The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-03-05
.KAHULUI STORE INFECTED.
AN IMMENSE STOCK OF GOODS
AFFECTED.
Hawaiian Commercial Company
Warehouses Closed and May BE Civ
en- to the Flames.

KAHULUy, March 1.-The big Ha-
waiian Commercial and Sugar Comps-
ny's store at Kahului, containing
S125,O00 worth of merchandise, besides
large amount Of lime fertilizers, ana
cement, together with all the ware
houses at Kahului appertaining to It,
are under guard, awaiting the deterYnl-
nation of the health authorities wheth-
er IL shall be given to the flames or
not. All the employees and their fami-
lies are in quarantine.
This has been done as the result of
finding plague infected rats in and
about the store and warehouse, and
the presence of large numbers of rats
| there.
The closing was done in compliance
! with the requirement of the Maui San
itary Committee at a meeting held Feb
ruary 26, and on the motion of H. P.
Baldwin. president of the Hawaiian
Conlfnercial and Sugar Company, and
! member of the sanitary committee.
This action was taken on the following
statement of facts presented by DR..
Garvin, and later forwarded to the
Board of Health at Honolulu.
On Sunday, February "a, I heard OF
dead rats being found on the premises
of the Kahului store. In the afternoon
a rat was discovered in the store by
one of the clerks. The animal seemed
sick and dazed, being easily killed,
without attempting to escape. 1t was
buried, but hearing of the matter 1 had
1t dug up and a microscopical eXamina-
ton showed the spleen to beloaded with
plague bacilli. 1 ordered the store
closed and have all the employees and
their families quarantined on the prem
ises, for lack of any suitable place to
put them. The houses are being disin-
fected carefully with sulphuric acid
and fumigated with sulphur.
In company with Messrs. Baldwin and
Lowrie l inspected the warehouses and
found several dead rats. 1 examined
the freshest one and found what I
believe to be plague bacilli. In all the
warehouses there are plenty of rats,
and it is reasonable to suppose all the
contents are contaminated"
Following this statement II. P. Bald
win moved that the Hawaiian CONNER
clal and Sugar Company's store at
Kahului and all warehouses owned by
the company at Kahului, excepting the
small warehouse containing kerosene
oil, be closed and guards be placed over
same till further instructions from the
Board of Health in Honolulu: also
that the employees connected with the
company'S store, and their families be
quarantined in the houses they are now
occupying, excepting Frank Medeiros
who is to be removed to one of the
employees, they all to be quarantined
, with such guards as may be necessary
, These motions were adopted. The fol-
, lowing memorandum of the contents OF
, the store and warehouses was presented
: by the manager, Mr.. Kirkland:
Warehouse No. l, general merchan-
disc and hardware, 500 bags of washed
sugar for home consumption; Ware.
house No. 2 (new), hay; Warehouse No
3 (wooden) nitrate of soda; Warehouse
l No. 4, fertilizers Warehouse No.
I alexander & Baldwin,, fish guam,
! and several hundred barrels of cement
The Kahului store and its warehouse
contain roughly $125,000 worth of stock
= and besides there is a very large stool
. of lime, fertilizers and cement belong
= ing to the Hawaiian Commercial Com
II, pany, that Mr.. kirkland does not know
i the value Of
. Reporting this action, DIR. Garvin in
9 letter to the Board of Health, says il
e addition:
! "In one of the warehouses there
> a great quantity of mixed fertilIze
which is, I believe, of acid reaction
Mr.. Lowrie asked especially to get thi
out for use as it has been permittet
O freight recently from Honolulu. Il
: reference to the Kahului store I wou
f like some instructions from the board
g The stock is probably worth $6000(
[. and feel that it is too large a probler
{. to be settled hastily, so I expect I
!; do nothing until instructed. Only
e portion of the store could be rendere
@ tight enough for fumigation, and
large quantity of food stuffs, dry goods
clothing and shoes have been contain
mated with rats, so in my judgmen
they could not be rendered safe"
n Specimens of the supposed plagu
: bacilli from the rats found in the Ka
hului store were received here from d
Garvin, and the examination here bear
out DR.. GarVin's conclusions.
IS The National Board of Health at II
: meeting yesterday considered the IA
n hului situation; DR. Wood outIlnin
IF what in his opinion ought to be dom
e In conformity with this opinion, a resC
81 luton was presented by Mr.. Hatch an
re adopted, directing that the whole vi
- lage of Kahului be enclosed in a ra
proof fence commencing at the seashol
about 900 feet west of the railroa
wharf, and running inland to inclu6
"A the Hawaiian Commercial Company
,a store and warehouse, and thenC
IN around the seashore again easterly an
IN northerly. A part of the railroad traC
IN and the wharf Is included in this are
"a but the railroad and wharf are to
"a permitted to be used when rat proc
= fences are built on both sides of 1t. Il
IN warehouse on the wharf fumigated an
all the rats about the wharf destroys
All persons are to be removed frOl
within the enclosing fence around X;
hului as soon as quarters can be pr
Is vided for them. The details of carr.
IS ing out these directions are left to Il
sp Maui committee.