The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-09-04
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crew followed on . British mer-
chant ship and 1t did not take
long for them to obtain posses
SION % 49, - .iiehe.s For t~ro
years they raided the sea. and are
credited with destroying about
half the American merchant
marine.
In June. 1854. Capt. semmes
took the Alabama TO Cherbourg,
France, for repairs. Il happened
that the U.S.s. Kearsarge. Capt.
John Winslow, was then at
Flushing. a port in neutral"
England. As soon as Capt. Win
slow heard that the Alabama
was at Cherbourg. he started
for that port as fast ss the
Kearsarge could steam.
Capt. Winslow took the
Kearsarge into the harbor,
circled closely around the Ala
hama several times, and then
anchored half . mile outside.
Capt. Semmes accepted the
challenge TO battle. One hour
and two minutes after the
vessels fired the first shot, the
Alabama went down. Capt.
Semmes and IL Of his men
were rescued by an English
boat.
Immediately there were claims
for enormous sums. For some
time the United States and Great
Britain engaged in a cat and
dog fight over the matter and
finally agreed TO submit the case
to a board of five arbitrators.
Each side appointed q member
of the board and there was one
each from Brazil, Switzerland
and Italy.
The board finally agreed that
Great Britain should pay the
United tsates s15,500.00 for
damage to American shipping
by English built boats during
the war and pared the British
counter claim of $50, 000, 900
down to 81. 300. 900.
The award aroused differ
emit reactions In the two coun-
tries. To the United States,
impoverished by the war, II
seemed like . gift from heav-
en-. To Great Britain needing
cash and wondering what
would be the ultimate value
of a billion dollars worth of
Confederate bonds, II was bad
news.
1t happened at this time, 1878,
that there were in places of au-
thority in Great Britain, certain
gentlemen almost as foolish, but
not quite. as certain other gen.
tlemen holding down the uneasy
seats of the mighty in the United
States. The British gentlemen
hated to see s15,50o. 900 in hard
cash go out Of the country and
offered the United States the
preposterous alternative of taxi
ing British Columbia and calling
1t square. They knew as little
of the great British territory in
the Northwest as the congress
of the United States did Of the
Oregon country" and had about
as much sympathy.
The only thing that pre-
vented the British govern
ment throwing away . great
empire for a mess Of pottage
was the dull simplicity of the
United States congress. Those
gentlemen had been fooled
once and were not going TO be
caught again ON the same
hook. Look at Alaska, q great
chunk of Ice and snow for
which Secretary Seward, the
knave, had just inveigled the
government into paying ST.
100000. After having had
their fingers burned on the
Alaska deal, or frozen, which
ever you prefer, did those Eng
lishmen think they were going
to make suckers out Of con-
gress: Not on your life. And.
the message went 10 Great
Britain to come through with
the exact pound Of flesh.
While the two governments
were dickering. the people di-
rectly affected were, as a whole,
taxing q rather nonchaiant view
of the situation. In the territory
of Washington there were a few
who knew the value Of the terri
tory England proposed TO trade
for the s15.500. 900 award. They
hoped the deal would 90 through;
others didn't care.
That portion Of British Co
umbia which the wise men Of
the United States congress re-
fused to accept in lieu of the
fifteen million award in the Ala
bama case is now worth more
than that many billion.
QUESTIONS TO TEST
YOUR kNOwI EDEE