The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-04-22
INTER-ISL.AND
Continued from page nine.)

and the influences mentioned will cor
rect themselves and there is no place
in Hawaii that promises so well to
its residents as this town of ours.
Big Lumber.
HILO, April 20.-The Pahoa Mill
Company has landed the best and
most encouraging contract which has
yet come it's way in making arrange
ments for supplying a quarter of a
million feet of ohia lumber for the
drydock work being done at Pearl
Harbor. While the price which was
made and agreed to was very satisfac-
tory to the lumber people, the best
feature of the matter is that in the
tests made in Washington the ohia
wood showed up better than any Of
the American or foreign woods, a
number of which were named as
standards for strength.
The lumber mentioned will be used
for the keel blocks for the big dock
and in other places where the great
est strain will come and for this rea-
son the highest quality was demanded
by the Washington officials. The price
was a matter which had small consid-
Grafton in comparison to quality and
in the tests which were made the
ohia ran ahead of almost every vari-
ETY. of lumber which was furnished for
the experiments of the government
experts. The contract is not only a
good one in itself but the fact that
ohia has been selected for such i'm
| portant work, and after a series of ex.
haustive tests, is one of the best ad.
vertisements that the local company
could have.
Gradually the quality and wonder
full strength of ohia is becoming
known and now very few railroad ties
are being shipped out, the wood be-
ing considered so valuable for other
purposes that it is a waste to use it
for such work. 1t will only be short
time before the tie business is given
up altogether and the wood used only
for higher class work.
Dead Rats in Mails.
Hawaii Herald: The Hilo Tribune
in it's issue of this week prints long
article from the Oregon Journal in
which tourist who spent several
months in Hawaii gives Hilo and the
Islands in general as severe a roast
ing as can be imagined. AS the Trib-
une remarks, it would be amusing if
it did not harm the Islands. Unfor-
tunately the Herald must acknowl.
edge that in at least one particular
the article is correct and this particu-
lar should be attended to without de-
lay. The following paragraph is re-
ferred to:
1--WE discovered one peculiar thing
out of the ordinary in Hilo, that ev-
cry mail stage leaving Hilo takes it's
rat boxes the same as mail These
are distributed at every plantation or
town. Each returning mail bring it's
locked rat boxes with dead rats in
them to Hilo to be examined by the
board of health to see if any district
has bubonic infection; if so, it is soon
quarantined. One very obnoxious feat
ure about the system is that you can
smell the dead rats for a block away
as the mail wagon or stage passes by.
The same thing occurs in Honolulu,
where they had bubonic plague in
1900"
Such a tale would seem ridiculous
except for the knowledge that the
same thing is going on at present.
The mail stage leaving Laupahoehoe
on Saturday last contained one of the
boxes of rats mentioned, the odor
from which was disguting to say the
least. The occupants of the stage re-
ceiyed the full benefit from this all
the way in and when the train was
reached the box, containing the rodent
specimens was placed at the head of
the coach and distributed it's perfume
directly through the entire train. Evil
IDENTIFY some one is at fault, and if the
shippers of rats do not take sufficient
precautions, it is to be hoped that
their packages will be refused ship
ment by the mail stages.
Would Rival Company F.
HILo, April 2O.-Captain Fetter of
the local company of the National I
Guard, spurred ahead by the compli- I
mentary remarks which have been {
made by the u. S. Army officers who |
have been here of late, is doing his '
best to have the local company take q
The position once held by the Honolulu G
company which was commanded by I