The New York Sun, which in the past has not
been con- spicuous for friendliness towards this country, in commenting upon Mr. Root's speech, suggested an alternative to the strong Navy he advocated,—a defensive alliance with Britain on the Anglo-Japanese model, "based upon the fundamental stipula- tion that the parties should co-operate only when either of them should be assailed by more than one naval Power." On Tuesday it explained that the suggestion was not inspired by any sympathy with Britain, but by considerations of economy. The United States under such an arrangement would only be obliged to maintain a Navy equal to Germany, while we could be content with one equal to France and Russia combined. "The arrangement would amply suffice for defensive pur- poses, unless the United States should be involved in a duel with Great Britain or with France, neither of which is con- ceivable." A coalition of France, Germany, and Russia was the menace which Britain had to fear, and the United States might be faced by the same coalition before the close of the century. The only hope of ultimately preventing the parti- tion of South America lay either in an enormous Navy or a, defensive alliance with Britain.
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