The Progress., 1893-01-07
THE CRITICS POWER.
REV. THOMAS DIXON ON TIE vsCs
or HOSTILITY.

Friends Too b4'rH wan -r"i ''S" -
EIIot-rIartin !.u:Ecr.
New YoRH, Jan. The service in
Association hal today was an Keeping j.
It's music and accessories with New
Years greeting. Mr. Dixon resumed he's
attack on T.mmany by advocating
strongly national quarantine. He sad:
The question g now before congress,
How can we protect oJc nation from the
Asiatic cholera tsother foreign pests? 1t
is an intensely practical question. its
answer is fraught with tragic posHhlh-
ties. Nor doesit look t. remote dan
ger. The danger is close. it = urgent.
1t will be but a lew months longer Hc-
fore the cholera epidemic Of she Past
season is expected to return to Europe
with redoubled fury. II was C)mpaa-
lively a small affalr last wear. What II
will do next season no man can foreteH.
The port Of New York Is the poin' of
greatest danger to America. tan the
nation risk q second experience with a
Tammany quarantine? At the head of
the department stands a secGnd rate
politician, with thu life Of the nation IL
his hands, answerG ble for bis competer ce
or incompetence to an irresponsible club
of political freebOOters. The nation must
now decide. 1t seems TO ne there are
several weighty reasons why congress
should at once estat lish n thorOU gh sys-
TEN of national quarantine.
First-The national goveTTmslt only
has the means to establish al effective
quarantine. To bo effective IT must he
complete. To he complete it must prss;-
tically encircle the North Amgricancon-
tinent It will require millions Of dol
lars. II viii require men of sCipntihC
knowledge as wcll rs thousands of fifth
full subordinates The national govern
ment only is able to meet such demand
1t has already in operation along the en-
tire coast life saving service which can
be utilized as the basis Of a complete
quarantine service.
Second--The nation only has the com
plete authority 10 establish a really
effective quarantine. The harbor Of
New York, for example, is bounded on
one side 10y the state OF New York and
on the othcr by the stats of New jersey.
50 is the Chesapeake bay the dividing
between states. The contro. 0f n
Fo,i NATURALLY and 81 necessity rests IN
the nation, not in the different states. In
every threatened epidemic tho conflict
of local, state and national authorities
will be inevitable unless the nation have
absolute control.
Third-The present system, or lack of
system, is an anomoly and can be lusti-
fled by no argument save that the salary
of some little Ipan is likely ~ be lost III
the transfer. The present status was
fixed when the country was sparsely
settled and the way of travel was by
stagecoach and Ok cart. Since then the
nation has been knit together with a
perfect network Of railroads and steam
ship lines Quarantine is no longer u
local affair A danger at one port is a
danger to the whole nation. San Fran
cisco is less than five days from New
York; Chicago less than twerty-four
hours.
Fourth--New York. left te the mercy
of Tammany Hall, is a constant threat
to the life OF the whole nation.
Some months ago Isaid from tins pull
pit that the management of our quaran-
tine was in incompetent hands. For
this was severely eensured by certain
class of weahminded critics of the echo
family. But now that the New York
chamber of commerce seriously consid,
ers the threatened invasion we have
reported to that body from their special
investigating committee the following
remarkable resolution: I'VE feel it our
duty to respond to your questions TO
definitely state what we believe to be an
unmistakable and Just inference from
our namely, that in our opinion
the present health officer has not Shown
sufficient executive ability nor sufficient
knowledge of sanitary science to war
rant the helief that he can IN 1he future
manage quarantine affairs IN satisfac-
tory and safe manner"
As matter Of fact it is wei known
ITO the medical fraternity OF New York
hat the distinguished health officer" re-
terred to won his laureIs not in the prac-
tice of medicine, but in the coroner's
Office as pothGuse politician. And it
is said that he graduated almost direct
from the medical college into the coro-
ner's office, and that as matter of fact
his practice of medicine has been strictly
political That be is good natured, in
offensive sort Of man no one denies.
But is he the man TO whom we may COM
init the lives of millions of people in an
hour when executive ability and science
alone can answer the demands of mo.
ment?
Can an organization such as Tammany
Hall be trusted with the life of nation
when they have not hesitated to lay the
hand of dirty partisan politics Oh the
board Of heslth?
Let congress answer, and while they
answer in favor Of national quarantine.
as public opinion will sooner or later
force them to do, let ambitious men in
public life willing to wink at Tammanys
rascality for the glory Of making speech
In the wigwam-let these men remember.