The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-03-09
is AGAINST IT
Appointment OF Paid
inspectors.
A Citizen Who DOES Not Favor the
Change States His
Views,

"rho Board uf Health is makiug =
biz mistake and big hole ia tue PEG
pes pOcket Dy It's neN-iau. ed iuta OF
appointing some tnirty p1id sanitary
inspectors, sad a man yesterday VINO
has been and is now one OF the fore
most IN the ngnt against lns pideue.
81 would like my assertions 20 zee pfut
In hopes tnat tney may nave a deter
rent eneCt, hut az / am IN everyday
communion with the members Oh the
Board OF Health, / think IL best to keep
my name out OF the paper.
The scheme, as | understand IL, Is
to supplant the present system of hay
ing volunteer inspector Tor every
apana in the city or say some forty in
spectors and 267 suD-inspectors-by
one grand mogul and thirty inspectors.
all to be paid out of the public purse.
and expected to cover the entire city
thoroughly every day. | don't hesitate
to say that this Is a foolish and eX
pensive move that will be futile in its
accomplishments and prove me. c eN-
cuse for paying out Government funds
In the first place, thirty men cannot
cover this city satisfactorily. | under
stand these paid inspectors are to ride
bicycles, and | notice that already the
head inspector, who, 10y the way, is to
have the appointment of al the others,
is travelling about in a carriage. Each
one Is TO have a certain district, which
he is supposed to visit thoroughly
every day. Now the real virtue OF the
volunteer inspectors has been that
everyone in the city was seen once
every day about the same time and es-
pecially the dangerous classes Chinese
and japanese, were watched narrowly.
With thirty men, each will have to
do az least ten times as much work as
each of the present force of 3O7 This
Is a simple arithmetical conclusion. Ii
will take tall hustling on an inspectors
part, be he awheel or have the wings
of Mercury, to see everyone in his dis
trict daily. He will have to begin at
one end of his line and work, and quick
ly, to the other end, to achieve any
thing People who know the willy Or
ientals can easily see how those so dis
posed could make null the work of the
paid inspector They would soon learn
his time and sick man who feared the
white doctor would make his toilet to
fit his coming.
The paid inspector will have time
for only a cursory glance at each indi-
vidual in his district and he must be
a shrewd diagnostician to penetrate
the bland faces of Celestials who seek
TO hide their condition, no matter what
it is. 1t is put forward also that these
paid inspectors will go int every room
in every house ana thus necessarily see
anyone who might be so i'll as to be in
bed. This don't fit at all with the
nature of the Oriental 1t would be
only a trifIino CT
friends to bundle him from one room
to another when the foreign devil
came. l have had a good deal of ex-
perience in the inspecting line and
am certain the paid inspectors will not
be a success if the detection of disease
is the end to be arrived at
ION the other hand the paid inspect
or system is going TO saddle another
burden of debt on the already over
weighted public. Each of the thirty in
spectors is to receive So day, and the
high muck muck So a day. Figure
this up and you have a total of $95 q
day, without expenses, or nearly $4,000
month. This is hardly fair to those
who pay the taxes. My opinions have
been formed by constant observation
and by exchanging condolences with
others who are up in the inspect on
business. What the Board of Health
should do is to offer a big reward for
every case of plague brought to it's
notice and do away with inspection al
together after the necessity for the
present volunteer system is over. Those
who are now serving will continue to
do so as long as they are needed and
the expense of $4,000 Il month which
the Board Is about to incur would be
saved. Again, it will be difficult to get
men at SO day, who are out of employ
ment, and who will faithfully execute
their trusts. Let the Board increase
their reward of 800 for the detection
of a case of plague to $3.50 or $500. 1t
would be cheaper at any figure than the
paid inspectors, for it would stimulate
everyone to earn the reward and moth
ing would be paid out unless disease
was actually discovered -