Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-12-15

dents quarantine circular, Issued during |
Inc cholera scare last summer. and III an |
.cipatjon of the Chandler exclusion bill. IL |
is deuiad, however, by the agents OF the
steamship companies who are watching the !
course of contemplated legislation, that re |
taliation Is IN their minds
They claim to be doing simply what Is 3b- |
solutely necessary in order to pay the run
ming expenses of the steamships Neither
Senator Chandler nor Representative
Stun,p, chairmen respectively of the Sen
ATE T. nj House committees ON immigration,
could be found this evening. but 1t is GER
tain that they are still in favor of the ex-
elusion bill no matter what action the
steamship companies may take in the direc-
ton of raising rates.
Secretary of the Treasury Foster was
somewhat surprised when Informed of ihe
action of the steamship companies. IL
said that it was the first information on t ~
subject he had received, and he was %.
prepared to say whether it was intended to
induce the government Ia modify the e2 ST.
ing immigrant regulations. He did 10Y
blame the steamship companies for lookE {.
out for their own interest bat il was d $
duty TO take care of the interests OF the
American people. One ease of cholera on
board of one of the MISUNDERSTANDING
ships would seriously interfere with the
transportation of passengers to the Worlds
Fair.
The secretary has no disposition to criti
else the action of the Atlantic Association
as they know their own business best. The
people of this country have thus far sus-
tanned the action of the President and the
treasury officials in dealing with the immi-
grafton question, and now the matter before
Congress. From consultation with various
members of Congress on this subject there
appears TO he. MIR. Foster says, strong
sentiment in favor of restricting immigra-
ton for year. 1t it gate probable that
legislative action will he taken during the
present session.
DIR. J. G. .. CLAWS, the counsel il
Washington of the Steamboat Association.
explained fully the considerations that H.
duced the steamboat companies 10 make the
new orders, and also spoke of the effect
upon immigration of the provisions of the
contemplated Chandler exclusion law. DIR.
CLAWS said
"While have not been personally IL
formed of the action of the Atlantic AssO-
citation Conference. have no doubt of its
truth The present regulations prohibit the
bringing of immigrants in the steerage, but
permit these people to come in the CABIN
IF the Chandler bill, prohibiting all immi-
grafton for one year. should be passed, ard
to Judge from the surface of things tbs
seems to be almost probable, unless othss.
and, may say, with due respect to the sea-
ator better council prevails, these steam
ship companies would be limited solely to
saloon travel, on which they could not ex-
list.
Perhaps it might be said that the associa-
had better await the action of Congress be-
fore taking this step, which must necessarily
and to a large extent endanger the Worlds
Fair and rob it of its international charac-
ter, but this objection is not well founded.
Thousands of tickets have been sold al
ready by the different lines for next year,
and if other traffic is TO be cut off, it stands
TO reason that the lines have now to provide
against losses. To give you an idea of the
number of tickets sold, | may say that
when, only lately. one of those large ocean
racers was kept "A day by the custom
authorities in New York TO await permits
sion from Washington to enter, it reused
such fright among the Europeans that :;
thousand passage tickets, am Informed Il
were cancelled in day for fear of a repeti-
ton of this or a 20 days quarantine i'll
American waters next year. However this
may be.
| hope still that the wisdom of Congress
will devise means, in rational way. to
keep out the cholera from this country,
without suspending all immigration, and |
think it could be done by adopting the sug-
sestiou they made year ago. 1t is evident
81. INN Inrp mt
and who a visitor is one of such perplexing
nicely that it would almost puzzle the wis
dom of Solomon TO decide, but could hardly
be expected to be solved by an 'mmigran
inspector. The steamship lines are rs
DESTROYS of keeping cholera out of IT,:
country as any class of people can BIS
Their whole business depends upon this,
aside from the expense vessel is put TO
when held in quarantine. To keep cholera
out they have spared neither trouble nor
expense.
At the first sign of cholera the steamers
were regularly disnfected, and so was the
baggage of the immigrants and this is done
to this day The steamship companies went
even further, in order not only to keep out
sickness. hut also undesirable immigrants
by s1ggesting that the law now in force. as
ssning to each immigrant 100 cubic fee
of space, be altered so as to give theia
double the space--in other words by redu
ing the carving capacity of a vessel by one
half. This wonld of itself secure a better
class of immigrants by necessarily doubling
the rates. and would prevent the coming in
of undesirable classes more surely than a
most any law that could be enacted, unless
i, is really intended to keep out mmigra-
ton of every kind and not alone the chol
era.
That cholera can be kept ont by absolute
cleanliness is proved by the fact that while
this scourge ragged in Hamburg during this
summer, and appears now here and there,
the city of Bremen, only few hours dis
lance from Hamburg, never had single
case of cholera: neither appeared any sign
of it on any of the vessels leaving Bremen
haven, nor Liverpool even, although there
were some sporadic cases In England
The Senate committee on immigration,
although 1t took no formal action, will re-
port the Chandler total exclusion bill IA
vorably, and poll of the committee shows
that every man who is member of it will
favor such action. The grounds upon
which this extreme action will be taken is
the necessity of preventing any spread of
cholera next year, ana tnp beiieI that the
success of the Worlds Fair depends upon
the rigid exclusive legislation.
tine of the Hemlcrs of the committee |
was ASKED; Surprising the Europeans
should come to this country rs visitors to
the Worlds Fair and decide TO stay here, !
would they not be clessel AZ immigrants, !
and would they rot be excluded under the |
Chandler bill? He replied that there would |
lie no objection 10 the location as residents /
of this country of persons who come here |
~ tourists and Werils Fair sisitors. The |
main object the committee was seeking was
10 prevent the wholesale dumping af En- |!
ropeans ON this conutrg as steersee pas
sengers-
People who can afIorI 70 come as first or
sef'ond cabin pass myers arr. i!r'-e no VIII 1
make desirable immigrants, aud the aBtho-i- !
ties will be better able to ;lrevent the inaro-
luc,ion of cholera if there arr no >.,tvrage 4
passengers to- land. This il the theory Of
the committee, anil also that most fseH 4
quarantine or an exclusive law Is absolute " |
necessary for the health ot the ret.te If
tftis poufttry for the M xt wear.