The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-07-27

port TO washington on this ground
The Japanese residents are up in arms
lagainst the one-sided treatment. They
have. retained counsel, land when, the
levidence ID sifted, they Will decide upon
what course to pursue. "a
Mr.. 0kabe is an influential japanese
at home and prominent member Of
the consular corps. He has come to
| Hawaii not only as the Vice Consul
hut also to act in matter relating to
the plantations here, and his investiga-
tons will have an important bearing
upon the labor situation.
DIR. coFER's STATEMENT.
DR.. Cofer, when asked regarding the
statements made by Mr.. Okabe and
his wife, said:
1T would seem that a mistake or a
misunderstanding of some sort has &C.
CURED. If a mistake was made, and no
doubt there was, it was unintentional.
| In examining passengers who come
from the Orient, we look after the
steerage passengers very closely, in
order to see that nothing such as
plague, cholera or smallpox, comes in
to the city from that source. The steer
age passengers are divided into squads
or sections, and an officer is appointed
to inspect each party. The cabin pas
sengers are not subjected to the same
sort of an examination, because it
follows very naturally that people in
their social position are not so liable to
diseases of this character.
"On the morning the Maru arrived
after one of my men had finished his
squad, he said to me, Doctor, shall 1
examine the first-class passengers?'
Yes, L said, and continued with
my work, for there were over four
hundred people on the America Maru,
waiting to be examined, and any one
who has had anything to DO with such
labor knows very well that four hun
dred people are a large number to go
over, and do it quickly enough to al
low mails to be distributed freight to
be unloaded and the transfer of such
papers as are necessary by officers on
the vessel and their agents here all
on schedule time.
Here, l think, was one place where
the error might have been made. The
ships surgeon may have understood the
cabin to be steerage passengers, and
informed my subordinate to that effect.
Understand, I say he may have. 1 do
not say that he did He rs a gentle
man in every respect, who has been
most willing and obliging. and I do
enot wish to be understood as going out
of my way to place the blame on him
in order to clear myself. My assistant
may have thought the firsr-class pas
sengers in the doctors cabin to be
steerage passengers, although 1 do not
think he did. Another way to account
for the matter is that Mr. Okabe and
his wife disregarded the instructions
given to cabin passengers to keep
away from the .steerage passengers,
while the latter are under going their
examination, encroached upon the
deck space reserved for the latter, and
as result were treated Just as the
others were. There is a decided ten
dency on the part of first-class passen-
gers. and Chinese and Japanese espe-
cially, to run all over the ship while
the vessel is laying to, subject to the
orders of the quarantine squad They
, seem to think that because they have
first-class tickets they are at liberty to
roam at their own sweet will all over
the steamer from stem to stern. The
quarantine officers have no little an
noyance from people of this class, more
than one would imagine an intelligent
Chinese or Japanese would give.
I am rather surprised that the Jap