The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1910-11-01
ANOTHER MORTAR BATTERY
FOR THE DEFENSE OF OAHU
Will Supplement the
Big Guns Mounted
at Pearl Harbor.

Mortars for coast defense at Pearl
Harbor are to be ordered to Honolulu
in the near future, according to in
formation received by Major winslow,
corps of engineers.
The mortars are to be placed back Of
Battery Selfridge, where two twelve
inch guns have been mounted for the
past year The nest of mortars will
probably duplicate the battery at Fort
Ruger, whore the mortars have been
place for more than a year, although no
actual firing test has taken place yet,
The news that mortars Sre to be
installed at Pearl Harbor making a
second line of biggun defense indicates
that the fertilization feature of the
development of Pearl Harbor, will bear
a cost which win compare favorably
with the millions to be spent by the
navy department in the naval station.
More Land for De Russy.
Both Major Winslow and District At.
tOrney Breckons have received advices
from Washington to proceed with the
condemnation of additional land at Wa
ikilti, which will enlarge the Fort De
Russy reservation. When condemnation
proceedings were conducted before, the
lands now sought, were first included,
but had to be dropped out ON account
of lack of funds to take them in. There
is a jog or two in the property line
near Kalakaua avenue, which will be
straightened out by the inclusion of a
piece of land, and another piece ad.
joining Cassidy's on the beach front
will now be taken over.
searchlights Ready for Use.
Among the features recently added
to the fortification works at Diamond
Head is battery of great searchlights,
with powerful Nrefiectors. These have
been installed in the underground gal
leries which pierce the lip of Diamond
Head crater back of the lighthouse. The
work of constructing the galleries has
been underway for the past year and
a half, and were primarily for the in
stallation of the fire control station. In
this rock hewn gallery have been plac-
ed the electrical apparatus by which
the fire of the mortars in Battery Har-
AON, Il bII IhuStI, may D6 ulItCltu, do
well as the great 14-inch guns at Fort
De Russy on Waikiki beach, the guns
of Fort Armstrong at the mouth of
Honolulu harbor, and even the 12-inch
guns and mortars at Pearl Harbor. The
electrical connections from the fire con-
troll station pass down inside the crater
of Diamond Head, through a tunnel
which pierces the mauka lip of the era
ter, and into Battery Harlow. From
there the wires lead down into the city
in underground conduits, and from De
Russy sea cables will carry the wires
20 the Notifications lying along the
coast
The work which has taken several
gears to complete has all been prac.
tically finished and Major Winslow will
consider his work there finished in few
weeks, and it will then pass entirely over
to the control of Major TimberlaIe,
chief of the artillery district of Homo
lulu.
The searchlights have not only be
installed hut the electrical power fol
flashing them has been connected NJ
with the rehectors and the lights have
already forced their beams far over the
ocean. There have been no government
vessels out at sea to test the power OF
the lights, so that the men in the sigma
station could ascertain whether the
lights are as effective as the depart
ment estimates.
No orders have yet been received
by Major Timberlake to fire the mortari
of Battery Harlow, but the coast artil
lerymen of Fort Ruger are looking for
ward to the opportunity to test the big
fellows with actual charges of powder
and real proiectiles. The coast artil
lerymen in the forts adjoining the en-
trance to San Francisco Bay have beer
firing their big guns and making some
records and the Oahu men are anxious
to show what they can do at thei,
crater battery, which has one of tn,
most novel locations of any army pos
n the world.
Work for Fifteen Years.
According to Major Winslow tn
work of fortifying the coast line o
0anu is yet in its infancy, despite tn
big sums of money already expended
He states that work will be going on a
Waikiki for the next fifteen years, thi
statement, carrying out the generi
statement from Washington that tn
fortifeations on this island win be tn
most pretentious under the America
flag.