Under Hawaiian skies, a narrative of the romance, adventure and history of the Hawaiian Islands, a complete historical account, by Albert Pierce Taylor.

H\-AWk:I I'S IRIl l'E\ R 1N) I SS 71
an Islands to the United States, that )y that act they laid the
I)asis of the future hase at Pearl I-larlbor, a stati( l which wVill he
regardle(l by! those plowers which concede that the 11awaiian
Islands are the "key to the Pacific," and Pearl Il-arlor the very
center of armed protection to the Pacific Coast of tlle Amelrica
Republic. Butt there is the navy yar(d, in reality n)ot eiglht miles
from Il-onolultu arising- albove a once desolate, lantalla-covered
stretch of coral and lava surface l)or(lerin-g 111)1n tlle wonl(derful
Pearl lochs. \ithill a cable's lengtl of the nmoorilns of tlhe
battleships are the gates of one of the finest types of (dry(locks
in the world, whose capacity, while not as great as it shoulld be,
will l)e far in excess of the bulk of the greatest sul)er-(lreadlnaught for years to come, for tlhe size of the Panama Canal andl(
loichs will have a bearinug uipon the size of future warshipls and
colmpel nations to keep themi down to a certain length. Tlhe
Amelrican peol)le little realize wllat has beei (lone at I'earl lIarbor, andl little will they realize the ilmportance of tile harbor
miltil iAmerican warships are placel on guar-d agailst a hostile
fleet, and then its inestimablle value will he g'ivel a l)ractical
demonstration, for out of that harbor il the middle of the Pacific, the very crossroads of the vast breadth of the sea on which
border the nations of the two \Americas, Asia and the.reat continents of the South Seas, may issue fleets absotlute in their
lower andt equipment to intercept arnled squall rons whose objective is the long and poorly p)rotecte(t acific sl ope, a harlor
to which its own maimed and unsuptplied w1arships may retire
for repairs, equilment, reinforcements and( supl)llies.
For(l's Island, in the lochs of P'earl ltarbor, is an air service
station for both the army and navy, where the lar'gest, fastest
and finest seapllanes and airpllanes are statioine(. Iearl I arblr
is also an iml)ortant submarine ain( destroyer base, and is equippe(l with a vast network of oil storage tankls for reserve fuel (il.
The millions andl millions of lpeol)le living- under the \Americanl
flag may not comprehend the value of the millions of (ollars.
leing exp)en(led in and near those lochs, for the Navy I)epartment
hlas been carrying on its work silently ]ut surely, working be