The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-11-24
BAD LIQUOR.

Sixteen deaths reported during the
last four months as occurring from
the use of vile compounds of liquor
ouoht to make any one pause and
think. OF course the sixteen deaths
from this cause are as nothing to the
number which has really occurred. on
The other Islands no records are kept
and people are hustled into their graves
without any reference to permits. 1t
is only when some particularly fragrant
case occurs that any investigation is
made. In Honolulu a more vigilant
watch is kept but even here it requires
constant poking up by the press in or
der to keep the Health authorities up
to the mark, and get them to give in
formation to the coroner in cases
which should be investigated.
When a man cuts his throat or muir
ders his wife or any little episode of
that kind, the police hear of it once
and it is reported to the coroner. But
a case like that of Silvas could not
get to the coroner save through the
Board of Health, and it is manifest
that the Board of Health officials are
lax, and have been several times
criminally lax within a short period.
But whether such duties are laxly
performed or not has nothing to do
with the cause of death. Why should
these unfortunates have flown to these
deleterious liquors at the risk of their
lives instead of, if they must have
liquors, buying liquors of a reasonable
quality?
The answer to this is that they can
obtain this stuff cheap while other
liquors are dear. A pail of swipes can
be bought for a quarter. 1t may be
disgusting to the taste, but it gets in
its deadly work all the same. A gall
lon of Portuguese wine, made from
home grown grapes and fortified" and
sweetened costs only as much. In each
case one is reminded that these people
go on the principal of the inquirer in
one of Leeche's wood cuts. Says a man
going into a public house do they sell
good liquor here?" To which the
drunken one replies Good liquor?
Look at me for only four pence
Some two to four years ago the ma
tive used to get wildly drunk on sake,
a drink that the Japanese introduced
into the Islands. The Japanese drinks
his sake warm. The Hawaiian drank
his cold 1t appears that, warmed,
certain deleterious and highly intoxi-
eating properties of the liquor are eva
porated. The Japanese did not get
wildly drunk, the native did. The fact
was brought before the last legisla-
ture. Analysis of sake was called for,
and the members were informed about
the percentage of alcohol, which was
small, and a mysterious residuum,
which was supposed to come from some
fiavorin" stuff, presumably some sea
weed which was supposed to be pois-
onous. and which was credited with
making the native fighting drunk.
The various country members gave
instances of natives who went charging
about the country like mad men after
they had consumed sake, so it was
clearly proved that was a very evil
compound and the be- Efficient legisla-
ture proceeded to give protection by
putting a prohibitOry duty on sake and
further showed its beneficence by MAX
ing the sale of pure alcohol practically
impossible and substituting methy-
lated spirits in its stead.
Why did the native drink sake?
Simply because it was cheap. Why did
he give it up? No native drinks sake
now-because it is dear. In the same
way he mixes methylated spirits with
his decoctions because he can get that
cheap. After a debauch of swipes the
words of John Leech's drunkard might
be paraphrazed for some half dozen
natives Look at ush-hic-only quar-
tersch."
Gladstone was a firm believer in tenn
perance and to reach that end he pass
ed the cheap wine bill. 1t was his rem
edy against the drinking Of hard
liquors. We have cheap wines close at
our hands but the people cannot get
them. In their own country the Por-
tuguese are not Incorporate but there
they can get wine at from three to
four cents bottle, use it at meals and
do not crave for stimulant all the
time.
We have to meet present conditions
some way. We cannot have people
poisoning themselves off with vile de-
coctions in the way they are doing.
We must try the Gothenberg system
or the Carolina system or something.