The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-03-16
PAID INSPECTORS WORK.
George Manson's Views of the Plan
as Tested at Waikiki.

How are sanitary conditions in
Waikiki" was asked OF George Man
son yesterday by an Advertiser man.
Good and getting better all the
,ime," was the answer.
What is your opinion OF paid in
spection as is now proposed?'
1t will be useless" was the reply,
for many reasons. In the first place
The paid inspectors cannot get over
he ground so as to see the people they
are supposed 70 inspect. There will
not be enough of them to commence
with and consequently they will not
get to see the people, ike We have
Deen doing. To have a thorough in
spection il is necessary that IL should
De simultaneous all over the city.
fake my own district for instance:
lave some 500 people, mostly Chinese.
These men 90 to work very early In
ne morning, watering vegetables, hoe
ing cabbages and cuIt1vating rice
" nat chance has a paid inspector 20
ind these men at home when he calls
1t about o'clock in the morning, al
he earliest, and wanders about until
, or O'Clock in the afternoon, when
ne gets tired, and goes TO the Sanitary
Committee rooms to make out his re-
ports? The only chance an inspector
mas in my district to find these people
Is very early in the morning or after
dark at night.
Il have had volunteer inspectors in
my district who have been in the hab-
1t Of commencing their morning in
spectiOn even before daylight and who
have continued their evening inspec-
lion until as late as 3 o'clock, very Oft
en- going over the ground twice 70
ook up absentees. This is the kind of
inspection that is needed, but this kind
Of inspection cannot be got, except in
Isolated cases, for 80 per day. II paid
inspectors are 10 be used. believe in
getting the very best men in the city
and giving them at least s. per day =.
That is little enough for the work de-
manded, especially when II Is a ques-
ton of honor with the inspector wheth-
er il Is done right or wrong. IL has
been diuned into our ears from the
very commencement of the Volunteer
inspection that a poor inspection Is
worse than none. How much worse
the paid inspection will be than the
volunteer. let the following figures
show:
"a paid inspector was put on apanas
and 2 OF my district on March Sth.
He reported the number of people seen
on that day as 162 and not seen II.
On March 9th he reported the number
OF people Inspected as 1876, not inspect
ed %. Here are seventeen people en-
tirely unaccOunted for in two days.
Again on March 18th, after he had
been put on apanas /. and 6. he re-
ported the number seen as 223, not
seen O., and on the following day as
the number seen 245 and number not
seen 20.
Contrast these figures with the re-
port Of +. 5. Boyd, who has apana 4 in
charge. He reports on the 9th OF
March los persons seen and 4 not seen:
on the 10Th, 1O5 persons seen and not
seen. and on the 18th, 10 persons seen
and none not seen. You will observe
that Mr. Boyd's figures are so close
that there can be no doubt OF their
accuracy, besides which / can personal
" guarantee the faithfulness OF his
work from having occasionally accom-
panied him on his ROUNDS.
After considering these figures you
will readily perceive my reasons for
arriving at the conclusion that the
paid inspection system. as proposed
will be failure. although personally
hope otherwise