The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-11-22
PLAGUE NORTH AND SOUTH.

Though plague has finally been con-
quered in Sydney, it still keeps up in
Brisbane, and cases are reported from
San Francisco. The cases of plague in
San Francisco are peculiar. One sec
ton of the community vigorously main
tains that there never was any plague
in San Francisco and that the whole de-
claration that there was plague was
only to make a raid on the city treasury.
At the same time this very same sec
ton was ready to believe all kinds of
exaggerated stories about plague down
here.
on the other hand the Board of
Health and many doctors insisted that
plague was present and their opinion
was backed by bacteriologic-,l examina-
tons which We're made, and their Opt
Mon strengthened by the fact of these
recent cases cropping up. In point of
fact these is no doubt but that San
Francisco has had cases of plague all
along and there is also very reasonable
ground to suppose that several if not
many cases have been carefully hidden.
That plague is not so dangerous in
cities in the north temperate and south
temperate zones, as it is in the tropics
seems to be established. The argument
against this statement is usually based
on the ravages of the plague in London
in the seventeenth century, But one
must consider the sanitary condition of
London at that date. There were no
sewers. The streets We're a fostering
mass of filth. A hundred years later
they were as bad, and so were the
Streets of many capitals in Europe.
There were not even cesspools. All the
Stops of the houses were thrown from
the windows into the street, and as
many of these were narrow and the
dwellings overhung in the upper stories
the sun, when there was any, never
penetrated to the foul kennels which
were practically the open sewers of a
great city. An idea of city manners may
be gathered from some of Hogarth's pic
lures and plates, and picked out of old
descriptions. With filth like this, no
matter what the climate, the wonder is
not that the plague committed fearful
ravages but that it did not become
endemic.
The modern cities of the Western
world have cleaned themselves very
thoroughly, they have light and air IN
their streets they have breathing spaces
of squares and parks, they have excel
lent drainage and so forth The result
is that though diseases like plague may
be introduced, they do not have a
chance to flourish.
The reason that tropical cities form a
good foOthold for plague is that they
are not kept properly clean. Nearly all
tropical cities have an asiatic popula-
ton or, in tropical America an Indian
population. Such populations have no
idea of hygiene, and would rather live
in filth than not. Cleanly in their per-
sons, they are utterly uncleanly in their
abodes. We had such a population in
our old Chinatown, and unless the
Board of Health is very careful and
very stringent we shall have a similar
condition of things. The safety of Ho-
nolulu from plague. from cholera or
from any other epidemic lies in cIeanli
ness. If the city is kept clean, a spora-
die case might be landed here. and
would do no more damage than occurs
from similar cases in the port of Lon
don or Liverpool or Glasgow, all of
which cities have a large oriental trade.
Cleanliness in all parts of the city but
particularly in the thickly populated
parts will do more for it's immunity
from epidemics than all the guarantees
that ever We're kept. Guarantees never
ares properly kept In one way or an
other they are violated. The doctors
themselves violate their own provisions
in many cases. But cleanliness, good
drainage, good water, the blest trade
wind, and the glorious sun of the tro
pics ought to keep Honolulu the health
lest city in the world. That it is not is
the fault of people, not of climate and
situation.