The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-02
Government Quarantine.

! The sentiment in favor OF placing al
| quarantine matters under the control OF the
national government is steadily growing
stronger. The only known way to prevent
| an Infectious or contagious disease, IKE the
yellow fever, cholera or smallpox, when ii
makes it, appearance in any place, from
spreading to other places, is to establish q
I strict quarantine against the place III when
I it is located. If all infected persons and
articles could be kept out of healthy places,
| there is lot much reason for douoting That
/ these places could be kept healthy. The
| great difficulty is to maintain quarantine
that is absolutely prohibitory.
Railroads and steamboats, cross state
and county lines, and it is ABOUT impossi-
bic to get the authorities OF the different
states, or of the counties and towns in the
Same state, to act in harmony, or 20 adopt
similar quarantine regulations. When a
contagious disease makes It's appearance i'll
a town, and the indications are that it viii
become epidemic, there is a panic at once,
and restrictive measures are adopted by the
towns within the danger line. These
measures in many instances are
crude, and do not accomplish the
object for which they ara in
tended They do, however, greatly
obstruct travel and trade, and oftener than
otherwise they do this unnecessarily. Their
inefficency and cumbersomeness are largely
due to the haste in which they are put in
force, and to the fear which demands prompt
means for protection.
Very often one town will quarantine
against an infected place, and another close
to it, but equally exposed to danger, will not
but will still demand free communication
with the town which has taken measures
for its own protection. The purpose of the
town which established quarantine is in this
way, to great extent, defeated.
1t would not be difficult to point out a
good many other objections to the present
system of inland quarantine-if, in fact,
the measures taken by different towns and
states to guard themselves against an in
fected place can be called a system.
Several years ago there was a national
board of health. 1t was intended by those
who framed the law which called it into
existence that it should have control of
quarantine matters. and should have ample
authority to take such steps as
might be deemed necessary to check
epldemics and prevent the spread of infec-
tious and contagious diseases. 1t did not
meet with favor for two reasons-one was
that the authority given it was thought to
be too centralizng i'll its character, and the
other was that the members of the board
sought to enlarge their powers instead of
popularizing their Institution. If they had
been practical men, and been satisfied with
the authority they had until they had
proved they could use larger powers to the
advantage of the country, their board
might now be in existence and in position
to render excellent service.
The marine hospital service is now clothed
with partial powers to handle epidemics,
but it is painfully evident that its author
ity is altogether too restricted. and the
means at its command far too small 1t
can virtually do nothing without the con-
sent of the governors of the states affected
by an epidemic, and while this consent is
generally given. valuable time is lost in
waiting for it,
Senator Harris, on Friday, introduced a
bill giving the Secretary of the Treasury
authority to make regulations for prevent
ing the spread of infectious and contagious
diseases from one state to another. We
have not seen the full text of the bill, but
from synopsis it appears to
be only halfway measure.
1t ought to be taken in hand By
practical men who have had experience in
dealing with yellow fever and cholera
epidemics, and shaped so as to give the gov
eminent authority to take charge Of a town
as soon as an infectious or contagious disease
makes its appearance in it, and to do every
thing needed TO be done to check the disease
and prevent it from spreading to other
places. The quarantine established should
be an intelligent one-one that would afford
an outlet to refugees, obstruct trade and
travel as little as possible, and
at the same time, afford ample
protection to places liable to bt
infected If the marine hospital service is
the branch of the public service chosen tC
execute the will of the government, il
should be we'll SUI opliei with competent and
trained men, ready to act on moment,
notice, who would go TO the point of danger
knowing exactly what to do and how to dc
| it, Epidemics and quarantine natter
| should be made study, so that when til,
time for action came there would be no hes
itation and no vacillatioa. Epidemics oil
contagious and infectious diseases are llabl
to occur in this country at any time, anC
some of them are certain to cause grea
losses of life and property, but tie losse
will be far less if the epidemicS are takel
hold of in time and handled Intelligent,
and skillfully. Let Senator Harris bill b
made broad enough and sufficiently liber
ably to accomplish the object it aims at.
| One Thing Council Should Do.
| Nobody doubts that Savannah will con
tinue to grow steadily in wealth aud popu
lation. Her growth within the last four o
| five wears is as Surprising as il is gratifying