The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-04-11
.DICKEY'S REPORT
ON LEPROSY BILLS
CONTINUED from page one.

The worst blot ou our fair Territory
is the incubus of lcprosy which with
great effort and at great expense we
have got bottled up ON the little peniu-
sula OF Kalaunapa on Molokai Any
thing which viii relax our policy Of
isolation and lay our Territory open TO
the charge that lepers were allowed
anywhere else in the Territory than at
the leper colony would be "a distinct
calamity.
House bin l76 seeks to do this My
objections to its passage are:
/. Section / Novides that the com
mission Of physicians to examine sus-
poets be reduced from FIVE as at pre-
sent to three one of whom shall be
selected by the suspect. one by the
board of Health and a third by the two
so selected. I think that "a commits
| sion of five is much more safe than a
Icomm's sion Of re only and more Ike
| ly to secure just decision The ply
| sicians selected for such a grave mat
| ter should be psychologists and there
| is no provision I'm the bill as there is i'm
! Senate bin 6S introduced by Senator
! Paris to that effect. The patient may
under this bill select a physician who
! knows nothing Of bacteriology and
there is an even chance that the third
man may be just as ignorant of that
science. ! greatly prefer the plan OF
Senator Paris bill which provides foi
a commission appointed by the Cover
nor of five members who shall under
stand that science.
q The bill provides that the suspect
shall appoint some of the commission
as before stated. think that the sus-
pect should be fully represented before
the committee and this is provided IN
Senate bill 6S. The commission Itself
should be a permanent body and moi
liable to constant change i'm its per
sonel as provided I'm this bill
3. Section provides for a leper hos
pital at Kalihi. This ! do not approve
Of for several reasons. In the first
place all lepers should be strictly Sc
gregated at Kalaupapa. Establishing
a hospital anywhere else would be say
ing that the plan of strict segregation
at the settlement was not adhered tC
and would tend to bring our fair land
into disrepute. The section goes on
to provide for the release of lepers af-
ter treatment of one year. This is
! preposterous. 1t Is well known that
many medicines ameliorate the disease
and make its symptoms temporarily
disappear, but that radical cure is
not yet scovered. If lepers were
turned loose under the provisions OF
this act because they showed no signs
Of the disease there would be no pro
1t lie.
ease a few months after their release
1t would be distinct menace to the
health of the public. The bill pro-
vides for the establishment Of hos.
pital at Kalihl but how is it to be
maintained 1t will cost a large sun
per annum to carry on such an estab-
lishment and our finances are i'm no
position TO undertake it now. even il
II were advisable. County govern
ment will strain our powers to the ut
most and should be enough to under
| take at this time. The cost of the
building, of course can come out Of the
loan fund but II is the equipment and
maintenance that I am thinking Of.
The Federal government has made
an appropriation for a hospital for the
treatment of lepers at Kalaupapa witt
view of discovering a cure for this
dread disease. The hospital is to cosi
800, 900 and $4,000 per annum for main.
tenance is allowed our little expert
ments will be nothing beside this 81.
gantic scheme and think 1t is best tC
wait until we see the outcome of the
experiments of the general government
There are other bad features in thu
bill but l think these are sufficient,
recommend that Senate bill 6S be pass
ed and House bill 176 be laid upon the
table.