The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-11-07

In an obscure corner OF DIT OF
household classics it is recorded of a
titled hero (for he was more honor
able than his brethren') that he pray
ed thus with his God: "Oh, that Thou
Notwithstanding my coast"
1t may be that the conservative
American citizen no longer prays like
the honorable Jabez. Our coast is
much enlarged, however, and many re
gard it as a blessing indeed"
America has much more coast to de-
fend than she had ten years ago. When
she defends any of it, that act is self
defense, of course.
Hawaii is part of the United states
coast now. This may sound absurd,
| to be sure, but such is technically held
to be a fact though 2100 miles of water
intervenes between Honolulu and the
nearest mainland city. To illustrate
the application of this fact, mark the
following:
None other than a vessel flying the
American flag can carry passengers
between American ports. Hence the
writer, like many another Hawaiian,
cannot sail on the English ship Cop
tic, because of that stretch of watery
coast line That is self-defense-
protection of coast trade and American
| bottoms Should this be considerable
| of a hardship there is solace in this
situation if we can get any general
application of the principle of coast de-
| Tense to Hawaii-and if it does not
take too long.
AS to guns, naval base, fertilization,
garrisons, ETC., much has been said
| and many hopes have been fostered,
not without good grounds. Hawaii
| does not appear to be in grave peril,
or the Army and Navy Department
| would have taken more notice of it.
Among the island people little appre-
hension is felt on this score, although
| Pearl Harbor and the islands general
| ly are nearly as innocent of defense as
| they ever were. Hawaiian labor has
expectations from the next meeting of
the Naval Board in this matter.
The local income warrants it: e. g.,
there is money enough coming into the
United States Treasury from Hawaii to
pay the bills for this first item of de-
| Tense.
The defense of our coast against
| Darkness-and incidentally the Prince
of Darkness concerns Hawaii and this
! body infinitely more-we would include
| Disease and Dirt, thus considering a
deadly trinity of DIS, but Darkness
obscures all the rest and we must have
allows.
! Part Of this defense might well be in
| lighthouses. In Governor Dole's last
| report he recommended the erection of
| f1fty-two lighthouses on the islands at
a cost of $4,000, requiring for main
tainance the small sum of $4,000 year
| ly. The United States official report of
lighthouses, corrected to January, 1906,
records the existence of a total of
| twenty-five lighthouses These were all
built without Federal help.
The Lighthouse Board has recon-
mended over third of a million in ex-
penditure at Hawaii The first appro-
priation was made last year for a light
at Honolulu, and this year another ap-
preparation covers the cost of light on
the other side of the island where the
! Manchuria went ashore. 1t is estimat-
ed that it will take two years ia the
ordinary course of things to have thi.
action of any practical value to the IS
lands. The United States is said &C
have 10000 lights on its coast.
The recent loss of the Manehuria and
the transport Sheridan, both running
aground at night on the island OF
Oahu. tells a story OF darkness and
needed protection
THEY WOULD Be WAY WITHIN
THE LOCAL INCOME
To get any more use out of the over
worked darkness figure we must
jump right into the practical bearings
Of the public school system, and thu
Christian boarding school. on the one
side, and Asis on the other.
Hawaii stands. sentinel like, fronting
Asia and Asiatic civilization on the
highway OF the seas. 1t is as though
Christian America had a picket linz
out-a ''vedette'' to see (horse and
"horsekeep" provided, so far by it: