The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-28
THouGHTLEss LEGISLATION.

W fich is greater than tnal OF pieSeiN
ing the health of the people. more
than once has the capacity OF the
Board of Health of Honolulu Deer
tried, and it has not been found want
ing The system of government OF
this important branch OF the pubic
service is one which has grown up with
years of experience, and that there is
the greatest good accomplished with
the expenditure of the public money N
the direction of conservation of the
public health is the belief of the ma
jority of the thinking people of the city.
This being fact, the plan of the leg1s-
lative committee, which has proposed
to upset the old routine of service, and
substitute therefor a new system which
is untried, and in many. instances radl-
cally different from the one evolved by
| experience under many executives, is
the more dangerous, and should be
viewed with alarm on the part OF all
citizens who have the good of the city
at heart.
| On the plea of economy the House
Committee went at the boards esti-
mates without feeling, and it seems
| from the results, without thinking as
we'll. The first officer to feel the ak was
the executive officer of the board. Il
was the plan at first to place the Board
| of Health upon the same plane as the
Board of Education, with paid head,
who should give undivided attention to
T the matters of the office. This was not
done by the Legislature by bill, ana
cannot now be accomplished on an ap-
propriation measure. In the absence
of such provision the executive officer
is the most important of the paid Off
Gals of the health department. Upon
him fall all the work of seeing after
| the various sections of service under
! the health bureau, and he must give all
! his time to matters of health and sani-
tation There can be no man put into
such office without salary, and his
necessity will appear at once to one
who realizes that the Board of Health
does as much business as large es-
tablishment which has a manager
whose salary is greater than that OF
this public servant.
The plan as outlined in the report of
the Health Committee to the House
i goes further and takes from the list of
1 paid employees the chief sanitary cai-
Ger, three sanitary inspectors, the
bacteriologist, stenographer,, plumbing
inspector and purchasing agent Those
who keep in mind the work of the vol
unteers as inspectors during the plague
times. the hard and honest labor put
in and the many discoveries which
We're made by these volunteer officials,
will see that instead of cutting off the
ichief sanitary officer and three inspect
ors it would be more in the way of
legitimate and thoughtful insurance
| If there was an increase of the inspect
ors rather than a cutting down of this
effective force. The present state of
cleanliness of the city is due to the cod
scientious work of these men, and with
the widening of the boundaries and the
constant accessions to the population,
there Is need of more hard work, rather
than less.
From the bacteriologist there is much
work demanded, and that the best of
men are needed for such work is
Acknowledged. The examination of
llepers. ,he attendance upon all post
mortems and analysis of all PATHOLOGY
cal specimens and sputae. which
amount to nearly $50 cases per month,
Indicates that there Is much in the
faithful performance of the duties of
this office which the city can we'll af-
ford 10 have continued, even if there
Imagine the work Of business house
with an annual expenditure. of nearly
a half million of dollars, and then think
Of the time of the busy men which
must be taken up in the writing of let
ters, when other duties are pressed for
consideration. Yet the stenographer
would be dropped from the list CT board
lemployes, and the correspondence with
\ all the outside physicians carried on by
4 the officials. to the exclusion of other
duties.
The need of the inspection of plumb
ling at this time, when there is about 10
be put into use the mag nificent system
of sewers which will be of such helpful
ness in the future, is apparent. No
i plumbing can be put into house with
out the permit of. the inspector, and it
is the duty of the official to see that
the plumbing conforms to the best ac-
lcepted ideas of sanitary work Would
not an agent who could give his TIME
ito watching the markets be able to save
| to an institution which makes large
purchases of supplies at current market
prices. be able to save his salary in the
advantage gained over the usual small
! buyer? These considerations must be
taken into account when the slash
ing cuts of the Legislature are looked
ever.
In city of growing population with
new conditions confronting the officials
at the present time, would it not be
the worst kind of spigot- and
misunderstanding to cut down all these
salaries and deprive the board ard city
of the services of these officials The
increase in population within the last
year has been about 1000, and should
be more with the passing of the year
There is as well danger in the kind of
accretions Of population, for there are
coming to the community other and
unaccustomed factors, which will ne
cessitate close watching to keen them
from becoming a menace to the health
of the community. With all these facts
In sight, the effectiveness of the board
should be increased, rather than dimin-
ished, after sucf a fashion as that in
volved in the thoughtless cuttinr down
| by the House Committee.
In decided contrast to the action of
the House is that of the Senate Com
mittee, barring, of course, the hon