The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-11
THE FEVER AND QUARANTINE.

ing in the states Of Mississippi and Louisi-
ana. If the present mild weather con-
t.nues for a few weeks longer it viii like
! Is spread over the greater part Of those
states and into the adjacent states. The
! fever, however is of a remarkably mild
y pc. Ii is not nearly so fatal as many
other kinds of fever to which we pay but
/ little attention The death rate is not 10
per cent. of the reported cases From
New Orleans the statement was sent out
last Saturday, that up to that time there
had been 465 cases and 30 deaths from
the fever in Louisiana and 351 cases and 30
deaths In Mississippi, making SIC cases in
all and 65 deaths. That is not a terrify-
ing record, and yet the people in portions
of those two states are in state of panic.
So bad is the situation that thousands of
people are refugees, other thousands are
reported to be in a starving condition and
the Governor Of Mississippi has called on
the President for aid j is not improbable
that in each of the afflicted states this
fan more people have died Of malarial
fever than of yellow fever, and yet no
one seems to give malarial fever a second
thought.
Owing TO the shotgun quarantine the poo
pie have an exaggerated idea of the dan
ser of yellow fever. As a matter of fact,
except when the fever is of a malignant
character, the death rate of that fever
is not very high. Where cases are skill
fully treated and carefully nursed tne
mortality is small.
hen *
of Mississippi or Louisiana or any other
state should be thrown into a panic and
all business stopped whenever few cases
of yellow fever appear in its limits. Two
things are necessary TO prevent such a
condition of affairs One is a national
quarantine system-a system that would
do away with the shotgun quarantine-and
the other is the dissemination OF
correct information about yellow
fever and its treatment Let
the people be made to understand that 1t
is much easier to prevent the spread of
the disease by means of sanitary meas
ures and regulations than by barriers
against the infected localities sustained by
shotguns; then panics will cease and com
munities win not become the objects of
charity, because business will be carried
on as usual and people will attend to their
ordinary occupations as they do when
other kinds of infectious diseases gain a
foothold among them.
1t is, of course, going to be a trouble
some thing to get a national quarantine
law enacted. Some oppose it on one
ground and some on another, but 1t Is
difficult to see how any citizen of the
Southern cities most deeply interested in
land quarantine can justify himself IN
opposing national quarantine law Those
who met at Mobile last fall, and subse-
quently at Atlanta and promulgated an
agreement that should be observed by the
states affected in the event of an out
break of fever at any future time, ought
to be satisfied by this time that the only
effective way to deal with this quarantine
matter is a national quarantine law. The
New Orleans Times Democrat, in discuss
ing this question In its issue of last Sun
day, said: "a uniform quarantine, con-
Quoted on scientific principles, is what we
need. We have secured an Improvement
by an agreement between the Southern
states, but such an agreement has no
sanctity and is binding on no one. Texas
has repudiated the Atlanta agreement; AL
ALBANIA gives a different construction to 1t
from Mississippi; Scranton, Woodville and
a dozen towns have repudated it, and
there Is no power to enforce it, 1t IS
simply an understanding. without any
legality or sanctity, for the states can
make no agreement among themselves that
can be enforced by any court or officer
In no way save by national quarantine can
we get what is essential to perfect quar-
autine and protection-uniformity, scien-
tihc disinfection, efficiency and vigor and
a power to enforce the law"
We said last fail, Immediately after the
Mobile convention, that no agreement
made by the states represented in that
convention would be adhered to by them.
The agreement has no binding force. and,
as 1t does not command the approval of
everybody, those who do not approve it
cannot be depended upon to respect it.
As the Times-Democrat says, one state
has repudiated the agreement, another has
put a construction on il different from
that intended and many communities in
the states which accepted 1t refused TINS
fag to enforce it, preferring to depend
upon the shotgun method. 1t is apparent
that the agreement can accomplish no
great amount of good unless accepted by
all the states that were asked to become
parties to it, and unless the towns and
counties of all these states heartily co.
operate in enforcing it,
Another bill providing for a national
quarantine law win be introduced into
Congress at the approaching session. If
the Southern states unite in its support the
chances are that it will become law. If
they differ in respect TO it. as they did
relative to the bill last winter, the prob
abilities are that this troublesome quaran-
tine question win remain unsettled to
plague the South for many years
The navy department has taken official