The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-03-09
DICE. CARDS AND NH|SKEY
BOARD OF HEALTH. A BUYER OF
ALL THREE.
Also Purchaser Of Joss Sticks, Chop
Sticks and Other Heathenish Things.
Oddities of the Plague Season.

If Hiram Bingham or any of the old
missionary fathers should come back
10 the scenes of their earthly labors,
and spend about day in the Auditor
Generals office, 1t is to be feared they
would be both shocked and grieved at
some of the bills which a civilized gov
eminent, the direct result of their lab
ors in these islands, has paid since the
plague began.
To say nothing Of Chinese bombs.
joss sticks, chop sticks and other
heathenish things, the records of the
Auditors office shows that the govern
ment is paying for opium pipes, domi-
noes, dice and playing cards; also for
wine, beer, liquors and tobacco If
they made further inquiry they would
lind that right in kawaiahao church.
yard, games of chance with cards and
dice We're played, though 1t might be a
IelleI TO know that the appliances for
these particular games, were not paid
Tor out of the public treasury.
The plague, which called forth a
Wondertul amount of organizing ability
whose rod of chastisement struck the
rock from which flowed copious streams
of generosity and personal self-sacri-
ice, Is also responsible for a great
number of things that, taken in the
abstract, and away from the condi-
lions that surrounded them, seem odd,
grotesque, laughable. What govern
ment minister for instance in making
up his estimates for the biennial
budget, would ever think of putting
dice and playing cards in his list of
necessary expenses? Yet in all, some-
thing like hundred dollars has been
spent in the last two months from the
public funds for these and dominoes
and other appliances of Chinese games.
lhey We're used at nearly If not all of
The detention camps, and doubtless
served useful purpose in preserving
order and reducing the friction of dis
cipline.
The chop sticks were a necessary
Part of the commissary supplies in the
camps where there were Chinese. The
JOSS sticks and the Chinese bombs were
part of the paraphernalia for the
Ch1nese new year celebration, dull and
sad enough for the Chinese as It was.
The opium pipes were bought in the
form OF bamboo from which the opiuu
lends made the pipes in which they
smoked the drug doled out to them
ny the physicians in charge under the
rules and regulations of the Board of
Health. Va
But the beer, wine and liquors pur-
chased were not for the heather Chi
nese or the Buddha Worship ng Jap
anese, nor to any great extent for the
Hawaiian only three generations from
MS system of tabus. For the most part
they were for the employees, paid and
volunteer, of the Board of Health Not
that there has been any great amount
or liquor used, but there has been
some. Bits for these things have come
IN from almost all the detention camps,
ana headquarters for various branches
or work in connection with the plague.
but the largest bills have come in from
the Board of Health office itself, and
largely for supplies furnished durine.
the time that such a large force of call
physicians and guards were kept ON
duty night and day.
If ever Legislative committees winnie
to know just how much wine. beer and
nquor was bought, II will have to look
Tor IL under the heads of drugs and sun
cries. All bills of this kind are sent
TO the Board of Health itself for ap-
prevail before they are audited Wine
ana hquor bills go under the heading of
drugs and beer goes under the head
ing of sundries. Tobacco is tobacco
and goes under that head. But ali
lhese things go on the records as lust
Wnat they are, there is no hypocrisV
ABOUT 1t, and if a legislative or any
other committee ever wants to know
now much was spent for these items. II
VIII have no difficulty in finding out.
one drug bill came in with an item on
1t set down as zone bottle of Boomer
ang Before the bill was audited II
was ascertained that "Boomeransy'' in
inns case was whiskey, and as whiskoy
the item was approved.
Dead rats is another item which un-
explained would look odd as an article
OF purchase for which to be paying out
sums of from 81 to $50. The very first
bill presented 10 the Citizens Finance
Committee was dead rat bill for ST.
though in this case the rats were alive
When the government bought them. A
man by the name of Gomez presented
me bill. 1t was in due form and con-
Ialncd a certification from w II. Hits
one OF the agents of the Board of
Health. that the rats had been prcsen-
tea TO him alive and afterwards killed.
IN spirit of righteousness Mr.. Hits
signed his certiicatiOn as RAT Com
missioner and he has been known by
that title in the Finance Committee
ever since C. L. Beale of the Finance
Committee paid the bill himself taking
an endorsement of it and with DR.
woods approval on it retains it as a
souvenir.
Another one of the early rat bills
was for l76 dead rats, $26.4O Accom-
panying 1t was letter from Col. Jones
setting out the facts of the bounty
offered for rats and that the 176 men
toned in the bill had been shot by
members of the First Regiment In the
trees at Kalihi, and that ne had per-
sonally counted them and knew that
they were all dead.
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