New-York tribune., 1920-07-12
lmperator Is
Held All Night
In Typhus Hunt
Seventh Large Vessel De.
layed at Quarantine in
Last Week to Permit
Close Health Inspection
Ship Owners May Act
Talk of Ending Costly
Detention by Refusing
Passage to Immigrants

The Cunarder Imperator dropped
anchor off Quarantine at 4:30 yester.
day afternoon, and on orders from the
Office Of the company lay there all
night, while thousands Of persons who
had expected the great ship to dock a,
10 o'clock in the morning waited al
the pier to meet friends and relatives
She is the seventh large vessel in a
week to have been held outside over
night. This is due to great extent
to the precautions which are being
taken by health and immigration
authorities against the possible pres
ence on board of typnus, which is
prevalent in Central Europe. Though
there was no illness on board the I'm
perator. many of the steerage passen-
gers were said to be without the nec-
cssary bill of health from the United
States Public Health Officer In their
region
j, Physicians Are Overtaxed
The examining physicians at Quar-
antinc have been forced for the past
fifteen days to work eighteen hours a
day because of this alleged neglect.
They were up at 4 o'clock yesterday
morning trying to provide pajamas for
the steerage passengers of the I'M
pcrator while their clothing was be-
ing fumigated. Shipping companies
have lost thousands of dollars by hav-
ing their vessels detained. 1t has in
convenienced thousands Of passengers.
Two other ships, the Presidente Will
son and the Giuseppe Verdi, which ar
rive tomorrow and the day after, will
meet with the same delay, it was pre-
dicted by health officials.
Romolo Tritoni, Italian Consul Gen.
eral at New York, who sailed two days
ago for Italy, is understood to be go
ing to draw the attention of sthe Italian
government to the necessity of COM
plying with the stringent health regu-
lations of this port with regard to per-
sons coming from Central Europe
Several shipping companies have de-
clared their Intention of refusing pas
sage to those persons whose presence
will cause delay to the ship at Quaran-
tine.
Many Liners Held Up
Only few days ago passengers of
the Olympic, inbound, were forced to
spend the night in the harbor.9 The
Dante Aleghieri, Regina dItalia, Duca
d'Aosta, Madonna and the Fernando
Palasciano suffered the same fate.
General Rupert Blue, former head of
the Public Health Service, is now
abroad Investigating health conditions
there, and his reports are said to have
tightened regulations here.
The lmperator was expected to pass
Ambrose Light at about O'Clock yes
terday morning. She ran into a fog
and was nearly ten hours late in her
arrival at Quarantine. Two barges
were waiting there all day to remove
the steerage passengers. Customs
officials hung idly around her dock. ex-
pecting her to land her passengers.
The first plan was to unload the 943
steerage passengers on the two barpes
and keep them there until their quar-
ters and their baggage had been fumi-
gated. Then, just asFthe medical Off
cess were setting out for the ship, or
ders came to remove them to Hoffman
Island. This was done.
Every effort was made to hurry ex-
animation Of the big ship so that she
might reach her pier. Customs officers
cleaned up their end Of the business.
The doctors were through in an hour.
Then came word from the Cunard
Line that the vessel should remain
where she was over night. There was
no use in the immigration authorities
going over her by that time. So the
376 first cabin passengers and the 487
cecond cabin passengers were forced t.
forego the night in New York.
Rear Admiral Harry S. Knapp, com
nander OF American naval forces in
European waters, was a passenger. as
was Lieutenant Colonel George B. Nc
Clellan, former Mayor of New York.
Other passengers were the MARQUIS
and Marquise Dusme and their three
children, Count Roger de Peri9ny. Il.
G; Whitney, Miss Constance Drexei, Of
and Nine. Minnie B.
Rasimi. manager Of the Theatre Femina
IN Paris and the Municipal Theater in
Lyons.
The Imperator left Southampton on
July 8. She will dock about s o'clock
this morning.