The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-09
our NEW ISLAND POSSESSIONS.

OUR NEW ISLAND POSSESSIONS.
Only those who have given the subject
careful attention know how greatly the ISL
and possessions of the United States have
recently been augmented. Prior to the pur-
chase of Alaska we owned only such islands
as lie in the two oceans and the Gulf of
Mexico close to the coast of the United
States. BY the purchase of Alaska we ac-
quired chain of islands which strings out
westward from the mainland fully one
thousand miles. the most westward being
nearly one thousand miles further west than
Hawaii. Most of these islands are uninhab-
tied except by few Indians, and will never
be valuable except for sealing purposes. AS
national possession they are chiefly in
teresting on account of the space they
cover. Far to the southwark of these islands
and much nearer the mainland are the Ha-
waiian islands, now part of the United
States. There eleven Of these, of which
but seven are nhabited. The total area of
the islands is 667 square miles, about
one-fifth the area of Indiana. In one re-
spect the location of these islands is unique.
"A circle QeScT1DeO ABOUT honolulu DIS d
center, with the distance from that port to
San Francisco, 2.1O0 miles, as radius in
cludes upon the vast expanse of the Pa
cific no other island or group of Importance
to commerce, travel or a naval establish
ment. Within a circuit whose diameter is
nearly equal to one-sixth of the circumfer-
ence of the globe, Hawaii reigns solitary,
the queen Of the central Pacific. This alone
shows the value of these islands to the
United States for commercial and strategic
reasons.
About three>f6urths Of the way between
the Hawaiian and the Philippine islands lie
the Ladrone or Mariana islands, fifteen in
number These are the islands picked up
by the Charleston on her way to the Phil
ippines, whose Spanish governor had not
heard of the declaration of war between
the United States and SPAN. The Charles
ton left a small force there. and the stars
and stripes now float over the islands. By
marine s they are commonly called the
Ladrones and are often so marked in maps,
but their official name is the ''Mariannes."
Magellan, their discoverer, nicknamed them
Isles de los Ladrones, islands of thieves,
because of the propensity of the natives to
steal; but they were afterwards called LOS
Marianas,'' in honor of Maria Anna, widow
Of King Philip Nv of Spain, and that is
still their official designation.
A few hundred miles further west lie the
Philippine islands, numbering 1000 or more,
and closely connected with these are the
Caroline islands, numbering at least 500
more. These are dependency of the Phil
ippine islands lying far to the east of the
latter, and are governed from Manila, hence
the capture of Manila and of the Philip
pines will carry with it all the islands in
the archipelago, including the Carolines.
The easternmost island of the Caroline
group is about 2,OOO miles nearer San Fran
cisco than Manila is. These are the islands
in which the American Board of Foreign
Missions has asked the government for per-
mission to resume work in case they come
under the control of the United States.
American missionaries began work in the
islands in 1852 and were driven out by the
Spanish in 1887. During this time they es-
tablished fifteen churches, a training school
and several local missions. A recent state
ment by the board says:
For thirty-five years this benevolent and
Christian work was prosecuted by the mis-
sionarieS of the American board without
their seeing the slightest sign of any gov
eminent over the islands save that of the
native chieftains. In almost all cases each
island had it's king, who ruled quite indie
pendently. On Ponape there were several
kingletS, no one being supreme, yet they
reigned side by side. generally in peaceful
rnl a u l. szl. 49,
earlier days had often brought on conflicts
between adjacent islands, had been mani
testify checked by the preaching of the Cos
pei of peace
Such was the hopeful outlook of these
scores OF miniature and Independent king
doms when. in 1887, the Spaniards sent "a
Ponape from Manila an armed force, with
a governor, to assert its claim of sover-
eighty over the Carolines. AT an earlier
date an international dispute as to terrific
rial rights to the several island groups had
been referred to the Pope as arbitrator, and
his decision, rendered in October. 1885, con-
nrmed SPANS claim to the Carolines.
Ponape in March, 1887, with fifty soldiers
and twenty-five convicts, he brought also
six Roman Catholic priests. He came to
establish the sovereignty of Spain over the
whole Caroline group. Ponape was to be
the central station for a section of the Pa
enc ocean studded with islands, covering
not far from 200 square miles, an area
about equal to all of the United States east
or the Mississippi river.
The American missionaries expelled at
that time were not permitted to return, al
though the United States government made
a friendly request to that effect Whether
the United States retain possession of the
Philippine and Caroline islands or not they
will undoubtedly require that the islands
shall be and remain open to American mis-
sionary work Whatever disposition we may
ultimately make of these various groups of
islands they are practically in our possess
sion at present and for the time being are
part of the national domain