The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-04-16
A WE'LL LEARNED LESSON.

The episode of the Kinai Maru will |
be long remembered in Honolulu. Not |
only has she given trouble as to her
arrival, but she is equally giving
trouble as to her departure. The cap
tain, it is said, is willing to take the
risk of sailing for Japan with six |
smallpox patients on board and YES
sci crowded with some 700 or 500 pas
sengers, The captain may be willing |
to do this but humanity would seem |
TO dictate different course. If these |
people, who are to be shipped from the
quarantine grounds, are likely to de-
velop smallpox even under the favor
able conditions they are now in, what
will happen in a crowded ship during
the twenty days voyage to Kobe. The
vessel will, in all probability, become
a floating pes+ house. But that is his
business, not ours.
The matter of allowing the ship to
leave rests entirely with the President
and he has certainly very grave re-
sponsibility upon his shoulders. She
should certainly not be allowed to
leave until DR.. Emerson's investigation
and its results are laid beforet he ex-
ecutive. Scientifically we know that
there must have been smallpox on
board the vessel during its voyage
from Kobe hither. There may have
hoa,, cnu,a 1pntorc S11UUpSt very
light cases, and as there was no gen.
eral muster or inspection of the pas
sengers the officers of the ship might
be unaware that any cases did occur.
This appears a very fimsy excuse in
deed, but it is just a bare excuse. Peo-
pie who undertake the charge of emf
grants from country must accept the
responsibilities of the position. With
mass of humanity on board, which
they know is liable to disease, they
should hold inspections of their pas
sengers from time to time. 1t is their
manifest duty. The excuse offered APP
pears, as has been said, of the flimsiest
and seems to indicate that the ships
authorities did not want to know. Of
course this is one way of manufactur-
ing clean bill of health. The cap
tain carefully abstains from having
any examination of his passengers
made and then says. "Oh, yes. Every
one is healthy on board my ship. No
case of sickness has been reported dur
he
ostrich burying its head in the sand
and thinking that its tail feathers are
invisible.
The excuse that it is difficult or i'm.
possible to get passengers up for eN-
animation when at sea. is utterly non
sensical. \ large number will go will.
ingly, those that are unwilling can be
very soon driven out of the holes and
corners by a little judicious fumiga'
ton. Once on deck there is no diff.
Guilty about making the inspection and
ticking off the names.
Looked at from any standpoint the
position of the officers of the Kinai
Maru is unsatisfactory. In the above
arguments the case has been put on
the best basis for them that it could
and put in this way it only shows
criminal carelessness.
OF course it is not the business of
this Government to prevent a ship
load of smallpox starting for Japan,
though, as has been pointed out, to al
low ship to load up with smallpox
is not exactly humanitarian, but what
the japanese Government will say to
the "Kinai Maru" at Kobe is quite an
other thing. However, that is between
the captain and his own Government
and much joy may he get out of it.
One thing this episode has done fol
the country, it has thoroughly aroused
the Board of Health to the danger tC
which the community is exposed from
the passengers of vessels of this kind
The order given by the Board OF
Health is peremptory and there will
be no such risk as occurred in this
case, when we only escaped vista
ton of smallpox that would have
swept from one end of the group tC
the other, but for the merest accident
This, then, is certain; we shall have NJ
more accidental exposure. The bar'
are up and disease cannot sliI
through. But we want another set o
bars up, so that the japanese" student
may not slip through and drive thu
Hawaiian laborer to the wall.