Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-05-21
COFFEE FROM PLAGUE SHIPS.
Cargo sent TO chicago and Has Been
Sold to the Trade.

Sold to the Trade.
New York. May &c Chicago has con-
sumed nearly schooner load Of coffee
that 1t is claimed was tainted with
plague. This is the statement President
Murphy of the New York board of
health made yesterday in discussing the
outbreak Of the plague at San Francis
co.
The coffee came to New York on the
British steamer j.. w. Taylor. which arr
rived here Nov. 1S. 1899, from Santos.
Brazil. Her holds We're filled to the
matches with something like 5000 great
3ute sacks of green coffee. The vessel
never got further than quarantine, for
there two cases of supposed bubonic
plague We're discovered, and the crew,
with the victims, We're removed to the
observation hospitals on Hoffman island
and the cargo held up by the board OF
health. Then 1t was discovered that
Robert Hope, the steward of the chip,
had died at sea from the disease.
The board OF health of New York city
was firm and refused to admit the
cargo. Finally on Dec. the board de-
cided that II the coffee was exposed for
eight days to the weather, then roa sted
and the original sacks burned, 1t might
be landed. Up to this time II was be-
lieved that the coffee was consigned to
New York. but the board learned that
y was marked for W. F. Mclaughlin,
$50 Water street, Chicago.
When the order given above was made
representative of Mr. Mclaughlin
came to New York and asked the board
for modification of the ruling. as his
plant was in Chicago He offered all
sorts of plans. but none were acceptable
to the board. and finally the cargo of the
~. a. Taylor was unloaded and placed
on lighters-eight of them. For weeks
they swayed With the tide off quaran-
tine. the board refusing to modify Its
order.
Two of the lighters, according to the
health officials, We're taken by Arbuckle
Bros and the coffee exposed to the air,
new sacks provided. the old ones burned
and the coffee roasted as required by
the board. After nine weeks the orig.
inal sacks from the other six lighters
were loaded into freight ears Of the
West Shore railroad at Weehawken, N.
~. and rushed thru TO Chicago, all un-
known8to the public. II is claimed this
WAS possible because the representative
of the Chicago house had secured from
the board of health of Hudson City, ".
D.. small municipality near Weehaw-
ken, permission to land the coffee at Its
docks. Thence the transfer to Chicago
was easy enough. President Murphy
said today:
An incident occurred in connection
With8the Taylor's cargo which has never
been published and which shows how
easy II is to evade quarantine regula-.
tionaand to get a plagnc-infected cargo
into this country and disseminated
among the peopie. The people of Chi
icago drank that coffee from Santos.
They did not know it, but they drank
it,"
Asked about the possibility Of the bus
Sbonic plague obtaining foothcld In this
city, President Murphy said:
New York need never be visited by
the bubonic pla 1le.if 1t comes here by
way OF the seaN md we do our simple
and plain duty. While there will always
be more or less danger from the land
side, owing to the greater difficulty OF
guarding against the coming into the
city OF persons who have been in In
Tfected places, there Is no reason why we
cannot protect ourselves fully against
any menace from the sea side