The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-16
NATIONAL QUARANTINE WANTED.

I NAItOAAL Al An ~ - -
The Southwest is heartily tired of the
shot gun quarantine. The experience Of
that section with that sort of quarantine
the past two seasons has made the people
there anxious for a national quarantine
law. which they think would relieve them
Of its intolerable burdens. At the last
session of Congress Senator Caffery in
troduced a bill providing for national
quarantine, but it failed TO pass be
cause it was thought by some congress-
men that it would give certain ports trade
advantages over ports in their districts, or
might be used to draw trade away from
Southern ports and to Northern ports.
The bill, however, is still awaiting action,
and viii, in all probability, be brought up
again at the approaching session of Con-
gress, but with such amendments as Will
relieve it of its Objectionable features.
A quarantine convention win meet at
Memphis within a day or two TO consider
amendments which it is proposed to offer
TO it, One of the amendments suggested,
says the Times-Democrat, of New Orleans,
is that quarantine, instead of being under
the exclusive control of the marine hospital
service shall, while remaining in the
charge of that service, be under the
control of a board of commissioners Ac-
cordng to this plan the whole country
would be divided into districts, and for
each district there would be a commits
sioner. The commissioner would see to it
that in the administration of the law no
one district would have an advantage over
another district. The whole machinery
would, of course, still remain in the marine
hospital service.
There are of course objections to putting
such great power in the hands of one man
as would be in the hands of the sur
geon general of the marine hospital service
if a national quarantine law should be
passed and the entire authority of enforc-
ing it be conferred on him. Still the one
man power has some advantage over
commission. II sometimes happens that
there is necessity for prompt action. Es-
pecially is this the case when there
is an outbreak of yellow fever A board
would be slow in getting together and
acting While waiting for the board to act
incalculable damage might be done. That
objection might be overcome, however, by
giving the marine hospital service author
ity to act in emergencies without consult
ing the board.
Another amendment proposed is that the
quarantine shall be uniform-that is, that
ships coming from West Indian and
South American ports shall be detained as
long at the Northern as the Southern
ports That amendment would meet with
the strongest kind of opposition from the
Northern ports, because those ports think
that their climate gives them comparative
immunity from the yellow fever. Still, il
is not certain that they are immune. Only
recently Col. waring died in New
York city from yellow fever contract
ed in Cuba. He was passed at quarantine
as being in good healthy condition. A day
after ne reached his home he was pros
trated with the disease. If it had been the
hot season the fever might have caused an
endemic in New York. The case shows
that il is about as necessary that vessels
from fever infected ports shall De oetdlh-
ed almost. if not quite, as long at New
York as at the ports of Southern states.
The Memphis convention will go into the
subject pretty thoroughly with the view
of reaching some basis on which the eoun-
try can agree upon national quarantine
b;u Unless the wheels of commerce are
to be stopped throughout the afflicted
territory every time the fever makes its
appearance in the country the national
quarantine law is an imperative necessity.