The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-08-27

ated that at least three times as much
more could be obtained. In one in
stance on Kauai power is transmitted
for a distance Of 30 miles.
In Hawaii with the steep, short val
leys and the heavy rainfall TO insure
anything like regularity Of flow, 1t is
! essential that a cover Of vegetation be
permanently maintained on the catch
ment basins This has led 10 the crea-
ton Of forest reserves which now ag-
gregate in area 54j. ga acres. Of which
50 per cent is land belonging TO the
Territory In Hawaii forestry and IT.
rigation 90 hand in hand, Hawaii be
ing one of the eleven states and terri
tories of the Union to employ profess
sionally trained men in her forest ser
vice.
Fully as important as the water got
from the surface is that obtained from
artesian sources. particularly as much
Of the latter is lifted by pumps from
! 300 to 500 feet. recent authoritative
statement Of the water resources Of the
Eva Basin on Oahu shows that from a
drainage area Of Approximately $50
square miles there is a daily draft of
4i6,50O,O0O gallons or CPS second-feet.
! This is equivalent in round numbers 10
/
acre.feet. In terms Of the mainland
this quantity Of water would nearly
half fiji the Roosevelt Dam. while the
area from which it is impounded $50
square miles) is hut LAP Of the water
shed of the Salt River project.
The total area of the Hawaiian Is
lands is approximately 100000 acres
6449 square niles. The area under
cultivation in cane aggregates $4,000
acres To develop the irrigated por-
tion Of this area over $4,000, 900 has
altogether been expended, wholly by
private enterprise. The results justify
the outlay. But they do more. They
point the way to a solution Of some Of
the problems that now press for settle
ment in Hawaii. Efficiently to fulfill
its mission as an outpost Of American
civilization the Hawaiian Islands must
| be thoroughly Americanized Much
has already been done. The achieve
ment of the little band of Americans
who in the last ninety years have
| brought to Hawaii civilization. educa-
! tion and commercial prosperity is a rec
| ord of which any nation might well
be proud Even before annexation
much had been done TO develop Hawaii
along traditional American lines, but
not until there is a resident white pop
ulation numerically sufficient TO con
troll the local situation can Hawaii take
the place that she ought to play in the
! developing destiny of the nation. The
way to get such an increase of desir-
able citizens is through irrigation, the
making possible of homes through the
reclamation of land at present un-
productive-in short. the extension to
Hawaii of the benefits of the Federal
Reclamation Act
And why is Hawaii entitled TO such
consideration 1t is not for the sake
of the Territory alone that the claim
is made, although of course the benefits
will at first be local. but because it is
essential to the welfare of the whole
nation, both from military and
commercial standpoint that Hawaii
continue to develop as a strong,
vigorous and self-reliant American
community.
Let me make clear why this is so.
The geographical position of the Ha-
waiian Islands gives the Territory an
Importance out of all proportion TO its
area or population. Lying as the is
lands do, in the center of the Pacific,
POO miles southwest of San Francisco,
Hawaii is the only land from which a
hostile fleet could menace our wesEeru
coast. 1t is the only land which q
| foreign enemy could use as an effective
base in offensive operations, for the
| coaling capacity of even the largest
modern warships is not sufficient 10
enable a fleet to come from the next
nearest possible station, strike and get
back again. The strategic value of
/ IA bn -
cial Importance that it can hardly be
overestimated. Strongly fortified and
! held as a naval base BY the United
States, Hawaii at once practically safe
| guards the entire west coast from san
Diego to Puget Sound, and gives us
besides the unique advantage of being
/ able to dominate the Pacific CONNER
| cially.
The advantages Of Hawaii's position
are quite as great from commercial
as from naval standpoint. The vast
ness of the Pacific makes a halfway
station almost indispensable. The large
! steamers by there replenishing their
| supply of fuel can devote more of their
| space 10 valuable freight Hawaii is
more and more becoming a port Of call
FOR orders, supplies and repairs, and
| transpacifc traffic is now but a 1.-THE
of what it will be when the Panama
Canal is completed. In these and other
ways Hawaii is link in the chain
that is being forged whereby Amer
lea is TO control the Pacife-a link
held on one side by the "open door'b
in China, on the other by the Panama
Canal and the deepening of Mississip.
pi Valley and Atlantic Coast water.
ways For the fiscal year ending June
80 1908 the tonnage of the vessels en-
tering and clearing from Hawaii ports
| aggregated over two million tons
| Three-fourths were of American regis.
ter, Hawaii's imports and exports
amount TO over 100000 900 a year, OF
which 30 per cent Is carried IN Amer.
lean bottoms. They are greater than
were those of the entire United States
az the time of the adoption Of the Con.
stiinuon, Even before annexation
Hawaii while still an independent
nation, furnished more freight Tor
American vessels than any other for
| ripu country