The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-07-05
NO TYPHOID
EP IDEM|C
Health of Pupils at
the St. Louis
College.
ONLY ONE DEATH
FROM THE FEVER
The Head of the institution
Describes Its Sanitary
Features.


rumors circulating about the city to
the effect that the premises occupied
by the ST. Louis College are in an in
sanitary condition, and that because
of their condition, several of the pupils
have been stricken with typhoid fever.
The rumor also was to the effect that |
three or four of the pupils had died |
from the results of the fever. Broth |
er Thomas, who is in charge of the
college during the absence of Brother |
Bertram, who is away on a visit to
the States, was seen yesterday, aid
asked to make such statements as he
wished in the matter. either denying
or confirming the rumors that are part
of the public gossip of Honolulu. His
version of the state of affairs is quite
different from those that are passing
from mouth TO mouth Brother Thomas
said:
During the past year we have had
| One of these was from typhoid The
other was from stomachic trouble The
pupil who died from fever was taken
sick shortly after the vacation of June.
AT first nothing was thought of the
boys Illness. He complained of
headache, and was placed in the in
Urinary. He did not act like a boy that
was seriously i'll, but sang and whist
! led the airs they were playing. AS the
boys health did not materially inn
prove, we sent him to his family ply
sician, who lives near the school. From
| the physicians, he went TO his home
| in Punahou When he consulted with
/ his physician, the doctor told him that
| he could not, at that time. tell wheth
/ er his condition was serious or not.
lsso it can be readily seen that the
/ teachers were not inf1icting any greet
/ him to the physicians by himself Be
sides, the boy, as l have just stated,
Went to his home, and so far as
know, no one there was alarmed at the
state of his health. Some days later
he grew worse, and finally it became
I apparent TO all that the unfortunate
boy was suffering from typhoid. A few
days ago. it saddens me to say. the
boy died The statement that is being
tcireulated regarding our treatment of
the boy, namely, that we made him
get up out of bed while in a weak.
debilitated condition, and gp to the
physicians while he was not able to
i attend to his physical wants, and that
he was not properly cIother at the
time, are false. The teachers of the
school We're very much Interested in
the boy, and while no one expected
that he would die when he left the
1 college, at the same time, l can state
positively that he was not neglected in
any way.
Since that time, another of our pu-
pills has passed away. He died from
hemorrhage of the stomach. The sec
ond boy was not of a robust tempera-
| ment, being very large for his age.
Neither of the boys was particularly
robust. The one who died of typhoid
had just recovered from an attack of
blood poisoning that had been almost
fatal. His vitality had been very much
drawn upon in consequence, and he
was in no condition to withstand the
linsidious attack of the fever.
las far as the Brothers are able,
they do everything in their power to
preserve the health OF the pupils under
them. The boys are always watched
and if they show the slightest devia-
ton from the normal, they are taken
! pcr IF or ahoI ARG
who might bring disease from home
are kept away from the boarding pu-
pills. The school has had considerable
Icriticism passed upon it, because of It's
location. Many people say that it is
not for the best interests Of our school
that we should have the buildings To-
Gated where they are. AS TO that,
can say that the Board of Health has
examined the Institution, and the only
thing that did not meet their approval
in connection with the school was the
way in which the water was conducted
away from the laundry, after having
been used for laundry purposes. The
soil in the vicinity of the school is
very shallow, and it is impossible &c
build cesspool. At one time the wa
ter was carried away by means of 9
trench, but since the burning of Chi
natown, this has been impossible. As
result, a large portion of the water
has Of late been standing upon the
ground. The Board of Health said
that this must not continue, so we i'm.
mediately closed down our laundry
and gave notice to one of the public
laundries to take our linen until fur
Their notice. The fact that there was
water standing did not seem to exer-
else the Board Of Health very much
They were acting, as I understood It
with the purpose Of preventing posi-