Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-04-05

OF Health giving It's position upon the
differences arising between the depart
ment and the executive appears be-
low. 1t was drawn up by DR.. Nays
and submitted to his colleagues who
approved 1t and gave 1t to the press
The statement follows:
In view Of the financial stress, the
Board Of Health set to work In a most
loyal spirit to reduce is estimates
down to the figure mentioned by Gov.
ernor Carter, and has come within q
few thousand dollars Of doing SO. II
the item OF $4,000 for the Kalaupapa
store had been omitted, as the Board
advised, our estimates would have
reached below the proposed limit. The
money for tlfe upkeep Of the kalau-
papa store is In no sense an asset Of the
Health Department. 1t is handed us
by the Government, passed on to the
store, and returned by the store to
the Government. A gives money to
u, B turns 1t over to c, and c hands 1t
back to A again. What has this to
do with the running expenses Of the
Health Department? The fact is. this
idea of the Government conducting o
general merchandise store Is wrong. 1t
should be dropped. and some merchant
allowed to start store there to stand
or its own bottom.
The Legislative appropriation for the
Health Department for the twelve
months Is $4,000. Deducting the Ka-
iaupapa store item 1t is only $3S2,000
This amount has been reduced As per
lcent; for instance, straight cut OF
about 20 per cent has been made In the
salary Of every employee. With this
we have so managed that both the
Government Physicians and the Free
lDispensary have been retained.
have been strongly opposed to looping
Oft the Government Physicians, who
for what is often trifling pittance
from this Board. attend to the destitute
sick throughout the Islands. The
Latives, as a rule, are poor. living
from hand to mouth, and to leave then
without medical help seems to me al.
most a criminal proposition. So with
the Free Dispensary here In town. with
the hospitals all closed against them
what are the destitute poor to do? A,
1.-THE Dispensary they can get medical
advice and medicine free.
In my opinion we do not go faI
enough In fulfilling our duties toward:
the aborigines OF these Islands, whom
IL Is no exaggeration to say. We have
supplanted. In the Great West, the
Federal Government began thirty year!
ago to issue regular rations and blank
cts to the Indians, whose lands ant
lhunting-grounds our people had taker
possession Of. II is part Of the Whit
Mans Burden that our nation ha!
righteously borne and is still bearing
To some extent the same obligation Il
owing here to the people whose coun
try We have taken, Shall we then ON
certain the proposition 10 depSlVe tnen
even Of medical aid when sick AM
laying? / feel certain that this Boar
will never consent to the abolition o
either Of these two institutions.
The Health Department has cut 1t
estimates 45 per cent. What have 9th
let DSp"'s
ment Is most entitled to point wit
pride" as the phrase goes, to Its yea
IL the work OF retrenchment? TIL
Board Of Education. which receives
larger appropriation than we do. ha
. made a reduction OF about 10 per cen
The Treasury Department has Gu
|. about 32 per cent. The Judiciary D<
partment % per cent. The Police d.
partment 81 per cent. The Attorne
Generals Department per cent. III
Fire Department i3 per cent. In mel
j tioning these reductions, no reflection
are intended Of course upon the actio
OF the several Department authorize
who have done all that was asked
them. But 1t will show how strange
delusion they are labOring under, wi
think this Board has evinced a relu
lance to cut down expenses.
One word as to the possible effec
OF these reductions. We have G
down very close to danger point. ID
custodians Of the public health ,
must never overlook our grave I
4 4 4 = 4 = 4 4 4 = 4 = 4 = = 4 4