Arizona republican., 1898-09-01

The United States secured conces- sion for a coaling station in Pago-Pago by the treaty of 1872 with the native government, the clause of the treaty being as follows: Naval vessels of the United States shall have the privilege |of entering and using the port of Pago- Pago, and establishing therein and on the shores thereof a station for coal and other naval supplies for their na
 val and commercial marine, and the Samoan government will hereafter neither exercise nor authorize any jur- isdiction within said port adverse to such rights of the United States, or restrictive thereof. The same vessels shall also have the privilege of enter ing other ports of the Samoan islands The citizens of the United States shall likewise have free liberty to enter the same ports, with their ships and car same to any of the inhabitants of these | islands, whether natives or foreigners, or to barter them for the products of the islands. All such traffic in what ever articles of trade or barter shall l be free, except that the trade in fire arms and munitions of war in the is lands shall be subject to. regulations by the government"
 | When the treaty was made the Ger mans were given absolute authority over their station, while England was given right to select a point to place a coaling station, and we were granted the same concessions. We selected the place in Pago-Pago harbor as Swim ming Point, where the water up to the very coral reefs at the shore is three and one-half fathoms deep. The har- bor is almost the size of New York har- bor. or the bay of Naples, and is one of the finest in the world It is land 1 locked, deep and large enough to ac- commOdate the entire navieS of the entire world. In the harbor of Pago-
 Pago there is one position that not only commands the anchorage, but the entrance to the harbor as well, and the nation holding that point has only to fortify it moderately we'll to make any other coaling station in the harbor ab- sOlutely inaccessible. This point is jheld by the United States.
 1 The harbor is on the south side of Tutuila island and Is evidently of vol
 canic formation. It runs for dis tance inland, with a tortuous channel whose general direction is north, and then it turns almost at right angles around rocky promontory guarded by steep rock standing out in the sea known as Goat island. Just around the bend is another rocky headland Icalled Swimming Point, and the United States purchased and took possession
 of about 100 acres of land, which in-
 cludes within it's limits both these
 headlands. A battery could be mount
 cd on Swimming Point completely
 commanding every fot of anchorage 1T
 the harbor, while every vessel enter.
 ing the harbor would have to pass di
 rectly under the guns of the batteries
 that undoubtedly will be erected up
 on Goat island.
 Tutuila is a mountainous island near
 ly 100 miles in circumference and con
 taining about 10000 inhabitants The interior is so rugged and the jungle SC
 dense that it is seldom visited even by the natives There are corlparatively : few inland villages. The natura
 beauty of Pago-Pago bay is great Be ing land-locked and bounded by noun i tains on one side and perpendicular