The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-17
Shall We Have a National Quarantine Law? Review of the Inconsistencies and Lack of System Now
 in VoQue By MAJOR w. w. SCREWS
By MAJOR W. W. SCREWS.
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I would obviate such conditions, not only in Atlanta but everywhere else. l Re fusais to Recognise State Boards. | Cities refused in some instances to | recognize the authority of their State Board of Health. It will be recalled 1 that one of the questions put to people
 going to Birmingham last Summer was | this:
 Have you, to your knowledge. l been exposed to yellow fever in the 1 past seven daysT
 A negative answer gained admis- sion to that city even for a person l from New Orleans, yet if at one time a person from this city desired to enter Birmingham he or she could not do so
 under any conditions because of fear 1 from the one case of fever which acci-
 dently developed here. It made no difference that the man was three
 miles from the city. and cut off from communication with all other people True this did not last long, but 1t shows the inconvenience and inconsistencies
 of so many quarantine systems. When pr. Sanders. State Health Off, | fcer of Alabama, arranged our state l quarantine against Louisiana, way
 was provided by which refugees could pass through the State without stop l ping. At the end of seven days in To- calities where they were permitted 10 stop, they were at liberty to come into | Alabama. Our regulations were as nu- | mane as 1t was possible to make them' yet citizen of New Orleans. wno passed through Alabama eastward un-
 dertook to again pass through so,ns | westward before the time limit ex- pired, and the Governors of Alabama l and Louisiana came near being in- voived in a controversy over it. | The Louisiana citizen was stopped on | tho Georgia border and allowed to come no farther this way. Governor Blancn- | ard protested against the ruling of the 1 Alabama Board of Health. An inter- view with Governor Jelks at the time | is very appropriate just here:
 'I had such a letter as noted in the newspapers from Governor Blanchard and I am surprised that Governor | Blanchard has taken the position he has, If he will reflect a moment he will | see that it does not lie with him to I complain at the conduct of our quar- | antine officials. It was Governor Rlanchard's quarantine which gave us all this inconvenience and trouble. He | should be indulgent towards the efforts of officials of other States because his officials invited yellow fever to New Orleans by a lax quarantine system. It behooves Governor Blanchard to be as I considerate of us as possible under the circumstances.
 The efforts to keep out yellow fever | undef Sucn d system dS NS huOW Ol | cannot be successful by use of gentle
 means. Some times 1t may occur that | some of our officials, hurriedly ap- l pointed, may not be as discreet as we l might like them to be. but in Alabama the quarantine is being carried on by l the very best means at our command. l .'I think our Board of Health Is right in saying that a man who has been es- | corted through the State to escape from New Orleans, should not expect
 us to escort him again through the State. It Is already taxing our ener- gies to conduct such refugee through
 the State one time.
 T am quite sure Governor BIanch- ard should not complain of us under the circumstances. It seems to me I have read of some acts in connection | with the conduct of local quarantine in Louisiana which would tax Cover nor B1anchards energies. I am of the opinion that we are running the most respectable quarantine of all the States involved.
 q see where the Governor of Louis jana expresses tho hope that the mat
 ter will get into the United States Courts I hope no United States Judge will disturb the matter now. If the question is to be tested it should be after the quarantine is not a necessity.
 "The conduct of the New Orleans Board of Health forces upon the public the necessity for a national quarantine,
 a system uniform in all the Gulf States
 and Atlantic ports. I am sure this
 must be the outcome of the New Or leans trouble. The inefficiency of the
 arrangements at that point for keep
 ing yellow fever out has cost the State
 of Alabama many thousands of dollars
 and l see no way to prevent recur-
 renee of such a situation as the pres-
 ent one except through uniform sys-
 tenn under the control of the national
 government. That result Is inevitable
 and made so by the conduct of the
 quarantine officers of the State of i Louisiana.
 The Chattanooga Convention.
 The recent convention at Chattanoo-
 ga which considered the quarantine
 matter for two days, was composed Of
 representative men from all the South
 ern States which are in any way inter- ested in the question. Many of the
 ablest public men of our day were
 there and they entered into the con-
 sideration of quarantine with great singleness of purpose. They were