The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1898-03-12
The Folly of It.


read the Evening Post without either
agreeing with it or disagreeing with
it very positively. On this occasion
1 most heartily agree with it. You
never put thing better than when
you recently said that the annex
alton OF Hawaii involved our main
tanning two fleets, one to defend the
islands and the other to defend our
own coast when deserted by our
present feet for the protection OF
the islands Living on the Pacific
Coast myself, may be able to offer
you the reflections of sensible men
here on this subject,
The truth is, all this talk about
the military necessity OF our having
these islands is nonsense. We don't
need them at all, Let us reason a
little. II we require them, it must
be for purposes either offensive or
defensive. Now, offensive argu-
ments nobody will tolerate. We'll,
then, we may need them for defence,
or rather (for this is practically the
only sxcuse) we ought to have them
ourselves in order that others may
not use them against US. Against
us howl AS a coaling aud supply
station? Grant that. Then how
many home ports of ours can they
menace? Does nobody in the East
know that on the whole Pacific
Coast Of this country there are only
three vulnerable points? Nature
has not opened this coast with har-
bors and rivers as she has the other.
There neither are nor can be here
that number OF opulont maritime
cities which, on tho Atlantic Coast,
from Maine to Louisiana, may
tempt the avarice or the revenge OF
foreign enemy. From Southern
California to Cape Flattery there
are only the harbors of San Diego,
San Francisco, and Puget Sound.
Now, if we cannot defend these
three ports by Notifications and by
our present squadrons without 60
ing two thousand miles and more in.
to the Pacific to get an expensive
outpost-to get an outpost that it.
self must be defended by ships, to
get an outpost so far from our own
coast that an enemy in possession Of
it, to use it for supplies and repairs,
would have to operate by intermit-
tent war, rather than continuous
attack-then in all reason we had
better give up our policy Of mind
ing our own business, and adopt one
OF laying about us on all sides and
mauling mankind. 1t would be just
as cheap in the long run to do one
as the other. Let us, then, 60 on.
Let us take Hawaii, squandsr mil
lions on Hawaii, build a navy for
Hawaii, and then fortify the Aleu-
tians to protect the approaches to
Hawaii Throw away your Mer-
GATORS projection; look at the globe.
The Aleutians are not so distant
from Hawaii. Let us, accordingly,
fortify the Aleutians and build
there dry dock, too, for reserve
station for our sqadron OF Hawaii.
The degree of ignorance on this
subject is something astonishing.
That ignorance is found even in the
official departments, whore we pay
men to know better. Let me give
you an instance. Last summer, when
some mailman or schemer spread a
rumor that the Japanese were fools
enough to think of wasting on Ha-
waii ammunition and ships which
they nanifestly needed against
powerful neighbors at home, the
battleShip Oregon was lying near
Seattle in the waters Of Puget Sound
Forthwith the Navy Department
ordered her to San Francisco. Why
Not because that city or any other
American city was in the remotest
danger that, nobody claimed. II
was for offensive purposes, admit
teddy, that she was sent there. She
must be in readiness to depart al
once for Hawaii. San Francisco il