The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-11-26
DR.. RanuS' Reply
To Criticisms OF
Quarantine Rules
(Cuntnucd)
Continued

at one port and practically unknown
at another But this is time of great
inventions. of mammoth turbine
steamships time of great changes, a,
transition period in the worlds his |
tory. The great Panama canal will bel
finished in a few years and the Drac-
teal airship may be a reality perhaps
ten years hence.
Coincidently with these achieve
ments must the quarantine operations
in vogue at a certain port change orl
vary so as to meet the new order OIL
things. A new line of steamers is
started between ports not before con-
nected commercially, or remotely So.
New quarantine problems at once arise
out of the new situation. All this by
way of introduction.
The Federal quarantine procedure
in the Hawaiian Islands, therefore,
which in a general way resembling
that in other United States ports, has
special features of its own and it is
to these that your attention is now
invited.
Questions are frequently asked-by
| the laity as a rule-and comment is
made on the widely different treat
ment given to the many vessels, car
goes and personnel quarantinei at this
port They DO not understand--they
! can see no reason-why an infected
| vessel from a plague port may be al
| lowed to anchor in the stream, while
another from yellow feve: port is held
! outside the harbor. They regard us
as wholly inconsistent or as shower
ing cruel and unjust discrimination
| when in certain cases cabin passen-
! gers are released, while steerage pas
| sengers are held to undergo the sup
| posed honors of quarantine. They
cannot understand why, when the port
is said to be infected, that respect
able townsfolk are not permitted free
access on sailing days for steamers
bound for the Coast, while stevedores
and wharf employees are.
The reasons are really very simple.
Any unprecedented person of average
intelligence and education may easily
understand them. The main difficulty
is that many things have sometimes to
be thought of at once. Especially is
this so when, in the interests of com
merce, the endeaVOr is made to modify
requirements to the extreme limits
consistent with the proper protection
of the port.
These questions will now be taken
up in order, and an effort made to ex-
| plain them clearly
The diseases of most significance to
this port are plague, cholera and yell
low fever, and it is against the in
PRODUCTION of these that quarantine
measures are mainly directed. There
is smallpox to be considered, of course
but at present it is so well under
control in most ports that it need not
be thought of now with much appre-
hensiOn.
Plague is a familiar disease at this
port, and is at present the quarantin-
able disease most likely to be encoun-
tered When a vessel arrives from a
port known to be plague-infected to
any considerable extent the quaran-
tine examination must necessarily be
more rigid than if from a port known
to be clean The crew and steerage
may be required to submit to examin-
alton of the ingineal glands Women
are examined by a female inspector
Where large numbers of steerage pas
sengers are carried it frequently hap
pens that cases of sickness are con
cealed from the ships surgeon, some
times even to the end of the voyage
Hence the necessity for a thorough
quarantine inspection before granting
pratiuue to the vessel. This examina
ton has the further merit of revealing
) many cases of serious physical disabll
ity. which, while not quarantinable o.
contagious, are proper cases for re
lection under the immigration Law a.
persons likely to become public char
} ges through inability to earn a living
If a case of plague is found, or on
suspicious enough to warrant a pro
visional diagnosis of plague, the YES
sci is taken at once to the quarantin
wharf for disnfection. If the case l
. in either the crew or steeTage, both o
Il those classes are landed on the wharf
their body clothing and baggage pu
through the steam sterilizers, an
themselves bathed The bedding o
the forecastle and steerage is also ex
\ posed to steam sterilization. The pre-
. sumably infected portions of the yes
sci are then closed tightly and ar
fumigated with SO2 to destroy rat
e and other vermin, When proper pre-
it cautions have not been taken by tn
G. ships officers to prevent possibl
r spread of infection, the entire vesst
1t would then be treated as if infected
ID including cabin passengers,
n II will he urged nv some that il