American Bases

Building Protective Screen For Hawaii

From Our Own Correspondent

A Honolulu, Feb. 20.

MERICA is hastening, in obedience to a presidential order of some months ago, her construction of Islands bases, as an outlying protective screen for the major defence scheme based on Hawaii.

U.S. army engineers, with 350 men, almost have completed their construc tion of breakwaters and the dredging of the lagoon at Midway Island for patrol bomber, destroyer, minecraft and sub marine anchorages. In March, the navy will despatch 80 men to start construc tion on the navy’s share of the Midway scheme —seaplane ramps, hangars, work shops, quarters and other buildings.

At Johnston Island, a small dredge is improving anchorage and entrance faci lities in the central lagoon. A larger dredge will go down, later, to complete channel entrances. Similar work, al ready, has started at Palmyra Island.

When this is completed, the navy and army will move southward to Christ mas, Canton and other equatorial isles.

Aerial Patrol

The detailed report, on page 40 of the January “P.1.M.”, of the U.S. navy’s intention to establish a “shuttle” aerial patrol between Hawaii and the Philip pines, via Midway, Wake and Guam Islands, was confirmed to-day by an announcement that the navy would fly another squadron from Hawaii shortly.

Thus America takes up its patrol of import trade and strategic routes that start at Japan, and spread fanwise down through the South Seas.

Miss Ngaire Gilmour, who arrived in Suva at the end of January, has joined the Fiji Nursing Service, as a sister. Miss Hilda Toombs has also been appointed a nursing sister.