialf of Great Britain's shipping Grea
Britain could not replace this shipping
as fast as Germany destroyed it, Sh
could not spare her man power fo
building mercantile ships. Such mar
power as she could spare for shi
building at all went into the yards tha
we're building warships
In this plight Great Britain besougn
us to become a great mercantile shiI
building nation. At her request. an
in order to help her win the war. W
erected plants for mercantile shiI
building which, in the aggregate. ar
much larger than Great Britains. B
he end of the war we had begun t
approximate Great Britain's strengt
in mercantile shipping, and we had
shipbuilding plant, which, if we hi
chosen to use it to its fullest capacit!
would easily and quickly outdistance
Great Britain.
Strono In Warshins
As to armed naval strength the er
of the war found Great Britain a
dominant as ever. During the wa
she had added greatly to her strengt
in warships. With the ending of tn
war, however. Great Britain allowe
her building of warships to lapse, an
at the same time we began form
dable program of naval construction
BY the time the Washington confe
ence came, we had begun to approx
mate Great Britain's strength.
= The situation. therefore, at the tin
the Washington conference opene
was this: The three elements whic
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