The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-08-16
Hocas's SaE-saparlMa

The size of the new ships oil the IA
cfic Mail Company will play part in
opening the eyes Of the people here to
the needs of harbor improvements. The
Is orea and Siberia. which should APP
pear here before the end of the year,
are 5I2 feet long and SO feet wide. Their
depth Is not inordinate at all, for they
will draw only % feet. while the trans
port Hancock has come into port with
~ feet under water. 1t Is the other di-
mansions which will offer the objection
to bringing the ships inside. That thus
is true must be argued from the fact
that the battleship Oregon laid outside
when she came here last on her way tn
the Coast. Not because the ship was
too deep. but from the fact that the
channel is SO narrow that with val
liable ship 1t is not thought wise to run
the risk of "A swing and consequent pill
kia.
Even now with the new ships of the
Oceanic Company there Is extreme car"
necessary when the turnings of the
channel are encountered. What then
will be the necessity for watchfulncss
when the ship being handled is of twice
the size? There is some probability
that when the new ships Of tn" Great
Northern road are ready for service,
and are sent out to ply between the
Sound ana the Orient that there will be
a dctour made for the purpose Of TAX
ing up the trade of the Islands. These
vessels are nearly as large as the new
ships If the Pacific Mail, and they will
have To- be handled with as much care
in the matter of the harbor facilities.
These are conditions. not theories If
IA naval officer will not bring his ship
of IL 600 tons into "A harhOr for coal. but
will lie outside and coal from barg"s,
will there be any objection to coming
+ in from the skipper of a new $4,000, 000
merchant ship full of freight? Is it not
best To look the situation in the face
and decide as to tn" course which must
be followed il thcr" appears any danger
that this port will he given an overlook
because Of the danger of its channel q,
the small size of the harbor itself
Steamers have grown within the pas
few years until the 3OOO-ton ship is he
Ing forced off the regular runs by tn
!bfg ones. The channel into Honolulu
harbor was dredsed when the smalle
ship was the great vessel. Since tina
time there has been no keeping pace
with the Improvement in the ships II
the clearing of the approaches and thu
Expansion of the harbOr room Tn,
channel through which ship of sixty
three feet width should come in of RICH
ought to be four times the width of tn.
vessel This is minimum. The chan
mel is not three times this distance
Then again. what will be done TO
wharfage, for should this new class o
l"Vlathans come in now without any
Improvements there would be a stop
page Of business for a time, for to plac,
one alongside the Pacific Mail docl
would put one of the adjoining dock,
out of commission.
What. then, is the remedy? Shall il
be best to simply wait and see II there
is any trouble with these big ships. d
try and enlarge the harbor facilities Sc
that there will never be any danger ="
trouble? In the first place there Ia
been for years necessity FOR grea ir
room The plans which have been sub
mitted in the past have all taken Int
consideration only the afrordng of NOR
docking space. The time is come. Will
the ships Of SO great length that thor
must h" nor" free room Shall this u
gained by cutting out the reefs AM
making the harhor in front OF the pros
Itnl business portion larger OF nldNln
new grounds? In Pearl Harbor open
ing there is little of aid. for the dredG
ing AT the mouth of the harbur wi
not be Of sufficient width to give free
dom to the new carriers There r.
mains a plan which has been freel
quoted in the past and which offer
many advantages. This is the dredg
ing Of an opening from the presen
l,An~...1
again the widening Of the channel on
I" sea, sd that the harbor will hav
two entrances, through which tn
greatest ships might come and 81
There would be brought into the di
rect use for wharf purposes then a
the watcrfrontage along The Kalihi ha
, sin, with the added advantage Of low
priced lands on the water. There
ample rail connection and the haroo
: thus formed would accommodate
merchant fleet which would carry n
entire output Of our mills at once
This is an enterprise which would er
gage the best efforts of the Unto
States engineers for many years an
perhaps the Territory is too young ,
, hope for such appropriations as woul
, be necessary to bring through III
work. But the lighter task Of widenin
.pe present harbor opening and th
clearing out OF the harbor wnera it ha
become slltcd from Const1nt washing
rs not too much to be contcmpIa -
even At this time. The expense Hnul
not be large and the benefits more tina
: commensurate. Arguments In plc'
there are for the work, but should neg
lect permit one of those ships to con
: here and fail to enter the harbor arSr
ments viii fall before a reality