The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-30
PHYSICIANS
ON LEPROSY
E.S. GOOdhue CriticizeS
A Medico.
IGNORANCE IS ALLEGED
Dr. ". N. Meyer Says the Disease
IS as Common in Hawaii
as Ever.

Wild and contradictory reports rel
ative TO the segregation and care of lep-
ers In the Hawaiian Islands are cur
rent topics for Mainland newspapers.
Lecturers also often fall into n bad |
habit OF painting the peculiarities Of
the disease In such a manner that per-
sons unacquainted with the geographi-
cal location OF the leper settlement be- |
lieve that Honolulu itself Is a leper city. |
DR. N. ~. Meyer. an eminent physi-
clan on the Mainland. who evidently |
has only a cursory knowledge of the
leprosy conditions I'm Hawaii. made a
statement before the Chicago Medico-
Legal Society. on December last that
"leprosy In "a common as II has ever
been. The failure of attempt |
ing to stamp out tuberculosis by quar-
antlne and segregation Is shown by the
efforts which have been made In Ha-
wall for the past twenty-five years to
banlsh leprosy."
/ In an article TO the Philadelphia
/ Medical Journal for last month, DIR.
| n. =. Goodhue, OF Los Angeles. and for
merry Government physician at Koloa.
i Kauai. sharply criticizes DIR. Meyer In
the following language:
i In the discussion OF "a paper entitled
| Notification and State Supervision OF
the Tuberculosis" by Dr. Joseph Mat
teson. read before the Chicago Medtco-
Legal society. December 2. Dr. III. ".
| Meyer said
"in discussing the subject OF the con-
troll OF tuberculosis. there has been not
"A uttie narrow reasoning based on the
idea that ~ was only necessary To catch
and kill the germ of tuberculosis In or
der TO stamp out the disease. This con-
ception OF the public-health duties Is
reflected In the laws hich II is urged
should be adopted In the prevention OF
this malady. They include quarantine.
notification and other equally drastic
| measures. The failure OF at
tempting to stamp out tuberculosis by
| quarantine and segregation Is shown
by the efforts which have been made
In Hawaii Tor the past 25 years to ban
lsh leprosy.
During all this period the sand
wich Islands have tried To enforce a
law compelling lepers to live upon an
island separate from their friends.
! Every effort IL made TO detect cases OF
. Ieprosy. and as soon as found they are
. sent on the island. Most OF those who
have studied leprosy on the islands
: agree that all these efforts have failed
4 that leprosy IL now as common as II
: has ever been. This II due to the fact
: that people have no fear OF the leprosy,
that cases are concealed as long as
: possible. and that IN this class of In
: fections quarantine ls Of little value
3 In diseases In which duration Is short
and the period OF danger of injecting
others In comparatively brief, then
segregation may be useful. Such Is not
n the case with tuberculosis. The his
. tories OF Ieprosy and tuberculosis are
quite parallel"
4 To say I am surprised that n man o
Dr. Moyers abitIty and general infor
nation upon medical subjects should
make such statements as the precedin.
In to put II very mildly. Were tn
printed report not entirely reliable,
= should be Inclined TO believe that Dr
Meyer had been misquoted. He is fire.
90 ofrer any opinions upon the subjec
,f OF state supervision and segregation
!, that ne may choose. for a man may be
"a lieve what he pleases and say what h
A. likes IN this country. but facts are fact
70 always and everywhere. Perhaps a law
yer may he excused for strengthenin
- his position by broad. unsupporte
statements. his object being To In
o. nuence the jury. but II seems to IN
: that on scientific matters. especially !
- medical science. we must lay aside on
or prejudices ana preferences. and trea
with the naked. and. may. be. unpleas
- ant truth. We cannot. even for tn
sake of showing why we don't believ
=. In segregation. AFFORD TO deal Ignorant
w.. loosely or unfaithfully with an
- fact.
"A As n student under Dr. Meyer.
81 learned To respect his opinion, but I
. this case I cannot take either opinion
or statements. for his narrow reason
ing" is based on the idea" that In Ria
= wall segregation has been "a failur
- The truth II. wherever and whenevt
segregation has been practised againi
- leprosy the disease has decreased. Tn
IL shown by the reports OF all emineT
Ieprologists. although / acknowledc
that many medical men, chiefly Britis
IN physicians, have tried to prove ths
ieprosy In not contagious. and ths
segregation In a useless law. Believir
as the former. the latter Is n consisteI
rk stand to take. But to acknowledl
- that a disease IN contagious and then
=. oppose regulations against the sprea
Nv of that disease. is certainly inconsi
se tent.
ng speakine of ieprosy In Europe. a
O. eminent English leprologist says:
with extraordinary rapIdity. col
a.. sldertng the nature OF the inhrmit
- A began 10 disappear simultaneous
~ with the adoption of the strict mea
ne ures that were put In force. the disa
he pearance being as rapid and compile
nd as the onset of the disease amongst u
ar populations had been swift and u
,r- tense"
. have before me the reports OF ph
slcians In various foreign countrit
Gu showing the necessity OF segregatio
le reports based upon statistics that der
ID onstrate the efficacy Of enforced IA