The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-12-28
OCEANOGRAPM
INSTITUTION FOR
PACIFIC OCEAN

of the world; an institution that WI
not only be of inestimable value an
credit to these islands, but power 10
good In the world; one that woul'
mean more to the development OF IN
OCEAN than would the mere duplication
here of any one of the greatest Amer
lean educational institutions OF To-Day
Mr.. Bryan states that the IDEA Oh eN
! ploring the Pacific Ocean Is not ne'
one. For years 1t has been the dear
est dream of ethnologists, botanist
and geologists. The chief object OF tn
present plan, he says, Is to estaplsl
I'm Honolulu a scientific institution
which would have as its chief obtec
| tbe nromotion OF an ethnographical ant
| hIological survey of the Pacific lsland'
and their shores and in so doing tt
! encourage i'm a general way, investiga'
,ion research and discovery In the
ocean at large. He says he submitted
the plan in writing to the gentlemen
above mentioned, who commended the
project. r.
If the exploration of the Pacific Is
lands is to be undertaken during the
present generation and the Hawaiian
Islands made to reap the chief peherts'
tho islands must provide many OF the
facilities necessary in the carrying on
of the research work. Mr.. Bryan be-
Iieves there are men in the community
who will take an interest in the project.
"scientiflc men of all countries" says
Mr.. BRYAN, admit that the Paclhc
Ocean, with its cloud OF ISLANDS, nun
dreds of which have not been landeo
on by a scientific man. presents tne
greatest field for systematic sciehtlhc
labor yet remaining to be worked out
and put in order. The desirability OF
Honolulu's serving as center Tor thls
work is now generally recognized. Un-
til recently the region under consider
a+ion had been regarded as so remote
from the centers of civilization that II
would be difficult, many thought I'M
possible, to carry on such exploration
as here proposed. Happily, inaccessi-
bility is no longer reason Tor oeiay
in attempting so important WORK
Mr.. Bryan subdivides the plan as ioi-
lows:
THE PROPOSED EXPLORING EN-
petition.
The plan for field work would be
to acquire, if possible, an especially
equipped yacht of from five to seven
hundred tons capacity, which would
be provided with sails as well as OIL
burning engines and fitted with the
necessary accommodations for fifteen
scientific men, including laboratories,
field library, storage tanks, etc.
This vessel, using Honolulu as base,
and establishing secondary focal points
from which to carry on its work, wouid
make cruises to the various groups Oh
islands in the Pacific region. The Voy-
ages can be 50 arranged that the en-
tire region, with its more than two
thousand islands, could be covered in
obout fifteen excursions. Thus the
vast territory would be worked over,
group by group, with fully equipped
corps of especially trained field scient-
lists; the time required to complete the
work, of course, varying with the mum
ber and size of the parties IN the held'
! Each group would be as completely
studied as was possible before taking
up work in a second group. In this
way the work, for example, on the
! Society Islands, would be uniform and
complete, every department of their
ethnology and natural history would
be treated, both in the field and In
the subsequent publication, by a
| specialist, who, by reason of care
fully arranged plan, would study each
island with an understanding of the
great ultimate object, namely, knowl'
edge of the Pacific ocean as whole.
The data thus gathered would be even
and of n comparable character.
The expedition, through the central
Office in Honolulu, would be affiliated
with the various universities and muse
ums of the world in such n way as
to offer the much needed opportunity
| for actual field work to the graduate
students of those institutions. Thus
the undertaking would be supplied with
u constantly increasing corps of young
and enthusiastic naturalists for the
arduous work of the field exploration,
who would bring with them to the
work the support of their especial in
stitutions, by reason of their appoint
ments ON the expeditions having been
gained, in the main, through merito-
rious work during their preparatory
courses. 1t is evident that work of
this character is not only supplementary
to the university and museum training
but that such an expedition would fur
nish scientific employment for many
graduates of our colleges and universi
ties along the line of their especial
training, and would provide a means
OF doing postgraduate work under re-
muneration during the critical timr
between leaving college and the find
ing of satisfactory or permanent EN-
ployment in scientific pursuits On the
other hand, the expeditions would be
carried ON at a minimum of expense
while offering splendid facilities foI
the development of the scientific men
of the future.
| SCOPE OF THE FIELD INVESTI
| CATIONS.
OF the many SUBJECTS which require
immediate investigation in this vasi
region, perhaps none are of greater i'm
portanee than those with which tn,
science of ethnology deals. The rapiC
changes which civilization and com
merce are effecting will soon obliter
ate all that remains of the civiliza
tion of a primitive people, the i'm
portance of the study of which is bes
understood when it can be truthful,
said that none of our authorities agre
| tha nriuin nr ranial antnit,, - tlns