The people of the United States will certainly not starve, but they may suffer grievously.

As for supplies which are contraband of war, is there not reason to fear that the United States is not now able to go alone if an emergency should arise?
The question is eminently one in which the influence of the government should make itself felt, to build up for the nation a navy which, if not capable of reaching distant countries, shall at least be able to keep clear the chief approaches to its own.

The eyes of the country have for a quarter of a century been turned from the sea; the results of such a policy and of its opposite will be shown in the instance of France and of England.

Without asserting a narrow parallelism between the case of the United States and either of these, it may safely be said that it is essential to the welfare of the whole country that the conditions of trade and commerce should remain, as far as possible, unaffected by an external war.

In order to do this, the enemy must be kept not only out of our ports, but far away from our coasts.[15] Can this navy be had without restoring the merchant shipping?
It is doubtful.