El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-09-25
BY SECRETARY RUSSELL
Who Shows That Whatever May Be
The Necessity For Maintaining a
Quarantine And Whatever The
DesIrabiiity of Cleaning upChina-
town. The Present Quarantine
Is Only an impeachment TO Trade
and Not To Disease.

The Times STATED editorially in the
i-.ue of last sunday That Tine T.. Paso
chamber of commerce thong atIessly
all wed its III To led into d fshs
.x.inss the Meath department OF tns
stts OF Texas on account Cf Doctor
Blunt's quarantine TO protect E. Paso
from the uoonic plague existing In
San Francisco. so far IfOm this
action Of the chamber of commerce
having been taken tnouRhtlessly or
hastily, IL was not taken until every
body In the state who has occasion o
became acquainted with the workings
of the Quarantine, had become COL
WINGED Inat as q measure for securing
protection for the state She quarantine
was nothing but farce
The chamber OF commerce never
denied the existence OF pubonic plague
in Chinatown, nor took any action to-
wards the raising Of the quarantine for
some thres months after it was put
on. IL WAS recognized that she quarau-
tine might be justified for u time rs
precautionary measure, and moreover,
that reasonable sime-notghreem months,
however-should be allowed to get the
quarantine machinery TO working
smo )thly and effectively.
Tie fact that up TO the hrst OF
August no case Of plague had appear
ed outside OF Chipatowb; the fact that
early in July the city of San Francisco
raised its quarantine against China
town; the fact tn st no osner state was
Guarsbtlning against Chinatown. the
Isct that the federal government had
modified large forces OF troops in
San Francisco AZ various times during
the summer for embarcation TO the
Philippines Without waxing any meA-
sures TO r Jtect them against buoonic
plague; the fact that Texas alone could
not maintain she quarantine effective
lx-f fl ha nf a tar ha
facs that persons and merchandise from
San Francisco and Chinatown we're, &c
. matter of common knowledge, oOm- |
ing TO the state of Texas in such |
mum oers sud quantities that the Texas
Quarantine was nororiously recogniZsd |
- . farce. operating as an impedf- |
ment agsiDst business and
not disease;''-all these facts taken to-
Rether appeared to justify the conclu-
sion that as Q matter OF practical,
common sense administration, the |
Texas quarantine was unwarraated. |
Ineffective and absurd. The investi |
CATION and report by Doctor Villas and |
tae later discu ssion have brought out |
nothing to demand q revision of this |
conclusion.
That there has been bubonic plague
in Chinatown 10 true (the last known
case and death having occurred Aug
net 49,. That she germs of the plague,
IL not cases OF plague, still exist there,
may be admitted. That Chinstown
condition and every possible means
taken TO stamp out any lingering
germs of the disease or conditions
favorable to harboring It, is undeni-
able. That the obligation 30 do this
rests equally upon the city authorities,
the state authorities and the federal
authorities, is equally undenisble.
nj nj L.
authorities are deliberately, wilfully
and shamefully shtrkiug their duty, il
as lsmentsple as it is unGe niable, and
the voice of condem patton should ring
on: go loudly from every part OF the
land that neither San Francisco nor
government should dare longer TO
permit Chinatown to go uncleansed.
But these facts In NO wise justify or
excuse the Texas state health officer
for Professionally msintinR preteoce of
quarantine that causes Rress damage
70 vast commercial Interests, worries
and harnesses the travelling public. and
yet IL futile to protect the people OF ,
Texas against whatever danger actual
ly exists. This is the position taken
by the chamber Of commerce, and
nothing in Doctor Vila=' report or In
any other available Information con-
sroverts this position. Is
Not only has the Texas health Off
Ger failed up to this time to make the /
quarantine effective, but he cannot /
posi- oily make it effective as long as
Texas stands alone In this matter.
However clear and undeniAble may be ,
the duty of San Francisco, California ,
and the federal government TO protect ,
the country, including Texas, against
the danger Of bubonic plague, If these ,
three responsible authorities fail or !
refuse to do their duty, Texas can
not single handed act effective :
ly for them. There is more danger in !
shipped from Chin atown !
than from persons coming from there.
And SO long as goods can be shipped
points and reshipped to Texas, NO ef- 4
forts of the Texas health officers will 7
suffice TO protect Texas against danger !
of infection from such source. Quar-
antine 10 a practical matter. A quar-
anime that cannot be made effective,
Is not merely an IDLE waste OF money :
by the state, but IL open TO the charge :
which the Ell Paso chamber OF COM
merce has laid against this particular
quarantine, tina: i. is San impediment I
a gAiust business and not disease" 4
The only difference between the {
position taken by the chamber of COM &
merce before Doctor Villas made his T
invessig alton and report and the posi-
ton now taken Is, that where as the
CHANGER of commerce has heretofore :,
said raise the quarantine 1t now says
make the qusrantine'e fl ective or raise C
10. In as much as there was never apy 4
Justification for the health officer 10
the quarantine unless he
Z y 1t to be fl ctive, Is WIS to be @
presumed that il IL was not effective IL
70 a a In 20 lwa