The age-herald., 1899-01-13
UNCLE SANS
 STRATEGIC BASIS


 away from our own coasts, suddenly finds himself in possession of several At the same time, incidentally to the new plan of territorial expansion, others are to be es- tablished without delay. Within the last few weeks, therefore, the government mari- time experts have ben busy with the malx- ing of plans for the management of the stations at Havana. San Juan and Cavite, and for the erection of suitable plants at Honolulu and elsewhere.
 It has been decided that a ffrst-class na- val station, provided with everything that IS most modern in the way of equipments etc., must be established at Honolulu and Tor this purpose a considerable tract on the water front has already been secured. The most costly item will be dry dock. which will come to about s1 200 0OO It will have to be big enough to accommodate the largest battle ships, of course Then there must be extensive machine shops for the steam engineering and repair work, buildings for which will cost S200000 with an additional $3o00W for the necessary tools. Add $500,, 000 for barracks and other improvements including water service and sewerage, all of which would be under the control of the bureau of yards and docks, and you have a total of S2,20o.000 It is probable however that this last s5oOO0 would not cover the requisite steel coal sheds. not to mention steel pier, and it seems likely that the total expenditure for the station at Honolulu will reach s3,000,000
 NO time will be lost in laying out this Hawai- an naval station when the money is furnished to pay for it, inasmuch as it is realzed that 1t will provide most valuable strategic base in the Pacific. When Dewey left Chinese waters to attack the Spanish neet at Manila his bridges were burned be- hnd him, hguratyey speaking inasmuch as there was no place to which he could re- treat for the purpose of refitting in case of defeat, the rules of international law shut ting him out of neutral ports. It was a case of win or perish with him. though probably if he had been beaten he would have seized forc'bly from China the privi- lege of undertaking repairs in one of her harbors. At the same time it was a mon strous absurdity that an American fleet should have found itself in such a predica- ment, and the possibility of a similar oc- currence in future will be prevented by the establ 'shment of naval stations not only at Honolulu, but also at Guam and in other suitable places.
 decision has yet been made as to the size of the plant to be set up there. It may not De so large as to be properly called a naval station, but there will be adequate pro- vision for coaling, with perhaps machine shop or two for actual repairs Meanwhile a contract has just been given out for es- tablishing a coaling plant at Pago-Pago, in the Samoan Islands. It will consist, most importantly, of a steel pier and steel coal shed. The pier will be of the most modern pattern, with screw piles planted In the coral rock. The pier head will be 258 feet long and 4S feet wide, and will have an ap- proach POS feet in length. The shed will be 150 feet long and 100 feet wide, and will con- tain 50,000 tons of coal.
 In acquiring the Philippines, Uncle Sam l1nf- .rvtA1 Manila bay. This is we'll enough so far as it goes, but the plant is not very adequate, anu couple of millions of dollars will have to be spent on improvements in order to bring 1t up to date and make it thoroughly scrviceable. There is not even a dry dock and ISl this account the Spaniards were ac- customed to send their ships to Hong Kong to be repaired or to have their bottoms scraped. Admiral Dewey has already made an inventory of the property at Cavite, in- cluding machine shops, warehouses, ma- chinery, etc., and report from him on the subject is expected shortly by the navy de- partment. There is an apparatus on the premises by means of which small vessels may be floated into a sort of cradle and then pulled up out of the water, but noth- ing can be done in the way of extensive repairs to large ships without dry dock.
 At San Juan, in Porto Rico, there is naval station, but it is only a one-horse affair." The territory which it occupies is only four and a half acres, and 1t has no dry dock. It has already been thoroughly inspected by the navy department, and the report on the subject forwarded to Secre- tary Long shows that about $2 100000 will have to be spent in order to put 1t into proper shape. AS preliminary, Com mander A. S. Snow has been sent to take charge. It is evident that Porto Rico will be of immense importance to the United Slates as a strategic base in case of war. with any European power, and no expense will be spared in making the naval station on that island adequate in all respects. The defensibiity of the port of San Juan was sufficiently demonstrated by the effective resistance which was offered to Admiral Sampsons attack upon the old-fashioned fertilization there
 Commodore B. J. Cromwell has been sent to take command of the naval station at Havana. Tho plant there is first rate in most respects, though lacking dry dock. Not long before the opening of the recent conflict the Spaniards established at that port a floating dock at cost of S1000,OO3. It never worked satisfactorily, but much might have been done with 1t by American engineers, and it is a great pity that it should have passed out of our hands by the terms of the peace agreement. The terri tory occupied by this station covers forty acres, on which are machine shops, repair shops, barracks, storehouses, magazines for the storage of gunpowder and projec- tiles, officers quarters, etc. here are also a hospital and marine railway for bring ing small vessels up on the land and re- pairing and cleaning them.
 A dry dock of the largest capacity will be built at Havana, capable of holding the biggest warships, and this will be, of the utmost value, the naval facilities on the Att lantic coast being at present insufficient. The dry dock at Port Royal and dry dock No at New York are the only ones on the east coast of the United States that are big enough to contain such vessels as the Indiana and the Massachusetts. The for mer can hold them only by a tight squeeze and the monster battleships now ordered by congress could not get into the Port Royal dock.
 The Brooklyn navy yard. which Is na- val station of the first rank. has a property value of about $50 000, ,000, but this includes an immense construction plant, such as Is not required at naval stations away from our coasts, where no building of ships is