Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-04-13

New York, April 1O.-The conference
Of delegates from the state board of
health failed to exert its full force be-
cause of the lack of harmony that pre-
vailed toward its close. The failure
to recognize the national government as
Il factor in enforcing quarantine has
alone called forth some pretty sharp
criticism.
The proposition to place portion
of the inspection service between state
lines under the United States marine
hospital service failed of adoption, the
disappointed ones say, because there
was not time to make the fight for it
against q comparatively small portion
Of the conference which opposed it.
Il believe that large majority of the
conference was III favor of sharing the
responsibility with the national govern
ment,' said DR.. II. H. Baker, of Mich
igan, treasurer of the national organiza-
ton. 1T is something which is in per-
feet accord with the law recently pass
ed by congress, and unless the state
authorities maintain quarantine pro
visions which are considered ample
the national marine hospital service
will assist anyway The conference
voted not to recognize the national
government because a few of those
present made such u hot fight against
it. Some of the delegates were afraid
that the rights of the states were to
be infringed on. We bad so many other
things to do that there was no time
to fight it out. The resolutions passed
by the representatives Of states in the
Mississippi valley will be carried into
effect. Secretary Carlisle will be asked
to appoint Il commission to visit the
European countries from which cholera
seems most likely to be imported to
ascertain what are the conditions there
and what is the apparent danger to this
country from it. I do not think Mr..
Carlisle can refuse to do this when he
considers that fifteen Of the great states
of the interior are represented in the
request.
with the exception of that part
~ mad TO do with the question of
reOrganizing the national authorities
| am satified with the result Of the
conference. 1t has some value in that
it has brought the health officers of so
many states into direct consultation
with the surgeOn-general of the marine
hospital DR.. Wyman was contemplate
ing a conference of this nature, and
had not our conference met at this
time he probably would have issued
call for one similar to it. We want a
bal1icadd against infectious disease
drawn from the Canadian line to point
far enough south to include the Balti-
more &Ohio railroad We want an in
SpectiOn service on every tranSpOrta-
ton line and we have it established for
considerable portion of the distance.
1t begins at the Sault Ste. Marie and
extends as far south as Detroit. We
have inspectors at all point where an
immigrant may pass from Canada into
the United States between these points,
and ever since last September all i'm
migrant baggage has been inspected.
We ought to have the line projected
far enough south to catch every immi-
grant who is headed for Chicago
DR.. Charles n. Hewitt, who has been
executive officer of the health board
of Minnesota for twenty years, said
that among the most important pre-
cautions to be taken was a system Of
notifications from the health boards
in the interior.
whenever an immigrant lands from
an infected port or an infected ship we
are notified whether he intends to come
to our state" he said. Minnesota was
the first state to adopt a system of
this kind and it works satisfactorily.
DR.. Jenkins sends us by wire the time
Of departure of the immigrants, the
number in the party, and the disease
with which they may possibly be con-
tamin&ted. Our state tpays the tele-
graph tolls and is glad to do it. We
have a cipher which enables a great
deal of information to be sent in ten
words. Since the system went into
effect many thousands of cases have
been reported to us. Within two years
[ think about 5000. We had reports
of immigrants that arrived on seven
teen steamships in 1891, and on sixty
six in 1892. These We're reported as
destined to 32S different places in Min
nesOta. When [ receive the infOrma-
ton from New York I at once notify
the officers Of the local boards at the
places to which the immigrants are
destined. Some of them do not come to |
the places, but decide to go elsewhere |
after leaving the immigrant station
at New York. We received 12O sep |
arate lists of persons last year, and |
the secretary sent out 1925 lists to the !
health officers and chairmen of town |
ship boards. Six hundred and fifty
three have acknowledged the receipt |
of this information with respect to !
,421 persons, of whom 1870 did not /
arrive. Of those who came last year
there were sixteen cases of sickness
on arrival. They had measles or diph- |
iberia. They were at once isolated |
and placed under the health regulations |
and no further spread of the disease
resulted. We have a somewhat similar |
arrangement with Boston and many
of the interior states