The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-04-13
THE INCURABLEs,

The Council of state under the ad-
vice of the Attorney General, threw out
the item OF $4,000 towards an endow-
ment fund for hospital for incurables.
The contention was that this item did
not come under the powers of tn"
Council of State as defined in Article
81, section of the Constitution which
says, 1.-THE Council of State may, UPON
the request of the Executive Council,
appropriate public moneys, when, dur
ing the time intervening between the
sessions of the Legislature, the emer-
gencies of war, invasion, rebellion, pes
thence or other great public necessity
shall arise" And the Attorney General
also quoted President McKinley's tele-
gram in which he says expecting the
Council of State to provide for requis-
lite expenditures"
There is no doubt that the term
"other great public necessity" has been
stretched very considerably in many
of the appropriations already made
and so have the words for requisite
expenditures" However it was not the
Attorney General that ruled, he only
gave his advice, the Council acquiesced
! in it and the line was struck out.
! As public money cannot, according
to the views of The Council, be voted
by it towards the Hospital for Incur
ahles, It might not be amiss If the MEM
bers of that body. in their private capa-
city should meet Minister Young
offer of $4,000, and make UP the
endowment fund for the Hospital or at
all events the larger part Of It.
The absolute necessity OF an institu-
ton of this kind has been thoroughly
demonstrated during the last few
months. Those in charge Of the deten-
ton camps came upon many cases Of
incurable disease, ana when the quar-
antine was up, there was no spot left
, for these poor creatures to die in. This
was the germ of the idea of the present
Hospital for Incurables There GER
tainly seemed an emergency to take
care of these people, and private sub
scriptions being solicited, the institu-
ton has been able to struggle along.
If any one would take the trouble to
visit the hospital at Kakaako they
would see for themselves how great the
emergency is.
Though people connected with the in
stitution belong to various religious
bodies, the place is in no sense lsectari-
an, any more than the Waikiki hospi-
tai is sectarian because the Roman
Catholic Sisters act in it as nurses.
During the late epidemic the clergy of
all denominations met on a common
plane of charity, and learned that they
could work together for the common
good. Both Jew and Gentle, Catholic
and Protestant and Mormon can al
ways meet on the plane of humanity
and, laying differences of doctrine aside
undertake the holy office of assuagine
pain and misery among the sick and
helpless, and especially among the i'll.
durable sick for whom there is no place
save in the present tentative effort tc
give them a home and place to die
in. "a
OF course what the Council has done
III llllS matter CdllllOl ne gam Sdlu
They have weighed the matter, have
considered the section of the consti.
tuition and have read carefully the tele
gram from President Mckinley. They
have handed money over which has
been spent on liquors, cigars, cocktail
shakers and so forth for people who
were earning salaries from the public
purse, and some who were earning two
salaries Such things constituted 20
great public necessity" no doubt. Blu
to vote money for the support of the
4 incurable sick in whom Bishop Willis
the Bishop of Panopolis, Father Valen
tine, Major Wood Of the Salvation
Army and others are interested does
not come within the meaning of the
words "a great public necessity" 1t IL
strange but true.