Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1878-12-08
Quarantine.


1t is evident that there is some mo
D tive, other than honest curiosity q
right from a medical standpoint, no
only prompting, but urging those un
der its operation to strenuous ant
0 persistent effort to employ the genera
= Government in sustaining erroneOu
opinion, and supporting expensive
inhumane, barbarous practices which
have been proven TO be utterly made
! quate to the attainment of the obj
for which. prOfessedly, they were de-
signed.
What the motive il, or may be, il
wholly hidden from the uninitisted
neither can they find by research. OIL
cOgItatiOn, any grounds in medical
observations, or governmental expert
mentation, from which to assume its
nature, other than the negative con.
| c'usiOn that it has no proper cOnnec-
ton with medical knowledge. 1t is
assumed TO be political, and for its at
tainment the profession of medicine
| must be prOstituted, and the opinions
| of medical men stultitied.
| The history of the persistent effort
| to involve the United States Govern
! ment in sustaining an erroneous and
etfete doctrine, and supporting an ex-
pensive and useless establishment,
under the guise of benevOleL ce and for
the preservation of life, is abundant
witness of o. motive, well understood
by few, but not conceived of by any
outside of the particular ring-1hat-
ever that is or by whom constituted.
A visitation OF cholera-aDidemic,
endemic or spOradic-extensive
enough to attract very much attention,
occurred in these States, soon after the
intestine war, and, but a short time
before, or during, a session f the
American Medical Association. The
cholera was seized upon as means
could be assailed, aud an attempt
made to have its weight diverted from
it's Legitimate purpose, and made TO
subserve the purposes of the politicians,
in bringing about quarantine enact
ment by the legislature of the United
States Government.
A metropolitan surgeon, pro lessor
in perhaps, the largest attended medical
school in America, a mediciner whose
surgical excellency hal forced the re
spect of American contemporaries,
and elected homage from monarchicsl
governments, manifested In hOnOrs
given him in the form of knighthO0d-
a man with prestage of success so
great in the city Of New York that he
was accustomed to deference-DOt OPP
p0sition-was the one who cha perOned
a series OfresolutiODs declaring cholera
TO be a contagious ailment, transpOrta- |
BILE by men aud fabrics, and always |
on lines or thOrOug hfaTes |
IF travel, and of commerce; and, to |
stay Its progress, prevent its march, re-
quired stringent quarantine. To pass |
such laws, the Medical Association
was desired to apply to the United
States Congress. But the assem bled
wise men of the American Medical
Association could not see it in the
.ame Iight-in the light held 6Y the
0rOpOSers of QuardntiRe-and dared
20 oppose the suggestion to use the acts
Of the Association for political pur-
poses. Fhe metropolitan, so much ac-
:ustomed to receive arQuieSceDce at his
,wn home, could not brook the show
If Independence from the country
doctors. and doctors of lesser note,
rom other cities than New York, ex-
all the feelings of chagrin
md disgust which agitated the one
Older of BOnapart at the defeat If
Waterloo, that in the New York doe
nrs' Utmost emotions there was in
ense appre citation of the force, and
wonderful adaptability, of the single
eOrd, ~hich VIGOT Hugo tells us was ut
cred by that French soldier But the
loctnT did not utter il. In its place he {
publicly declared the representatives of
he medical profession theIe assem- bled
o be T" a set of jackas- es. Perhaps be
vas right! They had their opinions,
ormed from personal observation,
rom com parisOn aud profound reason :
ng, aud they could no, nor would not, >,
q 81 10 "A aaEn 80
eceive obedience, say to the United j
states Government, quarantine laws {
ire necessary to the prevention of dis t
ase, and he-wel!-he said they were !
Ackasses. a.. 6
The politicians, however, were not {
ismayed. They had the sub
ect before the people. Those
Vho were Satisfied that con-
agiOn, except to q very
united extent, was Dot a tensble doe
rine, and that guarantees and cor
ons were useless; had no motive for !
rgauizatiOn in opposition TO pOliti-
ians whose motives they could not
ivine. The politicians. however, had
motive-in itselt powerful enough to =
eep them on the watch for an OppoT- a
unity to make effective effort. q
This was again pres ented, after
DuuS years. III INC OccuEI SHCey At OlIISE- "
ut points, particularly in the South, .
nd during the period of the year, I
hen II was to beexpected seasonably,
I'D climacteric, of CHOLERA.
An officer in authority, at the ex-
ense of the United States Govern
rent, first had prepared a series of
laps consisting of cOnspicqOusly Z
laced delipeatiOn of connectionship .
etween points at which cholera bad = !!
risted. Because a line could be !,
rswn on paper between such points Z
necessarily folio owed that the cholera =
assed from one point to another. =
eriiy, Mark Twain's character Tea- =
med well, in asserting that psrticu- ="
r piece of writing had certainly been
one, for be had seen the table on
hich il was done. These rnaps, with '
le linear delineations, were made at
le expense of the United States Gov
nment A medical officer of the
Gkakaa Gnvarnna0nf de- a