"For" adequate defence of the western shores," one Army authority, said, "we can no longer depend on adequate forces on the: mainlana only. We must be prepared to meet such an enemy at a great distance from home. Therefore, the importance of Hawaii cannot be overestimated."
'The' official said that the recent mass flight of Navy bombers to Hawa: indicated the urgency of the situation since it would be equally easy for an enemy based at Hawaii and assisted by fleet units to fy to the Pacife coast of the United States and destroy the metropolis there:
Although future plans for the Hawaii base are most secret, it was learned to-day from reliable circles that both the Army and the Navy intend to make steady increases in forees and equipment until the islands are capable of withstanding a lengthy siege and repulsing any conceivable form of attack, Naval sources have revealed that the Navy's goal in Hawaii was the establishment of a force sufficient to defeat an enemy equal in size to approximately one half the British fleet.
Tt was understood that the Army is planning the eventual construction of underground chambers for the storage of munitions and a concealed runway for planes, Congressional attitude on the Hawaiian; programme has recently drifted toward complete approval of establishing a Gibraltar" of the Pacific at the Islands.
High Army offcere declined to comment formally on the transfer of the Hamilton 'Field' squadron to Hawaii, Unofficially, however, they said that in their' opinion it was merely another step taken in determination to obtain "national security through national defence" in which the invulnerability of Hawaii s one of the most important phases.
Military officials told the United Press that the transfer had no esnecios significance except as a reflection of the desire to strengthen key defence points. Hawaii is considered the key to the United States west coast defence system and, therefore, {it Is logical that the Islands receive special attention in a period. when there 1s a general expansion of armed forees—United Press.
Honolulu, Jan. 19.
The greatest long-distance "fight ever undertaken by the Air Arm the United States Navy ended suc-[cessfully to-day with the arrival Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, of the cig! teen Navy bombers from San Diego, California. Favoured by good weather, the machines, flying in forma-lon' all the way, covered the 2,570 miles in 20 hours and 22 minutes. Each plane carried a crow of seven with searchlights, was stationed halt way along the route as beacon.—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.