Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-11-07
HOLDING SHIPS AT QUARANTINE.
Britannia, Detained Under the Twenty-Day
Order, Quickly Released.


The first vessel to suffer in consequence of
the order Issued FRIDAY by Mr.. Spaulding,
acting secretary of the treasury. that the letter
OF the fresident's twenty-day quarantine proc
lamation must be carried ont. was the White
Star steamship Britannia. She reached port
Saturday, and although the health officer found
her rsssengers and crew all well the United
States boarding officer detained her at quaran-
tine. The britannia brought Jos cabin passen-
gers. She had no second-class or steerage
passengers
When the boarding Officer informed captain
ana passengers on board the Britannia of the
orders issued on Friday. which would entail
upon them twenty days stop at Quarantine,
there arose great cry of indignation. and the
government officials we're ronndlv denounced
As soon as the agents OF the White star Com
pany realized that their vessel was actually tied
up AT quarantine, with prospect Of remaining
twenty days, they put themselves in communica-
ton with the officials Of the Treasury Depart
ment. with the result that in the afternoon they
received word that the Britannia would be al
lowed to enter and land her passengers
She left quarantine for her dock mt 8 O'Clock
and The custom house was kept open until 4
O'Clock to allow her captain to enter the vessel.
VI her passengers sixty-four were aliens and
forty-one citizens.
So much talk has been made about the twenty
day quarantine order aud many have in
sisted that 1t referred to steeraRe passengers
only that Collector Hendricks. who has per-
mitted the landing of the passengers Of the
two steamers because they were cabin pas
sengers, telegraphed to Washington to have
that point made clear. He received the follow
ing letter from Acting Secretary of the
Treasury o. L. Spaulding:
The department is in receipt of your tele-
gram of the LIST instant in which you explain
the reasons which actuated you in permitting
the steamer Stuttgart to enter and land passen-
gers at your port. The department instruc-
tons to you on October n in regard to the ar
rival OF the steamer Snaie at your port were to
the following effect
The Presidents proclamation contains no
reference to steerage passengers. 1t contains
provision regarding the arrival of immigrants
and relates TO that class of persons who arrive
in this country for the purpose of establishing
permanent residence here
The agents OF the various steamship lines are
much exercised over the turn of affairs. Gus
tav Schwab OF the North German LLOYD line
said that he presumed the steamship people
would have to obey the orders of tho govern
Inent "We are going to have a worlds fair
here pretty soon. said be, land invitations
have been extended to foreigners to visit us,
but il seems peculiar, to say the least to ask
them here and then detain them twenty DAYS at
quarantine. have just returned from Europe
and was astonished at the extensive prepara-
tons | saw being made BY the people there to
visit the fair. But the news that they will be
quarantined for twenty days will pnt a stop to
great number OF persons coming here"
Maitland kersey of the White Star line said:
II think il n great injustice to rs to detain our
ship in quarantine under the circumstances
This line has always complied with the orders
of the Treasury Department Notwithstanding
this our Britannia. which was not n cholera
ship during the epidemic and arrives here now
with no steerage passengers and clean bill Of
health, is detained nine hours in quarantine
before We can get her released. Besides being
a great expense 20 us it is an equally serious
matter to the passengers, who will now have to
wait until Monday before they can get their
baggage, to say nothing of their missing train
connections and having to stand the expense of
delay which was entirely unnecessary. Sew
enty-five per cent Of the Canadians who go
abroad make New York their port of departure
and return. but il they are to be quarantined
twenty days they will certainly give New York
a wide BERTH
A. Forget, agent for the French line, said
that the detention of any of the vessels of his
line entailed loss to the company of $4,000 n
day. II the quarantine rule was to be enforced
it would be policy and profitable for the steam
ships to give up carrying steerage passengers
and utilize the space thus occupied for freight,
which at the present rates would pay far better"