The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-11-12
TINE HANRSHANNG CRIME A RIDDANCE Of THE RATS
OFFICIALS AND BUSINESS MEN
DISCUSS METHODS
imperative Action Deemed Necessary
to Insure clean rmupuo and Guard
Against Infection $4,000 Needed

An important meeting OF the Federal
uud Territorial officials with reprosou
tuuNDs from the larger local shipping
urms held serious CouclaNc at the
Board of Health offices last evening. TO
! consider the question ot the rat as "a
J disseminator of buboniC plague ana
other diseases and therefore a serious
menace Co the health and prosperity of
these islands.
I The danger was made apparent by
/ the shoWings of Dr. Cofer, chief of the
Federal quarantine service and Or.
Cooper of the Board of Health. The
latter. after calling the meeting TO or
der pOiu,eu out the increase of plague
in Orieh, generally with infected ports
in Aus,.dua and the mainland maxi
ing a uug around these Islands that
made our position most hazardous.
yellow fever zoo was to be feared when
/ the canal at the lsthmus opened unless
strenuous endeavor was made to keep
our ports clear.
The late experience was touched on
with the contention that if rats were
eNterminated there need be no plague.
The Board of Health has long been
studying the problem and have had
several meetings and received many
valuable suggestion from various au-
thorities on such pertinent subjects as
maritime fumigatiOn.
In view of the failure of the Legis-
lature to provide means Tor safe
guarding the port, the plan presented
is to permanently improve the wharVes,
some TWO million feet of which would
have to be provided with aprons and
fumigated; to use poison, traps and
fumigation in the business and resi-
dence portions; the expense to be borne
by public subscription.
DR.. COfer, following Dr. Cooper, re-
iterated the dangers and cited exam
pies of infected ports, such as Kobe,
being now practically a free port
through "A crusade against the rodents.
Or. COfer answered questions suggest
ed by the shippers present as to pratt
que, in encouraging fashion, declaring
that rat proof WharVeS meant elimina-
ton of dangers and that the quaran-
tine service could give ships leaving
here certificate of having been dis
infected and carrying a clean cargo,
which would send them into San Fran
cisco without quarantine detention. DIR.
CofeT then volunteered the services of
his department for the work of fumi-
cation, if the sulphur was provided for
that purpose
Practical talk and suggestion was
made by others interested, evidence as
to the swarms of rats now on the
wharf and the work that had been doIG
in poisoning them from time to time
being submitted.
DR.. Cooper gave the recipe for a sue
cessiul poison and, summing up the
discussion, said: 1T is simply this, you
know what it was year or so ago.
.-e expenditure of a few thousand
collars whereby you obtain for your
SHIPS a free pratique is but drop in
the bucket compared with the results.
The matter should be taken up at
once" -
The Board of Health declares, itself
without funds to meet the occasion as
do the Board of Public Works
and the banks. Assistant Superintend-
ent Campbell estimated the improve
ments necessary on the wharVes, as
decided in consultation with the Board
of Health, to amount to 100000. This
means bulkheading the ends and sides
of the docks and covering them so as
to be air tight underneath. The i'm
proVements must be thorough however,
as one loophole would destroy the eff
cheney of the whole Besides this the
running expenses were estimated at
$50 $500 or 5000 monthly.
The problem of raising the money is
now left to the resources of the COM
mercial houses and a meeting this
morning was called for that purpose.
Those present last night were DR.. c.
b. Cooper, member of the Board of
Health. who presided; DR.. e. c. Golfer,
Federal Quarantine; superintendent
Boyd and Assistant Campbell of the
Public Works Department; Fred Whit
ney, Oceanic Steamship Company;
George Dennison, superintendent Oahu
Railway Company and it's wharves; c.
l.. Wight, president Wilder's Steamship
Company; John McLain, Inter-Island
Steam Navigation Company; George
Robertson, Brewer q Co.; Captain
Clarke, superintendent Wilder's
wharVes; j. f. Hamburg, Hackfeld &
CO.: George Davies, Theo. H. Davies &
Co.; j. A. Gilman, Castle & Cooke;
Executive officer Pratt of the Board
of Health.