Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-01-30

column interview in the POrtlan,
Oregonian, in which he tells some new
facts about his work here. The inter
view, which deserves republication il
toto. is as follows:
hawaii INTERESTS
! MAN OF PORTLAND
Territorial Governors Secretary Re
iates Experiences on $500
Island.
ENTERTAINMENT IS LAW IS
Norman Courtenay Believes American
Naval Base in Pacific VIII Be
Strongest Position ON, the
| Ocean When Complete.
My first official act as the assist
ant secretary to the Governor of the
Territory of Hawaii was ON the sth 81
q. December, 1911 when was given the
detail of arranging an automobile
party around the Island of Oahu, stop.
ping on, the, way for luncheon at the
| HaleiWa Hotel" said Norman B.
Courtenay, son of A. A. Courtenay; of
p, Portland, who returned recently to
this city. The party was given by
the Governors in honor. of Rear-Ad-
1niral Chauncey Thomas. now retired,
Gommandcr-in-Ghief of the :: Pacific
Squadron, then visiting in the harbor
OF Honolulu. ., -. ..'... -
On the 18th of December l. was ap-
! pointed permanent secretary to the
Governor Al position held by few at
the age Of 81, for, it entails a great
ideal of complicated and rarduous4 work
ae all the affairs Of the. government
pass through the secretary's hands
before being seen by the, Governor.
The email matters. are ssifted out and
only the ones of importance gain the
recognition of the Governor. There Is,
however, q, great deal OF entertain
ing and society: 70 attend to-, as well
| as work, for there are no theaters Of
standing there and people amuse
:, themselves by giving dances, tennis
teas golf parties, polo matches, etc.,
which in most cases l. was almost
compelled to attend. - g., - -
Naval Base Strong Position. ~ z
The formal opening of the Naval
blse at Pearl Harbort ON the Island Of
Oahu, was, one that any. one can well
be proud of having witnessed, as it
Is to be one of the strongest positions
we have in the Pacific. It IL the only
lc gical point we have for coalins be-
tween the Orient and the United
States and with the Notifications now
! being placed here by the Government
! 1t will be practically fmpre gnable.
There is now located on the island
one-fifth of the standing Army OF the
United States and during the year
1918 10000 more troops viii be placed
there: The 5 Notifications on the Is;
{ land are wonderful bits Of engineer:
ing, some Of which mo- one may enter
The 16-fnch tmortars at Diamond
Head, controlled by a$fife station
carved out. of the peak, off, an ola
: crater mile away, is atreminder OF
the great rock Of Gibraltar. The com.
handing ofifficers of the garrison at
Fort Ruger can stand in these rooms
carved out Of the rock and. look out
on the enemy unseen by them from
a height OF 1900 feet and give the
position through electric instruments
! tic the mortars one mile away, winch
ARE tucked away behind the rear OF
| the crater and $50 situated that there
I liz no warship III existence that can
! reach them as the angle Is 50 great.
Entertainment lie Lavish. -, s.:&.
~ went to Pearl Harbor on the first
!, beat that entered, the Cruiser Cali
fornia, the flagship of the Pacific feet,
then commanded by sRear-Admiral
J THOMAS. There was a yellow ribbon
stretched across the opening OF the
hsrbor and as we passed through the
PROV OF the California broke it In Two
pieces a bit of which I have now In
my possession and in years to come
1t will. be greatly priced. i" q
Another feature of the position is
: the entertaining of distinguished yist
! itors. When you stop and think OK
the meaning of Hawaiian hospitality
/ YOU will realize that they were wen
81, tertained from the moment they en-.
tered the harbor to the time they were
nut aboard ship, with the leis around
their necks and the band playing
aloha De. There is a great deal, TO
see. for in five minutes in an autoTrr-.
bile YOU can see small bits of five diff
ferent nations. You can see anything
ffOm a HAWAIIAN NItiooCD 80
tie taro patches to a miniature CESSNA
garden, with the little Japanese girls
/ in their native costume, playing on
their musical instruments and the
Japanese men lying around drinking
+, sake As you proceed you come to
tho Chinese quarters and hear the din
Of the Chinese band, which seems to
be always playing and which SOUNDS
more like inferno than anything GILL.
ICED. The odors that arise from Chi
natown are quickly dispelled as yo1
60 on your way to Mauna Loe Park
which contains some of tine rarest OF
tropical plants and which is a small
~paradise in itself and in which one
would like to linger longer. From
there you can go through miles and
miles of sugar cane and pineapple
plantations.
Scenery is Gorgeous
The most interesting bit of seem
eryis, however, Thing the Pail 1t
is the brink of an extinct crater at
the top of a range of mountains about
ocnn foot h;0h and overlooking the