The Portland daily press., 1892-12-05
WILL HAVE A FREE BATH,
While Their Clothing Is Boiled In a
Great Steam Chest.
yANCOUVER'S IMMIGRANTS TO BE
WARMLY WELCOMED.

A Description of the City's Plant for
Executing NIicrobes-It Will Be Used
Today Queer Appliances for Disin-
fecting Purposes = The Station Well
Equipped and Adapted for Its Purpose.
This morning, at about 7 o'clock, when
the steamer Vancouver arrives here, she
will not stop for the health officers to
board her. She has go steerage passen-
gers and hence it will be necessary for
them to undergo the process of disinfec-
ton at the new station built by the city
for that purpose on House Island. The
steamer will proceed at once to the new
wharf built there to accommodate vessels
of her size. Dolphin piles have been
driven above and below the wharf and
these will be used for making the steam
er fast on the land side. On the other
side several mushroom anchors, so
called, have been sunk, and will also
serve as moorings. Notwithstanding re-
ports to the contrary, the steamer officials
do not object to making a landing at
House Island. There is plenty of water,
no dangerous rocks in the way and the
facilities for putting passengers ashore
are perfectly satisfactory to all concerned.
Yesterday, DIR. Meserve and DR.. Mer-
rill, of the Board of Health, paid several
visits to House Island, to see that all the
arrangements for disinfection were COM
plete. They found everything satisfac-
tory, in the main, but there were so many
matters which needed their personal SUI
pervision that they were obliged to re-
main until late hour last night. They
| will also have to spend all their time
there today. DIR. Meserve, the indefatiga-
| BILE chairman of the board, has had
charge of the work which has been done
at the island, and the admirable arrange
ments are largelyIdue to his efficient over
sight, although the other members OF
the board have constantly worked with
him and have devoted great amount of
time to task which has proved pretty
| extensive.
| Brief descriptions of the process of
disinfecting the clothing and baggage of
| immigrants have been printed at differ
emit times, but today will be the begin
ming of this operation in Portland harbor.
First, let us suppose the steamer moored
at the House Island wharf. At once the
| immigrants, go in number, will be march
ed ashore, carrying with them all their
portable baggage They will proceed to
a building near the top of the hill which
has been prepared for their reception.
This is house owned by the govern
ment and now loaned to the city. TWAS
designed for offices for the Fort Scam
nell garrison. 1t contains ample room
| for the accommodation of 300 immigrants
if necessary. It was found in dilapi-
dated state, but has now been put into
good repair, at the expense of the city.
Stoves have been put in, so that the inn
migrants will have comfortable place
to await their turns for disinfection. Near
/ by is another good sized building, lately
used as storehouse by the government.
| This has also been repaired and will. fur
nish further accommodations as a wait
ing house, if the other building is over
crowded at any time.
Now that we have all the steerage
people comfortably housed, we
are ready to follow them through
the ordeal to which they must
resign themselves, before they will be
allowed to depart for the city. The doc
tors in charge will conduct squad of
thirty, if necessary, but usually small
er number, to the new building, erected
by the city this fall, and which contains
all the machinery for disinfection. This
is good sized structure, about 36x70
feet, with boiler house and outbuilding
additional. In one end of this long
building are the various pieces of steam
apparatus. In the other, occupying per-
haps two-thirds of the building, is a
series of bath rooms, arranged side by
| side and presenting the same appearance
| as bathing house at the seaside. These
| rooms are fitted with good sized bath
tubs, supplied with hot and cold water.
Two immigrants will be put into each
| bath room. They will be required to
| divest themselves of every article of
clothing which they have on. Every
| piece of wearing apparel, no matter how
small, will be placed in a tray made of
galvanized iron and passed outside
through small door made for the pur
pose. The immigrant takes a thorough
bath and then wraps himself up in big
blanket, to wait for the feturn of his
clothing. Let us watch
The Cleansing Process
I which it has to undergo.
The trays of clothing from the differ
ent bath rooms are numbered. and then
conveyed to the big steam retort, which
is ample enough to receive six or eight
trays. 1t is shaped like bass drum, but
it is large enough for man of medium
| bei0ht TO walk into with out STOPPING 1T