The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-10-16
INTERESTING LETTER TURNS
UP IN ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS
Plan of American Officer SXty-Two Years Ago
for Fertilization of the Pearl
Harbor Lochs.

can bear no comparison whatever \ /
regiment Of this kind, well-8-iljed and /
armed a. thew might ce. MarteI Towers /
Of the above description armed a they
ought to be with thirty PalNhan guns /
OF the caIber OF lU-Inch shells and go /
ID. shot. the whole cost Of which. to- /
gether with 500 carbiues exclusive Of /
the gun carriages. would mol be over .
$50. 900. This j. rough estimate. II
have no doubt contracts could he made .
for much less when We take into con /
siderarion the anxiety manufacturer,
have for selling their guns abroad and .
provided l had any authority for max /
iug contracts Of that kind.
''These are an abstract Of my mill /
tarv ideas Of the Qualifications, etc, /
Gould [ see YOU again ] could much /
more clearly tell YOU than ! can po~
siblv write at present
U. S. Army Engineers.
..0f the other matters about which
| talked with Won, / can, OF course, in
this letter. say nothing. Those are.
perhaps. considerations that ought not
to be trusted on paper with all the IN
certainty Of this letter reaching It's
It1i1It1 }4'ill an A4A'3N tA+1-f-'''tE' ~ ''N
Won again before we take our final de
parture from these seas for home, and
hone that some fortunate accident VIII
intervene so that l may be again at
Honolulu. If | do not and should YOU
determine 10 write to our government
on the matters in question ! hope You
Will ask them 10 send ne out should
YOU think favoTahly Of the proposition
I have made, If you Will allow me. or
if YOU viii propose to our government.
TO send on regular engineer officers
from that corps, all the works might
be going on at once, together with that
Of clearing out the reef, both at Homo
lulu and at Pearl River with a little
more expense. and the saving of time
would twice. thrice or five times save
the extra expense and | may safely
say. fifty times the expense.
Pearl Harbor the Key.
EAllow me TO call your attention to
the vast importance of the harbor at
Pearl River. the perfect security Of the
harbor, the excellence Of its water, the
perfect ease with which il can be made
one of the finest places in the Islands,
all combine to make it a great consid
Grafton. The immense profits that
might arise from it. while the harbor
was clearing out, fortifeations could
lie built. troops could be drilled, the
forts might be garrisoned, government
or private storehouses built and all the
trade drawn there with perfect ease.
1'These are a few considerations that
I hope you VIII give your undivided
attention. The amount of money neces-
sarv to be expended Will be but a
feather in comparison with the almost
incalculable amount of wealth that will
open upon the completion OF these OBJ
iects. OF what importance would the
consideration of an expenditure Of one
or two hundred thousand dollars be. in
comparison with the immense results?
None At all
Prophecy Coming True.
~ should think if the Immediate
necessity of the investment is consid
cred, then even viii appear the almost
| incalculable profits to those who may
| own real estate in the immediate vicin-
ity Of the new town that must be built.
| ''These are only a few notes that
| have suggested themselves to me- They
viii perhaps serve to call your atten-
| ton to the immense results that may
arise out of the effects Of the govern
| ment.
~ remain, very respectfully, your
| obedient servant,
| (Signed) 81 W. CURTIS.
- Hon. g. P. Judd, Honolulu.n
Quarrel With Americans.
In reply Hon. G. p. Judd wrote to
| Lieutenant Curtis on March 10, 1916,
| dating his letter at the - Home Office,
Honolulu, Oahu as follows:
81 received your favor by the Cyane,
| dated DIST Feb Y, and am sincerely
| thankful for the information therein.
lowing to the short stay of the
| Cyane, il is impossible for me to write
| in detail a reply to your letter. but as
| soon as we have settled OLD business
| with the new commissioner, who is
hourly expected, and with the French
| and English-if we are Likely to exist
as a nation-we shall then turn our
| attention to the Improvements you pro
| pose. At present the [. s. representa-
| tives are too much disposed to quarrel
| with Us to enable me to form an idea
| Of what may be our relations hereafter
Contest Imminent With England.
"Allow me to apprise you that in the
| short visit you made at this place You
made most favorable impression upon
the officers Of government with whom
| you formed an acquaintance, and I hope
| YOU will be able to visit US again be-
| fore your final return home. This,
| think, is probable, as the contest with
| England viii naturally bring the L. s
| ships of war more or less to this port
| q have the honor to be your obedi-
| lent spryant