The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-07-12

there for few hours each day, and
in il little or no food is allowed, thus
eontagion and infection find small
chance of Judgment. Disease, if il ex-
lists, win be found where people live
and, if this is separated some distance
from the commercial section, commerce
will be endangered but little and the
intercourse of nations will be pro-
moted.'
Chapter eleven deals with "Regula
ton of Foods. "
After discussing the inspection of
beef, fish, and milk, and the sources of
the control of milk, sections four and
FIVE deal with "Protection and the
subject of Vegetables, as follows:
"Tho endcavor to prevent the public
from being served with adhlterated
foods, poi of poor quality at high cost,
milk that kills instead of nourishes,
meat that is fyblown, and fish that is
decomposed, is not supported as it
should be. This is well illustrated by
the attempt to hyscrecn the market
and the utter Indifference of many Gus
toners. Some seem to prefer meat that
is exposed to dirt and dust as well as
flies rather than change to II dealer
who attempts to provide decent pro
lection.
"Again, some customers demand the
privilege of polSing or feeling raw meat
and fish with their fingers and are per-
fectly willing to accept both treated in
the same way by others, forgetting
that certain hands may not be clean,
that some may b, diseased, thus per
haps unwittingly and innocently set
ting an example which spreads the
contagion of various disease, of which
unknown to themselves they may al
ready be victims. Il. b. Blanchard, the
food commissioner, in his last report,
points out that the handling of raw
fish is even more careless than that of
meat. Much of our fish now comes
| from n distance on ice, so it is often,
on arrival, several days I'D when ex
posed to our normal but high tempera-
ture. AT the market iced fish is put
on warm tables and exposed in the
warm air sometimes all day. Thus it
is often decomposed before it is eaten.
"The remedy lies with the custom
ers. In time they will learn to give
their trade to the dealer who screens
and refrigerates his beef, or to the fish
dealer who keeps his fish ON cool tables
under glass ut a low temperature and
who allows none to touch or handle his
wares. The dealer will eventually learn
that clean, honest wares and high repu.
tation are of more value to him than
the immediate sale of permanent or
doubtful supply. At present the GUS
toner is indifferent and the dealer
lacks integrity, while the authorities
do not sufficiently control the situation.
off those in Honolulu who delight in
fresh vegetables and Strawberries the
. year round, were only 70 visit the gar
dens whore they were raised, inspect
> the water where they are washed, and
examine the system by which they are
fortified, there would be- no difficulty
j, in forming n Consumers Pure Vege-
table League, under which some meth
cd of guaranteeing the purity of the
vegetables could be devised, and by
which the patient oriental truck gar
dener, who has succeeded where others
have failed, would greatly increase his
sales. On May 81, 1911, this commits
sion visited the district into which
Parker lane leads from Liliha street
and there saw truck garden, where
the stream which furnished the water
in which the vegetables were washed;
first ran within two feet of a priyy
vault The reader can draw his own
conclusions as to just what would mr.,
pen when the level of the stream re-
ceded.
1T is dangerous to eat raw yege.
tables IN Honolulu under present con.
ditions due to the custom of storing IN
human excreta for use, either as fer6i-
llzer or In solution for irrigation, In
the city of Hongkong the necessity fos
vegetables cultivated in sanitary
manner has brought about special
garden with special service direct to
private house. Health officials can not
stop the oriental customs without the
universal cooperation of the house
wives.
" Because vegetables are supposed to
come from the head of some valley,
does not necessarily assure them as
being free from infection. Because,
from investigation and questions, you
have been once convinced that your
vegetables are pure, does not always
protect you. You would not feed poi
son to your children or any one of
your household. You would not leave
it unmarked about the house, yet some
Of the most deadly germs may be in
your icechest even now as you are
reading this.
doctor Currie s report on the CON
ditions he found in upper Manoa dur
ing the cholera epidemic in February,
1911, is indeed a severe indictment on
the sanitary conditions tolerated. Add
to those conditions the fact that it is
often to these very gardens up in the
valleys that carriers, fresh from infect
ed ports, go to visit friends and the
danger of sudden infection can be bet
ter realized -