The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-01

the system that interfered with com
merce and travel. That it did here,
do not intend to criticise or make any
statement on that subject; 1 simply want
! to point out that the San Francisco
handling of he matter was not a COZ
spiracy of silence.
DR.. Raymond: 1 happened to be in San
Francisco at the time, and was present
at the meeting of the Academy of Medi-
cine, and heard the report and took part
in the discussion on the subject of plague
in San Francisco, and examined slides
and specimens, and / beg to differ with
you on the point, as you call it, the con-
spiracy part of it. The BOARD of Hea III
did all in their power to expose those
cases, not only at the meeting that / at
tended personally, taking part in the
discussion, but in every way that they
possibly could. and the Governor of Cali
fornia in consultation with the editors of
the papers of San Francisco agreed with
the exception of one, and that was the.
/ Examiner to suppress the whole mat
ter. I happen to know that.
Mr.. George w. Smith: There is no
conspiracy of silence here as the gentle
man seems to infer. What we wished to
do was to keep the information out of
the paper until a positive diagnosis was
made.
DR.. Raymond: Not in the least.
| Mr. hnOQeS. 10 not UNDERSTAND me as
criticizing the acts of the Board of
Health Friday night.
DR.. Emerson Ito DR.. Raymond: You
were not here Saturday morning. I was
the only other member not present at
that meeting, but from what I have
heard Il have heard full reports of the
meeting), and with the views of the
Board as represented there, I am in full
sympathy. I, endorse what they did, and
hn haU mr. ha
votes would have been unanimous. From
my long acquaintance with the differ
ent membeYs of the Board 1 have acquir-
ed such confidence in them that l always
feel as If 1t was a very unusual thing;
it is the fact that it is a very unusual
thing to disagree, not only in fact but
in opinion in regard to the questions
that have been decided, and therefore
desire to state that I agree entirely with
the action of the Board taken at that
time. 1 thought this statement was due
from one who was not present at that
meeting.
Mr.. Hogs: On behalf of the Star,
state by authority for the paper from
what have listened to here today and
from your words and Mr.. Smiths words
it appears that the Board of Health
seems to have a little fight on with the
local press; that we are gang of knock
ers and that we are trying to injure you
people and injure the City at large. AS
a matter of fact, the respectable newspa-
pers here, among which I class the Star
J do not want to iniure you people or in
jure the City. I think that this last
plague case has been handled very care
fully indeed by the majority of papers
The Star had editorial last night;
don't know whether YOU people took ex-
ception to 1t or not, but as a matter of
fact the spirit that prompted it was a
1t,
cause | happened to know the inner
workings of the Friday night meeting
at the newspaper Offices although I got
it in confidence and we We're not allow
ed to publish it. And the story of the
Star was the faithful work of four men,
and their instructions were to get every
thing as carefully and as correctly as
possible; that we We're not to blow the
thing up as sensation; that as mat
ter of fact we wanted to throw it down if
it was a possible thing. The Star does
not want to appear captious, and if We
are to have another plague epidemic
why, our paper will do everything we
can to aid the Board of Health as long
as they do their duty in a business-like
/ way, to help the City at the same time
Mr. E,FP Dole: Mr. President when
the Board was called together Saturday
morning about o'clock, 1t was under
stood that perhaps a hundred people
knew of this case; that even at that ear
ly hour in the morning rumors were fly
ing like wildfire through the town. ru-
mors of the most exaggerated character.
and 1t was understood by the Board that
If the statement was not made that sem
sational statements would be made in
some of the papers; at any rate, that 1t
was an impossibilty to keep the matter
quiet until the truth could be known. It
was felt by all the members Of the Board
present that 1t was great pity to have
the story known until 1t could be ascer-
tanned whether ~ was nlaoue nr Typhoid
pneumonia but that could not be helped.
And 1t was felt by the members OF the
Board present unanimously that to avoid
a panicky feeling In the communftv and
prevent wild, exaggerated rumors. the
best thing to do was perhaps what 1t if
always best to do to tell the truth, and
it was done according to the best know1i.
edge that the Board had.
Now I suggest In regard to this, Mr..
President, if the press will back it Cp.
that wild rumors spread where there is
knowledge that the truth Is suppressed;
that If the truth rs told and the source
from which it comes Is related inform
ing people what they have to fear AMI
what they have got to meet they set to
work to meet it, And 1t seems to me
that the best policy. if, as I hope it is
not, an epidemic is upon us, Is to tell the
truth conservatively and to ask the
community to wake up and do whatever
Isl to be done for the public safety.
Something has been said in regard TO the
attitude of the press. I do not know
how others feel; I know how FEEL about
= this matter. I think that any man m a
public position will be blamed when he
does right and will be praised when he
does wrong at times, but in the !ong run
if he buckles right down to his duty ns
he understand it and does Just what he
believes right without any fear or favor,
In the long run he will size UP in the
community for just about what he is
worth. And the newspaper comments on
the Board of Health do not trouble me
one bit.
Representative Beckley: I will state
that yesterday morning, hearing mat
there was a rumor on the street that
there was a suspicious case of bubonic
plague I came Immediately to the office
to inquire whether there were any devel-
oprnents in the truth of the rumor. and
found that at the norgue the cultures
were being made, and that we would
have to wait twenty-four or thirty-six
fo, cultures tO 6pVel0D and I