Political Considerations

rSUVA, Sept. 20. [ERE have been indications of political delay in the plan to make Christmas Island (the world’s largest atoll) a fuelling stop on the new' Airlines service between Honolulu and Tahiti.

The promoters of the new tourist traffic plan, it is said, when they decided that Christmas Island was the natural half-way stop on the direct flight between the two Terri tories, did not take sufficiently into consideration the fact that this apparently useless sand-bank is actually a place of considerable strategic importance. Commercially, it has no value. As a base for air craft, in a vast and almost empty ocean, it has much significance.

For a century, Britain has held these seemingly useless atolls of Christmas, Washington and Fan ning; and the Australian-American interests who are promoting the new service have learned that Britain now has no intention of easily parting with her rights there.

The matter, doubtless, will be amicably settled; but there may be delay while Christmas Is. sovereignty is discussed on the London-Wash ington level. A similar problem was solved by creating the Canton Island Condominium, on the trans-Pacific air route.

Palmyra Island, on the direct Honolulu-Papeete rout 3, is Ameri can territory. But apparently it is not so well placed for the new Air line’s purpose as Christmas.