The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1897-10-02
To The st. Martinville BoarC
of Health.

Having attended the convention OF
health authorities to which you have ap-
pointed me as representative, / beg to
submit my report:
Owing to thepanicky feeling still pre- |
vailing among some of our sister par
ishes, the train was not allowed to
reach its destination, although permits
sion to go through had been given the
previous day. At Rayne physician at
the head of armed guards gave orders
that the train proceed no further; the
train authorities offered IT, close the car
windows and the car run through at the
rate of 60 miles an hour, this precautiOn
seemed not sufficient to the man OF
science, and in order to nIak' surs that
| the train would not violate these orders,
some of the plates holding the rails
together were unscrewed and the pass
age of the train made impossible.
The Parishes of st. Mary, Iberia and
St. Martin were represented at the con-
ference, making the attendance about
| 10 delegates. The conference was held
at Cades Station, on Board of the train.
Resolutions were adopted declaring
that it was the sense of the conference
that freight communication between
New Orleans for such articles as were
known not to carry infection, after be-
ing fumigated should be established.
DIR. Carter Of the U. S. Marine Hospital
Service then addressed the meeting W.
on the subject of Quarantine DIR. Car
ter stated he had returned from Ala:
bama and Mississippi where there had
been considerable trouble to establish
freight traffic, and that those States had
adopted the regulations of the United
States Marine Hospital Service. and
found that it worked very satisfactorily
When asked il his services could be
secured in devising a plan Of quaran
tine he assured the conference that he
could be relied upon to give any hell
1
different Parishes and municipalities
through which this road runs, he would
with their authority establish such q
system of quarantine as would meeI
their requirements with perfect safety
He understood he said. that considerable
trouble was anticipated by sugar rein
ers i'm obtaining skilled Labor for sugar
grinding, this. he pointed out, cOult
easily be remedied by organizing de-
tentiOn camp at the expense, and undel
the supervision of the U. S. Government
He would. however, require evidence tina
this camp is a necessity before he under
took to build it, as the undertaking
would be very expensive one, costing
as much as fifty thousand dollars, Il
run it for two months. Besides it wOult
be absolutely necessary to have the co
; operation of all points it is intended t.
benefit.
He mentioned as evidence Of the safe
ty of such camp the fact that 33OOpeO
pie had been detained in camp erecte'
BY the u. S. Government for the Jack
sonville epidemic, from which not evel
suspicious case Of fever developed.
He suggested that a system OF rela
trains for passenger traffic between moi
infected places could he established
These trains TO be Clisinfected at each re
, lay station and run by non infecfe
, crews. He expressed himself as utierl
opposed to passenger traffic between In
fected and Unaffected points. He sus
gested, however. that it was perfect
safe to run through trains from infec
ted points to localities where the dis
ease is known not to spread. this he salt