The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-17

tue channel entrance, and the frs, bat
terry is now under construction.
Up 10 the present time no begfnpir.
mas been made toward the actual con
sErucuon of naval base on Pesr
HarooT. Year after year the needs o.
the Naval Establishment in other al
reetions have been permitted TO crow,
it out Of the naval bills.
In the Judgment Of your commit.
tee the new developments on the Pa,
cific and among the nations that bor.
der its shores make il imperative thai
strong operating base be established
for our Navy at Pearl Harbor without
further delay.
A naval base at Pearl Harbor is moi
designed primarily for the protection
of Hawaii Its main purpose is To
form buffer of defense for our en-.
tire Pacific coast and TO make posi-
BILE our naval supremacy upon the
Pacific.
An enemy in possession of Hawaii
] could harass and threaten our entire
{, western coast. On the other hand.
with our own fleet operating from a
well-equipped base AT Pearl Harbor.
practicable to threaten our coast. be-
cause of the stronghold left in their
rear and of the prohibitive distance
/ from their coaling base.
The equipment of Pearl Harbor is
therefore a matter of national pru-
dence and not of extravaganza It
affords the nations least expensive
way of defending our Pacific coast; it
viii constitute one of the strongest
factors in the prevention of war with
any power in the Far East.
Your committee has received memo
rails from all of the strongest COM
mercial organizations on the entire
Pacific coast, urging that the devel-
opment of Pearl Harbor be provided
for at this session of Congress.
The national Importance of this
measure is emphasized by the fact that
commercial bodies from the Central
West and from New York city have
also memorialized Congress on this
subject during this present session.
The question of a naval base in Ha-
wall is not comparable With the same
problem in the Philippines. Hawaii is
both a permanent organic part of our
nue.; during the past eight years Ha
wall has paid more than 100000 into
the Federal Treasury.
Every consideration, whether of ma
tional honor or policy, demands that
Pearl Harbor be made impregnable
and equipped as a naval base imme-
diately.
With naval base at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii would be our great defensive
outpost; in the hands of an enemy it
would double the nations cost for
naval defense.
URGES HAWAIIAN BASE.
The following is from the Washing
ton Post of March 8:
I'm the judgment of the committee,
the new developments on the Pacific
and among the nations that border its
shores make it imperative that a
strong operating base be established |
for our navy at Pearl Harbor without |
further delay.
AN enemy in possession of Hawaii /
could harass and threaten our entire |
Western coast, On the other hand,
with our own fleet operating from a
base at Pearl Harbor,
no fleet from the Orient would find
1t practicable to threaten our coast
because of the stronghold left in the
rear and the prohibitive distance from
their coaling base.
"A naval base at Pearl Harbor is
not designed primarily for the protec-
ton of Hawaii; it's main purpose is
/
entire Pacific coast, and to make pos
sible our supremacy upon the Pa
cific.
REPORT OF NAVAL COMMITTEE.
The foregoing constitute vital state
nents is as sensational a report as
ever made by the House Committee on
Naval Affairs. The report containing
them was submitted yesterday in sup
port of the bill introduced a few days
ago by Representative Bates of Erie,
Pa, appropFiating 100000 to estab-
ish a naval base at Pearl Harbor, near
500, 900 of which is to be
available. The committee
ordered the bill to be favorably re-
ported. Such precipitateness of action
by so great a committee on a subject
Ealing for such a large expenditure
has not been known among House
members since the beginning of the
Spanish war.
That the Bates bill is an admins
-rative measure and that the talk of
var between America and Japan in
spired it may easily be inferred from
he fact that President Roosevelt ask
ID the Pennsylvania to come to the
White House and talk about the bill.
rhe President approved it, so the
member said.
The report ends with the following
tatement: Every consideration of
honor or policy demands that
Pearl Harbor be made impregnable !
md equipped as a naval base imme- ,
lfately" In another part of the re-
,ort the assertion is made that it is