The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-12-12
nI.u,oid lspatfh
auarantine.

Wc look forward with curious interest '
upon the question Oh quarantine before lot.
I ssnrr,ess. YeIlow-fever is as old. we. sup
! ,,ose, as the bills. The memory OF man az
s, IA. rocs NOS beyond the period OF its ex- s
istence. And yet nothing is known about s'
sts cause, aad nothing as to how to prevent
sts existence. The recent visitation OF the
disease ii, its most terrible form has ;Srat t
rally started inquiry and Investigator
afresh, aud the petition for national gus
rantine is pressed With very great ea wi
ness.
The discussion OF yellow-fever is, OF
course, as, old as the fever, and jet the nledi-
cal men have no certain information ABOUT
the cause OF it, nor any as 70 the way to pre-
vent its origin, and none as 70 the way 9.
preventing The spread OF 1t, beyond tnat Oh
s nol;c;uc and cleansing localities In danger,
and isolating The diseaseaFhen developed. II
Yet there will be great amount OF facts
ana opinions brought to bear upon the sub
iecs, and Congress will find itself with a
sort Of elephant on hand before it gets Tar
into. the merits Of the case.
Y Ali know one thing. and that lssthat yer
sow-seyer is o tropical disease. HOW "
originates is not known; but all may be
toyerably sure Of safety from it by staying
away from tropical countries orthose which
lie contiguous to them. Indeed, our med1-
cal friends say that there is danger OF a
"nidus /" being about that may become the
resting-place OF the seeds OF the terrlnie
disease. This "nidus" may be called nest.
This nest is as mysterious as that OF inc
s,aIcyon bird whose propitious influence
was so valued in times long goae. tne
senidusn NAV be at the door and no man be
the wiser; and the disease may steal IN
through the key-hole or over the garden
fence, or treacherously Turk about Inc SUM
mer.house, or asleep in the cactus bloom,
surrounded by bristling thorns that would
keep off anything but yeilow-fever. When
it takes hold, OF course there is more or less
confusion, and there is trouble as to what IS
to be done about it.
The question will bother the congress-
men as It does the doctors, and they VIII
discuss it long time before they can de-
eide what should be done; and If they do
decide, the chances are that their decision
will be wrong.
We cannot we'll see how Congress can at
tempt national quarantine. Such an I'M
mcnse portion of the country has never had
case OF yelow-fever-and never may-that
that the majority OF the national represen-
tatives will not only have no local interest
il,, IT,,
t3e matter.
We shall thus see the Congress, should 1t
undertake national quarantine, cndeaVor-
ing to legiSlate for disease OF which they
know nothing, and providing laws ana
regulations to apply to country they DO
not represent and are incompetent from
their want OF experience 20 legislate for. p.
Take Richmond for example. There is
no knowledge Of case Of yellow-iever
originating in Richmond or communicated
in Richmond by a yellow-feyer patient to
anybody in this city. And yet in a map OF
the yelIow.iever zone exhibited in the Con-
vcntion OF the health society in this city
in November Richmond was included In
the yellow-feyer zone! We have no rea-
son to suppose that il Congress acts under
the information spread before them they
will eliminate Richmond from the saffron
colored districts.
That every local precaution Of cleanliness
and publication should be taken in summer
in all cities is clearly proper and wise, and
that States and cities should protect them
selves from danger by police and quarantine
when needed is equally clear. They know
their conditions and their danger better than
Congress can, and if the whole matter be
left to them there is every probability that
the best that is possible will be done.
. But should Congress undertake to act for
them, there will be a plentiful crop Of folly,
and wrong will be inflicted upon the coun-
try, while there will be an expenditure OF
money in paying supernumerary officers
appointed under the bill that Will surprise
the nation.
We do not believe that Congress will un-
.dcrtake a quarantine, and if it does it Will
do vastly more harm than good. Ihey
would better drop it than waste time and
money upon it.