Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1911-01-19
CHRISTMAS At
GUAM ISLATE
Smallpox on Logan Prevents
Landing of Gifts and Mail
on Island,

/
will not make his appearance at the
little island in the middle of the Pa
hcific until January 25, all because
there was smallpox on the Logan
which carried the Christmas cheer,
and the transport was not allowed to
stop there.
The story comes from Washington
through Army and Navy Jorunal, and
! is as follows;
Because a member of the Sth Cav
airy band was taken down with small
pox on the Army transport Logan,
which left San Francisco Dec. 5,
Christmas festivities on the island
of Guam were postponed just one
month The General Logan, which
was due at Guam on Dec. 26, was
loaded with presents and everything
that would have gone to make Christ
mas merry on the island this year.
But when the transport attempted to
land at Guam permission was refused
her by the health authorities on the
island. No amount of persuasion
could induce the health officers to
raise the quarantine against the Lo-
gan. Christmas arguments were of no
avail, and the Logan proceeded on its
way to the Philippines without land
ing any passengers or freight. Neither
did she receive anything from the ISL
and. AS a result, all of the Yuletide
from the States bound to Guam is
now on its way to Manila. From
there is must be taken back to Ho-
nolulu. With good luck the Christ
mas visitors and presents for Guam
will catch the next transport at Ho-
nolulu and arrive there about Jan. %.
The enlisted man aboard the Logan
is afflicted very mildly with smallpox,
and will probably recover before he
reaches Manila Every member of the
crew and all other passengers have
been vaccinated, and there is abso-
lutely no danger of a spread of the
disease. The medical officers are in
position to obtain better control of
the disease upon the transport than
if the patient had been taken down
after he had reached the Philippines.
Capt. Edward ]. Dorm, u S. N, re-
tired, returned to Washington in time
to spend Christmas in his own home
and in America for the first time in
four years, having been stationed at
e.
where he has been in command of the
naval station and also governor of
the island. He was, accompanied by
Mrs. Dorm, who has remained in the
tropics with him during his entire
stay there. The Baltimore Sun quotes
Captain Dorm as saying that there is
no more beautiful island in all the
world, no more delightful climate the
Christmas in Guam is only twelve
years old, and the natives there saw
their first Santa Claus under the
American flag, hoisted when the island
was captured from the Spanish on
July II, 1898. The event had been
celebrated only in a casual way by
the small American colony, however,
before the advent of Capt. and Mrs.
Dorm upon the island Since then
there has been pronounced change. |
On Dec. 25, 1907, the first big celebra-
ton, to which all the native school |
children were invited, was held Each |
year the observances have taken on a
wider scope. There are about II 900 |
natives on the island, and of these
about 1000 are being taught English |
in the American schools. The natives
are being rapidly Americanized. There !
are not over $50 white people, and
nearly all of these are Americans.
The marine guard numbers 1870 men,
some of whom have their wives and
families with them. There are the
line o1llcers, a paymaster and two
or three medical officers. A number
or enlisted marines have married ma
tive women and are making Guam
their home, although they have been
discharged from the Service. "The |
Christmas spirit begins early, for ev-
cry year we sent to the United States,
the Philippines or Japan for presents
for the 1000 school children" Captain
Dorm said. Last year we despatch
ed the station ship to Japan for toys;
this year we sent to the States for
1900 pounds of candy. The festivities
begin on Christmas Eve. We have
our Christmas trees, on which pres
ents are hung, and at midnight mass
is celebrated in the old Catholic
church On Christmas morning the
governor assemblies the school chill
dren in the plaza in the delightful
weather of an American April or May
and distributes the toys or candy"