The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1906-03-15
OUR WASHINGTON
NEWS AND NOTES
ITEMS OF INTEREST BRIEFLY
CHRoNICLED.
WILLIAMS QUARANTINE BILL

The House Committee Agrees on Fav-
orable Action for Williams Meas
ure as Amended.
The cause Of federal control Of
quarantine was advanced one more
step in Congress when the house COM
mittee on interstate and foreign COM
merce reported with amendments, the
Williams quarantine bill. Amended
bills are now before the house and
the senate. They differ materially.
While the senate bill increases the
power of the surgeon general Of the
public health and marine hospital SER
vice, the house bill carries the power
OF that official to a certoain extent
and strengthens the control of the
secretary of the treasury over his
subordinates. The house bill also
tackles the interstate commerce ques
ton boldly. This point was lodged
by the senate committee on public
health and national quarantine which
reported the amended Mallory bill
although Senator McEnery fought
hard to have it covered by the amend
ment. The vote In the committee to-
day stood IL to 2 in favor of report
ing the bill. Those who opposed were
Representatives Bartlett of Georgia
and Russell of Texas. The first sec
ton of the bill directs the secretary
OF the treasury to acquire title to a
site on the dry Tortugas for quaran-
tine station and harbor Of refuge, and
authorizes him to establish such other
stations as he may deem necessary to
keep out the yellow fever, not exceed
ing three in number. In other sec
tions provision is made for the fine
and punishment of persons who tres
pass on the station grounds or leave
when detailed with out permission of
the authorities, and of masters of YES
sells violating tho inspection laws or
making false statements relative to
the sanitary condition of their YES
sells.
State quarantine stations are pro-
tected by provision which makes it
necessary for the secretary Of the
treasury to obtain the consent of
state before he purchases land within
its territories. The interstate COM
merce question is tackled in the sew
enth section, which reads as follows:
"That it shall be unlawful for any
state or municipal health officer or
other person to hinder, obstruct or
unnecessarily delay any common car
rier or to interfere with any instru-
mentality Of commerce engaged in the
transportation of passengers or
freight between two states: Provided
that this act shall not be construed or
understood as giving authority to any
person to debark or unload freight at
any locality against the state or mu-
nicipal regulations of said locality.
Any person violating the provisions
of this section shall be guilty of
misdemeanor and on conviction there
of be punished by fine not exceed
ang $500 or be imprisoned for period
not exceeding one year, or both, in the
discretion Of the court"
Another amendment provides that
when the government acquires prop
erty for quarantine us the states
shall release all rights to the property
when the purchase price is paid.
Section B, the final section, con-
tains the appropriation clause, and
reads as follows:
"That the sum of 100000, or as
much thereof as may be necessary, is
hereby appropriated out of any money
not otherwise provided for, for the
purpose of carrying into effect the
provisions Of this act, as we'll as for
the purpose generally of preventing
the importation of yellow fever into
the United States, and for the fur
ther purposes, in cooperation with
the state health authorities, Of Grad
'icating it should it be imported, Or
preventing its spread from one state
into another state, and Of destroying
its cause wherever the same may be
found.
The postmaster general has reafir-
med his position with respect to the
rural free delivery carriers, that they
cannot be used as the medium for tax
ing subscriptions for newspapers. At
one time they were allowed to do so
but a recent act Of congress prehib-
tied rural carriers from soliciting bu-
siness or receiving orders of any kind
from any person, firm or corporation,
or from carrying merchandise for hire
during their hours of employment.
According to an official statement Civ