The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-18
FOR FEDERAL QUARANTINE AT NEW YORK
Success of the Public Health Service Fighting Dis Tn It's Strongholds.
 BY WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT.

-~~~>>-~>~~@~~-~-~~@-->-->
 Hookworm In Porto Rico, pr. Ash discovered hookworn and with Public. Health Service went through the business of reducing the amount of that disease.
 And then typhoid. There were 12O,OOO men in Spanish War of 1898, and 10000 cases of typhoid with a mortality rate of T per cent. In 1911
 we sent 19.00o men to the Texas border. Now, when heard the statement that I'm going to make to you, I did not believe it myself but went over to the War Department to learn the truth and the reason. Here is the statement: Among those IS, ,0OO men, only one case of typhoid occurred. The army had been in
 noculated with anti-toxin. The one case was a teamster who had not been vaccinated.
 An. Army to Fight Disease.
 What I am trying to establish by these statements. is that there are really in the government service of this country persons who are equal to the task of taking care of the quarantine at New York harbor. think I have established the fact that the federal government has corps of medical men in it's Army, Navy and Public Health Service who, in point of experience, in point of number, in point of backing with funds and laboratories, is equal to any corps of the world for prevent ing disease The Public Health Ser vice\ conducts 50 quarantine stations in this country at all large ports, ex- cepting New York, now that the transfer of the Boston station has been accomplished. Tt has agents in every important and dangerous port of the world, who constantly report on health conditions and issue warn ings.
 The quaranantine at New oYrk, however, is intimately our affair. Its conduct is nowp ractica1ly of national concern. It grows out of and is part of foreign and interstate commerce. Now foreign and interstate commerce are matters that the states may, in some fields. attend to until Congress acts. In others they may not sit at all and must abide Congressional ac- ton or inaction. Such, for instance. as the fixing of interstate railroad rates But with respect to matters that have some local bearing, states may affect foreign and interstate commerce until Congress itself takes charge and then the state law has no operation. That is the case with quarantine. The state may institute a quaranantine, but it cannot do so
  charge of that feature of foreign and interstate commerce. and it may ex- c1ude the state from maintaining such quarantine.
 The Whole Country Involved.
 Authority is given under the, pres ent law to any state government to turn over it's quarantine property to the national government. The na- tiona1 govern 1ssneAt Has an taTUrity to purchase this property.
 This is not simply New York matter. New York is the biggest city we have and the quarantine station is one through which the greatest number of people pass. But they do | not stay in New York. They go on to the rest of the country and, there fore. the whole country is interested by a government, which the country
 We are not criticizing New York,s department It is an admirable de- partment. The health law of New York is the best health law in the | United States. But under the con 1ftIons with the system what it is, it l cannot be so good. it cannot be so ! effective as it could if part of the na- sfonal system. A national quaran- tine here would be under the same | head as the customs, immigration, revenue and the State De- partment, through whom they re- eeive the consular reports and by | which they can follow the conditions 1 in other ports.
 Pm a, strong States rights, man. [ 1 believe it essential to rest on local 1 self government for matters of local application, and tr rely on the na- ional government for those things that in their nature are national and that affect the whole country On 1 that basis a quarantine under the present conditions, facing Europe as we do, with the possibility of an in crease of dangerous immigration as nation or as a divided system, one port here and another port there, run under different authorities. As a na- ton we have made treaties with for eign countries with respect to the of quarantine Ought we not to take over those instruments by which those treaties are to be per formed, into the national control, so that the nation may represent itself in the responsibilaties under those treaties?