The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-13
QUARANTINE QUESTION
MOBILE CONVENTION PART OF THE
ANTI-NATIoNAL PROGRAMME
Resust of Its deliberations Expected
TO He Effective in Defeating the
CaFerey Bill Now Pending In the
United States Senate--Sentimen
of the South.
,ec,a, 10 The St. Paul Globe.

Special to The St. Paul Globe.
/ MOBILE, Ala, Feb, PA widely
heralded quarantine convention has
been in session here for three days. Inc
proceedings seem likely to have po-
Iitico-medical interest which merits a
word of explanation. A battle has for
long time been waging between Unit
ed States marine hospital service,
which is backing a bill now before the
senate for the establishment of ma
tional quarantine, and the opponents
of that service who are DESTROYS to
have quarantine retained as state and
local function. The convention here is
obviously a part Of the ant1-natonal
quarantine programme and it is eX-
nected it will influence action in that
direction at Washington. At least, the
hearings before the house committee on
the Caffery bill have been postponed
till next week, when it is clearly the
purpose of it's opponents to submit
some impressive testimony from this
convention.
In the senate committee, where the
national quarantiners and their Oppo-
rentS met, the former won so signal a
victory that only Mr. Mallory, of Flor
ida, recorded his dissent and Mr.. Vest
was introduced to report the Caffery
bill which gives the federal govern
ment everything except the actual own
ership of the quarantine stations.
But national control is not universal
ly desired There is some objection to
any enlargement of the functions of
the federal government; but, in truth,
this is much smaller in Alabama than
might be supposed, and its relation
to the controversy is principally that
of a string upon which persons, who
for other reasons are opposed to ma
ticnal quarantine, may play.
Optic a number of local office holders
are afraid the proposed change means
a loss Of salaries and fees, and then
the methods of the marine hospital serv-
ice are said to be some times arbitrary
and overbearing toward the local Of
fcers in cases of disputed authority
In any event, that service has made
its enemies, who do not propose to al
low its powers to be enlarged without
a final struggle.
The authorities here, and even DR..
Sanders himself the health officer of
tention to make the convention a cut
and-dried affair but certain pointers
tend toward that view.
This locality is the hot bed of oppo-
sition to marine hospital service The
Southern people want the national
quarantine; the fee-takers and the pol
iticians are quibbling over state rights,
anu are pIopoSlIS d HdllOnai DOdrQ of
health in place of the marine hospital
service to distract public attention
I from the real issue. The Birmingham
Age-Herald reflects this sentiment edi-
torially when it says:
If the Caffery bill had been in operation
last summer the Marine Hospital Service
would have taken complete control of the
fever cases at Ocean Springs Miss. in
order to secure freedom of commerce mass
ing to and from Mobile and New orleans.
The bill is the horse-sense Of the situa-
ton, and the Mobile convention people will
do well if they will order their secretary
to. read it, and then they Will do better
still If they will indorse 1t and at once
adjourn, leaving the 81 subjects they have
met to discuss untouched and unsettled
The people do not want discussions; thew
want the bill that Senator Vest has lust
laid before the senate.