The San Francisco call., 1903-01-20
GOVERNOR PARDEE'S VIEWS.
City Must Submit to Outrage and Get
Clean Bill of Health.

CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA-
MENTO, Jan. $50 far as the effect
upon California" is concerned, it makes
no difference whether there is bubonic
plague in San Francisco or not, so long
as that body now in session at Wash
ington believes that plague does exist
there and persists in that belief The ef-
feet will be the same whatever the truth
may be, and there is only one course for
us to pursue-namely, to proceed to get
clean bill of health, and that as soon as
possible
Thus spoke Governor Pardee tonight in
an interview on the report from Washing
ton of the action of the conference of
health authorities from a number of
States. He said much more, but the fore
going quotation is condensation of his
other statements-the very meat of the
cocoanut-and clearly indicates his policy
Governor Pardee had not heard from
Washington officially on the subject, but
took the press dispatches as giving a true
report of what had transpired there. He
expects to receive SOME time tomorrow
an official communication from DR.. Mat
thew Gardner, who represents California
at that conference Until such official
confirmation is received no action will be
taken by the State administration. Once
it becomes known officially just what
must be done, Governor Pardee indicated
by his words and manner tonight that
he will not be slow to act. OF course he
could not and would not predict what his
action would be and when asked. whether
in his opinion IL would include the re-
movaI of any members of the State Board
of Health he simply replied, Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof" and
upon that phase of the subject would say
no more.
throughout the interview the Governor
never once intimated whether or not, in
his opinion, plague exists or has existed
in San Francisco. 1t was not necessary
that he should, inasmuch as he takes the
ground that whatever may be the health
conditions there, the State Will be obliged
to take almost any action which the
health authorities Of the Government may
direct.
A most important point is that the Gov
ernor does not believe that the declara-
tion made by the convention means
that there will be a quaran-
tine. That is but another way of saying
that there is no occasion for alarm and
an expression of confidence that the
State will come out of the ordeal with
flying coIors, provided the proper course
is pursued. The Governor began his
talk with a pointed illustration:
Suppose you lived in large house,
said he, land the health authorities came
to that house and declared that you had
smallpox within, what would you do?
No, you would not demand that the au-
thorities prove it. Suppose they said to
you: This place must be cleaned up
ana fumigated? What would you say?
You would wisely yield to authority and
say Clean up at once and the more thor
oughly the better, but whatever you do
give me a clean bill of health as soon
as possible-the sooner the better
Then 1t was that the Governor used
the words ouoted heretofore Continu-
ing, he said
ut has been stated many times that
this disease which they call the plague
has existed in California for a long time |
DR.. Lane, for whose opinion 1 have the |
highest regard. has many times declared !
that he has been treating this disease |
among the Chinese almost since he came