The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-01-19
Honolulu. II.

Honolulu, H. T., Jan. IS, 1906.
Editor Advertiser: Believing that
certain improvements recommended by
the Board of Health are about to be
made on the government wash houses
at Iwilei, and believing this to be
matter wherein the taxpayers of this
territory are Interested, L wish to draw
attention to the following:
The government wash houses of TIO-
nolulu were originated at a time when
the city afforded no sewerage system
nor provided sufficient public servants
to look after the sanitary condition of
the scattered laundries. These wash
houses were provided and equipped
health and We're a progressive move
ment at the time of their institution.
The laundry business at that time en-
gagged only orientals Can illiterate
class) who were totally blind to the
laws of sanitation and who were with
out means to provide sanitary places
of business. The government furnished
those places at a nominal rental per
month which rental has never been
raised to correspond with the progress
sive existing conditions, thereby
thwarting private enterprise, discour-
aging citizen laundries cleansing linen
by modern American methods and
throwing the burden on the territorial
taxpayer of supporting Asiatfc inter- |
ests and endorsing ancient methods.
Citizen are today in the city of Ho-
nolulu paying for laundry over thirty
thousand dollars a month. OF this |
amount three thousand dollars a month
goes to steam laundry owned by local !
capital, representing an investment Of
over sixty thousand dollars, employing |
only citizen labor, thereby supporting
over thirty citizen families. The re-
mainder of the above sum is expended
almost exclusively for Chinese wash
ing that is done in the government
wash house; which institution benefits
the merchant or public welfare very
little if any.
At present by law citizen engaging
in the laundry business using mach1n-
cry is compelled to pay yearly IL
eense of fifty-one dollars from when
he Oriental washman is entirely eX-
empt.
No other city in the United States,
20 my knowledge, maintains public
wash house at government expense
The people of any mainland city would
consider such an act in direct viola
ha hppanSp 1t
ends to sacrifice healthy independent
enterprise. They solve the problem Of
wash houses by putting the launderer
m the same basis with the grocer, the
butcher or any other legitimate bus1-
less; treating all alike and protecting
hem by law so long as they abide by
he ordinances as set down by the au-
horities in their respective commune
les
Mainland cities affording popula-
ion of from forty thousand to fifty
inhabitants support laundries
hat employ citizen help and represent
N invested capital of from two hum
lred thousand to three hundred thou-
and dollars.
With the present shipping business
q he done in Honolulu the writer is
onvinced in saying that by elim1nat-
ng the present government WASH
ouses the people of this city would
e supporting local capitalized Iaun-
rfes representing two hundred and
ftv thousand dollars and feeding over
hree hundred families with very little,
any additional cost for the cleansing
f their linen.
The property taxes paid by Chinese
aundries amounts to nothing and their S