The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-01-12

into the subject of disposing of the
sewage, and find ii can be done with
out any greater trouble than the build
ing of pumping plant and forcing it
through pipes.
"A plant of this kind would be neces-
sary, because there is not sufficient
| fall here TO carry it away. BY pump
| inS ii could be forced almost any dis
! lance. | have made two trips out on
the bay and studied the currents-a
most important feature where sewage
is deposited in the sea- l find that the
matter would be so scattered that no
one would ever know that the sewage
was being deposited anywhere in the
vicinity
But the effect upon the fish, Mr..
| Herring. You are, no doubt. aware that
it is the staple diet of the Hawaiians ?"
ut will not affect the fish in any
way, nor the people, unless they eat
| the entrails. l am told that Hawaii
! ans are fond of raw fish, but they
do not eat the stomach, consequently,
| they would not be injured. If you had
oysters growing in the immediate vi
| cinity they would be affected by It.
| We have had instances in the States
where typhoid fever has been contract
| ed by persons who enjoy eating oys-
| ters.''
''They are dirty enough at any time
when eaten fresh from the shell, and /
am surprised that people do not use
more care in preparing them. The shell
Of an oyster should be washed before
the bivalve is taken out, and it would
better if the oyster was washed before
it is eaten. The mud which sticks to
the shell is very unhealthy thing, and
should not be taken into the stom-
ach''
Mr. Herring evinced great surprise
when told that oysters grow in these
waters, but not nearer Honolulu than
Pearl City. He gave it as opinion that
they were perfectly safe from contain
ination at that distance.
In. my contract with your Govern
ment," continued Mr.. Herring, II am TO
furnish plans and specifications within
five months after / leave here, but 1 |
hope to do it in less time than that. !
| cannot say now just what the ca
pacity of the pumps will be or indeed, !
the size of the plant, but l believe it |
would require a smaller plant than the
one in use at the pumping station"
Replying to the question of cost, Mr..
ton and he declined to approximate.
THAT is the very last thing to be
considered" he remarked, land 1 am
not prepared to venture an opinion.
There is so much detail work to be
done before the total cost can be ar
rived at. There's the cost of labor, ma
terials, freight and other things to cal
culate that it would be folly to even
suggest price. | will say this, though,
the cost will not be so great that your
Government cannot afford to have it.
And how long will it take to COM |
plete the work, once it begins?"
Readily in a season-but, come TO
think, you don't have seasons here, as
we have them in New York l should |
say, then, that it could be finished in |
six months; it would depend entirely !
upon the class of labor that would be |
employed"
We'll, the people in this section of
the world do not go much on rapid
transit, Mr.. Herring, and it is probable
that most of the eXcavating would be
done by prison labor"
I'm that case, it would be slow and
il might take year. | could have it
done anywhere in the States in half the
time. 1t would depend somewhat IN
how it is to be paid for. If the Govern
ment has the money it could be done
more prompt than if you have to wait.
In my report, / will mention the va
rious ways l know of for paying for the
system. 1t might be by a general tax,
as in the water department, or by a
tax per lineal foot, with exceptions for
corner lots, where the owners wanted
connection only on one street, by a tax
per square foot of property or by q
combination of lineal or square feet. |
would favor, | think, the plan adopted
in charging for water: The owner |
who has the largest opening into the
main should be taxed higher than he
who has the smallest connection, be-
cause he uses more water, and conse-
Quently has more sewage. These plans
will all be suggested in my report, and
they can be discussed by the officials
OF the Government"
During your visit to Hawaii Mr..
Herring. did YOU notice the HilO wharf
particularly?'
Yes and I have given it consider
able thought. A wharf at that point, |
if a rather vexatious sub
iect The people want it, | have no
doubt, but my advice to them is TO go
SLOW II Is d very easy matter W Spehu
$40. 900 or $4,000 on a work of this kind
and find at the end that the money has
been wasted The Hilo wharf project
should be placed in the hands of one
of the Governments competent engi-
neers and let him devote plenty of
time to the study of currents. A wharf
might be built there that would change
the conditions so that what is now
deep harbOr would become a sand spit.
There is much to be considered in q
work Of this kind. and the details
should be gone carefully into before
the money is spent. When this has
been attended to. and it is found where