Show foreign rei owned west indies islands linked to defense of panama canal aal by ALVIN DOWNING released by western newspaper union washington will germany claim dutch foreign pos sessions in the west indies this would bring a momen momentous t problem of the war close to the panama canal and the interests of the united states britain and france too have possessions in the west indies and in central ameri ca and many are the voices that are raised to have these possessions transferred to the united states in repayment of the war debts these voices have been rising louder since the spread of the war to belgium luxembourg and the nethe netherlands r whether anything will come of this proposal none can say in the past it never got to first base in congress will the next one deal dea with it more seriously germanys germanas Germ anys invasion of denmark and holland which nominally retain governments of their own so far has brought another suggestion in the domain of west indian affairs it is a proposal that the united states purchase outright foreign possession in this hemisphere where possible this would not be without precedent s since ince the united states purchased the virgin islands from denmark in 1917 but long ion 9 before that president jefferson made the louisiana purchase from prance france some 50 years after that came the purchase of alaska from the russian government precedent for idea the netherlands it is pointed out own surinam dutch guiana a colony of square miles on the northern coast of south america and also curacao two groups of islands in the same vicinity for example the virgin islands in this same area were purchased from denmark for in its process of growing the united states has acquired territory in several different ways by annexation purchase conquest and by arbitration bit ration exchange for war debts or direct purchase then say the I 1 4 ia fotion of boyar fol v fim agte cw TED i on im reas q a E CO 1 1 5 ON THE ALERT this trooper is one of twenty thousand US soldiers on duty in the panama canal region constantly on the alert for any hint of danger clanger to this vital link of american defense pictured here on sentry duty he presents an eerie sight clad as he is in mosquito headset and wearing gloves as further protection against the malaria peril the sign warns that no photographs can be taken on this military reservation backers of these ideas are perfectly aly in accord with traditional amer american can policy argument for transfer of some of these west indies islands in payment of war debts runs something tike like this these european nations owe us money we need more air and naval bases in the caribbean to protect the panama canal why not obtain these islands by transfer and at the same time aid these debt debtors ors in reducing the amount of their obligation and it is sometimes a added dd there is grave doubt that we e will get payment of these debts in any other form whatsoever amounts owed to U S more specifically great britain owes the united states some 5 billion dollars in the western hemisphere her possessions consist of the following the bahama islands bermuda the barbados jamaica trinidad the leeward islands honduras and british guiana nt BAHAMA 1 I gulf a 1 ISLANDS OR U of INDIES meiric me iric PO C RIC C cz b 06 cn HAITI 9 JAMAICA OR bet NCI CURACAO vana vi f a BRITISH B NAME le 0 e B 0 hl RIC STRATEGIC WEST INDIES this map indicates the strategic location of many foreign owned islands and possessions in their relationship tion ship to americas defense of the all important panama canal identification of the various mother countries is shown shohon by the abbreviated names beleto each possession dr br indicates great britain fr france and neth the netherlands there is the vast dominion of canada and newfoundland frances debt is about in the western world she owns guadeloupe martinique st pierre and miquelon on the continent of south america next door to dutch guiana france has the square mile territory of french guiana both of these nations france and great britain have given up territory in the western hemisphere before history of this very group of islands the west indies supplies proof of this cuba has been owned by spain by great britain by spain again and finally by cubans themselves all this in addition to the short military rule imposed on the island for a time by the united states puerto rico owned by the united states formerly was owned by spain haiti has been owned by both french and british interests jamaica was once owned by spain and the british held it for a long period of time thus the history of these islands indicates that their ownership has never been definitely stable imperialistic intentions of course any plan to acquire any of these islands for the united states would be attacked on the grounds that we were branching out with imperialistic intention advocates of the suggestion defend their position in this regard by pointing out that we are preparing to hand band the philippines back to the natives and they continue acquisition of territory in the region described is part of a measure of self defense for it is highly essential that the un united cited states keep the panama canal holding these islands would make the job of defending it a very much easier undertaking for the united states army and navy but why the question logically follows why is it so vitally important that our defense of the panama canal influence our actions to the extent that we even suggest acquiring new naval bases to aid in its defense briefly the answer is this ever since the united states has become a world power on the high seas we have been developing what is is recognized as a one ocean fleet that is the power of the nations naval force is concentrated into a unit that best performs if all its component parts are put into action together for this reason if international conditions warrant it the navy concentrates in the pacific to ward off any possible threat to americas shores then if official washington sees trouble brewing for uncle sam in the atlantic re regions gions the fleet may be directed to proceed through the panama canal to take up a strategic position in the desired location thus the canal should ever be kept open so that the fleet can be shifted from ocean to ocean without being forced to make the long and time wasting trip around the southernmost tip of south america pacific islands acquired in the pacific the united states has not hesitated to acquire islands which serve as vital defense links to our far flung possessions in that section in 1889 the samoan islands came under the combined control of the united states great britain and germany just before the turn of the century the islands were divided among the three nations the U S getting tutuila and the harbor at pago pago in the meantime a war with spain had been fought and the hawaiian islands had been annexed by the federal government in addition after the close of the war with spain and with the treaty of paris spain ceded outright the philippines and guam in the pacific and puerto rico in the caribbean plus this the united states has annexed the following pacific islands in the years indicated wake 1899 midway 1859 samoa 1899 rowland howland baker jarvis 1856 and exercises joint control with england over canton and enderbury in 1867 we purchased the aleutian islands an and d the biloff groups off the coast of alaska under the monroe doctrine the united states is committed to the policy of allowing no european or 0 ther other foreign nation acquiring possessions in the american hemisphere by war will that apply to the case of germany in the west indies should it claim any of the islands or to other lands in the americas these will be questions that will be asked many times in the coming months |