Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1898-03-04
QUARANTINE LAWS DISCUSSED.
House OF Representatives Devotcs Itself
strictly to Business,

House OF Representatives Devotes Itself
strictly to Business.
A Washington special says: The
house devoted itself strictly to bust
ness Thursday and disposed Of thirty
additional pages of the sundry civil
appropriation bill.
The fact that the government is pre-
pairing for contingencies was recog-
nized when Chairman Cannon, who
has been laboring to keep down APP
preparations, accepted without word
of protest an amendment to increase
the appropriation to care for the I'M
used machinery at the Springfield ar
senal Mr.. Gillette explained that
necessity for using this machinery
might occur at any time.
Resolutions which were objected to
a few days ago for the appointment OF
two ex-naval cadets to positions III the
engineer corps of the navy were also
adopted. One Of them will NIL va
cancy caused by the death of Lieuten'
ant Merritt, of the Maine.
Mr.. Sayers, democrat, of Texas,
criticised the item in the bill placing
only the unexpended epidemic funds
of past years at the disposal of the
quarantine service. He thought $780,
600 additional should he appropriated.
Mr.. Cannon said that the largest
amount expended in previous year
was 1887 900, in 1894. Last year but
1874, 900 was spent. On February /,
1898, there was an unexpended bal
ance of $40, 900. In his opinion that
was sufficient.
Mr.. Bailey, democrat, of Texas, de-
clared his belief that the matter Of
quarantine regulations should be left
to the states. He was opposed not
only to the additional appropriation
proposed by his colleague, but to the
use of the uneypended balance provided
balance provided for in the bill.
Mr. Sayers pointed out that in event
of recurrence of the yellow fever
epidemic this summer after congress
adiourns S340, 600 might not he sufii-
cient to cope with it. He said he did
not want to be held responsible for
the failure of funds in the event of an
epidemic.
The discussion soon drifted into the
ACCESSIBILITY of the establishment of
national quarantine law. Mr.. Car
mack, democrat, of Tennessee, advo-
Gated such law. He said forty-tive
different systems in as many different
states created chaos.
Mr.. Williams, democrat, of Misss-
sippi, thought it unfortunate that this
great question of national quarantine
had been precipitated in connection
with this appropriation. The people
of his state and the board of health Of
his state believed the United States
should have exclusive jurisdiction of
maritime and coastwise quarantine
and were willing to give the federal
authorities exclusive and paramount
control. But once an epidemic got q
foothold inside the state he insisted
that the state should control
Mr.. Underwood opposed exclusive
control by the federal government.
Mr. Sayers moved to increase the
appropriation 100000.
Mr.. Love, democrat, of Mississippi,
advocated the amendment. The Sayers
amendment was lost.
The following proviso was ruled out
on point of order raised by Chairman
Lacey, of the public lands committee,
that it was new legislation:
"That hereafter no public monies
shall be expended for the survey of
any portion of the public domain en-
braced within any forest reserves of
the United States except for such sur
veys as may be necessary to designate
the exterior boundaries of such re-
serves and of such lands within such
reserves as may be embraced within or
covered by legal claims initiated prior
to the date of the proclamation of the
reservation"
On motion of Mr.. Devries, democrat,
of California, an amendment was adopt
ed apr opriating $4,000 for the Yose-
mite National Park, California.
After completing thirty pages of the
bill, the committee rose.
At $40 o'clock p. m. the house adj