The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-05
Hawaii and the Changing Front of
the World.

Hawaii and the Changing Front OF
the World.
In the September number of the Forum
the commercial Importance Of the Pacific
and the pivotal relation of Hawaii to that
ocean are well set forth by the Hon. j. R.
Proctor, President of the United States
Civil Service Commission. About a dozen
closely packed pages are devoted by him to
the subject, but the gist Of these may be
stated in a few paragraphs.
First, as to the growing Importance Of
the Pacific. Mr.. Proctor reminds US that
this is due, primarily, to the development
of the marine engine, whereby the sea has
liccome a uniter rather than a divider
Of widely separated lands. Measured by
freight costs, Honolulu Is nearer to San
Francisco than are many towns in the State
Of California; Auckland, Sydney, Vancou-
rrr, and Hong Kong are nearer to London
than Omaha is to New York; and the Brit
fsh possessions in India, South Africa,
Australasia, Canada, and the innumerable
is'cs Of the seas form a more compac COM.
rrrcial unit, tested by freight charges, than
30 the various parts of the Russian Empire,
between which no seas Intervene. Not
only Inns the application of steam brought
near TO us the once remote Pacific, but,
through the artificial proximity, we are
enabled to appreciate its vast commercial
opportunities. More than one-half the pop.
niation of the world Is In countries 'front.'
iHg the Pacific and Indian oceans. The for.
+.sn trade Of the countries bordering upon
these oceans, excluding North America,
already amounts to over %2, $50, 600, 600 q
year. OF this great m the United
States has acquired as yet but a small frac-
tioa. or our total exports more than 80
rc- cent. go eastward across the Atlantic,
and less than 3 per cent. westward. This
is because the bulk Of our exports consists
o. the crude products of our farms, forests,
nad mines. They go to feed the producers
OF Europe and to furnish raw ma
tcrial to European manufacturers We
grow 80 per cent. of the raw cotton
IN the world; yet, with the cheapest
power and the most efficient labor, we
have only 10 per cent. of the spindles of
the world. Now Japan, China, Indo.China,
and India are consumers of manufactured
%cottons; here, obviously, is a market worth
striving for by US, especially as the deep
rivers of China, Indo.China. and India
render the remot interiors of those coun.
tries, with their teeming millions. easily
accessible from the sea. Already we have
five transcontinental railways reaching
the Pacific, and q ship canal connecting
that ocean with the Atlantic is Inevitable.
Undoubtedly our trade with Eastern Asia
is destined In the twentieth century to ex-
pand to enormous proportions.
Assuming that in the future we shall
have N 100 IN. Inu-. Al n
cifc to protect, Mr.. Proctor asks, How
shall we protect 1t If we neglect the present
opportunity Of acquiring Hawaii He
points out that, in a vast area of the Pacific
Ocean, there is but one great landlocked
harbor easily defended, to wit, Pearl Har-
Dor, In the Hawaiian Islands. These isl.
ands, 1t should be kept in mind, are stu.
ated at the intersection of the great COM
merclal routes from Vancouver to Austral.
asia, from the Isthmus Of Panama to ia.
pan, and from San Francisco to Hong Kong.
Now. modern ships Of war and
require, as Mr.. Proctor reminds us, facili.
ties for coalinR aud for frequent docking
for repairs. A neutral port canno be used as
. base of supplies In time OF war. The great
distance across the Pacific would render Il
difficult and almost impossible for a war.
ship to cross that ocean and return without
recoaling. 1t follows that, in the posses
sion of q hostile power, Hawaii would give
an additional base for coaling and repair.
from which to attack our extended coast
line. On tho other hand, with Hawaii in
our possession, and Pearl Harbor fortified
and stored with coal, we should need to
tear no attack from across the Pacific. We
should require fewer warships in that
ocean and fewer Notifications on our west.
srn and Alaskan coasts than would be
needed II Hawaii should remain In its
present condition or pass into the posses.
sion OF Z foreign power. In the item of
marine insurance alone , fortified harbor of
sehige and coal supply would save TO our
In time OF war many times the
cost OF maintaining 1t.
This precious and almost Indispensable
group OF islands can now become a part Of
our possessions as a free gift from Its Gov
ornment, which has beco,nc q Government
not only de (orto but de jurs. having been
acknowledged 10y the United States and
other foreign powers. Why, asks M. pRoc.
TEA should sc not accept the gift2 40
longer, rs ho Justly says, nre tho methods
OF the revolution, waich Opposed the Queen.
LIIIuoKALANI. AID brought the present