The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-09-18
THE QUARANTINE A PANIC.

our greatest Danger, Ine Doat itoui
New Orleans, we were made misera-
Die by learning that your correspon-
dent from Grant twas DESTROYS OF
cotton" and wanted to sell
when be could get something for it,"
and "believed that our people will
wish that your correspondent b.
who appears to have been mainly in
in getting up this panic,
had found safe hole and crawled
into it far from yellow fever alarms"
We are alarmed lest our people when
they learn what Mr.. Smith believes,
will conclude that we have persuad-
ed them to go crazy, and having re-
turned to their senses will go into
mourning because they have not yell
low fever, and Mr.. Smith has not
been able to. sell his cotton. Indeed,
after reading what he believed; we
have been so filled with anxiety that
we have examined Webster's die
tionary to see what damage we have
done, and find that this panic we
have gotten up is a sudden fright
without a cause. We wonder how
we could have been so crazy as to
have represented that yellow fever
was any cause for alarm, especially
when we remember that people have
heretofore thought it was better fol
steamboats, to run and give them vel
low fever than that Mr.. Jones and
Mr.. Smith and Mr.. Brown should
not sell their cotton, and have conse
quently had yellow fever whenever il
was necessary to have it. But afte1
all there is some excuse for the blum
der we have made. We had me-
somewhere with the death roll of the
fever in 1858; the story of its fri. ht
full ravages in Shreveport and Mem
phis in 1873, and every week reat
the horrible kilograms from Grenada
Vicksburg, Port Gibson and Mem
phis. 1t may be that it was a weak
ness, but we confess that it made ou
heart ache when we thought tina
their fate might be ours, and it may
have been an error to tell them tina
all the pork and bagging the Bonnie
Lee could bring, or all the cotton
that Mr.. Smith and Mr.. Jones ant
Mr.. Brown could sell, would not pa,
them for the millionth part Of tn
suffering and sorrow and precious
life they must put up in this game o
hazard. But as if the weakness o
our heart was not sufficient, shar
of presidents was set to mislead US
There are a thousand and one quar-
antines which 100000 Of peopl
have made for their protection, AM
worse than this, there is Vicksburg
Memphis, Port Gibson and Grenad
regretting that they had not estat
lished guarantees as absolute a
those of Mobile, Galveston, Natches
Natchitoches and Shreveport. Bu
after hearing the belief Of Mr.. Smit
we can't imagine how we could hav
been so misled by the yellow feve
statistics of 1853 and 1873, and til
panic which caused 100000 of pee
pie TO quarantine, as to imagine tina
yellow fever was danger not to b
risked, or anything like such a CO
family as to be without a steamboa
and unable to sell cotton. But Nj
Smiths belief has convinced US tha
statistics, nor number of precedent'
nor the sanction of 5,O00,O90 peopl
is any evidence that our conclusion
are not insane. Indeed, how is on
to tell when he is sane? There al
numerous instances in which th
poor lunatic imagines the rest Of th
world deranged, and makes himse
merry with jest and sarcasms owe
what he conceives to be the veal
nesses of others, and warns them {
their follies with self complacenc
that is insanely sublime. But it
our constant misfortune to be mil
led by what we conceive to be til
mlsfortunes, or threatened mlsfO
tunes, of Others. Not long since "
were in funeral procession minl
ling our sympathies with its solem
grief, and as we were in unison wit
that large procession of mourners "
thought we were in our senses an
discharging sensible duty, when
boy at our side broke out in the viii,
est whistle of the widest song "
had heard for many a day. We al
satisfied that that boy believed th'
there was somebody in that proce
sion who was getting up panic, al
from the standpoint from which |
looked at the funeral, he may ha,