Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-12-19
JAPANESE WOMEN
MAY HAVE TO BUY
LAUNDRY LICENSE
Sanitary inspectors Claim Il Is
impossible to Force Health
Regulations at Present


A few hundred Japanese women en-
gagged in washing on the side, as a
sort Of avocation while they are not
otherwise engaged attending &c their
families, are in a state Of great 'anx-
iety and fear over the possibility OF
their being charged license ice OF
$50 on the ground that they are run
ming what the law defines to be q
laundry. 49,. .-... T..
Sanitary inspectors of the board OF
health of the territory have called to
the attention of Colonel Charles j. Nc
Carthy, city and county treasurer,
whose duty Il Is to see that all bust
ness licenses are paid. that these wo-
men are making q living or greater
part Of It by washing, and yet have
not been required to pay the SIS II
cense fee. -
Hence the great anxiety and fear.
The inspectors state that as the
women are not licensed, the stricter
rules Of sanitation can not be enforced
against them. Under the new stat,
utes before a license is issued a sani-
tary certificate must be secured from
the board OF health. AS these women,
have not been forced to get license,
they have not the fear Of the board
of health in their hearts, say the In
spectors.
Colonel Mccarthy has taken the lie.
gal phase of the question up with r
L. Weaver. first deputy city and coun.
ty attorney. An opinion covering. In
a way, the point has been written by
Mr.. Weaver and sent to the treasurer.
He lays down the rules Of law ap.
-plicable to the case and advises that
Colonel Mccarthy apply them to each
case individually.
II a woman is engaged in washing
for other persons for q profit she ID
running what comes within the pur.
view of the statute, a laundry, seeIis'
to be the summary Of the question
On the other hand. II she Is only
washing for the sheer Job Of the work,
she can not be said to be running 4
laundry. Or IL she Is only washing
her own clothes and the clothes oi
her family the same Is true. The
question turns on dollars and cents.
Colonel Mccarthy says he has felt
all along that It would be hard.
ship to oblige all these women, these
artists of the tub. TO pay an annual
fee Of $25 for the privilege Of wash.
ing other peoples clothes. He prob.
ably thinks their pursuit Of happiness
in this way is hard enough without
lacking on the license fee.
Maybe Mr.. Weaver feels 90, too
Anyway, 1t Is TO be noted that he
didn't put down q hard-andsfast rule.
and end by saying that it was the
duty OF the treasurer to make the
washerwomen pay the ,$25. Rather
than that, he merely wrote down In
his opinion the adjudicated meaning
of the word laundry, a rule OF Law
or two. and ended by advising Colonel
Mccarthy to apply these to the facts
Of each case. &
!. But though this has not aggravated
1t certainly does not reduce the afxf
ETY. and fear Of the Japanese women.
Their number is surprisingly large in
the city. In every district they are
found. Some Of them do large
amount of business, hut that the pro
ceeds from It are large enough to
ALLOW them, comfortably, to pay an
annual license fee would probably not
be admitted by them.
CoIone1 Mccarthy Il on the other
side Of the island this morning, pay.
ing off city and county laborers, and
so it can not be said what course he
will follow Mr.. Weaver has told him,
in the opinion, that he does not be
lieVe the argument Of the inspectors,
who say they can not properly en-
force the sanitary laws because the
washerwomen are unlicensed, valid.
He points out that the rules of the
board of health are broad and strong
enough to serve this purpose.
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