The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-01-22
THE BOARD
IS BLAMED
Health Officials and the
Molokai Lepers.
TWO STRONG CRITICISMS
Hnfortunates Say They Suffer FL
Lack of Poi-- Clean Mixed
With Unclean.

A IAlNST the Board of Health two
"a criticisms are made as to the ad-
"A minfstration of the leper settle
ment on Molokai From Molo-
kai, from a committee of the unfortun-
ate creatures, there comes a pitiful cry
of hunger. The Board of Health has
given them no poi for two weeks and
they claim that many are sick and some
are dying from the deprivation.
Ambrose K. Hutchinson writes from
lKalaupapa, Molokai. that Superintend-
ent Reynolds, to whom Is committed
general care of the settlement, has
been guilty of gross misconduct in al
lowing sailors to mix and eat with lep-
ers. The following is a literal trans.a-
ton of the letter from the committee
OF lepers on the poi famine and also
the communication from Hutchinson:
Petition of the Lepers.
Leper Settlement, Jan. "A. 1901
To DR.. J. II. Raymond, president. and
Members of the Board of Health.
Gentlemen: We the undersigned COM
mittee, properly appointed by the lepers
of Kalaupapa and Kalawao, Island OF
Ifolokai. at large meeting held at Ka-
laupapa on Friday evening, Janury Ii,
1901. desire to point out to your honorable
board the state of affairs here, so that
we may be properly cared tor by you,
and that you will look carefully into the
matter with kind eyes and generous
hearts full of love and pity.
| 1. And you people, the founders of the
Territory of Hawaii, IT is in your power
to make all things right, to rule and to
feed all the lepeFs that are residing al
Kaiaupapa and Kalawao, Island of Mo
lokai
q Our complaint is that we have not
been fed by the Board of Health with
poi, which our stomachs are accustom-
ed to- for the past two weeks, from jan
Iuary l to January IA. 1901 1t is a very
hard and cruel action toward US. Gle
hama makaewaewa loa ia Ike ano ma
kona anne ka uahoa.)
3. Through our being without poi it
has caused many of US to become weak
in these few days, and through that
weakness some of US have died and been
laid in our graves.
4. Rice, bread and crackers are all
very well in their way when we have not
pol but We cannot live without poi
Therefore, be il resolved, That We beg
the Board of Health to try it's best ey-
erywhere to supply poi for us: and
Resolved, IL the Board of Health OF
the Territory OF Hawaii cannot provide
W.
continually, we pray you. gentlemen of
the Board, to release US from this land
Of pain and sorrow. that we may return
to our own immediate families to care
fer Us.
we, the compliments. sign ourselves
as follows:
ROBERT H. KAAOAO,
ANDREW AULD.
JAS. HARVEST,
w. K MAKAKOA.
]. H. KAILIMAI,
Committee
p S-We have lived here and borne
with patience for past years with but
this one troubIe-that is. not having
enough pol
Reynolds is Accused.
Kalaupapa, Molokai, Jan II.
Editor Advertiser: As you have pro-
tested and said SO much about the Board
of Health letting the friends of lepers
go to Molokai at least annually and min
gle with the ''rotting inmates" and have
exposed the doings of an agent of the
Board of Health interested with the duty
of transferring lepers from the steamer
to Kalihi station In hiring public vehicles
to take eight '-rotting creatures" to Ka-
lihi and on that account the officer re-
ceiVed from the Board castigation by
word of mouth and suspended from duty,
SO much for publicity.
Now what will you say of the doings
of another trusted agent of the Board of
Health, director and manager of the
leper settlement, and will you give it the
same publicity as in the other cases?
This morning through a crowd of lepers
under the shed, Superintendent Reynolds
led some sailors from the steamer Lee
hua who were cast ashore when making
for the landing-their boat capsized and
swept by the sea on the rocks-into a
ieper coffee shop, where everything is
handled by lepers, and ordered coffee for
these men. They used spoons and drank
out of cups used by the lepers and ate
bread and cakes made by leper baker.
Which Of the two is the greater evil,
and where does the dividing by a grating
of the clean and the unc!enn come in?
1T Is cruel to take clean. healthy men 20
such a place and give them food prepar-
ed by lepers. 1 presume these men did
not care so long as Their hunger was APP
ipeased.
AMBROSE K. HUTCHINSON.
tax APPEAL DECISION.