Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1912-05-16
QUOTES THE QUARANTINE MEN
Estimate Gives One Victim of Disease
to Every "a Persons of Native
or Part Native Blood.


VANCOUVER, u. G.. April 27.-B.
G. DOughcr, who has just returned
from Honolulu, draws attention to the
alarming condition of quarantine af.
fairs there and warns Canadian Off.
GERS to keep close watch for leprosy
cases. His story in part is as follows
with the startling assertion that
one out of every sixty-four Hawaiians
or part Iawaiians Is n sufferer from
I the dread disease of leprosy, DR.. Carl
Ramus, chief quarantine officer of the
port of Honolulu, described the laXity
of segregation laws in the Hawaiian
Islands as appalling, and asked mem
bers of the Chamber of Commerce of
Honolulu TO take some steps toward
remedying the evil. In paper read
before a representative body of the
Chamber of Commerce, DR.. Ramus
pointed out the alarming increase of
the number of Icpers reported during
recent years, and attributed the in.
crease solely TO the poorly admins
tered laws no win existence and the
result Of political corruption.
Surgeon Contracts Disease.
THAT the dread disease Is no re-
specter of persons was duly shown
when the quarantine officer pointed
out that one of his predecessors, a
surgeon who had contributed much to
the knowledge of leprosy, was him
self attacked, and, rather than live
the horrible existence of the lepcr,
committed suicide upon his retnrn.
The increase of leprosy among the
! white residents In the islands, and
particularly in Honolulu, is of alarm
| ing proportions.
when the fact that Dr. Ramus had
read a paper on leprosy became nois-
ed about Honolulu, ] interviewed sew
eral who had attended the Chamber Of
| Commerce meeting, but could gain
| little from them in the way of infOr-
nation. It was from DR.. Ramus, him
self, however, that learned of the
, true situation, and was allowed to 20
over the receiving hospital for lepers
in Honolulu, where the suspects ana
| those whose cases have been diagnos'
cd rs lcprOsy must remain under OBJ
servaton for six days prior to being
sent over to the leper settlement on
the Island of Molokai.
"The administration of the affairs
Of this receiving station Is so lax as
to be positively criminal. No attempt
seems to be made to prevent the lep
ers from wandering through the
streets of Honolulu every night in the
week. That such wandering of lep
ers is not occasional Is shown by DR.
Ramus's statement that he had per
sOnally seen FIVE inmates of this re
Coiying station in a moving picture
show in the city OF Honolulu one even
ing short time previous to his read
ing his startling paper before thu
Chamber of Commerce.
"The tendency on the part of thu
political parties to ignore the question
of leprOsy Is notorious ard, when II Il
considered that the native police of
cors refuse to report or take In charg
any leprOus person, the alarming IN
crease may readily be attributed Il
| the laXity of segregation laws, n
| pointed out. In the receiving station
| built to accommodate sixty patients
there are at present seyenty'two VI
| der observation, and as there Is n
room for additional patients, the a.
thorities allow the leper to return I
his or her home and report at the r.
Ceiving station once month"
i Two weeks after he read his repor
i DIR. Ramus received orders transfer
ring him from Honolulu to Breme
ton, Wash. II is charged that the II,
nOlulu authorities are attempting
suppress the news of the spread Of tn
i disease.