The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-02-04
those of Canada, Mexico, Cuba and South
America would be undeterred from swarm

would be the stockholders of these steam
ship companies which raised the rates of
saloon passage? But it is reasonable to be-
lieve that fewer Europeans who intend to
visit our fair would be deferred by rise in
the cost of ocean travel than would deter
mine to remain at home rather than ex-
perience such quarantine annoyances and de
tentions as would certainly be unavoidable
were the grim pcstilence to accompany
| stecragc passengers as close travelling COM
| panionS
However we look Mt the proposition to
| protect the country from an invasion of
| cholera by exclusion for one year of all Eu-
ropcans of the "steeragc classes, 1--WE are
confronted by shield of two opposite
sides. Upon the one side is displayed most
prominently the indignation of IL few steam
ship owners. mostly foreigners, who fear
| the loss of tens of thousands of dollars.
Upon the other side is depicted in bold out
line the unmistakable demands of the
American people, who fear the actual and
| prospective loss of hundreds of millions of
| dollars
Should we hesitate upon which side to
| stand?
Having studied the history and the ma
| ture of cholera with ample opportunity to
learn something of its destructive power,
and much also of the most certain means
to speak upon the question with some uu-
thority
There Is mt present great lack of facilities
Mt quarantine stations along our Atlantic
coast requisite for maintaining successfully
long defense against the danger of intro
duction of cholera with an uninterrupted
stream of European stecrage classes Such
quarantine facilities as are needed for the
safe handling of great numbers of these
classes constantly arriving cannot be pro-
vided, either by the locnl authorities or bv
the national government, in time to safely
guard against Il danger which may become
very great rs early as next April
L am i'll accord with nearly all American
sanitarians i'll holding the opinion that if
cholera become widely prevalent in Europe
during the coming warm season it will
prove to be impossible for this country to
escape the epidemic unless 1.-The steerape
classes" from Europe be rigidly excluded
10 proclaim and infeXibly adhere to and
enforce that policy during this year would
not only certainly protect the interests of
the public health and prove to be the best
guarantee of the success of the Chicago
fair, but also would secure maritime trade
and ocean travel against such injury, loss
and discomfort as were experienced last
autumn.
To substitute instead of this policy of ex-
clusion for n limited period (Which is rca-
sonably certain of securing the great end in
view project of quasi quarantine and in
| spcction Oh the European side of the Allan
tic (Which is ut this time exceedingly dan
gerous because M entirely new and untried
experiment. would seem exceedingly I'M
wise to one who fully appreciates the critic
nj situation in which continued immigra-
ton during this year may place the Column
bian fair, the public health and the eco
nomic and industrial prosperity of the ma
|, ton.
| would urge most emphatically that this
is not the year i'll which to inauguratc such
doubtful experiment solely Tor the pur
| pose of quoting the clamor of transporta-
tion companies engaged in the steerage
I, traffic, II such nm eXped;ent could pos
sibly be successful, it would only be so with
the uninterrupted suffrance by foreign gov
ernments of plain encroachment upon
their sovereign and exclusive jurisdiction,
with the constant competent and abso-
lutely reliable medical inspection by I'M
bendable officers of the United States ma
rine hospital service stationed abroad, and
| with the honest cooperation of all the
| officers of the steerage transportation COM
| panies
have no hesitation in declaring that nv
knowledge and personal experience, ac-
quired while performing the duties of
/ United States cholera commissioner and of
port physician Mt Philadelphia, convince
me that the last requisite is absolutely I'M
attainable. Without it the scheme is es-
| sentially unsafe. Moreover TO send out of
the country large number of the best off
GERS of the marine hospital service mt a
time when every one of them will be sorcly
needed ut orr own ports would very scri-
ously cripple the effective administration
OF our national quarantine service, if in
deed we are TO have such Il service and are
| to have it properly administered by that
| organization.
This naturally brings me TO the consd-
Grafton of what believe to be the best sys-
TEN of quarantine. have held in my Off
cial Report on Cholera in Europe and In
dia," i'll paper i'll the January number of
The Forum and in various other public;l-
J tions that the best system of quarantine is
| one under the absolute control and dircc-
| tioh of the national government through an
independent commission of experienced
| sanitary experts.
i have shown in these publications-I
| think unanswerably -that the series of in
dependent local guarantees which exist in
this country at present constitute no sys-
| ten ut all and are essentially incapable of
| safeguarding the general welfare of the ma
| ton.
would, i'll conclusion, point out the ne
cessity, if the administration of national
! quarantine be handed over to the marine
| hospital service, of providing for the strict
| est discipline and subordination in that
corps have been surprised to note in the
newspaper reports of the recent discussion
III the United States senate upon the so
called Harris bill" objection to placing in
the hands of the official head of that serv-
namely, the supervising surgeon gen
eral-thc power and responsibility which
alone can render that service intelligent,
| harmonious and effective