Friendly Relations
p. 25 · Read in the full issue
British and Americans On Canton Is.
Prom Our Own Correspondent.
Honolulu, June 1.
DISCUSSIONS between London and Washington re the occupation and sovereignty of Canton Island in the British Phoenix Group are expected to proceed for a long time before even a basis of agreement can be announced, ac cording to an announcement by the “New York Times”.
On April 18, U.S. state, navy and in sular officials conferred with President Roosevelt about Canton but without any definite decisions being reached. Offi cials included Mr. Ernest H. Gruening. chief of the territories division, which controls the American “annexationists” on Canton and Enderbury.
After the “annexation” of Canton by the American party in March, the U.S. press naturally made a feature of the British party’s offer of iced beer to the Americans (as reported in April “P.1.M.”), but the good-humoured hu man-interest stories annoyed the “ca reer” officials in Honolulu, who conduct a sort of quartermaster’s office for the supervision of the isles. They wrote to Mr. Gruening and regretted the headlin ing of the beer incident.
However, Mr. Gruening replied prompt ly:— “. . . .1 canhot agree with you that the ‘beer publicity’ will be misunderstood by the public. My instructions to the Canton colonists requested that the friendliest relations possible be encour aged with the Britishers, and that in cludes beer drinking, poker, and bridge playing, and anything else that the friendly Britishers care to suggest. I am anxious that the utmost goodwill obtain at Canton, . . .”.
Meanwhile, everything possible is being done by the British side. Captains “Mic key” Hill, of the “Aorangi”. and “Bill”
Martin, of the “Niagara”, call at Canton every time they pass the isle on their run to Vancouver.
Canton in this way seems destined to become the feature that the “Tin Can” island mail used to be with trans-Paci fic liners.