The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-12-28
KUkU| STREET
Too Much Rubbish in
the Roadbed.
Bishop Estate Responsible or tt
and for Insanitary Building
Projects of Chinese.

The question of sanitary building is
one that is at present getting the at
tention OF officials and preperty-own-
ers. In past years too lite has been
done and the results of indiscriminate
building have been made painfully
evident during the last two epidenics
which have visited Honolulu. It was
believed that the cholera scare would
set matters right; and it did to some
extent, where private persons were in
teres ed; but the landed estates, which
for years had leased building lots al
high rentals to Chinese and Others, re-
turned Almost Immediately to the old
practice, which holds that dollar TO
land-.easer is woruh more than the
health of the community.
S. aitary building, since the plague
outbreak, has again been brough.
prominently forward in official circles
where it has been hoped the aulhori-
ties would receive the support and CO
operation Of the lana owners who lease
largely for building purposes and prop
erty owners generally. This support
has been and will be largely given, bu-
in some quarters the disposition is
again cropping up to continue build
ing operations on the Old lines, which
have been so fatal to Hono.u Some
of the land-leaserS here are also ignOr
ing the suggestions and policy of the
authorities and continue to measure
sanitation with the amount of CEN
per cent" to be returned to the peck
cts of their respective corporations OF
estates.
The continuation of Kukui street is
a case in hand. The new portion is
| now open from Nuuanu avenue to the
river The roadway leading from
| Nuuanu. where it leaves that street, IS
| at least three feet above the surround
| ing land. The filling in of the street
| has been largely done with rubbish
which has been covered with earth
and coral in places; this awaits the
| first heavy rains to discharge a moi
| some seepage upon the surrounding
bui. ding lots and under the buildings
| now erected or in course of construc-
| ton.
| The construction of new buildings Is
now going on at both ends of new Ku-
| kui street and it will not be a grea
! while before the entire stree. on both
| sides is lined with tenements
stores which will be occupied by Chin
csc, Japanese and natives. The man
ner in which these are being con-
| structed is most Objectionable. Al
| each end of the new thoroIghfare thu
| buildings are placed on a level with
! the roadway and are boarded up on
| the sides next the street, leaving /;
| low-lying, filth breeding space extend
| ing throughout. This space varies in
| depth from three feet at Nuuanu stree
| to one foot in the midd e of the block
and is the same at the river end of the
street.
The land on the makai side Of the
new street is especially Objectionable,
in it's present state, for builo-
ing purposes as the drainage ma
turally runs in that direction.
On the side of the street toward
the river end of the extension
are fifteen or twenty tenements and
dwelling houses, mostly occupied by
| Chinese and natives, whose occupants
will be fully exposed to the evil eff
| fects of the surface drainage, especial
| ly that coming from the elevated road
way. Add to this the unhealthy condi-
| ton of the numerous privy vaults on
this side of the street, with the wei
| known filthy living habits of the resi-
dents, and it is difficult to see how the
district when fully built up can escape
an epidemic, if, indeed, 1t does not turn
out hot bed of disease under ordinary
conditions.
That such a system Of unsanitary
building is endorsed by those who own
the property Is shown by the fact thai
the leases for the buildings, thus far
erected by Cinnamon, have been given
within the past month or six weeks;
and, it is understood, other leases can
be secured upon the usual terms, with
out conditions as to the kind and
quality of buildings to be erected
thereon. In fact the continuation Oh
Kukui street is the repetition Of the
abuses of Chinatown in respectable
quarter of the growing city. For this
the Bishop Estate is chiefly response