The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-01-25
HE IS SCORED
Rumor Crank Receives
Attention.
Board Of Health Makes Denial Of
Secret Removal of Bodies
From Queen Hotel.

The rumor cranks have become such
a nuisance of late that the matter was
brought up in the Board of Health
meeting yesterday afternoon, and
measures were preached, which, If
adopted, will put an end to much of
the senseless gossip being head
about the city relative to the plague
situation. The instance narrated in
the meeting yesterday was brought up
by George w. Smith regarding a rumoi
which had been spread around town
in which the Board of Health was ac-
cused of concealing the death of two
people at the Queen Hotel, since that
hostelry has been in the hands of the
Board as a quarantine station. Mr..
Smith stated that the rumor was start
ed by Mr.. Irvine, an employee of l..
B. Kerr q Co., and who, upon being
confronted by his own statement, re-
iterated that he had seen the two bod
les carried out of the hotel in the pest
wagon, and therefore knew what he
was talking about.
&C. b. Ripley came to me-" said Mr.
Smith, "and stated that there was a
uAlOl VII llAt SlIttL W Lue elect ludL
the pest wagon had been to the Queen
Hotel and moved the two bodies from
there and that Mr.. Irvine, an employee
Of the firm of l.. b. Kerr e. Co., had
made such a statement in an office
down town. One of the gentlemen
present in the office reported the mat
ter to Mr.. Ripley / called upon Mr..
Irvine, and, introducing myself asked
him if he had made such a statement
and he said he had. / asked him If he
was prepared to prove such a state
ment; he said he was prepared to
swear to II. / told him the Board
would probably call upon him to swear
to it. We know. Mr.. President. that a
statement has been made by you from
the chair that there was no conceaIing
of facts whatever from the public. and
that a record of all cases lies open on
this table where all can see it."
''At the present time" concluded Mr..
Smith, when all the efforts of the
Board of Health and the citizens are
being directed to the suppression of
the plague, for any one to start such
a rumor without first ascertaining the
facts of the case, is dastardly, and the
man who starts the rumor is guilty of
a dastardly act. II is criminal, and he
is falsifier of the worst kind"
President Wood reiterated his state
ment that nothing of the nature indi-
Gated had ever been concealed from
/ the public, and no body had been re-
moved secretly from a house. He
| stated, in reference to the rumor, that
on the day of the great fire when the
| people were being taken out of the
| district and sent to the temporary
camps. a nfmber were found sick. and
some too i'll to be moved far There
were two japanese in this latter con-
dition, and they were taken, at the
request of DR.. Day, to the Queen Ho-
/ tel, which the Board had already
leased, and placed in separate rooms
/ For humanity's sake" said President
/ Wood. They were afterwards removed
to quarantine in the Board of Healths
ambulance.
Minister Cooper very strongly rec
| commended that the Board should pass
a resolution condemning such actions,
and the general opinion among the
members was expressed that the
| Board should have sufficient power to
reach such people and hereafter eff
fectually prevent idle gossip of this
kind from going abroad.