The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1905-08-25
FEDERAL QUARANTINE NEEDED.

Louisiana has taken the right and
inevitable course in calling on the
President to assume the burden OF
quarantine. Both the Governor and
the New Orleans Exchange ask for
this step. 1t is justified by public
opinion and by public conditions.
The more rapid, the more complete
and the more sweeping the change
from patchwork stats guarantees
wrangling on the gulf, to federal au'
thority the better.
State quarantine has lasted its day.
1t isan expensive and useless nuisance.
II is no more needed than state harbOr
lights, state immigrant service or
any other regulation of foreign or In
terstate commerce. The law is clear
and unmistakable. Said the Supreme
court nineteen years ago, 1856, IN a
case which came up from New Orleans
Morgan Steamship Company VS..
Louisiana board of health:
"It may be conceded that whenever
congress shall undertake to proyide
for the commercial cities of the United
States general system of quarantine,
or shall cOnfde the execution OF the
details of such system to national
board of health or to local boards, or
NAV be found expedient, all state laws
on the subject will be abrogated or at
least as far as the two are incOnsis-
TENT
Congress has taken this step. lthas
by recent law, given the President
full authority to decide when the Ma
rine Hospital Service shall assume
full jurisdiction. By the third section
of the act of 1898, when the Secretary
of the Treasury-and he is the sole
iudee-deems local or state quaraE-
tine insufficient, he can 'make such
additional rules and regulations as
are necessary" Once made, he is TO
Judge whether these rules are being
executed by state or local authorities.
Ifnot, federal quarantine steps in,
supreme.
The action taken in Louisiana and
, the complete disregard of federal rules
and regulations by shotgun quaran'
tines show that the time has come.
The responsibility should be taken
q Once taken it cannot be laid down
: Neither can the limits of federal ac
- ton be confined to New Orleans.
The day for shotgun quarantine is
o passed 10 this country. Profound
sympathy any one will feel for ignor
ant men under the Obsession of panic
like those in Calcasieu parish, who
stop all travel on trunk line like TIT
Southern Pacific. But Calcasieu par
ish has no more right to establish
y shotgun quarantine than a shotgun
- custom house.
a pestilence, like yellow fever, doe
its worst harm not through the death
81 or through leases" which in mos
Is cases add little to the average mortal
D ity of the year, but through the inter
, ruption to trade and travel. This il
. corruption is due to no needed quar-
antine, but to the headlong, wholesal
n and ignorant local quarantine estat
s. lished. These are always stupit
e. They are often venal. Graft houl
Z ishes in pestilence. Strange tale
10 southern railroads, steamers and mel
chants could tell on the cost of qua
Id antine."
I All this should be altogether reformed
en- Surgeon General Wyman is better ii
ted to regulate interstate commer'
aud transit between Louisiana ar
.st Mississippi than Governor Vardama1
ny Moreover, under existing statutes,
ito has better constitutional authorit
Id Lett be Observation-Disclosures Pos
ct 0 --