Daily camera., 1901-05-29
HARM DONE BY SHIFT,
IT Has KiLLRD rnr PAcrFc
lskANBERs.
Decline Of the Coeopsh Indians !.
Ar'xons Attributed to the Use Of
Tro"ssrs-Ths shirt Has siais Moro
Than Rom.

tributed to their donning trousers re-
calls the harm that has been done by
inducing natives Of the Pacific islands
to wear shirts. Wherever the mission
teachers have induced the islanders to
wear shirts the people have SO dwin-
died In little more than century aa
to be on the verge of extinction. Whore
others OF the same race In neighboring
archipelagoes were left to their an
etent style Of dress the population has
remained at least stationary, and In
many cases has shown an upward ten
dency. Naturally. the missionaries
would be the last people knowingly to
Introduce to their charges anything
that might harm. and when they found
their ttocks dying OF they looked for
the cause In the rum which the whal-
crs and traders sold. Left to their
own devices the Pacific islanders ara
little likely to fall victims in any large
numbers to the use Of alcoholic stim-
ulants, fer which they seem to have
little Hiking. There have been notable
eases Of horrible example, but these
are exceptions In proof OF tho rule. 4
very glaring case Was in Hawaii un-
der Its huriesque monarchy; almost
any time in the reign Of tho last kings
Of the race Of Kam0hsmeha it would
have puzzled enc to draw q hard and
FAST distinction between the throne
room and an alcoholic ward. Yet caro-
fuI observers wha are familiar with
the conditions Of island life do not
hesitate to express the opinion that
the shirt draped On the islander BY his
missionary ~ slain more than the
rNn poured into him by the trader.
Not all the missionaries In the South
sea have raised the shirt to the plane
ri a Christian dogma and regulated
,ts use by the book Of church disel-
p!ine. So far as there may bs de-
duced any general rule on the subject
1t would seem to be that the mission
aEles " tho Catholic and Episcopal
churches have not attempted to forcc
the shirt upon their converts at all.
that the London missionary society in
sists only that It shall be worn when
attending church and not necessarily
for daily habit. that the American and
Australian missions make a point that
the shirt will be worn at all times.
The depopulation OF the Pacific has
proceeded farthest in the ISLANDS
where the last have, had undivided
sway. Hawaii u . Conspicuous exam
pie - missionary hierarchy came
fdfn Salem and Boston With all the
hxed ideas OF old New England rural
HE, and when they found a simple
race that went about unabashed with
never shirt to their backs they Ger
ta.nly had conniption fts. They lost
no time In calling upon all the Dorcas
societies to hem = sunaciency Of ihirt
to cover Hawaii. AS an. arpclS et
faith. the Hawaiian va made to yo...
shirt aAa 2tw there are precious
iex Iawaiians left. For tae same cause
the depopulatfon bss progressed in
the track Of the New England mis-
sionary In the Marqueses and the Line
Islands. The same Is becoming true
Of the Tongo and Niue in the South
Pacific, where the Australian missions
insist on shirts all the time. This view
OF the shirt as a source ot deadly dis
ease Is by no 9.sAns faRctful. for It Is
based ah the principles Of hygiene. In
iands so humid as tho islands Of the
torrid Pacific the least exertion brings
profuss Precipitation. When clad In ac-
eordanee with the wisdom Of his an
ccstors, that is to say. in no more
above the waist than a wreath OF flow
ers and clubbing OF cocoanut oil, the
islander could sit down anywhere In
the shade and cool OF without harm
But put upon him cotton AAire and
teach him that his frat step toward q
better life Is % wear that sarh. then
let hiA get his shirt wrlngtng wet
With perspiratioa and net him 81. in his
doorway to cool on in the drausht, and
It u q moral certainty that he will
be 70 chilled by the evaporation from
the cotton tissue that in short order
his luEks will break down. That Is
why the shirt is regarded in the
South seas almost as deadly weapon.