Page 319 - The interest of America in sea power, present and future

Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. 297

stance, it might be urged forcibly, in view of
the existence of two great naval ports like San-
tiago de Cuba and Port Royal in Jamaica,
close to the Windward Passage, through which
lies the direct route from the Atlantic seaboard
to the Isthmus, that St. Nicholas Mole, imme-
diately on the Passage, offers the natural posi-
tion for checking the others in case of need.
The reply is that we are not seeking to check
anything or anybody, but simply examining in
the large the natural strategic features, and
incidentally thereto noting the political con-
ditions, of a maritime region in which the
United States is particularly interested polit-
;
ical conditions, as has been remarked, having
an unavoidable effect upon military values.
The inquiry being thus broad, Samana Bay
and the island of St. Thomas are entitled to
the pre-eminence here given to them, because
they represent, efficiently and better than any
other positions, the control of two principal
passages into the Caribbean Sea from the
Atlantic. The Mona Passage, on which Sa-
mana lies, between Santo Domingo and Puerto
Rico, is particularly suited to sailing-vessels
from the northward, because free from dangers