The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-09-22
SEPTEMBER "a, 1916.
FRIDAY MORNING
RODERlCK .. MATHBSON. EDITOR
A Dangerous Policy

I'M Monday was.inaugurateda system of medi-
~ cal Supervision dhdeI police control of the
socalled segregated district OF lwci, revival OF
system which had been attempted previously in
the same district and which proved to be neither
adequate for the purpose in view nor acceptable
in principle to the people OF the community gen
orally.
The system, in short, is the establishment of a
medical clinic at lwci under charge of the emer-
gency hospital surgeon, whose certificates, to be
issued weekly, viii alone he accepted by the police
Lacking such certificate, the wic> woman will be
subject to arrest by the police. lnerentially, the
possession OF such certificate will grant immurt-
ity from arrest, despite the illegal nature of the
iwoman's calling
Sheriff Rose has naugurated this system after
consideration of the whole subject Of Iwilei con
ditions, and it is understood has canvassed the
opinion of the army medical officers of the de-
partmcnt, who directly interested in the mat
ter. The surgeon of the emergency hospital will
have an army colleague to conduct the bacteriol-
ogcal tests.
The fees to be- collected will total in the neigh
borhood of five hundred dollars month, these to
belong to the physician, who will pay his assist
ant. He will establish an Office in the segregated
district and the fact that from this office alone are
valid certificates to be issued will be made known
to the Iwilei women by the police.
Putting aside the question of the recognition by
the police authorities of such district as Iwi!ei
and taking for granted the genuineness OF the
sheriffs desire to mitigate the evils through the
establishment of police protection and medical
supervision of an official nature it is certain that
more harm than good will be the outcome.
The establishment of medical supervision along
the lines proposed has been tried before in Homo
lulu by bigger and more influential men than
Sheriff Rose. and the result failure from the
medical standpoint and scandal politically.
I'm What has been demonstrated failure before
will be failure again. History will repeat itself.
From failure there can be no escape. 1t has been
demonstrated that such medical supervision as
has been put into force here again brings results
worse than follow medical supervision what
ever, creating false sense of security when no
security can exist.
4 In addition to the improperly of forcing the
Iwilei women to patronize any one designated
physician under penalty OF arrest for failure so to
do, there is in this the added improperly OF
designating one whose time is already paid for by
the public and who has position of responsibility
demanding practically undivided attention.
Unless the Iwilei clinic were to be the verest
farce, the surgeon of the emergency hospital must
necessarily devote at least half his time to it.
The position he holds under the city was created
because there a recognized necessity for a
police Surgeon, to be available upon call in all
emergencies. The emergency hospital was estab-
lished because such an institution found nee
essary, and the city maintains motor ambulance
for the sole purpose of saving valuable time in
emergencies.
n Permitting the surgeon in charge now to devote
at least half his time and energies another object
than that for which he draws his salary, even were
that other object unobjectionable in itself, is not
fair to the city.
However sincere the effort of Sheriff Rose may
be, the plan he has inaugurated will be wholly
to the detriment OF Honolulu
Z The population of this Island has gained many
hundred DOentia voters during the two wears since