The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1909-01-05

y :
From Sundays Advertiser)
Honolulans have not as yet accus-
toned themselves to having a full
fiedged military post in their midst.
For this reason, probably, few of the
townsfolk ever go out to Fort Shafter
to watch the regular Thursday after
noon dress parades on the beautiful
parade ground there, although in most
places where Uncle Sam has stationed
his regulars the dress parades are events
which always attract a number oil
watchers. There was no parade last
week because the boys in khaki have
been having holidays the same as eV'
erybody else and the drills were cut
ont. but there win be one this week
with the Hawaiian band present to
play the quickstep. Major Dunning
welcomes visitors to the post and would
be glad to see the people OF honoluiu
,urn out and get acquainted. He wants
ia have Fort Shafter identified as
mart of Honolulu, a place OF whieh
Honolulu will be proud and not the
hostile camping place of lot OF man'
hinis some here seem to consider IT,
That is, the boys at Fort Shafter feel
+bot they are considered outside of the
citv' IS life; as matter OF fact HOMO
min hasp t awakened to the fact that
one of the best equipped military pos's
in the Union is right at our door ana
one which will be, in the course OF a
very few years the most beautiful
VERY few Honolulans ever get as lar
from the corner of Fort and King Eva
wards as Fort Shafter. When they 40
any travelling they go the other way
ia Waikiki, and that is one OF the rea'
sons why all the building at the posi-
oil the extensive improvements tha'
the past eighteen months have prough'
about and all the doings there nave
been allowed to go on practlcaliy uh
noticed. 1t is rather complimentary
too. to the four hundred boys at the
most that the fact that they are III
town has not created more talk II
psed TO be thought that that many
soldiers would necessitate the douDllhs
of our police force, the double locN
inc of doors and the purchasing o.
watchdogs. instead of which the boy
have come. settled down to their dutie
and behaved the same as any other law
abiding citizens. When Honolulu get
around to thinking about this, we WI
have to revise our preconceived ldea
concerning regular soldiers
Major Dunning is proud of the clean
upright young men in the four com
panies of the Twentieth Infantry I'm
der his command. Perhaps he manage
10 get picked lot of men, or perhap
the Army has changed the same as IN
Navy has in its personnel. AT an
event. the Fort Shafter troops hay
given Honolulu new idea as soon
we get around to it.
The men are proud of their post an
of their officers. They like Honoiul'
too, the only grumbling heard belng
tbe fact that Honolulu service is nc
uforeipn service and double time
However much the rest of as wan
10 he strictly understood that Hawa
is in and part of the United state
the Fort Shafter boys are unanimo'
in declaring that this is foreign so
If IT is. in military sense, their pa
will be raised, and they are all hopei
that the bill now before Congress pr
viding for the boost will pass
At the present time the men are ]u
finishing up their holidays. Tomorro
thew get back into the regular Po
rontines. drill in the morning. faug'
duties in the afternoon, instruction
marksmenship and the other thin
which make life at Fort Shatter
no means all play. Then there are u
baseball practises and games, an
citing series bing now on for the MAJ
Dunning cup between the four Co
panies; the basketball in the gymn
sium. the boxing contests and ON
healthy sports encouraged by the Office
and enjoyed by officers and men alif
The men are worked just hard enou
to keep them in condition. There
tions are good, their amusements pie
ty. On Christmas day, the soldiers
down in their Immediately clean me