Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1905-03-27

Mr.. Speaker: | desire to correct some
statements made upon this floor dur
ing yesterdays debate on the bill to
provide a national leprosarium. /
The gentleman from Texas (Mr Bur.
eson) and the gentleman from Mis-
sissippi (Mr. williams) both stated
that the entire island Of Molokai, In
the Territory Of Hawaii. is given over |
to a settlement and home for the leper
Of the Hawaiian Islands. !
Mr.. Speaker, the facts are that only !,
d small isolated peninsula Of that is
land is used for this purpose. The
area used forms less than per cent
Of the entire island Of Molokai.
II is wholly separated from the re-
Of the island by an impossible
pail or cliff, and the only
access to II is by special steamers call.
ing there under the charge Of the Ter.
ritorial board of health.
The island of Molokai proper is in.
habited Just as the other islands Of the
Hawaiian group are, and II includes
farmers, stock growers, fishermen, and
enc sugar plantation. The inhabitants
OF the main part of the island Of Molo-
kai are. for all practical purposes. just
as remote from the leper settlement rs
are the dwellers on the other islands:
and from the physical formation Of the
island It would not be practicable to
extend the present settlement
Now, that this question has arisen
desire to state that the citizens Of
the Territory of Hawaii are unaltera.
bly, opposed to ever having any lepers
in the mainland sent to the settlement
OF Molokai. At a heavy expense Of
nearly a quarter OF a million dollars
per year the people Of Hawaii provide
for all the needs of their leper unfor.
tunates, and they bear this heavy finan.
cial burden cheerfully rather than to
have It supported by the Federal Gov.
eminent, as was suggested by the Sc
Material Commission sent to Hawaii re-
Gently, and thereby make 1t possible
to have lepers sent there from the
mainland.
The conditions Of the lepers segrS
gated on Molokai is as comfortable as
they can reasonably be made. The In.
mates are organized as a local com.
munity, with strong neighborhood
and community feeling pervading the
settlement. To bring outside lepers
there from the various States would not
only be an enforced repatriation OF
those unfortunates beyond the sea, but
II would at once and forever destroy
the present local community and
neighborhood life of the settlement
Both the transportation of lepers
from the mainland and their mainte
nance on Molokai would be enormous.
ly more expensive than would be the
cost OF their transportation to and
maintenance In a leprosarium in some
isolated settlement in this country.
The transportation OF lepers on
steamers running to Hawaii would be
means of deterring thousands of tour,
lists from using those same steamers.
1t would be easy to provide separate
coaches for their transportation on the
mainland; but the cost of ever pro
viding a special ship for the carrying
OF lepers to Hawaii would be enormous
for the small number to be carried.
The disease of leprosy is not as
contagious as consumption. and there
could be no possible danger Of con
tagion to surrounding people from q
properly located leprosarium In some
State or Territory Of the mainland.
Hawaii objects to having single
leper sent to her from the United
States, because there is no place for
them In the present settlement, because
the bringing In Of outsiders would be
an unwarranted intrusion on the band
OF unfortunates already there, and
most Of all, because It would be the
height Of injustice for the Government
OF the United States to force additional
lepers upon the small Territory which
already has heavy burden of this
kind and should not have that burden
increased in new and complicated
form.
We do not ask that the care of our
own lepers should be borne by the Fed
eral Government. We ask only that
we be left free to meet our own diff
ficult problem without the addition OF
endless complications and trouble that
would surely come from sending out
side lepers to Molokai.
A Federal station is now to be es
/ IN hliahal MnlnEai hA A.