The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-05-24
NEED OF INQUEST.

A case in which an inquest should
have been held is that of Kali, who
died yesterday at the hospital AS read
ers of The Star will remember, Kali
was injured at the iron works last
Thursday afternoon. At the time, the
authorities at the iron works did not
consider the accident a serious one, and
one of their officials criticized The Star
for reporting it so fully But people
do not always know how serious an ac-
cident may be, and certainly a boiler
rolling down the side of a man is hard
ly the same thing as a canary blrd
walking over him.
AS far as can be learned no blame is
attached either to the iron works or to
the fellow workmen of Kali, but there
is nothing official to prove that such is
the case. From the point of view OF
the iron works authorities, one would
think that they would desire to have an
! inquest held to clear themselves and
the fellow workmen of Kali. At pres
ent, that there was no carelessness,
rests upon bare assertion. What every
body connected with the iron works
ought to wish is to have an official
clearance of all blame in the matter.
Inquests are as much for the purpose
of proving people guiltless of careless
ness or crime, as they are for bringing
! guilt home.
The position of The Star should BE-
clearly understood. In calling attention
! tn iC clfa
intention to cast the slightest asper-
sion upon the iron works or the man.
agement but it is not right that an ac-
cident should occur, ending fatally,
without there being proper official en-
quiry.
In this matter there is no question or
burial certificate, for the man died IN
the Queens hospital, and the surgeon
there could of course, certify as to the
immediate cause of death. But there is
another aspect of this case, which needs
investigation. The man was injured
last Thursday. He was not taken 70
the hospital until Monday What treat
ment did he have, during that period?
Was he treated at all, or was he not
treated? If he was not examined by a
doctor until Monday, whose fault was
it that he was not attended? These are
pertinent questions which can be asked
by jury, and satisfactory answers can
only be given to jury.
| 1t was only a few months or so ago
that a man was drowned while going
ashore in boat 1t was stated that the
accident was the fault of the unfortu-
nate man who suffered death. But there
| is to this day no proper record of the
fact. There was no enquiry. There
! should have been one. Whenever a
death occurs from accident there should
be an inquest as a matter of course.
| The Star claims that when ever a sud-
den death occurs there should be an in
quest, and The Star is right in its
claim, though such a proposal scares
! legislators and officials stiff with the
contemplation of possible cost.
The cost after all is trifing. What we
want to establish is the sanctity of hu-
man life. 1t is a precious thing to Its
owner, it is regarded as a precious
thing by the State. When ever life is
cut off suddenly or apparently without
a cause, there should be official enquiry
as provided by law. There is no dis
grace about an inquest. 1t has no more
stigma than the obligation of having a
funeral when a person dies Both Off
Gals and private individuals should
wake up to constant vigilance in this
direction.