The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-06-03
AN EGYPTIAN EXAMPLE.

AN EGYPTIAN EXAMPLE.
Elsewhere viii be found an article
from the Boston Herald, containing an
account of astonishing results obtain
ed in Egypt from a campaign against
!: mosquitoes Where other and costly
sanitary measures at Ismailia had
proved unavailing to stamp out fever,
the elimination of the mosquito had
immediate effect in reducing the ma
larial scourge to almost the vanishing
point Although it is said that the
species (anophe1es) which propa gates
malarial fever does not exist here, yet
the species Of mosquito which does
abound in Hawaii has been under
suspicion of spreading disease. Wheth-
er this is unfounded or not, there is
no question of the mosquitoes being an
outrageous pest in these islands. What
ever difference there may be between
in other countries and the one that
makes epidermal misery universal in
these islands, but one method is needed
for killing off both species. This is
the doing away with stagnant water
upon the surface of which the myriad
brood is Graded into noxious being.
The effort has been crowned with sue
cess elsewhere and, Notwithstanding
some peculiar difficulties, the movement
begun here can be made to succeed.
All that is needed is to keep at it, |
gradually hammering down the OBJ
stacles.
One of the chief hindrances to effec-
tive work which the campaigners have
found in Honolulu is popular indiffer- |
ence. Other than the statute of nuis- |
ances which gives the authorities con- /
troll over stagnant pools and any con- /
ditions existent on private property
which may constitute a menace to the
public health, there is no power of
compulsion for making individual citi- /
zens take any part in the fight. What
Lord Cromer says in his report on the
results at Ismailia would apply to the
mosquito campaign in Honolulu,
namely: Success can only be insured
by careful attention to number of
petty details. Even if it were possible
it would, I conceive, generally be OBJ
jectionable to attempt to enforce this
by legislative measures,
which would almost certainly involve
minute and, probably, vexatious inter
ference on the part of officials with the
household arrangements of each family
and individual. In most cases, there
fore, everything will depend on @the
effective and voluntary cooperation of {
the householders themselves
While the difficulty of obtaining
popular cooperation here may be
great, as Illustrated in the fact that
Instructions to householders must be ]
printed in five or six different Ian .
suages before they can be comprehen-
iveiy published, yet it would no doubt I
held to persevering educational effort. t
Appeals to the love of comfort inherent (
n all nationalities making up Homo
ulu's composite population ought to be /
Effective. The Orientals are usually set !
Town as being an inert element when
my moving of the masses for the COM
non good is discussed. This, however,
little consideration of many we'll +
Known instances to the contrary will |
how to be an injustice to the Orientals. Il
Their own Astounding societies for
mutual aid, charity and sociability are n
conclusive on this point v
That they are fond of comfort may be d
from such evidence as the
arge number of their stores, lodging
'ouses, etc, equipped with electric
sght. We have never heard that anv
# the diverse nationalities hera domf-
lied are lacking in ,sensitiveness to
ne stings of mosquitoes. Therefore. the
ask of inducing substantially all of
he inhabitants of Honolulu to make
ommon cause against the pest ought
lot to be regarded as hopeless. If the
itizens' committee would enlarge it's
cope by enlisting subcommittee IN
epresent the different languages spok-
n extensively here, a very distinct
rain in the effective working force of
ne campaign might speedily be re-
.lized