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Possible abandonment of. Baker island as an American meteorological 
station and potential air base was seen today as a result of difficulty 
encountered by coast guardsmen attempting to land relief personnel 
and supplies on the island, " " ,r 
That the department of interior may remove the American colonists 
from the equatorial isle appears 
probable in light' of reports brought 
to Honolulu Friday when the cutter 
Roger B. Taney returned to Hono¬ 
lulu from a routine supply cruise to 
equatorial islands. 
by Ca P‘- Eugene A. 
r^ 111 ’n, e Tane y docked at Pier 12 
4.30 Friday afternoon, ending a 
C ~i U1 ?f distinguished by difficulties 
ot effecting a landing at Baker and 
by discovery of an airplane life raft 
adrift approximately 100 miles 
south of Oahu. 
Army and navy authorities were 
examining the raft today to deter- 
mine its identity. It is made of 
rubber and is painted yellow with 
blue trimmings. Lettering upon the 
raft indicates that it was tested 
May 8, 1938. 
Oarlock Cut Away ^ ^ 
Because one cross seat and one 
oarlock were cut away and because f 
the bottom of the raft was scarred 
as if by rocks, ship’s officers ex¬ 
pressed the belief the raft may 
have been obsolete equipment in 
private use along some beach 
front 
Referring to the difficulties en¬ 
countered at Baker, Richard B. 
Black, field representative of the 
department of interior in charge 
of the equatorial island colonies, 
said he was forwarding a com¬ 
plete account of the Baker surf 
conditions to Washington. 
He recommended last year, he 
said, that Baker be abandoned, but 
the department refused to author¬ 
ize abandonment. 
He will make no further recom¬ 
mendations, he said, but will allow 
the description of attempted land¬ 
ings to speak for itself. 
Many On Cruise 
Returning with Mr. Black from 
the cruise which included stops at ] 
Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Canton, 
Enderbury and Palmyra were the 
following: 
Cm'dr. C. H. Cotter, assistant dis¬ 
trict public works officer who in¬ 
spected Palmyra, 
•Maj. James C. van Ingen, aerol¬ 
ogist at Luke field. 
Capt. J. B. Newman of the third 
engineers at Luke field. 
Capt.;:~ James P. Barney Jr., 8th J 
field artillery. 
John C* Boyle, former manager 
Turn to Page 4, Column 3 
