The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1905-09-02

National Quarantine.

National Quarantine.
There il much reason to think that
the outcome of the turning over Of
the fever situation in this city to the
national health authorities will he
the abolition Of the quarantine SER
vice of the States. The ruinous and
barbarous quarantines established
by small communities against the
world, the stOppage Of the United
States mails and interstate traffic
has resulted in q demand by the
press of the country for a scientific
and uniform quarantine service such
a. can be exercised and maintained
only by the national health organi-
ration. For example, we find that
very conservative and friendly paper
the Philadelphia Ledger, saying:
1.-THE grotesque warfare between
the 'navies' of the two States, II ta-
ken seriously, illustrated the difficult
ty Of treating quarantine as purely
n local concern. The preposterous
proceedings of parochial authorities
present this difficulty in n still more
convincing light. The governors are
sticklers for prerogative; the people
with shOtguns, who are holding up
trains and carrying on all kinds OF
outlawry, are disturbers Of the peace
who can plead no excuse but ignor-
ance. Yet they no doubt honestly
believe that they are protecting their
communities from yellow fever.
The present outbreak ut New Or
leans must do much to break down
this embattled ignorance and to diff
fuse q better understanding Of the
nature Of yellow fever, the means Of
its propagation, and the means Of
preventing its transmission.
1T ought also to bring about an
intelligent adjustment Of the whole
quarantine system Of the country.
Quarantine is related 80 intimate
ly with commerce that the authority
which regulates commerce must con-
troll or supervise the regulation Of
quarantine. 1t is obviously impossi-
BILE to allow a mail train passing
through State to be stopped at the
boundary Of some county that har
taken ON itself to esta blish a quaran-
tine. Even if such measures were
sensible they produce intolerabl~
confusion"
There is little reason to doubt
when Congress meets that existing
laws will he 30 amended as to place
the quarantine service Of the several
States under the control of the Ma.
tional sanitary authorities without
depriving local authorities OF respon-
-sibility for the sanitary conditions OF
their respective communities. 1t APP
pears that in crippling the business
Of New Orleans by haphasard shot
gun guarantees the business Of other
cities and sections has suffered, hencr
the demand that il now being made
for the Federal government to take
over the matter of quarantine regu-
lati0n In such outbreaks as that
which has occurred here, and to e.
tablish q reasonable and scientific
system which shall be uniform, and
while protecting life and health will
abolish the embargoes imposed on
interstate commerce and transporta-
ton. The press of the North, East
and West Ia contending that the Ma
rine Hospital Service has been shown
to he scientific and vigilant, and
therefore its Jurisdiction ought to be
so developed and extended, as re
suit OF the present experiences, as to
leave no pretext for Governors to
wrangle, or for panic-crazed mobs to
paralyze lines Of transportation and
the commerce Of States. This Is the
argument which other sections Of the
country are going to present to Con-
gress this fall. and when we consider
all that has happened during the
present fever scare there is very little
reason to doubt that it will result in
Congress clothing the National Quar-
antine Service with full power to take
absolute control of the situation and
establish such regulations as it may
deem necessary for the protection of
the public health. The South may,
and probably will, hold that such an
extension of Federal authority is an
infringement on the rights Of the
States, but with the preponderating
sentiment Of the country in favor of
Federal regulation Of quarantine at
fairs it 10 not difficult to forecast what