The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-12-23

t;on and suppression OF the disease, paI-
ticulorly as its existence on the islanus
hns heen brought forward as an arSu-
ment against their annexation W .ne
limited States. An article on the supleSss
i, contrihuted to the Yale SclenGinc
II RIon otnI, 01etober) by A. f. Corwin: The
anthor first assures that leprosy is'>by
no means confined to any one zone OF
climate. He says: :, ,o;on+
"At the present day, as IN anclent
times. the disease prevails uhder every
cnmdiiion of climate and degree OF clvili,
yotion In North America it IS fouhu
at New Orleans, San Francisco, New
brunswick, and scatteringly IN the notln.
western states. One OF the grealest
strongholds of leprosy OF m0derl tlnes
has been the Hawaiian islands; In con
s m"9 of it's slow and insidious pro-
yress il is not possible to fix the exact X
Date of its appearance in Hawai-. Inc
nariod between 1S25-30 is approximately
he correct time, though it may nave
visited for centres before TINS. IL ID
said that several of the ancient chle1s
had n disease closely resembling leprosy,
If not leprOsy itself. Authorizes, nov
ever, are quite generally agreed that ti n'
was not leprosy, but disease causeu W
high living. ,...a.;o,, 60 nc nm
oortain os the time. The natives them
selves think that the Chinese brought II,
and call it mai pake,' or Chinese utsease.
Rut probably it was brought by whallng
fleets of the Pacific. for during the carry
mart of this century there were often
rs many as hundred sail i'll the mar
bors of Honolulu. Oahu, or Iahalnn'
Maui. These, in addition to bringing SAIL
ors from all parts OF the Worlu, irs
ouently shipped native crews VINO III
| hrnupnt contract
with every nation along the RACINE;
These. afterward returning home spreaa
any disease they might have contracted.
Many reasons have been given 1or the
great prevalence and spread OF leprosy
in Hawaii. Some have laid it to the
fish diet of the inhabitants, others 10
lack of salt but others still, much more
Justly, to a contagiOn very easily spreau
by their filthy habits. such as me eolins
from a common dish ana tne p"SSS!,h ne
of pipes from mouth to mouth. ne
natives. too, no doubt had special
Susceptibility to it as the negro mas 10
col sumption or the white race TO hla-
This susceptibility is strikingly shown
by a table given by Mr.. CorWlh, from
which it appears that while the native
population of the islands IS only one
third of the whole, out OF luoi iepers IA
hawaii 10 less IMAM c'f "iN ''N'
CorWin goes on TO say: ~.
IN Hawaii, for many years, the uls.
nosp was not considered contagious, Dut
ot length between 1S5J-63 it had spread
81 ronidly that it seemed rs II the Whoie
native p0pulation would be eXtermlnated.
Tho government then was compelled 10
take official notice of it, and passed an
Act to Prevent the Spread or Lepross.
The system they employed III s.I!:,p
M iSlD nd similar
in principle to the successful measures
usci in ancient times. Hawaii. how
ever. has employed a far more humane
and efficient system IN caring Tor ,r Mer
lepcrs. and hers is rightly called Inc
Model System e,
an former times if man was tonnd
TO be lepcr. whatever property he hau
was wrestcd from him; his wife was de-
clnred divorced, and he became de-
snisnd oIItcnst. Such condition was lit
tie better than death. In Hawal II
man is suspected of being lcper he IS
taken TO the receiving station ut ha,lhl,
where he must remain a suitable period.
IF he is found not to be infected with
leprosy he is set free, but if the suspicion
proves true he is sent to Molohl. MS
is an island about thirty mics from Hon
oulu, on which the district of ka.awao,
| n tract of about 5000 acres, Is gwen up
wholly to lepers 1t is Il broad and fer
| file domain, bordcred on three sides by
| the sen and on the land side by tower
ing rampant of precipitous bluffs, 2UOO
feet in height The broad plain or pia-
teau. thus enclosed and rerdcrH inncrHS-
sible, presents picturesque surface and
is ever covered with ,uuri' nj Nnrdu"e.
"I'ndcr these delightful physical con-
ditions Hawaii's lepers live. Here they
are attended by eminent physicians on
eprosy from many countries, and by
skilled nurses. The settlement of Nolo-
kaO is n little world Inv itsof "''""" N
give and take in marriage, rear families,
have schools and ciuO,,r.. [,
are governed by laws enacted by them
selves. Their physical wants are
| abundanty satisfied h. H"w"ifS '"""e
| annual appropriation. There are certain
| hours each day when the! may see ,neIr
friends, separated from them only by
fence, so that infection is impossible.
'The one possible flaw in the system as
carried out by Hawaii that could he found
| is that the children of leprous parents,
| though they themselves may not he lepers,
| are obliged to stay upon the Island.
| "'rhe lepers here are much better off on
| their own account than they could nossi-
| bly, have been before, scattered through
| ont all the islands, far from efficient nurs-
| ing and medical treatment.
Had not politics interfercd, statistics
| bearing on leprosy would show much
more satisfactory results today than they
| do. Under King Kalakaua the segrega
| ton laws were not Stringcntly enforced,
| the king thereby gaining favor among
a strong faction of the natives. Under
Queen Liiuokalani, however, and since
her reign, these laws have been carefully
| enforced. This dragging of leprosy into
| politics has delayed for many years the
control over the disease that the country
now has under the republican form of
| government"
The decrease in the number of lepers
| for the year ending December 81. 1896
| apparently the latest one for which official
| statistics are available-was 65. The
number, as stated, was 1857 at that
date. and Mr.. Corwin tells us that it is
now not more than 1000. To resume quo
| tatiOn:
| The whole population of the Hawaiian
| islands at the last census was 10000,
and their annual appropriation for the
care of lepers is about $150.0O0. which
makes very heavy burden for such a
small country. But they stand well re-
| paid for the liberal and advanced way
| in which they have dealt with the mat
ter, as results show. For it was a deli
cate and perpleXing problem, one demand
| ing an immediate solution. and one whose
solution was to decide largely the future
of the nation"