The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-07-25
afaNasT The aYsllUwa FeEer.lIa ogIrsa,.
There has been Of late considerahle -,

Some days ago one of them was partic,,ln 2
iarly indignant ut the impending sietrirnent
to commerce from proposed increase ~
striDgency in the quarantine regulations
A day or two ago another Journal published
fatal case ofyeilow fever (which had nm
doubtedly occurred Oh Ursuiines street. he.
tween Dauphine and Burgundy. Imme-
diately third paper, takes the latter 10
task for its iDdiseretion in promnleatinr
the news, and still another consoles itsaif
and the public by the reflection that. even
if the epidemic should commence how, II.
would be too hate for ID to do much harm. +
1t would appear that doctors disagree as
to the NECESSITY of "a quarantine. Some,
think that yellow fever newer Originates in /
sour city an " more thar 3 il does in New
York and other Atlantic ports; others per,
haps contend that it docs, but which ever
be right, it is beyond doubt that the fever
frequently makes its appearance here
by importation. The very ship, or schooner /
which brought it is known. The first ease
can nearly always be traced TO the cargo
or crew of some craft from an infected port.
Why then diverge from this important
the fever cannot possibly originate here in
some instances. 1t may or it may not; but
we know for certain that it can be import
ed, and that from ap imported case it may
spread, slowly at first, but soon with
frightful rapdity which wraps the whole
population in mourning. Why then relax
in our watchful efforts to keep it out be-
cause, in spite of all, it may originate in
our midst7 New York, Boston, -Philadel.
phia and Baltimore we're for many years
periodically devastated by this fearful Wis
itor, until they enforced their quarantine
laws with sufficient vigor to put nm en-
barge on it. Gen. Butler, with all his
faults, showed that military discipline
could do the same for New Orleans, at least
in seasons when it was not of spontaneous
appearance. 'Tse ~ it;s
But the everlasting question of com,
meree here intrndes itself, What Shall
our comms rcial relations with Sonth Amer
! lea and the Gulf ports be hampered and
crippled by old maidish fears and precau
tions, which may prove to have been totally
unnecessary To this the answer is, that
whenever the vessel comes from an infected
port stringent precautions are never tin-
necessary. Generally vessels are 80 long
at sea that the virus of the disease, if on
board originally, has disappeared before,
their arrival here. Other canses sometimes
| save us from the scourge,t even when the
greatest risk has been eareicssly dared, but
we ought not to trust the lives and fortunes
of SO many thousands to a chance throw Of
the dice like this. .Sei5 ~ @. ~
AS to the restrictions on commerce, we
all know that shipping interests are not
very active at any rate during quarantine
months. And though such should be the
case, and the commerce in question should
be driven away entirely from our leyees
during the whole summer and fall, would
the damage to our business be, nearly so
great as that caused by an occasional cpl
demic2 While that RACES, commerce, not
only that in question but all other ceases
almost entirely; people fee from the city
in tens of thousands, and customers are
afraid to approach it. The evil results
are not merely felt in this temporary ces-
sation of business, but show themselves for
years afterwards in the timidity of capital
and the depreciation of real estate. If it
were known that New Orleans was to be as
free hereafter of yellow fever as New York
is, it would become a home paradise in
stead of the winter resort that it nowjs
for most of it's inhabitants who are able to
have their real home elsewhere. For our
part, if it is permitted to have an opinion
when doctors disagree, we believe that
strict quarantine can almost, if not entire
ly, effect this desirable result.
The quarantine ought to be longer here
than at New York for two reasons; first,
because the communication with infected
ports is generally quicker; and secondly,
because when the seed of the disease is
brought in the system there is more ten
dency in our climate to develope it into ac-
tion than would be found in a more eleva-