The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-07
NJ. crisn,s ouerantine BIZ.


The bill which Representative Crisp Of
| Georgia reported from the committee on
commerce on Thursday, providing for n
more efficient quarantine service, and max
ing an appropriation to accomplish that
object, is entitled to very careful consldera-
/ ton. The full text Of the bill was not given
| 10 our dispatches, and it is impossible, there
/ fore. to say whether or not it is all that is
/ needed to accomplish tho purpose for which
/ it is intended. 1t is certain, however, that
! to give the country reasonably fair protrc
! ton against cont agious and Infectious DIS
eases much more efficient quarantine ser
/ vice is needed than the country has at
present.
Some of the states have a very good quar-
antine service, and they make liberal ap-
preparations to support it. Others, how
ever, nave no service whatever that is wor-
thy of the rame. But if each Of the states
had quarantine service with which little
fault could be found, the country would
still be without ample quarantine protec-
ton.
The only kind of quarantine that will
inspire confidence, is one that is uniform,
and based upon experience, observation,
and science and that kind of a quar-
antine the general government alone can
furnish. 1t is impossible to get the
states to act harmonously. Some adopt
| one measure Of protection and
others another. One state. or one section Of
a state, is very earnest in inforcing quaran-
tine and sanitary regulations, while another
state, or section of a state, is wholly indif-
ferent with regard to the matter, The CON
sequence is that when an epidemic is threat
eue1 there is no confidence in anybody any
where and panic follows
The great objection to permitting the
general government TO exercise absolute
control in all quarantine matters is that the
states would bc forced TO yield Soma Of their
sovereignty hut would 1T rot he wiser to
ccde to the general government authority to
protect the country against the introduction
OF epidemic diseases than to run the risk Of
having uncomfortable epidemicS in some
part Of the country every few years.
OF course the general government could
not prevent, absolutely, the Introduction Of
contagious and infectious diseases into tbs
country, but it could and would come
nearer doing it than it is possible TO do it
under the present system; and, besides, if
the government had absolute control Of the
quarantine service, there would be much
less of the shotgun quarantine which OBJ
struct, travel and commerce.
The national board OF health was abol-
ished, not because it could not have been
made a useful institution, but because it
undertook to grasp too much power Some
Of those who had control of it seemed to
think their mission was to make the board
a great branch of the govornme ut, rather
than to protect the public against epidemic
diseases
BY wise legislation it is probable that
the marine hospital service could b, clothed
with just the power needed to afford the
country an efficient quarantine services. At
present it has power to do very. little, an
wheuan epidemic breaks .out it takes no
action except at the request of the authori-
ties of the state in which the epidemic is.
The present system of quarantine, m1de
mp as it is of city and state board, and the
marine hospital service, is insufficient and
wholly unsatisfactory. IL congress would
provide uniform system of quarantine
system free from politics and based upon
the best known principles for the control of
epidemic diseaseS--it would be entitled to
the gratitude of the country