Evening star., 1935-10-20

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BY WILLIAM ATHERTON DU PUY.
TIME United States Government
has found three islands in the
vast eXpanSe of the Pacific
u Ocean, which in the light of
the conquest of these water wastes
by the airplane, have acquired an
importance that formerly did not
exist. Today the Stars end Stripes
float over those islands and groups
of American citizens reside peace
fully beneath its folds engaged in a
sort of pioneering that is different
from that of the covered wagan days
on the continent, but is none the less
empire building.
The islands in question are Jarvis,
which sits on the Equator at the point
where the 160th meridian crosses it
and Is therefore in the geographical
exact center of the Pacific, and Baker
and Howland, only some so miles
apart, thousand miles further west.
Each of these islands is but a
stretch of sand five or six miles long
that has gathered around a nucleus
of one of the few coral reefs in this
great waste of water where these
architectural polyps have pushed
their heads above the surface. Each
is among the most solitary places
in all the world. None was inhabited
until recently and none heretofore
has seemed to have any material
value except to those who from time
to time have exploited the guano de-
posits which lie upon them.
U. S. Has Stepping Stones.
1t was not until the business Of es-
tablishing passenger airlines began to
be taken seriously about year ago
that such isolated islets began to as
sumo Importance. When the airline
to China began to be laid out it was
found, in the first place. that the
spearhead of all such development
was Hawaii That American territory
was the only stopping place on the
way over and, therefore, every ship
that ever few across must pay it
call. Hawaii. because of geography,
commanded the airWayS of the water
waste that covers a third OF the
globe. The United States was fortu-
nate in the fact that this group of
islands had been welded into the Ma
ton three and a half decades earlier.
But it was fortunate. also. in the
possession Of Midway Island, 1900
miles farther on, the coral reef of
Wake, another hop to the west, and
finally Guam. So did it have stepping
stones under its own flag all the way
across the North Pacific.
The road to China is the first vastly
important air route to be laid out.
Next to 1t comes the lane to New
Zealand, Australia, all the islands of
that area of romance generally desig-
mated as the South Seas. Might the
distance to down under" be so
shrunk that Americans could run over
to Auklani or Sydney in three days
instead of three weeks?
Specialist Investigates.
The problem again was stopping
places along the way. The Bureau OF
Air Commerce was interested. Rex
Martin, assistant director, particularly
wanted to know. He sent William T.
Miller, specialist in airlanes, to Homo
lulu to investigate There the Coast
Guard cutter Itasca was put at his
disposal and he went cruising all the
way down to Samoa and Fiji, 5000
miles from Honolulu, where open
water breaks into many islands.
In this stretch of open water four
coral atolls of possible usefulness
were found. The first was Palmyra,
already part of the Hawaiian
Islands, with Kingman Reef, en-
circling a lagoon of calm water as an
outrider. This, however. was less than
1000 miles from Honolulu and there
fore not sufficiently far along the way
to serve the maximum of usefulness.
Being definitely recognized as Ameri-
can territory no action was necessary
with relation to it.
Some 400 miles further on, more
advantageously located, was Jarvis.
1t was a stretch Of sand miles long,
10 to IS feet above the sea. On its
beach lay the hulk of the steamship
Amaranth. wrecked here in 1918 with
the loss of all on board. On higher
ground were the remains of one-time
habitations of man. evidently guano
excavatorS who had once lived and
worked here, and pyramidal
weather beacon. The island teemed
with bird life. Innumerable crabs
stalked solemnly about. And the rat
population, very probably descendants
of survivors of the Amaranth, quite
overran the place.
But Jarvis offered possible land
ing field for land planes and leeward
calm waters for aquaplanes. 1t was
ideally located on the route to New
Zealand and might assume great i'm
portance.
Discovered 100 Years Ago.
The island, it seemed. had been dis
covered by an American named
Michael Baker just 100 years ago and
possessed formally by Capt. John
Patty Of the United States and of the
schooner Liholiho, out of Honolulu,
who found its guano profitable. 1t
had been visited also by the U. S. s.
st. Mary. asserting American claims.
Rowland and Baker Islands, further
west, directly on the way to Australia
while Jarvis points to New Zealand,
are very like the latter in physical
conformity and history. Each Of them.