The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-06-08
CONGRESSMAN HEPBURN
ARRIVES IN HONOLULU
Thinks Hawaii viii be Greatly Helped by the
Panama Canal The Leprosarium not
Dumping Ground.

Hon. w. P. Hepburn, one of the men
in closest official touch with President
Roosevelt. who is said to be slated for
the Craftsmanship of the Ways and
Means Committee of the House of
REPRESENTATIVES at the next session,
and who is now chairman of the COM
mittee on Interstate and Foreign Com
merce. arrived yesterday on the trans
port Sheridan, accompanied by Mrs
Hepburn. and will remain here until
the arrival of the Taft party, as the
guests of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Chamber
lain, of Lunalilo street. Mrs. Cham
berIain is the daughter of Col. and
Mrs. Hepburn.
The distinguished visitor is the con-
gresham who put through the bill to
establish federal laboratory at the
Ieper settlement on Molokai, wherein
a systematic study of the disease will
for Hawaii with the opening of the
Panama Canal. He believes that there
will be no change in the Chinese ex-
clusion law, and expresses the opinion
that the Philippines will eventually be
turned over to the F'ilipinos when they
have demonstrated their ability for
seIf-government. These are among the
main points brought out in an inter-
view which Col. Hepburn accorded an
Advertiser representative at the resi-
dence of Mr.. Chamberlain yesterday
afternoon.
NO DUMPING GROUND HERE.
Col. Hepburn was asked whether the
bill to establish leprosarium on Mo-
lokai, which was passed at the last
session of Congress, implied the open
for Iepers on the mainland of the
United States. Col. Hepburn answer
ed:
mo, think not. There was never
any thought of a leprosarium for the
lepers in the states. There was no in
tent in the bill looking to such a thing.
There are a few lepers in the United
States A census was taken some years
ago and 1 think about rs were found
in the country, but it is believed there
are about twice that many. We at
tempted to establish a leprosarium on
the mainland last winter and failed,
but 1 think this winter that will be
done. 1 don't know where it will be
located, but it ought to be in some
one of those semi-arid regions below
the 35th parallel and in the western
third of the United States. 1 know of
several semi-arid areas of land at from
four to five thousand feet elevation
that would be desirable, and they are
also remote from settlements.
Personally, I will try soon to go
over to the Molokai Ieper settlement
so as to view the disease at first hand.
L will go with Surgeon General Wy
man when he makes the trip.
LABORATORY IN SIX MONTHS.
LAS to the appropriation made for
the establishment of the Molokai lep
rosarium, L would say that you people
in Hawaii have a very earnest friend
in General Wyman. who is at the head
of the Health and Quarantine forces
of the United States. He has taken a
great deal of interest in the study of
the disease of leprosy. 1 simply car
ried out the views of DR.. Wyman with
reference to this laboratory here. HE
THINKS THAT THE DISEASE CAN
BE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL,
and he is here now, as you know, to
look over the situation. AS soon as
the transfer of the square mile of ter
ritory required under the provisions of
the bill, is made by the territory to
the United States, L understand DR..
Wyman stands ready to begin the
erection of a proper building and that
he will have a staff OF medical officers
here in a very short time. 1 suppose