The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-09-15
SANITARY AFFAIRS.

In conversation a; few days ago
with two leading medical gentlemen,
one of them observed 4" Should
yellow fever or cholera make an ap-
pearance here the consequences would
be fearful. Either would make q
clean sweep. All conditions are favor
able to their spread" The other
physician agreed with the speaker,
and indeed it would be impossible to
do otherwise.
Now, inasmuch as yellow fever is
simply severe type of malarial fever,
there is no reason why an outbreak
should not occur in any dry season
followed by rain. The SxhalatiOns
from the moist ground would be
charged with malaria, poisoning the
atmosphere and producing fever and
death. Indeed, there is avery sensible
lowering of the average state of
health in this community at present,
owing to this very cause; but it is
easy to imagine conditions far more
trying than those which now exist or
which have heretofore existed in this
city. That a slow but certain ap-
proach to those fatal conditions is
constantly taking place within the
city area every scientific man will
admit. The saturatiOn of the soil
with filth and sewage continues, and
it is only a question of time when it's
absorbent power will be exhausted
and yellow fever, or febrile equiva-
lent, will break out and decjmate the
people, without respected race or con-
dition.
Asiatic cholera is not likely to de-
velop spontaneously, but if it should
be introduced by sea, either from
Japan or China, where it now exists
in epidemic form, or from Europe
direct, or from the States, should it
appear there, one thing is certain, it
can find no more cOngenial field of
operation. The city is undrained. In
many places it is scandalously over
crowded, while the most necessary
sanitary requirements have been neg
lected in the construction of the
houses and their approaches. In some
places the owners of property are re-
quired to conform to general laws in
the subdivision of property for build
ing purposes. The streets must be of
sufficient width, drainage facilities
must also be provided, and breathing
spaces kept open. Here nothing of
the kind has been ever thought of
At Conference on Sanitation held
in Sydney recently striking iIlustra-
tions were given of the evils resulting
from a disregard of sanitary laws. In
q terrace at Woollahra typhoid fever
broke out, and was traceabIe to the
contamination of the water supply by
means of drainage from the cesspooIs.
In o Swiss village 400 or 500 cases of
typhoid fever were traced to source
five miles away, the germs of disease
being conveyed from a cessplt, the
contents of which percolated into
rivulet. 1t was agreed by this scien-
tific Conference on Sanitation that
the dry earth closet system was the
best for cities. This system has been
successfully tried in the suburbs of
Honolulu by leading citizen with
the most satisfactory results. It's
general adoption here would get rid
of one abomination and source of
disease at least.
Another question dealt with by This
Commission on Sanitation was the
overcrowding Of houses and the
necessity for providing breathing
spaces for the free circulation of air.
Noting Hill, London. was mentioned
as furnishing an example which
might be followed in the Colonies,