The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-04-06
FEET TANGLED
IN RED TAPE
Board of Health Holds Windy
Meeting, but Results Are
Attained.

The board Of health held a meeting
yesterday afternoon hat lasted an hour
and forty-fye minutes and resembleG
nothing so much as a session of the
board Of upcrvsors-unIess. possibly.
It might be little dog chasing ms tail.
It went around and around in a circle
without getting anywhere, until finally
Fred Smith seized the rotating canine
and chucked it bodily into its kennel.
All that the board did. and all thai
1t had to do when It started in, was %
vote funds - the Palama Settlement
for the pay If two district nurses for
the auti-.UberculosIs campaign. But it
took nearly two hours for some one to
discover how this could be done At
last It was done by the simple eXpedient
of doing it.
The meeting was special meeting
called hy President Mott-Smith to con
sIder the work OF the auti-tubercuIosis
campaign. It soon developed that there
were many bumps of petty Importance
sticking out and their owners were
afraid that somebody might happen to
knock against them. This does not
health have any bumps Of Importance.
but they felt themselves Obliged to use
great care not to collide with The bumps
of some other people. There was much
talk Of responsi bihty and who was TO
get the credit for certain work-tnat,
at least, is what it amounted to-anl
who should be boss over the district
nurses.
No hAr i.a,,
board OF health attended the meeting.
including }. K. Gait and Superintend-
ent Rath of Palama Mission. both pres
ent as members of the executive com
mlttee of the Antitubercul0sis League.
Doctor Hobby was present as a mem
Der Of the board of health and as a
member of the executive committee. j
Doctor Brinckerhoff was also present,
as was Doctor Wavson.
j. r. Gait asked the board to turn !
over to Palama Settlement two district
nurses, the board having previously
agreed to provide two nurses. But the
two nurses have not even been selected
and nothing along that line has yet
been done by the board of health, al
though the league has six nurses at
work. Mr.. Gait stated that the league ,
needed the two extra nurses on account |
of the fact that the day camp is to be /
opened next Thursday and one nurse !
must be put IN charge of that institu-
ton and one nurse is needed elsewhere.
Then began a ring arounda-rosy dis
cussion. Everybody admitted that the
two nurses should be put to
work, but everybody, or nearly every
body, had some objection to offer. Mr..
Mott-Smth did not see how the legis
lative appropriation could be useds to
pay nurses under the charge of the
Palama Settlement. The board couldn t
be responsible for their work if it did
not have direct charge Of them. Doe
tor Sexton, head Of the tuberculosis
bureau, objected to turning over the
nurses to the league and indicated in
ferentially that he was afraid his posi-
ion was not being properly recognized.
Doctor Brinckerhoff made a speech |
n which he said that the question
was not one OF responsibility or who
should boss the nurses, but a question
If curing sick people and preventing
other people from getting sick.
Doctor Hobby backed him up in this,
out proceeded to 90 into such elabor
ate detail that the issue was once more
obscured and nobody knew where he
was at.
Then Doctor Wayson took hand
n the matter and made a speech in
which he tried to brush aside all the
red tape and succeeded remarkably ]
veIl-until the nXet speaker grabbed
he end and wrapped it around the
feet Of the board again.
This lasted for an hour and a half
or more, during which time many petty
iealousies peeped out. Fred Smith,
who had sat through the long discus
sion with a bored look on his face,
finally cut the Gordian knot by max
ing the simple motion that the board
IF health turn over To Palama Mission
the funds to pay for the two nurses.
The solution was SO Tidiculously sim
pie that everybod gasped and a few
tried to discuss the matter some more
or amend the motion. But Smith stuck
10 his guns and won out. The motion
was adopted and the vexed problem
solved.
A..