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The National Geographic Magazine 



our own position on the greatest of the 

 world's oceans. I think it expresses the 

 present situation with exactness, and is 

 an unanswerable argument in behalf of 

 securing to the United States the Ha- 

 waiian Islands as Great Britain has se- 

 cured to herself Gibraltar and Malta. 



These islands would not long remain 

 ours, in case of war with a sea power, if 

 they remain in the condition in which 

 they now are. Gibraltar and Malta are 

 the strongest fortresses in Europe. So 

 should Hawaii be the strongest fortress 

 in the Pacific. The President recognizes 

 this, and in his latest annual address rec- 

 ommends an appropriation for the forti- 

 fication of Pearl Harbor. The War De- 

 partment also recognizes it, and recom- 

 mends the appropriation of $i,ioo,coo 

 with which to continue the necessary 

 work. That this work should go on with- 

 out intermission until we have established 

 there an impregnable naval base goes 

 without saying. The only thing needed 

 is money, and I am sure that Congress 

 sees the necessity of voting liberal appro- 

 priations. 



Pearl Harbor is susceptible of being 

 made another Gibraltar, where the larg- 

 est fleet may safely lie and where re- 

 pairs may be made at leisure. It con- 

 sists of an elliptical lagoon 8 miles long 

 by 4 wide, with a depth of water rang- 

 ing from 30 to 130 feet. It is completely 

 land-locked, preventing surprise attack 

 from submarines or torpedo boats, as 

 well as from hostile fleets. In the rear 

 are mountain ranges 3,000 or 4,000 feet 

 high, on the slopes of which are the mili- 

 tary reservation, about 10 miles from the 

 harbor, where a salubrious climate is se- 

 cured. Reservations for fortifications. 



wharves, and all that is necessary for a 

 first-class naval station have been secured, 

 and this channel has been dredged to 30 

 feet, and may easily be deepened much 

 more and straightened to insure easier 

 navigation for battleships, which work 

 can be done, it is thought, at an expense 

 not exceeding $750,000, the value of the 

 customs receipts of Honolulu for six 

 months. 



General Schofield, in 1872, reported on 

 Pearl Harbor that "it could be completely 

 defended by inexpensive batteries on 

 either or both shores, firing across a nar- 

 row channel of entrance. Its waters are 

 deep enough for the largest vessel of war, 

 and its lochs, particularly around Rabbit 

 Island, are spacious enough for a large 

 number of vessels to ride at anchor in 

 perfect security against all storms. Its 

 shores are suitable for building proper 

 establishments for sheltering the neces- 

 sary supplies for a naval establishment, 

 such as magazines of ammunition, pro- 

 visions, coal, spars, rigging, etc., while 

 the Island of Oahu, upon which it is situ- 

 ated, could furnish fresh provisions, 

 meats, fruits, and vegetables in large 

 quantities." 



Too much stress cannot be given to 

 the fact that if Pearl Harbor is to be for- 

 tified successfully the work must be done 

 in time of peace. When war comes it 

 would be too late, and woe to us if we 

 are not prepared for defense as well as 

 for attack. It behooves Congress, there- 

 fore, to give special attention now to the 

 necessities of Pearl Harbor, and to liber- 

 ally provide the means by which it may 

 stand forever the strongest bulwark 

 which we possess in the western ocean. 



HAWAII FOR HOMES 



By H. P. Wood 



MUCH has been written about the 

 charming climate of Hawaii, 

 the beautiful scenery, and the 

 smooth seas to the coral-fringed Para- 



dise ; and now that a struggle for the 

 mastery of the Pacific, that ocean of such 

 great potentialities, is on among the na- 

 tions of the earth, it is seen that Hawaii, 



