The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-27
QUARANTINE TO BE DISCUSSED
CITIZENS TO BE INVITED TO EN-
PRESS THEIR VIEWS.

Meeting For This Purpose ON the
Night of April 2O-AII Persons Hav-
ing Grievances and Who Have
Views Which They Believe TO he of
Interest TO BE Requested to Come
Before the BOard-A Complaint
Against Savannah's Quarantine
Which Became n Matter of State.
Every one who has any ideas upon the
subject of quarantine, and any reasons
why the present system should be chang
ed or amended, or who believe that quar-
antine should be done away with alto
| gether, will have an opportunity to pre-
sent his views on the subject at a public
meeting of the sanitary board on the
night of April 90
This course has been decided upon by
the sanitary board. There has been so
much said and written concerning Sa-
vannahs quarantine system and it has
| been so generally criticised that the board
| decided to give an opportunity to every
one who has any objections to the pres
| ent system or any suggestions for It's i'm
| provement to present these views and
| suggestions.
The announcement should bring Joy to
| the hearts of the shipbrokers. Not for
months, but for years, they have protested
| that Savannah had the most rigid and
| most unreasonable system of quarantine
| of any port in the United States and that
Health officer Drummer was the most I'M
| reasonable and most arbitrary official to
| be found. They have freely proclaimed
| that these unreasonable restrictions were
| driving away Savannah's commerce. They
/ advertised it that the ship that came into
| n not
withstanding the 20 feet of water in the
| channel.
The agitation of the question reached
/ the point that on last Wednesday night
| Alderman Charlton, one of the most con-
| sentative members OF the board assailed
| the quarantine system of the port as bar
| barous and savoring more of the middle
| ages than the end of the nineteenth centu-
| ry. The shipbrokers have a splendid oppor-
| tunity to esta blish their case, and it is due
| themselves that they should endeavor to
| do so.
Numerous ship captains have stated to
| the Morning News reporters during the
last six months their hard luck in coming
| through Savannah's quarantine, and some
| of them have declared that they would
| never come here again. Their complaints
| as rule, however. applied more especially
| to the inefficient condition Of the apparatus
| for unloading ballast and the delay to
| their turn than to the actual requirements
| of quarantine The requirement most Sc
| riously objected to by them was that of
being required to take on new ballast at
| the Savannah quarantine after having
| gone through the Sapelo quarantine and
taken on new ballast there, which they
were required to discharge at the Savan-
| nan station. With the completion of the
| improvements which have been projected
at the station much of the cause for the
complaints will have been removed.
The new sanitary board is evidently
more literally disposed than preceding
boards have been and there appears to be
a disposition TO tighten the quarantine reg
ulations where it can be done with safety.
A bark from a suspected port was allow
ed to come up the river yesterday We'd
nesday, without the usual five days deten-
ton after fumigation.
The public meeting of the sanitary board
on the night of April 20 is of special i'm
portance, because of the fact that the
closed season shortly sets in during which
1t has been the rule to enforce the quar-
antine regulations very strictly. If the
shipping men can show that the require
ments for the summer season are ex-
treme they may be able to secure some
tightening up of the restrictions
| The case of the British bark Guilpere,
or Quilpue, as the name appears in the
maritime records, which was mentioned in
| morning
News from Atlanta, on account Of which
the British ambassador made complaint
TO the department of state al Washington,
is an old one and was disposed of last fall.
Gov. AtKinson's attention was called to
the complaint by the state department.
Mayor Meldrim said yesterday that he re-
memDered having his attention called ia
the complaint while in Atlanta, and that
he replied that the proper course to pur-
sue was to address the city authorities
OF Savannah. This was done and Mayor
Myers made reply to the complaint.
The case IS interesting, however from
the fact that the captains complaint was
taken up by the Liverpool Shipowners
Association, which brought the matter tc
the attention of the state department OF
Great Britain, and that Lord Salisbury
addressed d communication on the subject
to the British ambassador at Washington
Sir Julian Pauncefote, who brought the
matter to the attention of Secretary OF
State Olney, who in turn called the atten.
ton of Gov. Atkinson to the matter, who
finally brought the complaint to the atten
ton of Mayor Myers. Thus do matters
OF state take their tedious course Capt
Wood Of the Quilpue complained that he
sailed from Montevideo Aug Is with q
clean bill of health, arriving at Tybet
ffty-four days later. He complained OF
twenty-six days delay and of being com
PEELED to have his crew revaccinated there
His bill of health showed that there had
been twelve cases of smallpox and two
deaths from the disease In Montevidec
within two weeks of his departure. There
had also been four cases of typhoid fever
and two deaths.
Health Officer Drummer, in his report tC
Mayor Myers upon the complaint, stated
that the bark Guilpere arrived at the
quarantine station Oct. s, and on account
of several vessels being ahead of her die
not get to the wharf to discharge ballast
until the afternoon of Oct. Is. From thai
time until Oct. & ballast was being dis.
charged from the vessel and part of heI
cargo placed in her. Attention is called
to the fact that $50 barrels of rosin were
put in the vessel at quarantine, using the
hosting engine at the station, for which
no charge was made. She was then dis
Infected, the process taking about twenty
four hours, and was released on the morn.
ing OF Nov. /. The time of detention OF
the vessel was twenty-three days Atten-
ton is called to the facts that the vessel
had an enormous quantity of ballast "a
discharge, that there were other vessels
ahead of her. and that she was allowed "a
take in part Of her cargo.