| Show Americas America's s New itT Atlantic Bases Hem Caribbean Safeguard All Approaches To United States Slates and Panama Canal Zone By NORTON PHILLIPS Western Newspaper Union Released by WASHINGTON The The air and naval bases in the Atlan Atlan- Atlantic Atlantic Atlantic tic ocean and Caribbean sea acquired recently by the United States from Great Britain through negotiations negotiations' led by the Marquess of Lo Lo- Lothian Lothian Lo- Lo Lothian thian British envoy in Wash Wash- Washington Washington Washington ington sweep like an invert invert- inverted ed from New New- Newfoundland N Newfoundland ew- ew on the north south- south southwestward southwestward southwestward westward through Bermuda and the Bahamas south to Jamaica eastward to Trini Trini- Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad dad and British Guiana and to St. St Lucia northward again I 4 ana iu w a special bulletin from the Na Na- National N National a- a at onal t Geographic society From Newfoundland the northernmost base b se to British Guiana on the mainland of South America southernmost of the bases is an airline dis dis- distance distance dis- dis distance tance of approximately 2700 miles the bulletin says Newfoundland is one of the most important of the base locations guarding the northern approaches by air and water to Canada and the United States It extends for ap ap- approximately proximately proxima tely miles mUes north and ad iff south across the Gulf of St. St Law Law- Lawrence Lawr Lawrence 4 rence r c n c e. e the wid wid- widened widened ened mouth of 01 the St St. Lawrence riv riv- rive er CV e r. r Newfound Newfound- N Newfoundland's e w f 0 u n d- d lands larid's 1 a n. n d' d s famous f a m 0 U s Lothian Botwood airfield used at one time by the Pan American transatlantic clippers and recently by American- American built war planes flown to England lies lles about 2000 miles west and slightly slig south s uth from the coast of Ire Ire- land It is miles southwest of the southern tip of Greenland Portugal's Azores islands are 1400 miles to the southeast and Ber Ber- Bermuda Bermuda muda is 1110 miles to the south south- southwest west Newfoundland is of greatest importance as an air base In mid mid- midsummer ml midsummer summer summer when a short period of good g oc w e North Atlantic i f fi i Bermuda Near U. U S. S The defense base at Bermuda Berm da next loathe t the south from Newfound Newfound- d land is is is' within 1000 miles or less of f every Important port on the Atlantic coast of North America both in the United States and Canada The Eng Eng- lish channel ports of Britain lie more than miles to the north north- northeast east The United States Is only one- one fifth as distant since Cape Hatteras N. N C. C is miles west and slightly north nOI Bermudas Bermuda's subtropical cluster of more than islands enclosed within with a a living barricade of coral reef about ten miles in diameter already serves as Britain's base for forthe forthe forthe the British navys navy's America and West Indies fleet Within the rim of coral reef the Bermuda islands are so grouped as nearly to encircle encircle encircle cle the locked land waters of the Great sound mentioned as the probable probable probable able American base Small islands around the Great sounds sound's sheltered harbor are the actual bases for the British navy and the Pan Ameri Amen American can clipper planes Of 01 the residents on Ber Ben Bermudas Bermuda's Bermudas Bermuda's muda's 19 square miles the white inhabitants are outnumbered in a population 55 per cent colored A strategic factor is the problem of supplies food water and other ne ne- necessities necessities ne- ne are imported chiefly from the United States Islands in Bahamas The Bahama islands group rough rough- roughly ly miles southwest of Bermuda over which the duke of Windsor now presides consists in all of more than islands islets cays and rocks strewn over some miles of oi ocean between Florida and Hi- Hi the Island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic The aggregate aggregate gate area is less than square miles All of 01 the islands are low and of coral formation The island nearest Florida is Bimini about 60 miles mil s east of Miami The most his his- historic historic tone is San Salvador Is Island is- is island Island land on the eastern fringe where I Columbus landed land d in 1492 Jamaica miles south of the Bahamas and on the southern side of Cuba is one of the vital base lo locations lo- lo locations locations because of its nearness to the Panama canal which lies about miles to tIle tIe south It is the only one of the bases squarely with with- within withIn in h the sea the others nearby lie on oh the outer fringe of off f that rth body of f fv water v er It Is Britain's v land beside the th busy vir W sf n- n nel ad between the North Atlantic and the thc th Panama canal c nal Kingston is capital and chief port y th only 1 square miles Ja Ja- Ja- Ja malca maica supports inhabitants the second largest number of Brit Brit- British British ish subjects In the Western hemi hem hemisphere sphere sphere second second only to Canada Less than one fifth of them are white Trinidad Valuable Colony The sheltered harbor of Kingston is seven miles long and more than a amile amile amile mile In width It is a hub for lor Caribbean Caribbean bean airlines Trinidad close to the shore of Venezuela serves servos as an abutment ua for lor the arch of the Windward and Leeward islands which enclose the Caribbean on the east The island is 1862 square miles in extent and has a population of On the basis of production it is one of the most valuable of England's West Indian colonies The island has an enormous de de- deposit deposit de- de deposit posit of natural asphalt Pitch lake which covers covers square miles and from which h more than tons has been exported in one year The island also produces as much as 10 OO barrels of petroleum in one year raising r ising this comparatively small island at one time to eleventh in world production St. St Lucia Lucia one of the Windward islands only miles north of the island of Trinidad has an excellent harbor J Its a re miles m milesa les a a population of cout 65 mostly Negroes This island is about 1150 miles east of the Pan Pan- Panama Panama Panama ama canal and faces Dakar the westernmost point of Africa about 2600 miles to the east Once Onee Was French The island changed hands between England and France several times so that the natives speak with a strong French accent It has been English territory since 1814 The southernmost of the defense bases will be located in British Gui Gui- Guiana Guiana ana ana Britain's only territory on the mainland of South America It will give the United States a base some 1450 miles cast east of the Panama ca ca- canal canal ca- ca canal nal and about equidistant from the canal and the hub port of the South Atlantic Natal on the projecting shoulder of Brazil The chief port and capital Georgetown dominates the miles of coastline This narrow British strip of South America extends for nearly miles up into the conti conti- continents continent's continents continent's continents continent's nent's northern highlands Its area is square miles The colony has less than a third of a million inhabitants nearly a half hall of them East Indians Antigua in the northern half hall of the sweeping arc are of islands that guards the eastern doorway to the Caribbean sea sea is about miles north of St. St Lucia and miles east of Puerto Rico An irregularly shaped patch of land it is the small small- smallest smallest smallest est of the West Indies islands of of- offered offered offered to the United U States for bases It is only about 12 miles in length from east to west with a total area of square miles It has a population population population lation of little over Although at one time tune Antiguas Antigua's English Harbour was headquarters for England's Leeward Islands na na- naval naval na- na naval val station when the island was com corn comparatively comparatively rich and active it is to tc today day merely a sleepy tropical out out- outpost outpost post off the regular tourist beat Antigua is valuable as a strate strata strategically set watchdog on the route to the Panama canal It is the center and seat scat of government of Britain Leeward Islands It is situated less than 40 miles north of Guadaloupe one of Frances France's colonial possessions whose status following the German conquest of the motherland is still undetermined |
