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DEVOTED TO EVERYTHING AND EVERY {INTEREST CONNECTED OR ASSOCIA TED WITH MARINE MATTERS ON THE FACK OF THE EARTH. . Published every Thursday by The Penton Publishing Co. CLEVELAND. é "NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA PITTSBURG .- CINCINNATI BOSTON - DULUTH CHICAGO Correspondence on Marine Engineering, Ship : Building and Shipping Subjects Solicited. Subscription, $3.00 per annum. To Foreign Countries. $4.50. Subscribers can have addresses changed at will. Change of advertising copy must reach this office on Thursday preceding date of publication. The Cleveland News Co. will supply the trade with the MARINE REVIEW through the regu- lar channels of the American News Co. European 'Agents, The International News Com- pany, Breams Building, Chancery Lane, : London, E. C. England, ' Entered at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio, as . Second Class Matter. NovEMBER I, 1906. THE JAPANESE INCIDENT. Whatever rights we have guaran- teed to the Japanese domiciled in the United States they should unques- tionably be permitted to enjoy. And, if Japan has reason to think that her people are being denied such rights, it of course is proper for her to protest, and insist upon receiving what belongs to her. When the affront that she feels that she has suffered is one that: sug- gests the social inequality of her peo- ple with our own, her recent achieve- ments may well justify her in resent- ing it, even in the startlingly prompt manner that is of recent record and present keen remembrance. It is to be regretted that the sentiment in San Francisco should have induced the lo- cal authorities there to inflict such an 'insult upon the Japanese as was the case in excluding Japanese children "TAE. Marine REVIEW from attending the schools open to American children. It is more to be regretted that the administration did not take the vigorous steps to correct this affront before it was all but forced to do so by the action of the Japan- ese ambassador at Washington. The mortification that the people of the United States must feel to be thus held up to the world by the nape of the neck, as it were, by Japan, and, of all reasons for that of bad manners, and soundly shaken therefor, is not conduc- ive to that self-respect with which it is our wont to survey ourselves. For Japan to be able, and justly, to say to President Roosevelt, "step" lively!" and for him to feel that he must step lively, both because Japan was in the right and because it is to our interest to ' mollify her, is pretty nearly as irritat- ing to the American people, as a whole, as it would be. for all of them, separately, to be compelled to wear a hair shirt. The incident, however, is not with- out its warning. That is written large and clear 'across the. political sky. Japan purposes being punctilious. . Con- sidering our form of government, con- sidering state rights, considering the inability of the national administration to insure police protection at all times to people temporarily domiciled in this country, and considering the causes that, on the Pacific coast, have led to this slight upon'the Japanese, we may well realize, *and that profoundly, that it behooves us, as a nation, to pre- pate , for: any possible eventualities. That fapan ts so "touchy" as: to her rights, that it is so:easy to increase the irritation her people at home may feel at the. treatment accorded the Japanese here, indicates, unerringly, Japan's determination to exact rigor- ously from us--from us, at least-- every consideration that is her just due. It is the rigor and the grimness of this manifestation of Japanese pur- pose that should solemnly warn us. The question is, will it? Doubtless there will be things now in the Philippines that will, from time to time, attract not a few of our best warships there. It may be that the Philippines are not so peaceful as they should be. Doubtless our army out there should be largely augmented. One never knows what may happen-- in the Philippines. It is well to be prepared for whatever may happen. That we are not now, is manifest; that: we should be, is no less manifest. When Congressman Burton, at the coming session of congress leads -his followers in the fight that we are all told is impending against a larger navy, he may find that his work is cut out for him. We think the Japanese, quite innocently no doubt, have re- moved the danger of a cessation of our naval program. We may thank her. for that. »»But what about a merchant marine? In an official report to congress at its last session, Admiral Dewey point- ed out the need of swift scouts--no less than 24 of them--of a large num- ber of squadron colliers, and of slow colliers, of ammunition and supply and refrigerating ships, of tank and dis- tilling ships, of hospital and repair and torpedo depot ships, of dispatch boats, all to come from our merchant marine, upon call, for auxiliary naval needs in time of stress. He has point- ed out, also, the value of the trained and experienced officers and men on board. of- our merchant ships, as -a reinforcement for our navy, when needed. Have we got these vessels? Have we got these trained and ex- perienced seamen? No, we have not. We have waited for them too long. The need of them has been more ap- parent recently, their need is more 'apparent today; it may be much more apparent tomorrow. What are we going to do about it? Are we going tu wait until Japan seizes and occupies .the Philippines, until she annexes Guam and_ the Hawaiian islands, until she sends her merchant ships, filled with troops, horses, and 'munitions of war, pro- tected by a large, a powerful, and a thoroughly experienced fleet of the most modern warships, to these points of aggressive action? Shall we wait un- til she has magnified her prestige world wide, as almost in a moment she may do, by these undertakings? Shall we suffer the shame and igno- miny, no less than the loss of prestige, and the more substantial things that