The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-07-01

OPEN LETTER
Continued iron page nine.J

i'm your paper in regard to health mat
ters for some time past and which now
characterizes the other statements In
your editorial i'm regard to the health
matters. In the interest of truth and
of public health, l would be most glad
to have you critically examine the rec
Ords of the Board of Health to ascer-
tain exactly what has been accom-
plished, knowing that If you did so,
your sense of fairness would change
your viewpoint which now seems to
be founded on erroneous or half-truth
Information.
Not so long ago you insisted that
the late outbreaks were not cholera.
As far as | know, your statement was
not based upon any examination of the
records of evidence of the Board or
Health, or of its physicians, or of the
Federal physicians who aided the
Board of Health in this matter. In
your present editorial you call these
outbreaks cholera.
'WnntOn and vicious"
You also state that cholera arose
from Indifferent inspection under my
self, and at another time you stated
conditions i'm Hawaii. You were en-
phatically told some time ago by good
authority that cholera is not indigenous
in Hawaii; that 1t is not created here.
why you should for any reason or
purpose whatsoever now insist upon
this point is beyond my comprehension.
Moreover it becomes my duty to in
form you emphatically that for such
persistence you are doing Hawaii a
most serious injury by laying upon
this country the stigma of it's being
IAN endemic center of cholera. This is
not true. 1t is not even half true. 1t
is purely wanton and vicious.
AS to garbage. Can it be possible
that you have deliberately shut your
eyes to the truth of this matter nay
gone further than that and twisted
my statement of the truth of the mat
ter into a criticism of the city and
county government and into an at
I tempt on my part to lay slur of
blame on them?
matter. The Board of Health attempt
ed during the last Legislator to take
over the garbage and eXcavator SER
vice from the city and county and
make it a free service. If l remember
rightly your paper resisted this plan.
The following reasons amongst others
were urged for the transfer: That Ho-
= nOlulu is a Territorial port the main
distribution center of contagious dis
eases coming from the outside, and
| hence the burden of a free garbage
and eXcavator service should be borne
| by the Territory. That removal of
garbage is a component part of sani-
! tatiOn: it's other COMPONENT part is
sanitary inspection. Both parts should
be under the same service and, for the
reasons above stated, Territorial ser
vice. 1t appears now that the burden
OF maintenance Of an adequate free
garbage and eNCavator service for the
Territorial port of Honolulu may be
too severe upon the City and County
/ Another Half Truth.
IN passing, and just to nail another
half truth, l will state that the Board
OF Health has not single conveyance
for the removal of garbage except a
small wagon engaged in the MOSQUITO
campaign If you wish to know eX-
actly the work performed by this sin
gle wagon, come up and examine the
records yourself.
Keeping this in mind, and that the
removal of garbage was paced entire-
Y 3
the Legislature of 1911 did not see its
way clear to transfer the garbage and
eXcayator service to the Board of
Health, 1t will readily be perceived
that the only recourse left to the board
was to urge or compel the proper au-
thorlties to maintain an adequate gar
page ana eNCaVatOr service or to Grim
inally prosecute the individual house,
nOlder under the nuisance law. | need
hardly point out what the defense of
such householder would be for failure
Of proper authority to remove his gar
bage, nor the iuequitable position the
board would be in through bringing
CRIMINAL prosecutions under such cir
cumStauces. II you will carefully read
the old law on nuisances and their re-
moNal and some of the decisions of
this Territory and Of the States i'm re-
gard to the removal under a nuisance
law OF the bulk, if not the whole of
the garbage" included in your 5000
or or 4g IVY tons, you Will find some of
the difficulties against the removal of
such garbage by criminal prosecu-
tons under a nuisance law
On "Clean-Up Day"
| Under these circumstances the uues-
ton arose with the Board of Health,
W hat is to be done? Two lines of ac-
tivity were started. First, co-opera-
ton and working together of the Ter
ritOrial and municipal health services
for the Improvement of sanitary in
, spection and the extension and en-
!tarsemeHl OF the garbage and eXcava-
In one of your editorials you quoted
a statement of mine to the effect that
there was the heartiest co-opera lion
between the two services. / wish to re-
iteIate that statement, although you
nave attempted to mar and destrov
ms understanding by your attitude
ana by twisting of statements of mine.
The second line of proposed activity
) was CIean--Up Day This movement
was instituted by the Board of Health
lof the express purpose, among others
OF at one time clearing away rubbish
ana II there was any, garbage, and of
interesting the residents in better san
, ltauOn The movement was instituted
not for the purpose of criticizinr Inc
2 adequacy or inadequacy of the present
garbage service, but with the object of
s so tba Pllshlng the removal of rubbish
r :" IHal now work could be started on
a clean sheet The movement was car
5 fled out by the Oahu Central Improve-
mem CluD ana allied organizations un-
uCI lnS leadership of Mr.. u. A. Berndt
p with the splendid success of which Won
nay lhaue from time to time that the
q aware ms, II seems to me Suf-
, HcIehtIy answers the intimations Won
l nave made from time to time that 'tbe
? Board of Health has been remiss in
Keeping the town clean, for "Clean-UIr
5 l)dN was movement which amon@st
O olhers, the board has had on its nTo.
a lulu. iiOHo'
In this connection I may saw that
eaaGGh Of the sublnspectors Of The
CIeah-U Day. campaign has beeT
requested to report to the Board OF
, Heaith nuisances of filth found nv
nm such, in my opinion, will be NOR
J. eIHcacious for better sanitation tbaT
prosecutions. Such prosecutions MAY
oe reserved for those maiR tanning nui,
t sanGes who have not sufficient civi,
4 pliue TO themselves abate them
1 some or our good citizens were sI,en,
Y uGaL cynical and inclined to disDara q,
Clean-up Day" That such have he
e come convinced by the splendid s,Ic
D cess OF the day the ACCOMPLISHMENTS
OF which. mistake me not, lies To- th,
v credit of the above-named orpani1a'
ions Is one of the best accomniisb
i MentS or the movement. For "Bette,
q Honolulu' includes none who sneo
anu caYll' Earnest effort and con
slLuctlVe work are needed instead
during the past two Yea re nc -.