U.S.A. Naval

Might

What is Happening in the Pacific

WHILE United States publicists, to an increasing degree, are urging that it is vital to the future of the world’s greatest republic that she should sup port the Allies in the war against Hitlerism, the United States navy is quietly but steadily strengthening its position in the north-east Pacific.

An order issued in Honolulu, in the beginning of June, incorporating the Hawaiian detachment of 30 warships into the United States fleet, is inter preted as an indication that the great United States fleet, now in Hawaii, will not return to its bases in California at any early date.

Meanwhile, in all the Central Pacific islands which have been taken over by the United States as part of the naval de fence plan, large numbers of men are engaged on defence works.

At Midway Island, for instance, 1,400 miles west of Honolulu, there were 350 men at work, in March, under expert engineers, constructing a naval and ad vanced seaplane base at a cost of 2,000,000 dollars.

Over 100 men have been employed for about six months on Johnston Island, 700 miles south-west of Honolulu, deep ening the main lagoon of the little sandy atoll and dredging a channel to give communication with the open sea.

Another large party of men is at work at the group of islands called Palmyra, about 1,000 miles south of Honolulu, where 1,000,000 dollars is being spent on the construction of a seaplane and land ing base.

Details of these various operations have been published recently in American newspapers. It is safe to assume that there is a good deal more going on, of which nothing has been heard.

All this is of vital interest to British and French people in the Pacific Terri tories and Dominions; for, whether we realise it or not, we are under the pro tection of the United States. If our European mother-nations were defeated there would be only the Stars and Stripes between us and the kind attentions of the Berlin-Rome-Tokio “Axis”—which might just as well be spelled “axes”.