the river, and by the health authorities of the towns and cities in those States which are members of the Council.

The meeting adjourned subject to the call of the Secretary, who at once proceeded to New Orleans for the purpose of personally arranging the details of the service at that important point.

On July 1, 1883, in pursuance of the action above recited, the Sanitary Council of the Mississippi Valley assumed supervision of the river inspection service, which was thenceforth continued uninterruptedly under such supervision up to September 15, when, all danger of yellow fever infection having passed, it was discontinued for the season.

During this period an inspector was maintained at the Mississippi river quarantine station below New Orleans, and two rail and two river inspectors at the port of New Orleans. In addition to these, Mississippi maintained a station at Fort Adams, and Memphis one. on President's Island. In the operation of the service the rules and regulations of the National Board of Health were continued, no changes being made either in the personnel of the service or in its policy, by the Council, after assuming supervision. The inspector at the quarantine station below New Orleans was relieved from duty on July 31, owing to the action of Gov. McEnery, as hereinafter detailed.

At the request of the Executive Committee, the expenses of the maintenance of the service, under the supervision of the Council, were defrayed directly by those interested, so that the Council was relieved of the responsibility and labor attaching to the disbursement of money. Mississippi, through its State Board of Health, and the Taxing-District of Shelby county, through the Memphis Board of Health, paid the expenses of the stations at Fort Adams and President's Island respectively. The Illinois Central and Louisville and Nashville railroads paid their own inspectors in New Orleans, while the river inspectors in New Orleans were paid by the commercial and steamboat interests through the New Orleans Auxiliary Sanitary Association.

No officer or member of the Sanitary Council received any compensation for his services in connection with this work.

From May 15, the beginning of the quarantine season, up to the close of July, there had arrived at the Mississippi river quarantine station, below New Orleans, seventy-three vessels from foreign ports. Of these, forty-seven were inspected up to June 30, under the supervision of the National Board of Health, and during July the remaining twenty-six were inspected under the supervision of the Sanitary Council.

Of these latter, eleven were from ports infected by yellow fever at the date of departure, and three of them-namely, the Berna, July 8; the Merchant, July 16, and the Buteshire, July 17-arrived with cases of yellow fever on board. Among the remaining vessels one was found to have had yellow fever on board in Havana last season, and in seven other cases it was probable that they had been infected at some previous time.

The sanitary condition of the vessel, cargo, crew and passengers in twelve cases was good, and in the remaining vessels-with the exception of the Berna, Merchant and Buteshire, which were infected the report of the inspector was qualified. In all cases the vessels were subjected by the quarantine authorities to a thorough general cleansing, purification of bilge, hold, etc., and disinfection with carbolic acid and copperas, and the cargoes were fumigated with sulphurous acid gas. Coffee-ships from Rio de Janeiro were either not allowed to proceed up to New Orleans at all, or only after removal of cargo and thorough fumigation of the same.

The arrival of the Merchant July 16, and of the Buteshire the following day, both from Vera Cruz with yellow fever cases, led the Governor of Louisiana, July 20, to recommend to the Louisiana State Board of Health that no infected vessel be permitted to enter the Mississippi river, and that all infected vessels then at the quarantine station be removed out of the river at once, assigning the reason that their presence at that point had practically rendered the station an infected port in dangerous proximity to New Orleans, and threatened a stupendous calamity to the Mississippi Valley. At its meeting, July 23, the Board discussed this communication, and finally adopted a resolution requesting the Governor to issue a proclamation enforcing his recommendations and declaring non-intercourse between Louisiana and Vera Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Havana and other infected ports, which proclamation was made the following day, July 24. The infected vessels were ordered to be removed from the river, and for the first time in a number of years the lower Mississippi was freed from the menace arising from the admission of yellow fever ships to the river.

Immediately upon receipt of information of this action, the request, previously preferred to Gov. McEnery, to permit the Sanitary Council inspector to remain at the quarantine station was withdrawn by telegram, and the inspector was relieved from duty July 31st. In this connection it is proper to remark, that while both the National Board of Health and the Sanitary Council have been advocating for the last four years the exclusion of infected vessels from the Mississippi during the dangerous season, and the use of Ship Island as a refuge station for such vessels, the necessity for absolute non-intercourse has not been recognized. The plan proposed by these two bodies contemplated the maintenance of an inspection station at or near Port Eads. All vessels entering the river would here be subjected to a rigid examination. Those found to be infected would be compelled to go to the Ship Island refuge station; healthy vessels from infected ports would be subjected to such treatment as would render it safe to allow them access to New Orleans; while all others, if found in a good sanitary condition, would be passed without detention. In this way it was believed the public health could be properly protected without inflicting any serious. injury to the commercial interests of New Orleans.

On August 13th, immediately after my return to Springfield from New Orleans, I recommended that "unless yellow-fever should appear in that city by the 20th instant, inspections should cease on the 31st." Doubts as to the character of the Jackson, Miss., sickness,

and the conditions at Pensacola and vicinity, prevented the adoption of this suggestion; but on the 15th of September, New Orleans and the valley remaining free from any suspicious illness, the service was definitely suspended for the season.

From May 15th to September 15th, during which period the service was maintained, there were inspected seventy-three ocean vessels at the Mississippi river quarantine station; 277 steamboats and other craft at the port of New Orleans; 439 steamboats and other craft at the stations of Fort Adams, Miss., and Presidents Island, Tenn., and 1421 freight trains on the Illinois Central and Louisville and Nashville railroads at New Orleans. The aggregate inspections comprise 2210 ocean vessels, river craft and freight trains, with a capacity of 2,534,870 tons, and carrying 39,947 officers, crew and passengers.

Not for many years has New Orleans been so free from alarm or cause of alarm, during the corresponding months, as during the sixty days ending August 31st, last, and there was practically no trouble with regard to the yellow-fever during the summer in any portion of the region in which the Sanitary Council is directly interested.

In conclusion, it seems proper to add that the utility of the Council has been again demonstrated-this time in the direction of practical administration over a large area, embracing many and diverse interests, and co-ordinating and utilizing agencies and authorities which, otherwise, would have been limited in their usefulness to their own individual fields. The methods of inspection and sanitary supervision were uniform along thousands of miles of rail and river; and all conflict of authority, all clashing of boards, and all expense and irritation of ill-advised and unnecessary quarantine, and hence all embarrassment and interruption of travel and traffic, were successfully and happily avoided.

There is no question in my mind but that the form of the organization should be maintained in readiness for instant action whenever an emergency arises similar to that with which we were confronted during the summer of 1883.

Respectfully submitted,

JOHN H. RAUCH, Secretary.

Ar the conclusion of the reading of the report Dr. Lindsley moved its acceptance and approval, and, upon Dr. Thornton's motion, it was ordered that the report be included in the printed proceedings. The Treasurer's report was submitted and referred to a committee of audit, consisting of Drs. Dibrell and Lindsley.

There being no other reports the chair announced that new business was in order, whereupon Dr. Fite moved that a committee of five be appointed to whom should be referred all resolutions without debate. The Chair appointed Drs. Fite, Griffith, Salomon, Baker and Birchett.

Dr. Rauch moved that one member from each of the States be placed upon the Committee on Resolutions, as an amendment to Dr. Fite's motion for a committee of five. Carried.

The committee, as enlarged, was constituted as follows: Dr. Fite, of Tennessee; Dr. Salomon, of Louisiana; Dr. Griffith, of Illinois; Dr. Baker, of Michigan; Dr. Lenow, of Arkansas; Dr. Birchett, of Mississippi; Dr. Dr. Hewitt, of Minnesota, and Dr. Hearne, of Missouri.

Dr. Baker offered a preamble and resolutions concerning the marine hospital service, which were referred to the Committee on Resolutions, to report after dinner.

Adjourned until 2:30 p. m.

AFTERNOON SESSION.-At 2:30 p. m. the Council again assembled, with Vice-President Hadden in the chair.

The Committee on Resolutions, through its chairman, submitted the following report:

MR. PRESIDENT: Your Committee on Resolutions begs leave to report that the preamble and resolutions offered at the morning session have been considered by the committee, and, after some changes, were adopted section by section and then as a whole, and they are herewith returned to the Council and their adoption recommended, as follows:

WHEREAS, The supervising Surgeon-General of the United States marine hospital service has opposed and in a manner defeated important measures for the promotion of public-health interests in the United States, which have been advocated by our leading sanitarians and by this and other sanitary organizations in this country; and,

WHEREAS, The representative of the marine hospital service in the National Board of Health has not contributed to the success of the important work of that board; therefore,

Resolved, That in any associated action which we may contemplate, either as executive sanitary officers or as voluntary associations, it behooves us to consider the marine-hospital bureau as inimical to the public-health interests which it is our duty to protect, and as a danger which we should not disregard. For although neither the chief of the service nor his subordinate officers are known in sanitary organizations like this, they are able to so place themselves before Congress as to secure the ends they have in view.

Resolved, That as delegates representing the health organizations in the several States and municipalities hereinafter mentioned, and collectively as the Sanitary Council of the Mississippi Valley, we earnestly memorialize Congress to so amend the act establishing the National Board of Health as to dispense with the representative in that board from the marine hospital service. Be it further

Resolved, That the Sanitary Council of the Mississippi Valley recommends to Congress the adoption of the bill introduced into the House of Representatives, January 8, 1884, by Hon. Mr. Young, providing for the prevention of the introduction of infectious diseases into the United States; for obtaining information of the sanitary condition of foreign ports and places in the United States, and for procuring information relating to climatic and other conditions affecting public health.

Dr. L. H. Montgomery moved the adoption of the preamble and resolutions as a whole.

Dr. Hewitt, from the committee, said that a minority of three members out of seven opposed the resolutions as impolitic and unwise, and as introducing a discussion not desirable to be raised at this time.

Dr. Thornton said there was one feature that he was opposed to in the resolutions, namely, the recommendation that the representation of the marine-hospital service be stricken from the National Board of Health. He admitted that the course of the service toward the Board had been aggressive, but thought that time would smooth away all difference of opinion and bring about a reconciliation.

Drs. Baker, Fite, Hyer, Salomon, Rauch and Messrs. Hadden and Elder participated in the discussion, which was terminated for the time being by the adoption of Dr. Salomon's motion to lay the subject on the table. A motion, by Dr. Hyer, to reconsider this action, was lost, and the matter was recommitted to the Committee on Resolutions, which subsequently submitted the following as a substitute for the original preamble and resolutions, and the same was unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That the Sanitary Council of the Mississippi Valley, in annual session assembled, memorialize Congress to adopt the bill introduced into the House of Representatives, January 8, 1884, by the Hon. Casey Young, providing for the prevention and introduc tion of infectious diseases into the United States, and for obtaining information of the sanitary condition of foreign ports and places in the United States, and for procuring information relating to climatic and other conditions affecting the public health.

Dr. W. F. Hyer offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That the thanks of this Council be, and the same are, hereby tendered to Dr. Rauch, the Secretary of the Council, for his arduous and faithful labors, under the instructions of this Council, in 1883; and the Executive Committee are hereby instructed, if necessary, to adopt the same line of action in regard to the prevention of the introduction of yellow-fever or other infectious diseases into the Mississippi Valley during the year 1884.

Dr. L. H. Montgomery, of Chicago, moved that the hearty thanks of this Council be hereby voted to the Illinois Central, Louisville and Nashville, and the other railroads for courtesies extended to the delegates in attendance at this meeting, in the granting of free transportation or at greatly reduced rates; also, that the same vote be included to extend to the proprietors of the Peabody Hotel for accommodating the delegates below their regular rate of charge, the Mississippi and Tennessee railroad, the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis railroad, the authorities of the city, and the press. Adopted. The Auditing Committee reported that the report of the Treasurer was correct.