The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-12-16

made boy Dr williamson boo Sam Fran
cisco. Dee stated that there had been
nifty deaths from plague boo that city
during the last eighteen months. and
the minimizing went Off into "eNios'
as Dickens called them. at the fright
ful loss of life from this disease. This
is really thirty-thrce deaths from
plague a year. or somewhat less than
three "a month. This does not look like
very serious epidemic. In point of
fact what is there to worry about? The
star has not the health statistics of
san Francisco at hand. but it can yeu-
ture To- say that none of the other dis
orders which carried off their victims
monthly, had anything like so small
number marked against them.
san Francisco is city of 100000 in-
habitauts, Honolulu is a city of only
10000 Inhabitants. If we viii look
through any months mortuary report
for the past year., there viii be found
far more deaths from ordinary diseases
about which we express no fear, than
ever san Francisco claims, or has
claimed for her by her physicians, as
fAllilH VI pl1H ufa ~ - llbL AHNHEHtAl
10 enter into the question Of whether
there is plague or not in San Francisco.
II is quite allowable for the purposes
at this argument that there have been
fifty deaths from plague in San Fran
cisco. What Of It? ....
During the last month in our little
city we had u deaths from tubercu-
losis, ~ from nervous diseases, II from
respiratory diseases and 50 on. Our pop
ulation is small. The probability is
that during the eighteen months that
the doctors have been talking about
plague cases in San Francisco, there
have been two hundred to three hundred
deaths from tuberculosis, some hum
dred from typhoid and various kinds Of
fevers, some from smallpox, many
from pneumonia, diphtheria peurisy
and so forth.
1t is really time that a halt should
be called upon this absurd fear of
plague in modern cities. Statistics do
not warrant the fear. But doctors de-
light in playing upon this fear because
IL gives them Importance, and in many
cases gives them extremely lucrative
jobs. This seems to be the attitude Of
The San francisco medical fraternity.
But sensible communities will have
none of this jobbery. They have begun
TO see that they have been frightened
by a bug-a-boo and they refuse to be
alarmed Moreover they very firmly re-
fuse to have their trade relations inter-
fered with by any such scares. OF
course the matter was new to San
Francisco, but the matter Of plague has
been handled by all the important com
merclal ports Of the world, in late
years without throwing everything out
of gear. Plague appears in Liverpool,
where there is a special hospital for the
study Of plague and other oriental dis
eases. 1t appears in London, Glasgow,
New York, and every port that has any
connection with the East, but no one
troubles about it, 1t is with us western
ers case Of "omne ignotum pro
magnifico." We have not understood it
and we think it worse than it is In
Australia the appearance Of plague has
never interfered with commerce. The
Boards of Health have taken precau-
lions, have quarantined certain houses
and even sections of the city of Sydney,
but the port has been kept open, and
The worlds shipping has come and
gone discharging goods and carrying
away other regardless whether there
was plague or not.
There are two distinct parties in San
Francisco. The one headed by the
newspapers and the whole commercial
community, which insists that there is
no plague, or that, if there. is, the cases
are sporadic, and that there is no rea-
son for any alarm. The other COM
posed of the medical coterie which in
sists that the plague cases are numer-
Gus and that the city and port ought
TO be under quarantine regulations
from one end to the other.
Not only is the San Francisco press
strong in its view, but it is followed
by all the principal newspapers of the
United States The last Literary Digest
in looking over the newspaper field
could only find one paper advocating
the side of the doctors, and that was
the Philadelphia Medical Record a
professional paper. In point of fact
the medical ring of San Francisco is
entirely discredited throughout the
United States. ......
Had the plans of the San Francisco
medical gang been carried out, the
trade Of that most important port
would have been practically ruined for
some years to come. there would
have been panic among the inhabit-
ants, and doubtless more cases would
have been developed, And lastly an
enormous expense would have been laid
upon the city treasury and a debt piled
mp which it might take years to pay
off, and which would heavily increase