Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1909-06-03
THE VICTIMS OF A
TERRIBLE MISTAKE
Continued from Page ~

OF the Legislature, who know moth
Ing about leprosy and at least ten
out of the eleven found not to be
lepers! How many more unfortu-
nate victims of n terrible mistake
are there on Molokai? How many
mistakes have the examining physi-
clans made? For It can hardly be
claimed that those who are released
are cures, the very physicians who
made the denominations admitting
that there is no known cure for
leprosy
The poor wretches who have been
branded as lepers and have spent the
best years of their lives at the Set
Element as lepers are some of them
mere boys, others old men. others
men now in the very prime and Wig
or Of life. They are respectively six
and seven years of age; one is a
veteran Of 70.
Those who were re-examined and
found not to be lepers are:
! James Harvey. seven years old,
now In the Boys Home; John Ku,
six years old. also in the Boys
Home; Charles Walnut, % years Of
age: loane Kaimu, SO; j. w. Puie-
haka, so; J. K. Alapai, as; John
Kaapuni, 81; Kahele Kama, as; Ke-
liiathuni. %, and Naiwi, 70.
Naiwi, the old man, Is an old-time
printer of Honolulu. He is fine
appearing man, with a long, flowing
beard. and he has never at any time
exhibited any signs of leprosy, ex-
cept that the fingers of one hand
are crooked and hard. But long be>
fore he was sent to Molokai IL was
a matter OF common knowledge that
he was born this way and his hands
had never undergone any change
whatever. They are today as they
were the day he was born. And now
he is an old. old man who has wait
ed weary years among the lepers for
the verdict which comes now Just In
time to allow him to spend the last
days OF his life in freedom and
among his friends and relatives.
Twenty years some OF them have
been there under the frowning pail
and surrounded by the shining sea
that has cut them off from their fell
lows and from the world of man.
Twenty years they have borne the
name OF lepers, though they were
well men. Twenty years they have
been shut of from love and friend
ship and the companionship OF their
fellows. Some of them have wives
and children waiting for them out
in the world of the free. Some OF
them had wives and children once,
but they have died while the hus-
bands and fathers dragged out weary
days and months and years on the
narrow peninsula that was all their
world.
Two of them have long lives OF JOY
and happiness before them, for they
are still too young to remember all
that they have looked upon during
the time they have been confined on
Molokai. But what dreams will
come to them In their slumbers all
their lives! What horrible shadows
will descend upon their souls In the
days of their manhood when some
! faint remembrance OF their lives
among the lepers comes back to
them!
And II was all IA mistake! Some
examining doctor was In hurry, or
| Ia. I..a .taI
the unfortunates with the name OF
leper and sent them to Molokai to
live and die the life and the death
OF the leper. Just mistake!
But it's rectified now, SO OF course
it's all right. There Is no recourse,
no palliation for the terrible sin of
0 mistake. They have suffered and
they must stand II.
But today--they are ice. They