The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-01-20
OBSTRUCTIVE QUARANTINE.


IL Seems TO be generally conceded that the
mort effective quarantine wa have In this
,oantry IL that OF New York. II IL more
effective than the shotgun plan OF Nntehez.
or tho total isolation policy 81 Mobile Gal
weston and Montgomery. There were several
hundreds of cases IN Mobile IN 1873. notwth-
standing the most implacahie system OF nom
intercourse mostbrutaly executed; and ills
matter Of fact moro THAN amply demon
strated that the yellow fever utterly disdainH
any barriers that stupid fear and barbarous
srlHshneas can erect. The New York quar-
antlne. however, ID n scientific and m lntelll-
gent affair 1t aims Mt the prevention OF In
f.ctioua diaense without tho destruction or
even tho serious Interruption OF those prin-
ciplcs Of civilized intercourse expressed In
travel nsd commcrce. We have seen. during
two successive years OF great prevalence OF
vellow fever, New York assaulted by innumer-
able inroadA OF Infection. More caseE Of vel
row fever and OF ships known to be dlseased
we're brought 10 New York last summer than
Won III have been needed To originate two
hundred epidemIcs according to tho noisy
declaration OF tho importationiste and the
yortible truth that, notwithstanding this
constant danger. tho epidemic dld not
appear IN Now York, and ut the
Same time, tho commerce OF that great port
was not dlsorganized. This significant com
bnation has convinced tho country that tho
health policy Of New York, In addition to be-
Ing the most successful In oil practical re-
specte, Ia also the safest and most sensible.
IL is policy which clearly does not depend
upon accidents for It's fruits. and which does
not refer its philosophy to an Irrelevant CO.
incidence. Hence IL 10 that Intelligent people
everywhere regard the New York quarantine
ma the only ono In the country with the small
eat pretensons to scientific consistency. and
look upon Dir. vanderpoel as the iirBt OF our
sRnitarians.
1t seems that tho president Of tho Now
York Board OF Quarantine Commissioners,
Gen. james McQuade. has recently called
upon DR.. Vanderpoel for m opinion as 70
some or the various methods Of dlsinfection
for ships now being advocated by different
thcorsts and spectators. To this letter Dr.
yandorpoel replies Mt some length. his com
munication being published In tho New York
Herald of tho sixteenth instant. We take It
for granted that his views will possess n
lively Interest for readers In this SEQ
ton. where the curse OF barbario meth
ods In quarantine has been most keenly
felt and Is most bitterly resented. We
therefore reproduce the interesting paper In
full, and ask for 1t not only the perusai OF our
readers IN general but the especial and
prayerrul consideration Of our statesmen,
medical and otherwise. 1t will DO seen that,
first or NIL, DR.. Vanderpoel dismisges as being
unworthy OF notice In an enlightened age oil
propositions which do not recognize tho de-
mands or commerce, or which even contem-
plate an apprccable obstruction or embar-
rassment of trade TO his honor. not merely
IA d man but as a physician and a scientist, he
gives no fraction OF his time or care to any OF
tho barbaroua and brutal hypothesis which
exclude tho dictates OF humanity and ignore
the claims of civilization. His problem Is the
practical arrest Of Infectious disease without
dIsregart!ing the rights of mankind or the
necessities OF commerce, and 1t Ia from this
lofty standpoint that oil his inquiries are
prosecuted and oil his opinions declared.
We commend his letter as common
sense and convincing dismissal OF all
tho nonsense OF refrigeration and steam
ing, together with tho equally absurd
but far more pernicious nonsense relative
to tho mysterious and deadly attributes
OF germs. He shows very unanswerably why
refrigeration must always fall to affect the
only point which 1t Is expected and desired to
affect, but, more clearly than anything else,
and with dazzling lucidity that should make
a large class OF scientists permanently hide
their heads, does he show that the reason tho
average quarantine official cannot find the
seat of the disease is because OF his own hope
less imbccilty. We do trust that our law
makers will give to this subject profound
and solemn consideration, and that they will
enact such laws as will efrectually protect the
people against that most grinding OF oil aflilc-
tions-the atlctlon OF stupid and arbitrary
health policy.