Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-24
ACQUISITION OF TUTUILA
Treaty With Great Britain and Germany to
Re Signed Soon.
Final Partition of the Samoan Islands
Importance of the HarbOr
of PnnEO PanEo.

Samoan Islands have been drawn and one
of them has already been signed The main
treaty is tri ateral In character between
the United States, Great Britain and Ger
many. by which the new territorial ar
rangement of the islands is fixed. 1t is
quite brief comprising only four or five
articles, the essential features being that
Great Britain and Germany renounce all
claims and interests in the Island Of Tutu!la
and the outlying islets, which go to the
United States. and this government and
Great Britain renounce interest In Upolu
ard Savai. which go TO Germany. The
present expectation is that this treaty will
be signed in Washington, in which case
Secretary Hay and Ambassadors Paunce-
fote and Won Holeben will he the signatory
parties. although it is stiH possible that the
execution of the document may occur in
London.
The second treaty is between Great
Britain and Germany. and is longer than
the first covering the rights ana interests
in the Tonga and Solomon Islands and
other settlements brought about by the
Samoan partition. The United States does
not sign this treaty. and is Cniy indirectly
concerned. 1t is understood that this col
lateral treaty has already been executed III
Berlin and that the signing of the tri-
lateral treaty will bring to IA close the ne
gotiations for the division of the islands.
A Valuable Acquisition.
Tutuila the Samoan island which fails to
the United States, becomes an extremely
valuable addition to the possessions of the
United States in the Pacific. With but a
small area and population according to the
treasury bureau of statistics, ffty-fOur
square miles and 1000 it possesses the
most valuable island harbor in the south
Pacific and perhaps in the entire Pacific
ocean and representative OF The LonuOn
Times, recently in Washington, who had
visited and was thoroughly familiar wi h
not only the Samoan lsidl;s, put those of
the Pacific generally, pfoIisunt ed the har-
Dor OF PangO PangO in me Island of Tu-
tuila the best in all the rdcinc, and Pearl
harbOr in the Hawaiian giUrp the next III
value as harbOr. tie | n.te,. Safes thus
being the possess of the chez island har-
bors and ports of call, supply ana repairs
in the Pacific ocean,
PanEO innsG HarbOr.
Commercially the Sam an I@lands singly
or group are unim? JrtanI, 50 far as
their local production or consumption is
concerned, but extremely imp Drtant in their
relation to the commerce Of any nation de-
string to cultivate transatlantic commerce.
MIR. Coward, VINO sent by the United
States government to the Samoan Islands
to arrange for a treaty with reference to
the harbor of Pango Pango; said: The
capacity of this harDOr Is sufficient for the
accommodation of large fleets; land locked,
it is safe from hurricanes and storms and
could easily be defended from land sea
attack at a small expense. In naval
point of view ii is the key position to the
Samoan group and likewise to central Poly
nesia, ana IS especially loca ed for the pro-
lection of American commerce. The Sa-
moan archipelago is by reason of its geo
graphical position in central Polynesia ly
ing in the course of vessels from San Fran
cisco to Auckland from Panama to Sgd
my Aal - tSn htpsa I'd
Japan, and from Icing outside the hurri-
cane track. the moSt valuable group in the
south Pacirc, situated half way between
Honolulu and Auckland, Pango Pango
would be most convenient stopping place
or coaling station for vessels steamers
either for supplies or the exchange Of com
modities. With the Pacific mail steamers
making ii a port for COaiing, it would
necessarily become the controlling COM
mercial place in that part of Polynesia
The above statement made by Mr.. Cow
ard in 1881 applied simply to the harbor of
Pdngo PdnSo. and its Importance increases
with the occupancy and complete owner
ship of the entire island by the United
States, and becomes additionally import
ant III View of the control by the United
States of the Hawaiian and Philippine
groups, the prospective construction of an
isthmian canal, ard the rapidly growing
commerce between the United States and
when buy annually more than billion
dollars worth OF goods and nearly all Of
this Of the class Of merchandise which the
people of the United States desire to sell.
Relations With Samon.
The interest of the United States In the
Samoan Islands, and especially Tutuila.
which row passes completely under our
control, provided the agreement Of Ger
many and England is ratified by the United
States. b,Ean in 1872, when Commander
Meade of the United States navy made
the Island Of Tutuila by which the port
of Pango Pango was 10 become the prop
erty of the United States on condition that
a friendly al lance be made between the
island and this government. President
Grant, i'll a massage, sending the treaty to
the United States Senate in that year said
The advantages OF the concessions which
the treaty processes to make are so great
in view of the adVantag position of
TUtuila seaport coating station for
steamers between San Francisco and Aus
tr&lia that | should not hesitate to recon-
mend its adoption but fer the obligation of
protection ON the part Of the United States
which Il seems to imply
This "obiigat!on of protection was after
ward modified by the Senate, which then
ratified the treaty. which in turn vas ac-
cepted by the Samoan chief, the final treaty
was signed OF January :, 1873, and the
ratification exchanged on February b. by
which the right to establish al Pango Pango
station for coalins, naval supplies free
uIii 1i tittht, cp'HsHSFCid! treatment a
favored nation, and extra territorial con-
sular jurisdiction were secured to the
United States. The extension of United
States control over the entire island ac-
ccTcing to the plan proposed by Germany
and Great Britain would consummate the
wishes expressed by the chief of the island
in The draft of the treaty forwarded To the
United States in 1872, and thus bring the
people of the island into closer relations
with this government for which they asked
on that occasion.
The port Of Pango Pango was, shortly
alter the treaty, surveyed by the United
states government and coaling station
was established last year. In c0nsjderine
the value of Tutuila and its harbor of
TANGO range tbs proper to add that the
samoan naval disaster of 1889 in which a
number Of naval vessels were wrecked dur
iIas a severe storm occurred IN the road
stead OF Apa. on the island of CpoIu. ard
,!ot III me iand-locked and well protected
harbOr of Panso Panso
Thanks TO No. Z.
To the Editor of The Evening Star:
Do the people Of Washington realize that