The Men Who Wrought Part 56

Ruxton broke into a short, nervous laugh which died out with a curious, sober abruptness.

"Dreams, dreams? I wonder if they are only dreams. If they are dreams they are surely vivid enough--painfully vivid." He paused for an infinitesimal fraction. "No, no, Dad, I am no visionary in the sense that imagination runs away with me. I see many things that every other man sees, and it is only a question of different reading. What do you think the majority of people in this country will do when they really understand all that our little adventure means? They will metaphorically fling up their hats, and deride the wretched Teuton, and his merciless delight in the slaughter of innocent life upon the high seas. In a few years' time, when they see our sea-borne traffic carried by great submersibles of eight and ten thousand tons, their confidence will be unbounded, and they will reiterate again the old song 'Britannia Rules the Waves,' and--they will have justice on their side.

But the questions which I ask myself, which I must keep on asking myself, are--'Does Britannia rule the waves? Can she continue to rule the waves?'"

He shook his head, and gently removed the ash from his cigar.

"In spite of all the evidence, in spite of our wholly promising new move for protecting our overseas traffic, in spite of the brilliant manner in which our Navy has met, and defeated, every ingenious method of attack by our enemies in the past, I do not believe we can ever hope to continue indefinitely our rule of the seas, or _even the safeguarding of our overseas traffic_.

"Oh, yes, I know what everybody will say in answer to such a statement," he went on, in reply to the interrogatory in his father's eyes. "But they are wrong, a thousand times wrong," he declared, almost pa.s.sionately. "It is no sound argument or real logic that what we have done for the past few hundred years we can continue to do. Our men are giants among the men of the sea. But they are only human. The days of 'wait and see' are over. We must not wait for trouble to arise to attempt its counter. We must look ahead with all the experience of the late war behind us. The reason we rule the seas at the moment--if we do rule them--is because we are an island country, and because our past necessities have forced us to stride far ahead in maritime affairs of all other nations, while they possessed no full realization of the value of sea power. But the late war has shown us that now, at last, every country in the world understands to the full the necessity for wresting from any one Power the dominance of the seas. Look back.

Germany was fighting for sea power as greatly as she was fighting for anything else. Russia, that vast land-locked world, could only hope for an outlet to the sea as a result of all her sacrifice. The Balkan countries, their national aspirations, every one of them was a harbor on the high seas. The whole world intends to possess each its share of the great waterways, without fear of the dominance of any one nation.

It is plain, plain as the writing on the wall.

"I solemnly submit that Britain's power, her domination of the seas, cannot stand for all time. And the reason--it is so simple, so terribly simple. Just as our strength now lies in the seas, so does our weakness. Every moment of our lives the threat of starvation stares into our haunted eyes, and we, like hunted men, search and search for a means to ward it off. Do you see? I could weep for those who will not see. The Germans were just not clever enough, that is all. They saw the weakened links in our armor, and endeavored to drive home the attack when they attempted their submarine blockade. But their attempt lacked adequate preparation. This is all ancient history, but it points in the direction I would have men look. The result of that has been to make us further consolidate our defences. The completion of that comes in our new submersible. But, remember, we are defending only against known forces--not the unknown. It is the unknown we have to fear. Every human defence can be destroyed by human ingenuity. That is why I say that the new principle will only serve us in itself for just the amount of time which it takes our rivals to readjust their focus, and mobilize their powers of offence. The day will come when some invention will be brought to attack underwater craft successfully. And then--what then?

In spite of all our territory, our wealth, our nominal power we shall be driven to yield to the pangs of hunger. It is not a dream I am showing you. It is a reality. It is a truism which no logical mind can deny."

Sir Andrew refrained from comment for some moments as his son ceased speaking. But at last, as the silence prolonged, he urged him.

"And what is the answer to it all?" he enquired. His eyes were serious, and his words came crisply. He had caught something of his boy's gravity although he was not sure how far he accepted his creed. "There must be an answer. Every problem of State possesses its solution, if we can only find it--in time."

Ruxton nodded. Then he rose abruptly from his chair and flung his cigar-end into the empty fireplace with a forceful gesture. He began to pace the room.

"That is the crux of the whole situation," he declared feverishly, his dark eyes burning with an intense light. "In time! In time! If we could only be induced to adopt the true solution 'in time'--before we are forced to adopt it. Oh, yes, there is a solution--a right solution. It is so simple that one wonders it has not long since been discussed by every man in the street. The solution stares us in the face on every hand. It calls aloud to us in appeal, and we turn from it. Every country that can ever hope to last out the days of man must be self-contained, self-supporting. In times of stress it must be capable of existence upon its own natural stores. Look at America's position during the war. She could afford to hold aloof, and continue her reign of prosperity while she snapped her fingers at Armageddon. Why? Because she was independent of the rest of the world both economically and strategically. Let the whole of the rest of the world blaze. Let the slaughter go on. She could stand alone though the conflagration raged a century. No combination of human forces could defeat America without exterminating her peoples. Here are we, with territory, blocks of territory scattered throughout the world so vast as to make America look small in comparison. They are not tracts of savage country, but cultivated and highly civilized States, any one of which can be wholly self-supporting. They are ours--peopled with our people--governed by codes of laws similar to our own--with objects and principles like to our own. And yet we sit here awaiting ultimate destruction, a tiny group of islands upon the crests of the Atlantic waters. It makes one think of the foolish bird, who builds her nest and stocks it full of eggs, and sets it upon the topmost twigs of a tree, waiting for the gathering of the storm which must sweep it out of existence, while the whole protection of the tree's full strength lies open to her. The position is so absurd as to set one laughing in very bitterness. I tell you the day will come when an island home is utterly untenable for any great nation. I am not even sure that the time has not already come. If I had my way our empire would be ruled from the heart of Canada, whose vast tracts of territory are bursting with an unbroached wealth which no country in the world can ever hope to match. There, amidst those fertile plains, I would set up our kingdom, and gather our limitless resources about us. There, in the midst of that new world, I would wield me the sceptre of the greatest Empire of all time, and within its ramparts I would strive unceasingly for the spiritual and mundane welfare of our people and all mankind. No nation in the world was ever more fitted, both in temper and in power, for the task. No peoples would more willingly lend themselves to it. All our history has been one long story of pacific purpose, and only has our regrettable geographical setting forced upon us any other course. My most ardent thought and desire is that some day we may voluntarily remove the obstacles besetting us, and our pacific purpose may be given the full development it seeks. But so long as Britain nests upon the waters of the Atlantic, so long shall we continue to live under the burden of war. And the end?--Who can prophesy the--end?"