The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-08-30
MORGAN EXPLAINS
 TIE CONDITIONS Tells of Health Certificates at
 Union Depot ONLY FOR CONVENIENCE Doctors and Notarles Have to Do an Immense Amount of Charity Work.
 The Public Is Accom-
 modated.


 day went into detailed explanation of the matter of obtaining health certificates. He did this in view of the many eom- plaints that have reached his ears from people who stated that they had been charged too much for certificates. He said:
 T have heard many complaints about travellers having to secure health eerti- ficates before they could leave Birming- ham, and some have thought they were charged too much for these certificates. For that reason, I think that detailed statement of the matter might set the public right on the question.
 Tn the first place, the state of Ala bama, or the Alabama quarantine. has nothing what ever to do with the issuing of health certificates. As a matter of convenience to the travelling public there is notary and a physician at the station who will issue certificates.
 These people are not In any way con- nected with the quarantine service. They Issue certificates to al who ask for them and who can swear that they have not been to the infected districts.
 "As I said before the state has nothing to do with this. The Alabama quaran- tine service does not require health certificate, for that reason the quaran- tine service is not in any way connected with the issuing of the certificates.
 However, there are a number of towns in Alabama and all over the south, espec- ially in Mississippi, where health cer- tificate signed by a notary public Is re- quired before a person can get off the train. A ticket to any of these cities will not be sold by the ticket agent in any city in the south unless a health certifi- cate is presented at the window.
 Cities Make own Laws.
 I've have nothing to do with that. These cities make their own quarantine. and the railroads will not sell tickets to these cities with out the certificate. for the passenger would not be allowed to get off the train and the railroad would be forced to carry the passenger past his destination.
 ..I want to emphasize that fact that people can get their certificates from any physician or any notary public that they see fit. They are not compelled to come to the station
 "A person wishing to go to Mississippi applies at the ticket office for ticket. The ticket seller asks for the health cer- tificate and the traveller cannot produce one The ticket will not be sold. Pre- viously the passenger would have to go up town and hunt for physician. This required time. Then they had to find a notary and get the certificate sworn to. This required still more time. Any physician in the city charges from 50 cents to N for a health certificate, and any notary public charges 50 cents to sign a paper. If the public wants to go to other physicians and other notaries they are welcome to do so.
 Before there was a notary and a phy- sician at the station hundreds of passen- gers missed their trains on account of the delay in finding physician and a notary. Passengers do not have to miss trains now If they want to get their cer- tificates at the station.
 MT. Foster, the notary at the station, does not draw cent pay from the state of Alabama. although he acts as my sec- retary and keeps all the records straight and attends to a great deal of business for the state. When he was appointed a notary by tho governor his name was taken off the pay rolls of the state.
 Charge Is Moderate.
 Tn the same way neither Dr. Northing- ton or Dr. Ashworth receive any pay man of the health committee of the Jeff ferson County Medical Society, named these two physicians for this duty in order to accommodate the public. At the same time he specified that they should not charge over 50 cents for a health certificate, which is a great deal less than the average charge for one from physicians in this city or other cities.
 Another side of the matter. Where would a person go to hunt notary pub lie at o'clock in the morning or 12 o clock at night? Where would a stranger in the city find a doctor or a notary at those hours2 It would be simply impos- blDle ana Huuufcus oi peopie Wouiu hiiSS their trains in their search for these two necessarles and have to pay hotel bills.
 Tn Alabama health certificates are re-
 "Policemen from Chattanooga and De- tur and all cities south of Tuscaloosa on the Alabama Great Southern. Every city in Mississippi requires health certificate. Chattanooga requires a health certificate.
 "Pollcemen from Chattanoga and De- catur come to Birmingham on every train from those places, and they will not al- low passengers bound for those cities to get on a train in Birmingham unless they have a certificate.
 "The officers of Chattanooga and Deea- tnr have put many people off the trains before they reached those cities for fail- ure to have their certificates These people are greatly inconvenienced by being put of the trains. They have to secure health certificates where they are put off the train, or return to the place from where they started.
 "As matter of fact I wish that peo- ple would get their certificates before they come to the station, as it would save the quarantine officers the necessity of having to answer thousands of questions. a large majority of which are useless.
 T require my officers to go out of the state and catch the incoming trains be- fore they cross the state line. They pre- vent any one entering the state who does