Page 335 - The interest of America in sea power, present and future

Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. 313

sage open by force, she is thrown upon evasion
— upon furtive measures — to maintain essen-
tial supplies; for, if she cannot assert her
strength so far in that direction, she cannot',
from her nearness, go beyond Cuba's reach
in any direction. Abandonment of the best
road in this case means isolation ; and to
that condition, if prolonged, there is but one
issue.
The final result, therefore, may be stated
in this way : The advantages of situation,
strength, and resources are greatly and deci-
sively in favor of Cuba. To bring Jamaica
to a condition of equality, or superiority, is
needed a mobile force capable of keeping the
Windward Passage continuously open, not only
for a moment, nor for any measurable time,
but throughout the war. Under the present
conditions of political tenure, in case of a war
involving only the two states concerned, such
a question could admit of no doubt ; but in a
war at all general, involving several naval
powers, the issue would be less certain. In
the war of 1778 the tenure, not of the Wind-
ward Passage merely, but of Jamaica itself, was
looked upon by a large party in Great Britain