Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-18
PERIL TO GUAM
SEEN IN JAPAN'S
ENTRY INTO WAR
Strategic Importance of Lit
de Island Now Used as
Cable Station Pointed Out
by Specialist.

u rsnan seize the island possess
~ Germany in the Pacific she will,
:, ana stroke, gain an immense strategic
.,.oe In case of conflict with the
a..,..a states. Germany would not be the
or,y loser, and our trade routes to
"a from the orient, either by way Of
-, francisco or the Panama Canal,
s.,ad he imperllled as they are not now
~. ,hs same degree. We have plenty of
.,,,s for concern. So writes specialist
~, IN sure Of Japan's pacific intentions
:. .,s Pacific. and his especial concern Is
.,,,r Guam, our little cable station In the
,,,d.ocean. He notes that we took the
,.,rd with the thought of turning 1t into
.ooiins station for our ships bound to
"a from, the United States to the Phil
,.ni,es A few years later Guam logic
.iv became halting place for the trans
..,iec cables and now that II will lie
,,,ht IN the trade route of our modern
Mn, Of commerce speeding to and from
n. Far East via the Panama Canal this
iorsy island will have a renewed signf-
,.nce 10 u.s. To protect our future mer-
chant craft and to give us a strategic
mint Of vantage in the vast Pacific, Guam
hseor,es again what 1t was in the distant
dsy Of Spain's secret, selfish trading be-
tween the Philippines and the kingdom Of
Mexico and Peru plus a modern purpose
quite undreamed of in the centuries gone.
GUAM TO BE FORTIFIED.
(, We are going to fortify Guam so that
u will be able to resist any assault that
4 foes squadrons may make. At the same
time the island will be turned into an ad-
vance naval base of supply and the har-
hor Of San Luis Apra will become a
haven where whole fleets of our biggest
dfeadnoughts can lie at anchor awaiting
The call to distant duty. This call will
either come by way of wireless or will
trace its path over the contours of the
1acihcs depths and bring It's message
through the sunken cables In the form of
mirror flashes or the zigzag dots and
dsshes upon the recorded tape. Or. on the
other hand, ready transports will be
fastened to the shores of China, with bat
tallons OF marines prepared for any emer-
gency
Indeed, Agana will see such an array Of
Hghtng men as It has never dreamed of
since the earliest days of Spanish domi-
nance We are to assemble there all of
the marines We now have in the Philip |
pines, and upon these soldiers Of the sea |
will fall the burden of defending the |
island They will be both infantry and |
the duty of manning the batteries. big |
guns and smaller ones, that are to con- |
stitute a sufficient challenge for any |
naval force that may be brought against |
them. In short. Guam is to be a naval |
station in its entirety, and upon the ma
zines, as 1t properly should, will rest the |
responsibility OF maintaining the perma-
nent defenses and Of using them to good !
effect in the hour of battle.
}lThes island is about 30 miles long and |
hlsan average width of less than seven,
but even so 1t might seem like a pretty |
Zig undertaking to defend the whole of
the coast line. It would, indeed. call for !
Lgooa many more guns and fighting men |
II II we're not for what nature has done
toward simplifying the problem Gem
etally the shores of Guam are forbidding,
the volcanic cliffs rising abruptly right |
out Of the sea to heights varying from 300 |
to more than 500 feet An enemy could
find no place of lodgment or a likely
beach for landing except within the limits
planted about San Luis d'Apra. And
there the work of the marines will be
made easier by the narrowness of the
single channel that leads from the sea
through the menacing reefs into the shell
tered haven.
ISOLATION A PROTECTION
The isolation of Guam. lying 1900 miles
east Of the Philippines. is another source
|
squadron must come equally far If not
farther from Its own base of operations
and the nearest drydocks il can COM
nfand. To invite grave injury at such a
distance from facilities of repair is not
lne course likely to be pursued by a
commander, and here again
nature has helped TO make Guam just so
much more effective for our purpose as
naval advance base from which our
llsnting ships in the far Pacific can he
dispatched to the best strategic ad-
vantage for the securing OF a wide zone
IN that part of the world.
Climatically Guam is much superior to
the Philippines, and our marines at
Agana will be substantial gamers by
,heir transfer from Cavite. The hottest
aaEs OF the summer seldom register a
temperature in the shade of more than
= uesrees Fahrenheit, while the lowzsI
= 'HsV range curing the cooler months
= scarcely ever less than so degrees. Ly-
ng IN the sweep of the northeast trade
"lhas' there Is always a refreshing
OIeeze. and the nights of the hottest days
-e 9t a temperature calling for sub
sIsnual covering. The climate is like
"se ',h much more salubrlous and invigor-
.uns .ss than that of the Philippines be-
sause Guam's shores are washed by the
HUou LOO OF the north equatorial current. In
.i"t', the temperature conditions are
'ngularly equable,
;, out all this atmospheric stability, so
Io SPEAK Is Offset by the seismic rest
.Sshess OF this pinnacle OF a mountain
.on 80 rising from the bed OF the Pacific
Io,,s ne thousands of fathoms down. Tn
az pgtedly Guam Is of volcanic origin.
bIrLs rugged contours show; and its
sss 1s point is about 1900 feet above
Dassas 'el scarcely day. so II is said,
srs "lthout some slight tremor. and /
tbss while YOU become Indifferent to |
oncs immature earthquakes However.
! @ ~ while the disturbance becomes
Dpits,oou deal more violent, and then
bsst ss ,,s are toppled into ruins and the
The sou can do during the period of
or A. tuaAe "a matter possibly of four
iours mlnutes-is to get down on ali
esst ,,I uhI take the medicine thus in the
1St W..,l unpleasant way. '''
the eng OF the natives, he notes that
csIs6 "anoros' for so the natives are
upon are very distinct Improvement
said me Malays, from whom they are
tionsE nave sprung. They are unoues-
tovss an ancient people that once en-
was "a tslllaton OF their own which