The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1915-07-03


here and there in our wide
domain there are groups Of men wear
ing United States military uniforms,
going through drills, and timing their
hours at the call of the bugle. AS a
recent writer says Of the average clt1-
zen: HE knows next to nothing
about the army and doesn't take the
trouble to find out anything. If an
army or navy officer walked up Broad
way In uniform, not one in hundred
Of the passers-by in Gotham would
know whether he was a taxi-cab
starter or head bellman." But way
off in the territory of Hawaii the army
is no abstraction, it looms large.
On Oahu, the island on which Homo
lulu Is situated, more soldiers are sta
toned than are regularly located In
any army post either in "The States"
or in the Philippines. The 5000 men
there assembled are divided among
six main posts; there are three regi-
ments of infantry, one of cavalry, one
of field artillery, eight companies Of
coast artillery, eight companies of en-
gineers. and field company of the sig
nal corps. The names Of the posts
are as follows: Fort Ruger, Fort de
Russy. Fort Armstrong, Fort Kameha-
meha, Fort Shafter, and Schofield bar
racks.
Fort Kamehameha guards the naval
hasa at Pearl horhnr cfo nd al
down by the sea- Beyond and upon
the tablelands, once a wide ranch
country, stands Schofield barracks,
where all arms OF the service are rep
resented. At an elevation of a thou
sand feet above sea level, with a plain
spreading out from the Waianae range
to the Koolau mountains, there is at
forded healthful home for the troops
as well as q splendid practice and re-
view ground. The barracks are over
twenty miles from Honolulu, but as
railway crosses Leilehua plain. the
soldiers can easily get in to the mo-
vies" and the other delights of town.
1t is a splendid location from the
standpoint Of health. The climate is
cooler than in Honolulu, the air is
much more invigorating. And the
scenery Is superb.
Fort Ruger is considered one OF the
most interesting Notifications in the
world. Diamond Head, the jutting
headland that stands out so plainly to
the eager voyager approaching Hon.
olulu, Is the center about which the
fort clusters. Diamond Head is called
an extinct crater, but since the mil
ingtary" put its seal on 1t, it has been
reused to new activity. Here is To-
Gated powerful mortar battery. and
high on the headland a range station
has been carved out of the solid rock
The gray old height has been bored
into, and one reaches the inside of
the bowl now by means of tunnel,
steps and ladder. Only American citi-
zens, however, are given this priv
ilege.
downward from Ruger is stationed
Fort de Russy, with two big gun bat
teries. Then comes Fort Armstrong,
which guards the entrance to Homo
lulu harbOr. This fort has a mine-con-
troll station and a small gun battery.
Beyond, quite at the other end Of
town from the Diamond Head fortifi-
cation, is located Fort Shafter, with
an imposing array of permanent build
ings and some motley temporary struc-
t,,r 10 hn dnno ,.tp
pital, and here are stationed one in
fantry regiment. the engineer and sig
nal troops.
The pay roll for the troops ex-
ceeds 100000 a month. Add to this
the sums spent on military works,
and one can easily see that to Hawaii
the army stands for a good deal in
addition to protection, it means ready
money and steady money.
Honolulu has population Of less
than 10000 souls, and the soldier boys,
ever in uniform, fill proportionally
large place in the life Of this pictur-
esque port. The open trolleys are
filled and fringed with them, they
haunt the bathing beaches, they are
interested visitors and generous buy.
ers at the curio shops, the kodak shops
are their hunting grounds, and not a
few are seen chatting and bartering
with the "ler' folk, the wreath max
ers and flower sellers.
One Of the features Of Hawaii Is the
lei a wreath of flowers or greenery
worn on the hat or around the shout