The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-09-29
TUESDAY September 29th.
THE PUBLIC HEALTH.

Last Saturday we published an edi-
tOrial paragraph on the subject of the
public health, in which we warned
the community of the imminence of
an outbreak of epidemic disease I'M
less existing sanitary conditions were
improved. Our purpose was to slim
ulate those who are in a position to
cooperate with the Health authori-
ties in carrying out the very difficult
work they have in hand. There are
several owners of property in the city
who might do very great deal in
this direction. They own property
which has been built upon so closely
that it is impossible almost for the
Health authorities to effect any per-
manent, or, indeed, even temporary
improvement, without tearing down
the Wretched structures which shelter
the lowest and most depraved classes
of the community, where filth and
E@rDage tic fostering, and into the
hooks and corners of which neither
the light of the sun nor the health
giving breezes penetrate. Yet the
owners of this kind of property, which
would be declared public nuisance
in any American city, and removed
at the proprietor's expense, collect the
rents therefor with scrupulous punctu-
atty, caring nothing apparently for
either public health or public morals.
This fact is well known to those
zHyk fo 10 int In
Now, would it not be right for the
class of property owners to whom we
refer to do something towards clean
ing up their rented tenements, re-
moving the accumulated nuisances,
and opening some kind OF wide APP
prOaches by which access might be
had at all times. In many cases the
Chinese are closing up even the mar
row rights of way answering to the
old taro patch boundaries that form
erly existed, so that the Health of
ficers are unable to perform their duty
of inspection without the greatest
difficulty. In case of fire, the Fire
Department would be unable to do
anything approaching to effective
work in those quarters. It is needless
to enlarge upon the danger to life in
case of fire under these circumstances,
but regarded in the light of city sani-
tation the danger is not less great, |
though it may not be SO apparent.
The Board of Health is doing what |
1T can with it's limited funds to i'm
prove the sanitation of the city, but
as we have said, unless property |
owners cooperate cordially and effec- |
lively little can be accomplished |
beyond putting better look upon the |
more accessible places. Open yards
may be cleaned up, walls and fences
whitewashed, and cesspools emptied, |
but the fact still remains that |
throughout those parts of the city
where population is densest there are
utterly wanting any of the conven-
fences of modern civilized habita-
tions. CesspOOls are boarded over,
and in not few cases fostering pits
lie beneath the dining and sleeping
apartments of scores of Chinese, who
SGCAAA ~ man OAAb anu DAbl primary
conditions of their existence.
In tour of inspection yesterday by
the President of the Board of Health,
accompanied by Officer Reynolds,
several points were visited and in
,structions given regarding the abate-
ment of pes iIent nuisaDces. FOwlers
Yard appears to be monopolized by
Portuguese, and it was found to be in
8 shocking condition. The owner
was given two or three days in which
to put his property into decent order,
falling which it would be done at his
expense by the Health Department.
Poi factories are another intolerable
aud as in the case of the
lauudries, power should be
taken to compel their location in