The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-07-31
LEWIS g. CO.,
Agents. Honolulu, n. !.

not been disinfected to be taken on
board at an infected port might nullIy
all the good accomplished by the usual
precautions
5. ITO what extent the regulations rel
ative to the disinfection of the ships
hold, forecastle and steerage before de
parture are carried out?" Was the HI
mai Maru examined and disinfected be-
fore receiving her passengers?
AS has been stated in the report on
Kobe, DR.. Graham has always inspected
the ships and satisfied himself that they
are clean and in good sanitary condltloii
before the passengers are taken on board,
and he did so in the case OF the hlnal
Maru, but il has not been his custom 10
insist disinfection. Had sickness OF
contagious nature occurred on Doard
during a previous voyage he would sure
ly have done so. Hitherto, Kobe has
been the port of departure of all OF the
questions hardly apply to the regular
mail boats, they are kept in excel
lent sanitary condition, and every pre-
caution is taken by the officers TO pre-
vent the introduction of disease on board
6. What period of quarantine of the
passengers should be required in in! an in
fected port before embarkat lonE'
After visiting all of the ports enumer-
ated, inspecting the facilities at the dis
posal of our health officers and commu-
nicating with them the subject, I am
convinced that an INSTRUMENTATION
quarantine in any Of these ports is i'm
practicable under present conditions. As
already stated, 1 believe it would be bet
ter to prohibit immi grafton during times
of serious epidemics and to leave the
matter in the hands of our COnSulS and
health officers.
When. in their Judgment. disease is so
prevalent as to render disinfection and
inspection impotent to protect us, let
them have the authority to stop immi-
grafton for the time being until the dan
ger is past.
eliminate against ships of any nation
atty or line, our attention has been
called to the unsanitary condition of
some of the ships which have recently
brought emigrants from Japan and the
lack of competent and responsible ships
surgeons on board of them. What adj
ditional regulations, if any, should be
adopted to meet such cases.?
While there should be no desire to dis
crim4nate against the steamships of any
nationality or line. it is eminently right
and proper to make a distinction be-
tween the regular mail steamers and the
tramps that occasionally bring emil
for doing so. The regular boats are COM
mOdiOuS, clean, in excellent sanitary
condition, are inspected daily by the cap
tain and doctor, who is competent med
ical man. The steerage passengers are
not over-crowded, and their welfare is
looked after in every way. Furthermore,
there is no attempt made to conceal the
knowledge of sickness, if it is on board,
and the company is responsible and re-
liable.
on the other steamers the reverse is
true They arrive in Honolulu in a state
of filth that beggars description. The
passeng gers are packed together so close
~ as to remind one of the slave-traders
of early days. Cleanliness, good ventila-
ton and wholesome surroundings are
impossible under the circumstances. The
so-called doctors they carry are notori-
ously incompetent, and such thing as
an inspection of passengers and vessel
is never thought of. They are unrelia-
BILE and will deceive and conceal the
knowledge of sickness whenever posi-
BILE. Under such circumstances, dis
-. 1clar 1a o.
The question is how to meet the diff
ficulty: whether to relax the present reg
ulations for passengers arriving by the
mail boats put additional regulations
on those arriving in the trampS, or re-
stricting the number of passengers that
will be received at any one time to
number that will enable the boats to be
kept in a clean, sanitary condition and
require that the surgeon be man who
is satisfactory to our sanitary inspector?
8. I'm view of all of the circumstances
and of the fact that Yokohama is the
last port Of departure of a very large
proportion of the ships sailing from
Japan to Hawaii; and of the Importance
of requiring that suitable quarters for
quarantine and effective appliances for
disinfection be established there; should
not a regulation be made requiring that
all emigrants from Japan for Hawaii
embark from Yokohama"
and o. & o. boats have embarked at Yo>
kohama. This was due, I believe, to
some agreement with the japanese
ing business: but within the past two
months a number have boarded them at
Kobe. At present the facilities for prop
er disinfection at Yokohama are so
meager that it would be unwise to pass
such a regulation. They are in better
position to carry out the requirements
of the board at Kobe than at Yokohama.
9. Seek information in regard to the
quality and source of supply of vac
cine virus used in Japan"
lished and maintained by the Japanese
Government. but for certain reasons,
few years ago, they were given up to
private parties, with the result that the
quality Of the virus rapidly deteriorated
The consequence was that the people be-
came poorly protected by it against the
smallpox and the recent widespread cpl
demic was the result. During the past
year much Of the virus used in Japan has
been imported from SAIGON, French Co
chin China. It is excellent. I am told
that the Government has recently taken
will he no occasion to COMPLAIN of the
virus in the future. The virus used on
the mail steamers IS from SAIGON:
While in JaDan I gave some attention
to the subject of 1eprosy. The disease.
unfortunately. Is common enough, even
in the large cities. No attemDt is made
by the Japanese Government to deal with
it, IN fact the disease is IGNORED nv
the Government just as consumption is,
but public opinion deals with it almost
effectively as the Government might.
The DeopIe fear the disea Sc and force
the lepers TO live by themselves. apart
from other people. They are outcasts.
Tn converse ton With Or. Titasato. al
Tokyo 7 learned that in Ianan tho dis
easn &c not considered CONTAGIOUS hut iS
looked unon. as hereditary. THO doctor
r-nhler1 of an auti-+ovip fo~ Ier>rnev
'>"+ far without results Tho +rno+
mont most in vns1Ie amongst the .T"nor7-
csc for the relief of the disease is hot