The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-11-30
Do We HAVE
HOOKW0RMS?
San Francisco Has, and Says
That She Got the Parasites
From Hawaii.

Was the late unlamented female rock
scientist Wallach wise in his own ig'
noranee when he announced that he had
discovered that certain disease in Ha'
wall was caused by "hookworms'
Does the festive hookworm really and
truly luxuriate in the soil of these Is
lands, and is the parasite the true cause
of laziness here7 Is the hookworm IN
digenous to Hawaii, or is lazlness IN
dieenous and n natural condition which
is not be laid up against the "bug"
which scientists have recently discover
ed is the cause of the lassitnde of many
of the inhabitants of the Southern
Statesl
These are few questions that are
suggested by San Francisco despatch
to several Eastern papers to the effect
that Hawaii is infested by the hook
worm and has even sent it to Califor-
mia to increase the lassitude of the
inhabitants of the State.
| San Francisco admits that she has
hookworms. But she says it is not her
fault; they came from Hawaii. How
ever, she generously admits that tile
bookworm is not a native of these Is
lands but was brought here from Porto
Rico when laborers were imported from
that island. Also, San Francisco, ac-
cording to the eastern advices from
that place, claims that she got hook
worms from Porto Ricans who deserted
Hawaii for the metropolis of the west
coast.
| DIR. Herbert Gum, of San Francisco,
saws that he has treated more than one
hundred cases of hookworm in that city
and knows of at least one death that
| is to be attributed to the parasite. The
| disease, he says, has not been known
to exist in California, except in very
rare instances, until four years ago. A
colony of laborers born in the West
Indies came to California from Hawaii
and forty.fve per cent of them were
found to be seriously affected. The doc
tor even goes to the length of saying
that the fact that Porto Rican labor
in Hawaii did not prove to be all that
it was hoped it would is due to the
fact that mary of the laborers had
hookworms and were consequently lazy.
DIT. Gum further says that many of the
soldiers of the Philippines and travellers
and business men from the Orient have
returned afflicted with hookworms.
Does the hookworm really exist in
Hawaii7 There seems to be a differ
ence of opinion. Some of the physi-
clans of Honolulu state emphatically
that it does not; Others say it does.
"You can not deny too strongly" says
Doctor Mackall, "that there are any
hookworms here. 1 never met one and
am sure nobody else ever did. There
| &c ~ hot
| "There are no hookworms here, of
that / am sure" said Doctor Hobby.
"You need not hesitate to deny that
story.'
81 think those Californians are full
of prunes instead of hookworms,n said
Doctor Wayson. "They never got
hookworms from Hawaii.
"But," added Doctor Wayson, "the
hookworm does exist in Hawaii. I
have treated a number of cases of the
msease. But it is only to be found
among the Porto Ricans. They brought
it with them from their former home.
The worm does not exist in the soil
of this country and I do not know Of
any cases among white people.
$50 far as / know the orientals are
not affected. / do not know whether
they are susceptible to the disease or
not, but have not heard of any cases
among them.
cit is true that we have hookworms
here, but it is all nonsense to say that
California got hers from us. If she
has hookworms, she got them from the
East, not from these islands,
And so it stands. Some say we have
EN- and some say we haven't. If we
have, maybe II gee slice of that
million-dollar donation made by John
D. Rockefeller for the suppression of
the hookworm.