The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-11-11
HON. JOHN S. WILLIAMS ON NATIONAL QUARANTINE.
YAzooerrY, Miss OCT % 1898.

VIM NJ tine I5t5 at hand. am Of the opinion that when yeIo"
fever finds Judgment within the State the services Of the SO'e "s@ M.
ace- are absolutely necessary to is confinement OF eXtipaIm' U
that the national quarantine law introduced by me at 1s lall'e' J"
state Board OF Health during the last session Of this congress Is ou
It's provisions, and makes a proper demarkauon OF the po'W u
and national sanitary authorities. IthInk the federal government ought
IN he given fun authority in maritime and coastwise quarantine anu Smr
tary regulations. think that the national quarantine
have all that they can do If they devote themselves 10 15 ""N :"
tine YELLOW fever and other contagious and infectious diseases ou1 o. ue
United States. and Of preventing them from spreading from oe 9CaOe
another. They ought to have full and unhampered authority VaC rL
do not think, however. that the national quarantine authority ought 70 DC
made to supcrsede State sanitary authorities within tue hm'9 " uo ?"
aaIs tatos or he prep mower. as a consequence thereof to prevent one
urdnt within a State from quarantining against another pohU "lCHn 'o
same state. or Of forcing upon one point within q State a Quarantine asa"'.
another pdnt within the same State. We ought TO preserve our IGN
se1-dereocc. All That is necessary is to folio" the line Of aema,NaOon No
down in the Constitution of the United states anu 70 mas S"" -
thortties supreme within It's own constitutional sphere / 40 W1 De"0'e
that a law which would go further than that would os S'Hu~"
could be successfully upheld by the courts. III ponce '"o, y"
(which include sanitary uguation9 are within the limits OF the SI'OeW -
questionable. Besides that, there is no sauctiy Of superior iniorlWtO'o'
or superior scientific attainment which hedges a man in simply because ne
As an emnoyc Of the national government Our own physicians are DO
only fully as competent as the employees Of the Marine Hospital service I"
treat yellow fever but are as a rule more competent to dose
hope in the future the Marine Hospital service, or whatever natlona
authority shall be put in Its place. sdai D. more cmp1'e"g "u n"In, low
doing It's work than in the past. There is now a national quarantine ia"
giving to the Marine HOSPITAL service complete and uncontrolled power &c
make regulations and provisions for the prevention OIL Oe "O1o0 "
contagious and infectious diseases into the United States and yet they
have signany failed wherever the country has been threatened TO pFoSehO
the introduction Of yellow fever, and in no case 50 Tar IS am INFORMED
have they discovered the existence Of the fever in the country after It's IN
PRODUCTION until after it had been first discovered and reported by state au
ho1tics. I do not cite this as a reason why tue powers now given 10 the
Marine Hospital service as a national sanitary guard VI the "hoe country
should be Withdrawn, nor as a reason why nose P0"' "u' ~"
wherever nceduI or advisable, strengthened, ! &c Ia me"'y =, nv" "2
there is no divinity that hedges IN a eng a" Vmy '"" WV
sanitary millennium and absolute safety IRON mIoeONu 'y "' " '"s
VIII find themselves mistaken II a naJional Quarantine "" -"
with such proytsionsas to supersaoe OF mal91"'S 10 ",ppo y1 gatGr
O Estate authorities, ] very much fear That we Will hho Ie hooon' "u''o'
lily so constituted giving much m~e heed 10 Tue No0S' VI s""0 "0'
and of "the business interests in the large cities nal 10 OS SoC& u Ie
common people in the Interior clamoring for the protection Of the health
and the lives Of their wives and children.
The National quarantine Oil introduced at JUG W'C"0I VI |o 3S
Board of Health, gives every p0SsiDe power w Uo ""u"" ""nNy -
~ 4- E-n l Frt,rrtYfa 9uaruufiup JUHtDDS That Dill was