The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1901-02-15
HAWAlrS NAVAL ADVANTAGES.

The Seattle Post-lntelliEcncer prints
a letter from Harrington Emerson In
which the latter says that Hawai-. 'as
IL by this time well known to experts,
has no value as A strategic naval sta
ton"
The opinion is not shared by Captain
Mahan nor by the British naval experts,
who agree that the power owning
land-Iocked harbor and "A coaling ana
repair station in the North Pacific VIII
deminate the trans-oceanic trade
routes. Naval war implies attacks on
the enemys commerce. and sea-out-
post like Hawaii would enable com
merce- destroyers to patrol marine
area equal to that occupied by vessels
of ordinary steaming radius, with
base at Mainland, but farther on
Suppose San Francisco should send out
commenced estroyers to watch the sea
between that port and the longitude OF
Hawaii; and suppose Hawaii shouid
cover the sea between here and Guam
,Pago-Pago attend to the south ana
Guam operate off the Asiatic coast in
conjunction with Manila-suppose these
things and we have possible scheme
of naval offense vastly more effective
than any which could be carried out
by using a single base. To Illustrate
the point lay series of small rings
across the sea map intersecting each
other and contrast the effect with that
made by a single ring embracing the
whole North Pacific area. Ships oper-
ating in each small ring will do better
patrol work than an equal number of
ships moving at will or as far as they
are able within the large ring.
In the old days of sail power cruisers
could go away for three years keeping
at sea- If necessary, during that time.
Now we have steamers which. owing
to limited steaming radius, must have
coaling stations at intervals of two or
three thousand miles. That is to say,
all but the largest ships must have
them. Such stations, the world around,
double the effectiveness of the British
Navy. For the lack of them in mid
Pacific, Admiral Montejo's Spanish
fleet, with it's small radius of move
ment could not have attacked Hawaii
or the coast ports of the United States
during the war of 1898 even If America
had had no armed vessels in these wa
ters Nor could have Dewey got his
iron-clad re-enforcements when he sent
hurry order for them in the summer
of 1898 The Monadnock and Monterey
could not have crossed the Pacific with
out getting coal here.
When ships capture prizes or are dis
abled in battle, the nearer they are to
one of their national sea stations the
better. The delivery of prizes in port
and the making of urgent repairs are
expedited IL such stations exist. Sup
pose an American warship got in
I,
west of this group. Would it not be
better worth the while Of the Govern
ment to have a port here to receive her
than to compel her to make her way to
San Francisco or the Sound running
great risks of capture en- route?
The more naval stations country
has In mid-ocean the less ability an
enemy can have to concentrate his
whole fleet at any given point, 1t must
spread it's ships over a greater area.
Suppose there should be war some
day between the United States and
Germany. The latter power has sta
tons in Samoa and the Ladrones 1t
Is clear that the United States would
be far better off because of its adjacent
stations and because of Hawaii better
off than it could be with only Mainland
ports to depend upon.
In case of an anticipated war, the
nearer a fleet is concentrated under
cover of land Notifications to the prob
able enemy, the sooner blows can be
struck. Witness Dewey at Mrs bay.
preparing for his swift descent on the
Dons.
These are arguments which Mr.
Harrington Emerson may study at
leisure and which partly explain the
reason why the American and British
Naval offices had their eyes so covet-
ously fixed on Hawaii during past
years,