The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-12-03

The purest and best aeration this
planet can afford, and yet there are
perhaps thousands, who
are dying by inches" hour after
hour, from the effects of a noXious
To corrupt the pure
breezes and allow others to corrupt |
it for them, thus converting life into
death, and afterwards moan and |
groan because the doctors medicine |
does not seem to do them any good |
is absurdity to the last extreme.
1t is related of Lord Palmcrston
that on being approached by a
deputation from northern city with
request that day of prayer to
avert the scourge of the plague
should be appointed for the nation,
he curtly replied, 81 Better clean
your streets first" And the noble
lord was exactly right, besides being
more orthodox than he meant to
be. To clean the streets. lanes,
alleys and courtyards and back door
sllms of Honolulu is Herculanean
enterprise, but it must be done and
the Board of Health evidently mean
to do it. 1t is to be hoped they will
not grow weary in well doing. If
their labors are not backed by the
prayers of the Cinnamon and the
natives, it may spur their ambition
and keep their enthusiasm up to a
white heat to be reminded that
theirs will be the renown of doing
in reality what Hercules won un-
dying fame by doing only in the
fantastic imagination of some an
cient heather poet. Hercules clean
ing of the Egean stables was n big
job, of course; but the Honolulu
Board of Health have a bigger job
ahead than that. for theirs is no
work of poetic fancy. Indeed it is
not a fancy piece of work from
whatever point it is viewed. And
when they perform the exploits in
sanitation that they have determined
on, Hercules will be left in the
shade entirely. The fact of the
matter is, we do not believe Hercu-
les was there at all, but there will
be no mistake about the entity of
the Board Of Health when santa
ton invades the purlieus occupied
by thousand inhabitants and which
would be only too densely peopled
with one fourth the number. Boards
of Health are famous the world over
the rather for what they leave un-
done than for what they do. Not
only is inertia one of the essential
properties of the matter that usually
enters into the makeup of Il Board
of Health, but passive endurance OF
the taunts, jibes and croakings OF
the public has also come to be
recognized rs cardinal virtue in
the moral outfit of individual mem.
berS of the body. 1t is one of the
handiest things possible to lay al
blame for civic ailments on tn,
Board of Health. The custodian
of the public health are thus FIRE
quently made the scapegoats fo
the gross errors of individual citi
zens. The householder, with
cesspooi of o thousand smells an,
ten thousand stinks in his bac
yard, keeps his conscience wei
scared with incandescent objurga
tions of the clerk of the Board G
Health. The officer is unjustly pl
on the defensive, whereas the prope
thing would be for him to ride h
commission rough shod over TIL:
citizens lots. This is what tt
Hon olulu Board of Health will do
every case where it is necessar,
provided the ,mcmbers thereof a
determined on making this city
bealthsomc in the lower stratum
the atmosphere as nature has mat
it in the upper. And in every ST.
of their progress they ought to
infallibIy certain of all the NOR
and material support from the W.
. civilized portion of the communi
, that they may require. Nor is
( enough that the people stand rea,
5 to hack the public official in vigo
n ous sanitation processes, but the