The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-04-28
Commissioners Fail Board Of
Health For Not Furnishing
Data Asked For
GOVERNOR TRANSMITS.
HIS OMNIBUS WARNING
ChalrmanF Forbes Declares II Con-
tamination Exists Health Au-
thorities Are Negligent

i Governor Pinkham fred hand gren-
ade into the cOgitat?ons of the Oahu
Loan Fund Commission at its meeting
yesterday morning, in the shape of bis
long-deferred report on the Hillerbrand
Glen reservoir, and the resultant ex.
that continued to glow and sputter for
the rest Of the session, which lasted I'M
til we'll past two O'Clock. q.
Incidentally, the members of the
commission took several lively falls
out OF the board of health and wound
| up by adopting a resolution calling up
on that. body to make direct aus
wer TO the commissions repeated re-
quest for information regarding reser-
yoir No. 4. The resolution calls for
data regarding the suitability of the
water in the reservoir for human use,
its purity and should it, in the opinion
of the health board, be unsanitary and
unfit for use, just what steps are to be
taken to make it clear and BEAUTIFULLY
Unfit For Human USE ~. s...
| AS announced some weeks ago in
The Advertiser, the report Of the Gov.
ernor, short in itself and without rec
concentrations. does but serve to con
vey to the loan fund commissioners
certain reports and correspondence
} from Doctor Pratt, president of the
board of health, to DIR. ID. H.. Currie,
and letters in reply from Doctor Currie
, to Doctor Pratt. These medical, men
are as one in denouncing the water IN
No. 4 reservoir, and declaring that it
| "a hnm
"Nuuanu water is now unfit for hui
man use, said the letters, and said the
Governor, ait constitutes the greatest
menace, to the health of Honolulu of
any one factor. AS to the insan;tary
= be mo question
l., These flying bits of the grenade
! struck the =, commissioners and made
them gasp. y Chairman Forbes was the
FIRST to catch his breath again and let
every, one know Of it.
Why Endanger Nuuanu Folk
."Why, if all this is so, demanded
Mr.. Forbes, "has the board of health
permitted the continued use of this
watcrl Why should we be called upon
to decided Why are the people of this
city allowed to continue drinking Of
the water, which, it is said, q. contains
the seeds, of all sorts of epidemies
Such action is hardly less than Grim
inal-if the statements made in this re
; port are true. 1t is not right. 1t il
not even human. If the people of HO
nOlulu are and have been in real danger
from their drinking water they should
have been notified by the board oil
health long ago, for the board has been
cogni2ant Of these alleged facts for &
long time-ever since last February,
believe.
Instead of the widest possible pub
LEFTY the board has been hiding thu
matter, it has been keeping secret abOu
the conditions which it asserts, are Sc
perilous to the health and welfare OF
the city, Whyi ] want to know"
Cur11e Agrees With Pratt
The first letter from Doctor. Pratt
contained in the Governor 5 report
proved simply personal cOmmunica
tiOn from the head of the health boar
l. to Doctor CurTie, declaring that tn
water in No. 4 is polluted, and dwell
, my upon the insanitary conditions o
= the watershed and the difficulty il
keeping it clean, and of maintaining
the water in a state fit for human use
=, In these things Doctor Currie agree
y with Doctor Pratt, as is shown by an
3 other letter from Doctor Currie to Doe
tor Pratt, and contained in the Cover
nor $ report.
, 1t was pointed out in Doctor Pratt
= letters that the watershed should b
a cleared, and that the Pail road shOult
q be fenced in ON both sides. TresPasser
r should he kept off the section and
Y large filtration plant should be built
I. In addition to this the doctors woul'
have the resery oirs cleaned out and tn
}. pires and cenduits similarly treated.
G Engineers Stand By Guns "a
e Even were oil this done and wei
!, done, they appeared to believe that III
Il wafer supply could not be pni ged o
! all its impurities Doctor Pratt, no"
9 ever, makes no recommendation to tn
!, Coy ernor regarding the reseTvriss. In
i deed his letters. appear to have bee
n sent to the Governor 5 Office with9l
even ! tier Of transmittal. r.. Is
The first shock Of the statement
contained in the report having pass "a
Engineers G. X. harrison and Jam
I r. Taylor rame to the fore with In
: assertion that they do not credit one
+ half Of what the doctors fear regard
ing the water supply.
r 81 elieye that the NunanW suppl
4 II as good and as pure as fifty per n
;. of the water now furnished to tn
! big cities on the mail lan1,' dee az"
- LAIR son, who has made a special in
=, Nestigation Of the whole question.
y "The supply is good, - insisted Fay
lor. :" Even If some pollution has crep
inland such thing is possible 49,
5 nature will take care of any reason
I able amount OF dirt that may get tut
the water Sunlight is II powerful DIS
+ infertunt and the water tends to clara
= fly Itself as it moves throu" b the pipes
!. see no danger to the people from thi
n watrr,'
D Murray Scouts idea
Harry Murray, who was present, ais