Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-04
A WEAK POLICY ON TRIAL.

A couple more plague ships from Ham,
burg put in at the port of New York YES
terday to test the theory of President Har-
rison's administration that simple quaran-
tine of infected vessels and passengers
will answer to save the American public
from the scourge of cholera. Upon these
plague ships there were nine deaths during
the voyage. They bring with them, among
passengers and baggage, doubtless, enough
cholera germs variously slowed away In
places which disinfection may or may not
reach to do incalculable mischief unless
the utmost vigilance is shown, first in
treatment of the passengers and cargo at
the port, and afterwards in observing de-
velopments on shore.
There are great many other vessels,
also, heading for New York and other
ports bringing immigrants from infected
districts. If the Normannia, the Rugia
and the Moravia-the ships now in-were
all, the task of disinfecting, tracing sus-
poets upon shore and isolating in case
of an outbreak of the disease
would be serious enough. But this
is only the first chapter. The ad-
ministration at Washington proTides
for a serial which may well be dreaded by
refusing to take the course, whicn common
sense demanded. of prohibiting immigra-
ton at once, PRESIDENT Harrison (by ad-
Teeeof Secretary of the Treasury Foster,
whose course from the start of this bus!-
ness has been utterly without apprehen-
sion of the need for prompt and decisive
action) substitutes for stoppage of immi-
grafton a quarantine of 20 days. This
does not even apply to plague ships now
atioat-which are left to be specially dealt
. with according to local circumstances. 1t
Is not to take effect at all where it runs
counter to State laws and to the judgment
of State officials; and it can hardly, by
any stretch OF the Imagination, be kept up
efficiently through a possible winters
campaign along the whole sea coast and
the inland frontier.
The only ground for hope from the
quarantine is that it will make the immi-
grant business Improbable to the steam
ship agencies. There 5re some signs that
it will operate in this way. 1t is due to
say that several of the lines express their
determination to quit until the plague
abateS or disappears in Europe. But so
CFAAOAo d uldlbCA SuOuAu hCNC1 bC 4SAe w
the decision of a lot of corporations whose
greed has already led them to send vessels
over here with false bills of health from
infected ports. That they will take as
much risk in reSuming the steerage busi-
ness as they did in making their recent
shipments is in the line of logical belief so
long as there is a prospect of profit for
them. They are already growing bitterly
over the temporary loss of revenue conse-
quent upon the quarantine order. The
possible infiiction of the scourge upon
this country seems to be only secondary
consideration.
The most serious aspect of reliance upon
quarantine in place of a complete prohi-
bition of immigration is that the cholera
germs may show no results on the voyage
and yet break out long afterward under
circumstances more favorable to their de-
yelopment This happened in 1854, and
may occur again. The other ard mani
fest objections are that if The quarantine
work has to be kept up all winter, it will
soon come to be perfunctorily done, if not
skipped altogether on occasions; and thus
4 constant menace will be maintained
y0SaLhob lAc Ates4Gu VI OuI pOOPiO.
The common sense of the country is
that temporary stoppage of immigration
by order of the President, covering the in
land frontiers as well as the seaports, is
what the occasion called for. The Presi-
dent, we believe, has the power under the
eXigencieS of the occasion. But even If
he over stretched his power in crisis so
grave as This until Conpress met the Dub-
lie and Congress would heartily approve
his action. 1t is our conviction that this
very course will have to be taken later on.
If so, the President cannot then escape
censure and condemnation commensurate
with the loss of life and suffering an
inefficient quarantine is liable to infict
upon our people. He has deliberately
chosen to take terrible chances, where he
have made the public safety a cer-