The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-02
THE PLAGUE IN H0NGKONG
Continued from Page l.)

word, simply take up fixed position
where they are least likely to be in
terfered with by the police and remain
in the same spot until they have sod
off all their wares, aisposing of the ref
use therefrom by stufing it down the
nearest drain, and returning next day
to repeat the process. From the de-
composition of this vegetable matter
gases arise which may become, under
certain conditions, highly injurious to
public health. These men never haye
hawked, and never will hawk, their
goods in the accepted sense of the word,
and in my opinion not one of them |
should be licensed for this purpose in
the city of Victoria. So long as the
present state Of things exists, were the
staff of the director of public works and
the medical officer of health doubled or
trebled they could not deal with the
subject effectually or prevent the en-
anation of foul gases which arise from
the sewers all over the city, and which
are often put down by many as being
due to an inefficient drainage system,
when all the time much of it is caused
by this decaying vegetable matter
which has been thrust down the drain
in the manner above described. have
no hesitation whatever in saying that
such refuse in conjunction with ordi-
nary sewage which gets stopped by it
OH its coui Sc to the sea forms a indus
or breeding ground for all kinds of nox-
ious germs, and may be the cause in a
great measure of the frequent cases of
typhoid fever which have become so
common of late years, the bacillus both
nf nd 1o nj vi
IDLY in such media"
Tint is what DR.. Ladds has to say on
the subject of vegetable refuse in our
drains
With such substances as night soil
and vegetable refuse in our drains, it
seems hardly wonder that typhoid is
prevalent and that the plague continues
amongst us, and if we cannot put on a
sufficient staff of men to guard our
drains from these communications, it is
surely worth whife to most seriously
reconsider the question of providing for
the regular and systematic flushing of
them, either by pumping up sea water
for the purpose or else by means of
small reservoirs filled by certain noun
tain streams which at present run to
waste.
words upon the subject of house-to-
house visitation.
1t seems to me that in order that such
a procedure should attain its objects,
namely, the discovery of the sick per-
sons in the house it is necessary that a
really large staff of searchers should be
put on, and that they should be allowed
by law to commence work at an earlier
hNvy h ~ oil II S,1ay
would suggest that the present time,
is just the period when the most strenu-
Gus efforts should be made.
Another question which appears wor-
thy of consideration is whether some
stricter police supervision of infected
areas is not required, especially in the
early morning. Last year some..lng
like 500 persons WHO were dead or dy-
Ing of plague were found in our streets,
and in most cases 1t was impossible to
trace the houses from which they mad
| come and the result was that the houses
| from which those people had come were
not disinfected, and remained as breed
ms grounds for plague. An efficient
patrol il. the early morning would APP
pear to be the most effective way of
dealing with this difficulty Strict DO
lice supervision along the Praya, in or
der to prevent persons suffering from
p-ague from being secretly removed
from this colony without the sanitary
authorities having any clue as to their
last place of residence, appears also to
be very desirable from the same point
of view.
Another matter in connection with
the plague appears to me to be worthy
OF consideration, and that is the cues
ton whether it would not be advisable
to erect on the other side of the harbor
plague removal settlement like those
which have been instituted in some
parts of India, that is to say, collec-
tlon or buildings or mat sheds into
which the residents of badly infected
| plague district could be removed er
bloc. believe from what 1 have rea6
about such experiments in India, thai
such wholesale removal of the inhab
itants from a badly infected area ha.
been not unfrequently attended will
beneficial results, and understand tina
1t answered we'll when il was tried here
in 1894.
l desire next to draw your attention
TO the fact that the starting of any new
| - ills SOioiy, WuICu Is VI SuCI
nature as to involve the employmen-
OF several hundred coolies, tends to in
crease overcrowding in this alread,
overcrowded city, and conseuuentl,
| tends to lower our level of sanitation
l must confess that 1t seems to me til at
before any new industry involving tn,
employment of numerous laborers il
sanctioned in this colony, some stem,
should be taken by the government t.
see that the fresh coolies who Will h,
required for such new industry hay,
some special accommodation provided
Tor them somewhere outside of thi
city. Such step seems to me to b,
rendered necessary not merely by thos,
sanitary considerations which am nov
discussing. but also by the house-rep
question. which l shall deal with pres
emily. Now, to give concrete illustra
ton of what | mean, l would draw Won
attention to the fact that a very larg
work is just being begun in this COLONY
namely. the reclamation in front of tn
naval yard, which will probably inyoly
the importation of several hundre
fresh coolies into this colony from ont
side. These numerous coolies will mos
OF them be employed regularly and no
| mprpIV nv tho do on r