The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1879-12-13
tn Pa
Commercial A0Orrtlser.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER I3.
SANITARY CONDITION OF THE CITY.

In uuT I=-ue Dt tire 2Jth UT, we wrote at
some length upon the necessity OF cleanliness
outside the dwelling house. referring more par
ticulaTly 10 the management Of cessPools and
priyy vaults. For some Of the points contained
in that article We were indebted TO 4 work on
Sanitary Instruction Tor HawaiIans, authorized
by the last Legislature and now in course of
PREPARATION by a special committee Of that
body.
During the two weeks that have elapsed since
the appearance Of that article, the malarial fever
which prompted il has increased to such an ez-
tent that the community Is becoming seriously
alarmed. People are asking if something can
not De- done more than has been done by the
authorities. q stay the disease? Undoubtedly
there j. good cause for alarm and we venture
the prophecy that unles- the causes which under
lie the diease are speedily and thoroughly Grad
Icated, our sanitary condition will go on from
bad to worse. until we shall become, with
in two OF three years, subject to an cpl
demic every time there occurs, as Of late, a ces-
satiOn Of the trade winds. But We believe that
the Board Of Health have done in the matter, all
that they conscientiously believe they have au-
thority to do. under the law while at the same
time we decidedly disagree With them IN their
construction Of the law as regards the extent of
their authority. We referred to the law IN our
former reference to this subject and will quote 1t
again. Section 2SI of the Civil Code is in these
words
" The Board Of Health shall make such regulations
respecting nuisances. sources Of filth, and causes Of
and nc on board Of y amy lnS Tessel' as a. it It shall judge e necsssary
for the public health and safety"
Now we hold that this provision of the law
gives the Board Of Health full power and author
ity to enter by its agents any and all private
premises, and to enforce the abatement of nuis-
ances or the removal of whatever may properly
be deemed prejudicial to the public health.
But perhaps the Board is reluctant to take
what might be considered extreme measures, or
steps the legality OF which could be questioned
by any one. This hesitaney to assume response
bility is quite natural; but we believe that if
our authorities felt assured that they would
have the support Of a strong public opinion IN
the execution Of sweeping sanitary measures,
they would hesitate no longer. We are fully
satisfied that such a public opinion exists in this
community to-day. Ii only needs expression in
a proper form TO be recognized and to have it's
legitimate influence and effect. That form is
through the medium of a mass meeting of the
citizens, at which a free interchange of views
can be bad on the sanitary condition of the city,
and the adoption Of a respectful appeal to the
authorities for the speedy putting into force OF
stringent and thorough measures for cleansing
and purifying the city. Unless our citizens do
this, It Will be false for us to say, when the pes
thence Is upon US, that we have done all that
we could do to avert it. 1t will be criminal
folly 70 fold our hands in apathy and do nothing.
And, as very justly observed by a correspondent
-, frT,w@a ,ro II - pothtu1 short IF hIaa
phemy to attribute to a mysterious Divine Pro-
violence that which is the manifest result Of our
own negligence Of the laws of health.
The work Of cleansing must begin with the
removal or the desiccation and rendering inno-
euous Of ali sources of filth and breeders Of
mephitic gases within the city or in its immedi.
ate neighborhood, and this will include all pri.
yies. cess-pooIs, wash and bath houses and theiI
drains. The vacant lots on the Esplanade, be
tween the p. NJ. Co.'S wharf and the Chincsc
Theatre, is used as a place Of deposit for moi
only all the rubbish and fallen leaves that il
swept from the streets and private premises, bu
thIther is also dumped dead animals, ofal anC
decayed fruit and vegetables. Whenever tn,
wind Is from the southward-which it has fre
quently been of late-the efluvium from thu
Esplanade spreads all through the city. AL
such deposits OF filth and rubbish. instead o
being allowed to tester in the sun and breed pes
tiIencc, should be either burned, disinfected o.
Committed to the ocean outside the reef.
One of the most prolific sources of malarii
: here is unquestiOnably to be found in the abun
dant cultivation of trees and shrubbery within
the city. Thirty years ago there was only her,
I and there a tree and no water for irrigation
to-day Honolulu is n forest of trees, and thu
ground is kept saturated day and night by tn,
water from the pipes in every enclosure. Wber
there were few or no trees, malariaI fever wa
unknown; with overshadOwing foliage, climbing
vines and constant irrigation has come also TIT
angel of death in the form of the fever. DR.
: Charles Spiers, a retired American physician o
a advanced age and wide experience all over TIT
Z world, and who recently spent several month";
here, took occasion during a morning walk abou
|, our city to point out to the writer the superabun
dlnt. freely irrigated vegetatiOn surrounding anC
overshadowing many private residences, eKclud
ing the sun and air, which conditions, he de
clared, were peculiarly favorable to the produc
ton of fever germs. He haIarded the prediction
: based upon his experience in other countries
where the same practice was followed, that in
very few years the sickness which now prevail
here will have become epidemic, unless sweeping
reforms are soon effected.
To the least observant mind of the phenomen'
Of nature. it must be apparent on a moments re
Election that sunlight is necessary to health in al
seasons. The rays Of heat quicken the vita
powers, the chemical rays exert their mysterIou
and potent influence. IL we shut out the sun
, light from our houses We remove the most efiei
ent of all agents for destroying what is unwhoIe
some. The noxiOus yaPors, which free admission
Of air and light would remove are absorbed by
carpets and upholstery, gather in the form 0
fungi, or float as invisible germs in the air, an'
! are productive Of disease. Says a recent Califor
MIA paper in discussing this subject:
Those who are accustomed to the darkness an,
dampness Of close rooms may not consciously suhei
r th%ereirom, but that they sustain real injury Is eVi
dcut IN their pallid faces, their haccid muscles, an,
.L.-.---.-.- r-nxan-enta The contract het4aa.