New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-05-02
THE DOCTORS AND THE QUARANTINE.

Ihe doctors some OF them - have
come to the front on tho seasonable
question or quarantine. In all matters
of dispute as to the origin, proven ton
and cure OF diseases, the opinions of the
faculty are entitled to our profound re-
| spect In matters Of fact and statistics
their opinions are worth as much as those
OF intelligent men of other professions,
and no more. The signers to the address
to the Board Of Health make but one
point about which there can be any die
pute:
That after many yeora Of experine Mt
quarantine has failed to protect this city
from yellow fever.
This is nattor CT opinion, and may or
may not be bono cut by the records.
The feet that there have been but two
eslious epidenics Of yellow fever since
1855, and Zach Of them directly traces.ble
- ey&sions o. quarantine regulation,
strengthens TIE conviction that so,lo
2ottnt ssency h~5 l'sn employed to pro-
tsct u from ths dread scourse. We vill
eoaceds t. tie d0ctois that ouar.ntins
i~ilsd th protect this city from yellow
.evsr is 1910 and 1857. l9ut We looE in
vain Ia t.eif sddreas for an opinion
H}lstAsr ca ta.ess, or any othsr occasion
q visitstion, there 1sight hot have I~.n
i=.a=.uaity if SheFs had been strict viai-
1anes. II Quarantine hos 1ailed t. rro-
tect, % it the ls.ult OF the Bysteln, or
owing to i.apcllect adnini5trat The
Judgment Of the aub5cribing physicians is
not given on this subject, which is the
only point involved in the controversy.
In imperfect Quarantine might fail to pro-
tSct, while etriot vigilance would not fail
1t is obvious that after fever has been
brought here in Sufficient quantity to
faint the atmosphere, the functions of
quarantine are concluded for the season.
There would be no further use to keep
the gate after the enemy had passed in.
If, therefore, the physicians mean to say
that quarantine regulations have been so
loosely enforced on several occasions that
cases OF yellow fever have been imported
and the disease spread throughout the
city, there is no denying the correctness
of the statement but if they would imply |
that the quarantine has afforded 10 pro-
lection at all, they enter the debatable |
ground with fearful odds against them.
We believe the majority of the physi-
clans of this city hold with their brethren |
of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Balti-
more, and every other seaport that we
know anything about, to the eff |
cacy Of quarantine against yellow fever,
and the principle is applied in localities
where the disease is known to originate
Hence, it is held to be |
no argument against quarantine to prove
that yellow fever is sometimes sporadic
here. The foreign article is generally
much more severe aud malignant than
the native. The moral of the address to
the Board of Health is, that if quarantine
has failed, it should be made so rigid that
it Will give better satisfaction in the future.
--e
Judge Kelley has taken look into the
Treasury Department at Washington.
lie was anxious to know when Secretary
Bristow intends to buy currency again
Mr. Bristow appeared to be in some
ioubt as to the motive Of the querist
md naturally hesitated in his reply. At
my rate he made no haste to unbosom
himself to one who did not express him
self in the politest terms, and whose
manner lad the faintest suspicion of
If the inquirer had in view a
title scrap of information which might
prove valuable to ring interest in Phila-
ielphia, he should have gone in with the
Of a gentleman, and talked like
| business man. 1t is not said that Mr..
Kelley had large lot Of currency which
lie wanted to sell for gold, but he might