The San Francisco call., 1898-08-06

coral reefs which guard the entrance, but they cannot penetrate far.
 At Goat 1siand, a mile from the ocean, the channel takes sudden turn and the rest of the harbor is completely land locked.
 Just within this island. on a sandy spot, Is all that remains of the United States coaling station, which 1t, is now proposed to reconstruct. A native village, its brown huts peeping out amidst the palm trees and banana plantations, is close by, but the fifteen acres of land belonging to Un- cle Sam are bare and desolate. A few old lighters lie rotting on the beach; decay ing Stumps of piles indicate where there was once wharf. Owing to the steep ness of the mountains which surround Pago-Pago, very little land is available round the beach. The natives themselves are terribly cramped for level areas which to place their huts. They will not live away from the water, consequently every inch of level ground around the shores of the bay is occupied by these Samoans.
 Therefore, the land owned, if not oecu- pied by this nation, has considerable in- Irinsic worth, apart altogether from its strategic value. It would be difficult, 1n- deed. Tor any other nation to acquire, on this harbor, such suitable place for Q coaling station. The site is the pick of the bay.
 At last, as learned from Washington, 1t Is proposed to erect a suitable wharf. with modern appliances for coaling. There are no difficulties in the way: The water Is always smooth and the shore reef Of
 
 yards from the beach, affords a splendid foundation for ptling. Beyond this is deep water, so that once the wharf is carried out far enough the largest. ocean, going steamer can lay alongside and load or discharge coal
 There is no question as to the strategic advantage of Pago-Pago as coaling station. In the event Of a prolonged oc-. cupatione of the Philippines or of any complications arising with Germany or the other European powers the United r-nr11h find Of "a H. vantage to have station in the south ern Pacific. where her ships could repair of modern naval warfare-coal: Though late in the day, President Mckinley has at last recognized this fact.
 In point of distance Pago-Pago Is as far from Honolulu as that port is from, San Francisco. It forms 8 sort of midway halting place between San Francisco and 2263 miles from Honolulu and 4160 from San Francisco. It Is also nearly equally placed with regard to the Phihpplnes' being 4000 miles from Manila
 1t IS, however. the prospect of the near construction of the Nicaragua canal which gives the Samoan harbor its pros pectiye strategic value When. the 1sth- milan canal is opened the great volume or American maritime trade will undoubt- vessel sailing from Panama will have 5000 miles of water to cross before reach ing Australia, and the only American station vessels of this nationality will find en route is Pago Pago harbor. Of British. French and German isles there are plenty, but the United States ship has only this one national port of refuge.
 The United States Consuls in Samoa have not been slow to recognize the great importance of Pago-Pago, and two or three years ago MT. Muiligan, a former Consul General, made a very strong pro- test to Washington on the subject. He wrote:
 So far as concerns the United States the en- tire question of Samoa Is centered in this harbor that Is aside from what may perhaps be permissibly termed the humane interest of the American pubic in the rights and welfare of the Samoans. Whatever value. from a na- val point of view, Samoa possessed when the treaty of Washington was formulatsd, that . importance has since been increased many times over. The apparently certain eonstruc, ton, at no distant date of an dsthmian canal adds greatly to the desrability of the islands canal be under American control or not. If CT the importance of the possession Of this group ,. IT,, s transit from the Isthmus of Panama to Auck- land Sydney and in fact, all parts of the Australian colonies As the latter grow in population production and wealth. the vol tune of their tonnage, to Europe especially. and in great part to the United states, must seek the interoceanic canal as its route when built unless driven away by eXorbltant tolls. There are quite direct lines as Aplar put none of themF Americans