The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-03
SHIPPING MEN COMPLAIN.
sAVANNAH's QUARANTINE DRIVING
AWAY COMMERCE., THEY SAY.

Capt. Kitchen OF the kyIemOre Tells
of His Lengthy Stay at the station.
Apparatus For Unloading Ballast
in a DiIapidatcd Condition, He
says-A Broker Says Double Quar-
antine Has Forced the Spanish
Lumber Trade to Brunswick-Dr.
Drummer Answers the Complaints
Briefly.
The shipping people continue to make
very serious complaints against Savan-
nah's quarantine system. They assert
that the policy of the city is driving COM
merce away from the port and that owners
of vessels do not want to charter for this
port, and some of them have refused 10
do SO. The reasons for this, it is stated,
are the unusual delays to which vessels
are subjected here, the insufficient facili-
ties for unloading and loading ballast and
the contempt with which the ship mas
tiers are treated when they complain of
the state of affairs.
A Morning News reporter saw Capt. ].
c. Kitchen of the British bark Kylemore
at the office of Dahl & Andersen in the
board of trade building yesterday. When
the subject of quarantine was brought
up, Capt Kitchen made very serious com,
plants of Savannah's system of quaran-
tine and the condition of the station. His
vessel arrived there Sept. II, he stated,
and remained twenty-four days, seven days
of which was due to the storm, the vessel
being blown upon the jetties. Conse-
Quently he only charged seventeen days'I
delay against the quarantine. One week.
Of this time was spent in unloading ball
last. To be exact, six days, he said, wasl
occupied in this work. The vessel wasl
then disinfected, after which she was de-
tanned five days. The rest of the timel
was consumed in waiting for rosin to bel
sent down from the city to be used asl
ballast in loading 1t.
I'VE had sand ballast from Trinidad a
clean port he said, "and clean bills of
health from 1898 to date. Instead of be-
ing allowed to come up to the city, we
were compelled to unload the sand ballast
and go through the process of disinfec-
tion We were a week unloading ballast
This was because of the condition of thel
staging upon which the ballast is carl
ried back to be dumped. The staging isl
in dilapidated condition and only oneI
stage could be used The wharing is
also in a dilapidated condition and there
is no safe place for vessel to tie up.l
No copy OF the quarantine rules was fur
nished, as is done at other ports, anc
we were without information"
The most serious charge which Capt
Kitchen makes is that the men from the
quarantine station were ordered up to the
city to vote on election day, Oct. z, leav-
ing the vessels discharging ballast there
n To
THE quarantine was so rigid" he said.
that l was not allowed to come I'D to
the city to arrange for saving my vessel,
but the employees at the station were car
ried up in order that they might vote. Was
there not as much danger of their carry
Ing diseases to the city as there was of
my doing so? The condition of the station
and the inconvenience which the ship
ping people are required to undergo is an
imposition which will do the port no good"
Messrs. Dahl & Andersen, who do a large
ship brokerage business, said they received
similar complaints from the captains of
nearly all the ships consigned to them.
Savannah has gotten bad name among
the ship owners" said Mr.. Andersen, land
ship owners do not want to charter vessels
for this port. The owners of the bark
Guldregn, the captain of which was one
of those who made complaint to the sani-
tary board some time ago. have refused
paratus at quarantine is in oiaco,.
10 charter vessels to Savannah
The apparatus at quarantine is in
bad condition for discharging ballast. 1t
is true that there are reasons for carrying
the ballast to distance, but that is all
the more reason why the carrying appar-
atus should be in good condition This
condition Of affairs is injuring the port.
1t Is useless for us to complain because
no attention is paid to our complaints.
Another ship broker had a complaint to
make on different line.
The manner in which quarantine is en-
forced at this port sends large commerce
TO other ports which we might secure"
he said. No lumber is shipped foreign
from Savannah or very rarely A large
portion of the lumber shipped from Bruins
WICK goes foreign. Brunswick has no bet
ter facilities for the foreign trade than we
have, and lumber can be purchased lust
as cheaply IN Savannah as in Brunswick
The reason for this is that the Spanish
vessels engaged in the foreign lumber
trade are barred from this port by our
quarantine system. These vessels, in
coming from Spain, usually touch az
points to the south of us in the infected
district. On arriving in this neighbor-
mood they are sent to Sapelo, where they
are disinfected and supplied with clean
odllast. Now, mark the difference: A
vessel can go direct from Sapelo 10
brunswick without further loss Of time
put II she attempts to come to Savannah
sne is stopped at the Savannah quaran-
une, required to unload her ballast, be
again disinfected. and take on fresh bal
last before being allowed to come to the
city. This means loss of
several days and the cost of the delay is
sut1cient to send the Spanish lumber trade
10 brunswick. have loaded fourteen YES
sells from Brunswick this season as against
one from Savannah, and have eight more
chartered to load there. 1t seems strange
mat the authorities should drive commerce
away from the port instead of endeavor-
ing to attract it here"
Health Officer Drummer was spoken to
ABOUT these complaints. He was not in
chned to discuss them. DR.. Brun-
her does not have high
regard for the statements |
OF shipping people and does not hesitate to
say so. Some of the complaints were I'M
true, he said.
DIR. Drummer was asked about the state |
ment of Capt. Kitchen that the men en-
ployed at quarantine were allowed to come |
up to the city to vote, contrary to the |
Quarantine rules
Il