The Hawaiian gazette., 1911-01-20
FOrty-Five Thousand Yards to Be
carted Out to Face the Big
Gun Pits.
THE CONTRACT ALREADY LET
Rapid Transit Line viii Be Run
to Fort Armstrong Soon to
Start In.

Sand dredged from the channel lead
ing into Honolulu harbor is to be tax
en- out to Waikiki to form one of the
protective belts upon the emplacements
at Fort De Russy, Waikiki, where two
monster guns are to be erected present .
ly for seacoast defense. Forty-five
thousand cubic yards of sand dredgings
are to be transported from the Fort
Armstrong sand spit to De Russy and
there spread over the great emplace-
ments which are being made the most
powerful of the modern Notifications
under construction by the war depart
ment of the United States. To replace
this sand, further dredgings from the
channel will be pumped up and spread
ont.
The rapid transit company has been
awarded the contract to transport these
thousands of tons of sand from the
channel frontage and in order to OBJ
tain it a spur will be run from the
present terminus of the Allen street
line down past the federal immigration
station to Fort Armstrong. The dredg-
ings are to be deposited on the sand
reservation on which the war depart
ment is finishing strong emplacements
for sheltering harbor defense guns and
loaded into cars at that point. ,.I
The emplacSments at Waikiki will
themselves each weigh about forty
thousand tons, composed of cement,
steel rods, railroad steel and concrete.
The work of constructing them has
been going on for about two years and
Is vet far from being completed. Moth
inc has been heard locally as to when
the fourteen-inch guns are to be
sbinned from the mainland to Homo
lulu. They are the largest type of guns
beinp manufactured for coast defense
purposes,
To Mount Larger Guns.
Fort Armstrong has already been
eouipped with battery of small guns
These are partly in the open and have
protecting shields. Larger caliber
guns will be mounted later and those
now in place will be used mainly for
saluting purposes
Fort Armstrong is already an attrac'
tive fortifcation as grass has been
grown all over the slope facing the
Sea. Passengers on incoming vessels
arc ALWAYS interested in this bright
green spot so close to the sea and little
Suspect that it shelters death-dealing
guns and that its innocent appearance
merely masks plan Of the war depart
ment to keep hostile vessels at arm $
length.
Fort Armstrong has more than one
purpose. 1t is a seacoast defense forti
fcation and it is also designed as a
protection to the torpedo and mine
stations which are to be established on
the same reservation. The war depart
ment officials at Washington are now
engaged in going over plans for a
wharf to be constructed along the
channel frontage on the outer end OF
the reservation and not far distant
from the Myrtle boathouse. This wharf
will be used exclusively for the ord
nance and torpedo station.
The wharf will be large enough to
accommodate vessels of small size. 1t
is proposed to have mine.planting
steamer located in Hawaiian waters,
exclusively devoted to whatever work
may be required of it in laying mines.
The war department is working out
the plans for the mining of the har-
Dor, channel and entrance to the chan
mel. and an electric station with con
duits leading to the water is already
being installed for this purpose. This
conduit system relates exclusively tc
the mine-planting operations. The sys
tenn Is so arranged that whenever
necessary the harbor can be mined anC
connected quickly with the fire contro
from which the wired conduits run,
Control from Diamond Head.
Not only will there be an exelusiv,
FIRE control for torpedoes, but the gan
of Fort Armstrong will be under thu
direction of the fire control system
which has it's central station in th'
summit of Diamond Head. The fr'
control there is now arranged so thai
the mortars of Battery Harlow, For
Ruger, may be fred on orders SEN
from this station, and the control als'
extends to the Notifications at For
De Russy and from there to Fort Arm
strong. Eventually, as has been des
eribed, it win be extended 70 the fort
feations at Pearl Harbor where tw
twelve-inch guns are already mOunte
and emplaeements are being built fo
two smaller guns near by. The wa
department win also, and probabl
within a year, commence the buildin
of more Notifications on the Waiana
side of Pearl Harbor channel whei
big guns win be mounted. These ba
teries will all be connected up wit
the Diamond Head control to be ca