The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-01-07
TAKE HEED.


not absolutely correct, and one feels
when we have at the head of the Board
of Health man who is going to do
his utmost to get such important sta
tistics into accurate shape and, what
is far more important. proposes to
make the country doctors do their duty
which in many cases they have been
often remiss in. Then he is making
gallant struggle for the proper sani-
tation of the city and is stalking his
reputation upon the fight. 1t is no bed
of roses that DR.. Raymond has laid
out for himself. but it is a most honor
able and worthy aim that he has. How
ever, whatever may be the probability
and the hope of the future, what has
to be considered is the result of the
present, as shown in the mortuary sta
tistics
Whenever one undertakes to discuss
questions Of this kind one always feels
terribly hampered by the narrowness
of the premise One can only deal with
Honolulu, not with the general hygienic
conditions of the whole Territory The
total number of deaths for Honolulu
for the year is 1890 as against 1854
in 1899, Seeing that there must have
zen a considerable floating population
during the last year, and that floating
populations are not a healthy class is
well known. they add to the death rate.
The increase for the year Is 1875, or
eleven per cent, which jbes very we'll
with the actual increase Of the city
from the official figures
The average number of deaths per
mnnth il 1Q7, Five months fell very
considerably below the average, though
one month, that of January 1900 was
abnormally large For that month 176
deaths We're reported. OF these 50 were
from plague, 20 from tuberculosis, 3
from typhoid fever, from naiariai (
fever from Hawaiian fever whatever
that might be, and the remaining lO6
from what it pleased those who had
charge of the deaths to say. 1t is not
unjustifabe to say this, for our statis-
tics have for years depended upon ut
terly Enthusiastically statements, and
made by the most Enthusiastically and
irresponsible people.
However it is no use, to use very
good westernism, to chew the rag
over what is past. The past is gone
and done for. The people who had to
deal with it have their virtues and
their sins upon their own heads,-when
we come to the final wind up the
chances are that we shall find that in
spite of their many faults, Ou~ prede-
cessors did what was acceptable to the
almighty judge, and that our own self
righteousness does not cover so much
of many of our darling sins. We are
very apt to criticise, we must remem-
Der that we shall ourselves be criticised
and how bare legged shall we be in
the view of future men, though we
think we have such good coverings to-
day.
To return to the subject at issue The
most serious story told in the mortality
statistics of he district of Honolulu is
the terrible increase of tuberculosis. 1t
is possible that readers of The Star
may think that the writer of these lines
is carried away with a subject. He
AGi ldllllS DtlltNt lIdl luDtlCulOSlS Is
frightful danger of the human race,
and believing what he does he hopes
wherever he may have the slightest in
fluence to raise a barrier against it,
however slight it may be. Countless
brilliant lives have been sacrificed to
this dread disease. where they might
have been saved. The world has for so
long accepted this disease as inevitable
death that even with possible life be-
fore it, it hesitates TO take the oppor-
tunity of life saving.
In 1899 here occurred in Honolulu 127
deaths from tuberculosis or consump-
ton as the ordinary phrase is. Out
of a city of considerably less than than
10000 people this seemed a very serious
death rate from this cause. In 1900 the
city population had not increased very
much, and the deaths from tubercu-
losis have been listed at 1856. This is
an aggregate increase Of 60. OF course
one can find reasons for explaining
this away, but the fact remains that
the Honolulu statistics show so per
cent more deaths from tuberculosis in
1900, than in 1899. One can think it
about time that some one looked into
the matter. Up to the present time no
attention has been paid to obvious
fact.
If we are to believe the physicians,
there is no climate more suitable for
improving a patient suffering from
tuberculosis than this. As a fact the
physician knows very little upon the
subject. He only thinks how comfort
able to get his patient into a genial
climate and out Of his jurisdiction. But
whatever physicians may think or do,
common sense men may do a great deal
better. It is plainly up against the
common sense men to think of ways
and means to meet a disease which has
increased so per cent in the death rate