The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-10
The Kind of quarantine Needed.

! gwen quar- matters any dLtenupn
I in so far as they re,ate to the prevailing
/ yellow fever on the Gulf coast. that to in
/ sure protection from the fever-assuming
/ that the fever is always imported-and to
I prevent unnecessary stoppage OF travel
and traffic when il makes its appearance
in any pace in the country. a wholly diff
ferent system Of sea and land quarantine
is necessary. Let US first consider our sea
quarantine. Is il effective? We DO not
undertake-to say whether it is or not. but
the chances are that IL is not One town
may carry out it's quarantine regulations
strictly. while another may not do 50. be-
cause Of the ineficiency Of it's quarantine
officers or a desire to offer greater freedom
to commerce. and thus gain an advantage
Of rival ports. But the city which main
taius a strict quarln tine, is almost as much
exposed as one which does not. because the
fever may he carried from the town where
the quarantine regulations are not proper
ly enforced TO the town where they are.
If the yellow fever should get foothold
in Tampa. which has close communica-
ton with Havana, Jn.s city would not be
free from danger notwithstanding a rigid
enforcement Of her sea quarantine We
do not mean of course that Tampa is lax
ia her quarantine matters. We mention
her simply as an Illustration.
New dreams, at great expense. enforces
a rigid quarantine ar the mouth of the
Mississippi valley and yet she has the
fever. II reached her by way Of Ocean
Springs. It is claimed that it was taken
70 that place by Cubans, who were ar
ranging a fl.bustering expedition from
that point. It is clear therefore that
quarantine to be effective must be rigidly
enforced along the whole South Atlantic
and Gulf coast. How is such a quarantine
to be secured2
How about the land quarantine? Is not
that in the highest degree damaging to do
nestle commerce and, in many instances,
absurd? why, for instance, should a
large part of the state Of Texas have alb
soIutely prohibited intercourse with the
city Of Houston, because a negro girl was
III there with what some doctors thought
was yellow fever, but which proved not TO
be. Why should quarantine have been es-
tablished against Atlanta when it was an
nounced that a Mobile refugee had been
attacked by the fever? Atlanta was not
infected; no case Of fever originated there
hence, there could be no danger in contin-
uing communication with her.
In Alabama and Mississippi it was prac-
ticaily impossible for awhile, after the
fever appeared in New Orleans, to get from
one town to another, or from one county
/ 70 aro+bar ca rt7roaro,,e ord etrfot nero
the guarantees which were established.
Because of these inland guarantees, in
most cases wholly unnecessary, portions
Of the south have suffered losses amount
ing to millions of dollars. What is the
remedy for this state of affairs?
It is evident that we cannot have
wholly satisfactory sea quarantine along
the entire coast, and a sensible inland
| quarantine when yellow fever or cholera
finds a Judgement upon our shores if we
depend upon the health boards of states
! counties and towns, each board acting in
| dependently of every other board As long
as we rely upon these boards we shall
have confusion and trouble, and conse-
quently inefficient service. The whole
matter Of quarantine should be in the
hands Of one authority-an authority hav-
ing the means and the power to act in &C
cordance with the actual demands of the
situation. That authority is the general
| government.
we know there is great opposition on
the part of the states, particularly the
southern states, to the exercise of author
| lty by the general government in matters.
which appear to belong exclusively to the
| states, and yet the general government
| guards our coast against foreign enemies
! What greater foreign enemy is there than
yellow fever or cholera?
And there is another thing which shows
/ Inconsistency. When a great epidemic af-
/ dicts a state and paralyzes its business
| and Industries, or a flood or an earthquake
/ causes great disaster, there is no hest
/ tation in appealing to the general govern
ment for aid. If the general government
| can do what the states cannot do in avert
/ ing an epidemic, or in making an epidemic
less burdensome and horrible. why not let
\ 1t do It?
This is a matter which is likely to come
before congress at the next session. The
people therefore ought to give it very
careful consideration.
-s-B~-~-
The Cotton Yield.