American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-03-15
The yellow Fever E4i.l.

| The yellow Fever E4i.l.
Mobile RessteEl
There is a good deal of injustice
much coarseness, and a spirit o
malevolence against the South, il
the article of the Chicago Tribune IN
regards the attitude of our Southern
members of Congress towards the
Yellow Fever question. There may
have been grave defects in the bill
which passed the Senate and the
members from the South may have
done right to defeat the measure
But still it cannot be denied that
protection of some kind might have
been given us, aud that to a certain
extent the structures of the Tribune
are not undeserved. The Tribune,
speaking of the succcr rendered by
the Northern people to our stricken
communities last summer says that
the North did not then regard the
appeals coming from "citizens of
the ssOvereignties' of Louisiana, or
Mississippi, but as Americans, and
their contributions took the form of
national brneficence. They did
not ask to what city or what State
they belonged. 1t was enough for
them to know that they were Ameri
cans and were suffering and dying,
and the whole North, from Maine
to the Pacific Slope, without regard
to State lines, rose to the work OF
rescue, and despatched their CON-
tributions all over the South indis>
criminaIely. No one stopped to
cOnsil whether this was u State
matter. 1t was accepted as a
national calamity. The whole peo-
pie moved to the;.rescue, and not a
word of complaint was made when
the General Government also rein>
forced the people in the great work
of humanity.
sit is almost incredible that in
the whole Confederate delegation
there was but one Representative,
the Hon. Casey Young, of Memphis,
who had the manIiness to stand up
aud endorse the proposed national
quarantine action of the government
III interpreting it's powerful arm to
exclude the introduction of this
dreadful pestilence, which already
threatens to break out in the Sontll
with renewed violence when warm
weather sets in. In this connection,
however, it must be remembered
that the Hon. Casey Young was one
of the few Southern RepI esentatives
who had the courage to stand by
biz post in Memphis aud fight tl1e
disease"
The Tribune is savage and unjust
in the following language, but still
it's words ale suggestive and it will
do good to repeat them:
'.NOw once more they invite the
pestilence, in the name of State
sovereignty, to enter their ports OF
rise out of their graveyards and de-
homes. And they have done it
knowing that, with their shhtfess
and inefficient police, health, and
regulations, they cannot
efface tho uncleahliness OF their
cities, cannot dispel the miasmAe Of
their swamps, bayous, ditsA
cannot grapple BE
cannot prevent intro4nc-
tion, cannot provide for the suekr~
ing, cannot feed and hOuae {AP
hOuseiesS.'
The truth is that with our sparse
and large territory the
South cannot protect berSclf by
local agencies. We have 10 pro-
lection except from = nxttOnal
The fever issnow rag
ing at Rio and in the West Indies,
and the XLVth Congress has done
to shield US tor the coming
What will the XVIII
Congress dof Nothing, unless tire
Southern people bring the matter
prominently to their attention, AMI
act at once. Let our commercial
bodies present their petitions to Con-
gress at the earliest day.