The Anomalous Quarantine Situation In New York Bay

Immigrants Standing Outside the Main Building at Ellis Island circa 1910. National Archives and Records Administration # 6235189. GGA Image ID # 19f5894b4b

New York is a vital quarantine port in the United States and probably worldwide. For the last half-dozen years, the total number of alien immigrants to the United States has averaged nearly a million, and almost seven-eighths of them entered through the port of New York.

Over 60 percent of these came from southern and southeastern Europe, where sanitary conditions are primitive and cholera outbreaks are uncommon.

Between May 8 and November 1, 1910, 204,959 cases occurred in Russia, resulting in 95,673 deaths; from August 17 to November 1 of the same year, 1,814 cases and 899 deaths occurred in Italy.

In the last week of September 1910, there were 377 cases, with 130 deaths from cholera in Naples alone—one of the embarking points for America.

Moreover, New York is one of the most important ports of entry from the West Indies and South and Central America, where the yellow fever problem has not yet been entirely solved.

Of course, vessels bringing immigrants also carry a valuable cargo of imports, and modern quarantine involves thorough and efficient inspection of passengers to detect quarantinable diseases while at the same time obstructing and delaying commerce the minimum amount.

During the last five years, the value of imports landing in New York City averaged almost $800,000,000 per year, more than the imports of all the other United States ports combined.

Over one-eighth was from southern Europe, with $50,000.000 coming from Italy. And yet, although the federal government conducts forty-four quarantine stations of its own, the station in New York, as is the case at only three or four other places, is maintained as a state station.

Because the governor of New York recently called for the resignation of the port's health officer, it would seem reasonable to raise the question of transferring the New York quarantine station from state supervision and control to that of the federal government anew.

After being boarded far down the bay by their harbor pilot, incoming vessels bound for the harbor of New York must pass three kinds of barrier stations before they may land their passengers in the United States.

Standing on either side of the Narrows are the first—the military outposts at Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton—set up to prevent invasion by a foreign military force.

Invasion of our shores by a hostile army has long been considered of vital concern to all the people of the United States, and means toward prevention are furnished nationally.

The soldiers who man the forts are representatives of the national government, and the physical equipment with which they work is owned and controlled by the federal powers.

While New York City would be the first and heaviest sufferer in case of a forceful attack upon the United States through this port and is therefore especially interested in solid fortifications down the bay, the general government has assumed the responsibility for defense and spared no pains or expense in obstructing the undesirable entrance.

Furthermore, the hazards involved in possible military invasion have been thought so great that army service has been removed from either political control or local influences, which might in any way weaken its efficiency.

Up the bay, a little farther, is the second barrier, the state quarantine station. This barrier is also set up to keep out destructive invasions. No foreign army or fleet could play such costly havoc with the - general welfare or shatter our domestic peace as could the charge of pestilence.

Such an insinuating devastator of life and homes concerns more than the state of New York, for most of the possible carriers of contagion who enter the port soon scatter through many states. For instance, out of 850.000 aliens inspected in New York in 1910, all but 280,000 intended to reside in other states than New York.

Therefore, their physical condition is of interest to Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, or Nebraska, and indeed to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Yet New York shoulders the burden of protecting the nation.

Roughly three-fifths of the immigrants entering New York stay in five eastern states; yet, again, the other four states do not share with New York in quarantine inspection. Two islands just below the Narrows, Hoffman and Swinburne, are equipped for detention, observation, and treatment of incoming passengers.

The administrative headquarters are on Staten Island, just at the Narrows. Swinburne has four small hospital buildings housing isolation wards, comfortable quarters for officers and nurses, a crematory, and a morgue.

The island is used exclusively for the isolation and treatment of persons suffering from any of the generally recognized quarantinable diseases, namely cholera, yellow fever, plague, leprosy, smallpox, and typhus fever, and for the observation of all except cholera suspects.

Until about two years ago, Hoffman, the other island, was used as a detention place for persons exposed to these diseases. At that time, however, the health officer prepared to detain persons afflicted with such contagious diseases as scarlet fever, measles, and Diptheria and accordingly fitted up a building to be used as a hospital for treating these cases.

Early last summer, when an invasion of cholera from Italy and southern Russia was threatening, another change was made. Since then, the Hoffman Island equipment has been reserved as detention quarters for cholera suspects only. Immigrants suffering from scarlet fever, measles, etc., have been sent to the federal hospital on Ellis Island.

The federal authorities anticipated the increasing demand for hospital facilities. When this class of cases came to them, they were adequately provided.

The legislature of New York has repeatedly expressed the sentiment that the quarantine station should support itself; in other words, one should assess the cost of quarantine inspection and other services against the steamship companies.

Almost up to the beginning of the present administration at quarantine, the state felt no financial burden. The health officer was allowed to keep all fees collected above the expense of conducting quarantine.

That plan kept expenditures for improved service and better equipment to a minimum, and the office was regarded as a "gold mine" for the incumbent.

The fees assessed were $5 for every inspection, regardless of the size or sanitary condition of the vessel; $2 additional for each two steerage passengers or fraction thereof; and from $5 to $50 (at the discretion of the health officer) for disinfecting a vessel.

Although these fees have continued to be charged in recent years, the health officer has been paid a salary, and the state has compensated for deficits in the station's finances.

Owing to the increased carrying capacity of steamers, thereby reducing total fees, on the one hand, and to the increase in sanitary knowledge, the rising cost of administration, on the other hand, these annual differences between receipts and disbursements have grown until the legislature now furnishes about $75,000 per year for current expenses.

Thus, commerce into and out of New York and the state of New York are taxed together to protect the nation against disease.

Further up the bay at the immigrant station on Ellis Island is the third breastworks thrown up against foreign invasions, and there, as at the forts, the federal government is again in charge.

The immigration station bars entrance of manifestly objectionable classes of immigrants such as idiots, imbeciles, the insane, paupers, persons likely to become public charges, persons with loathsome or dangerous contagious diseases, persons whose physical or mental defects might prevent them from earning a living, criminals, procurers, and prostitutes.

The government has expended several million on buildings and equipment. Although there may still be a need for more equipment, the comparative expenditures of the state at the quarantine islands and the federal government at Ellis Island argue the more extraordinary ability to furnish and greater ease in obtaining large appropriations from the national resources.

In addition to the million-dollar administration building with inspection and detention quarters and other smaller facilities, the government has two huge hospitals, one of which includes thirteen large isolation wards.

More than 500 officials, including those in the hospital service, are regularly on duty at the station. Officers in the United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, who are also in charge of treatment in the hospitals, perform physical examinations.

In 1910, the total number of immigrants admitted to this and other hospitals cooperating with the immigration station hospitals was 8,649; the total number of clays' treatments furnished amounted to 58,559, and the daily average number of patients in the hospital was 160.

In that year, the chief medical officer reports that 19,545 aliens were certified for physical or mental defects, including 1,735 classified as loathsome, contagious, or dangerous contagious, trachoma 1,442, tinea-tonsures 94, favus 84, tuberculosis 32, syphilis 13, gonorrhea 32, etc.

Nine thousand, three hundred, and fifty-one were certified for disease or defect that affects the ability to earn a living, including senility (2,637), hernia (1,478), valvular disease of the heart (384), and a curvature of the spine (310).

Many officers are required in this station of the marine hospital service, and the 500 and more other employees, who are protected by the civil service, feel only the minimum of political interference.

Here, then, are three national frontiers, yet one of the three New York states shoulders the moral, physical, and financial responsibility of protecting against foreign invading foes.

At all of the smaller ports of entry sprinkled about our shores and at nearly all of the larger ones, the states have given the federal government protection from disease invasion.

New York, with the largest and most costly port to supervise immigrants fast scattering to all states, with a federal station in its largest harbor protecting against the morally, physically, and economically unfit, stands most conspicuously in the way of a uniform system of inspection and detention throughout the country and a standardizing of the administration of quarantine stations.

Bibliography

"The Survey Social Charitable Civic, Volume Xxvii, No. 17 Week of January 27, 1912"

"Swinburne Island, New York Quarantine, Lower Bay"
Isolation Quarters Where Individuals Afflicted With Cholera, Yellow Fever, Plague, Leprosy, Smallpox, or Typhus Fever Are Treated and Managed by the State of New York.

"Hoffman Island, New York Quarantine, Lower Bay"
Until Last Summer, This Island Served As Detention and Observation Quarters for Individuals Exposed to Cholera, Yellow Fever, Plague, Leprosy, Smallpox, Typhus, Scarlet Fever, Measles, and Diphtheria. It Is Now Reserved Solely for Cholera Suspects and Is Maintained by the State of New York.

"Ellis Island Immigration Station, Upper New York Bay"
A Facility Established to Prevent the Entry of Manifestly Objectionable Classes of Immigrants, Including Individuals Who Are Idiots, Imbeciles, Insane, or Those With Loathsome or Dangerous Contagious Diseases. This Station Is Maintained by the United States.

Why You Should Read This Article on the Anomalous Quarantine Situation in New York Bay

The Anomalous Quarantine Situation in New York Bay article provides a compelling look at the crucial role New York played in protecting the nation from the spread of infectious diseases while processing millions of immigrants. It highlights the challenges, inconsistencies, and debates over whether quarantine should remain a state responsibility or be transferred to federal control.

For teachers, students, genealogists, and family historians, this article is an essential read, offering a deeper understanding of how public health concerns shaped immigration policies at America’s busiest entry port.

Key Insights from the Article:

1. New York’s Quarantine System Was Critical to U.S. Public Health

• With nearly a million immigrants arriving each year, mostly from southern and eastern Europe where cholera outbreaks were common, New York served as the nation’s first line of defense against disease.
• Between May and November 1910, cholera outbreaks in Russia and Italy killed thousands, making the inspection process even more crucial.
• The state-managed quarantine stations on Hoffman and Swinburne Islands were equipped to detain, observe, and treat passengers suspected of carrying infectious diseases like cholera, smallpox, typhus, and leprosy.

2. A Patchwork System: State vs. Federal Control of Quarantine

• Despite New York’s overwhelming burden in screening immigrants and protecting the nation, the federal government operated 44 quarantine stations across the country—yet New York’s station remained under state control.
• The article argues that quarantine should be a national responsibility, just like military defense at Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton, since the diseases detected in New York impacted the entire country.

3. The Massive Scale of Immigrant Medical Inspections at Ellis Island

• Ellis Island, operated by the federal government, was responsible for screening immigrants for physical and mental defects that might render them a public charge.
• In 1910 alone, immigration officials certified 19,545 aliens for physical or mental defects, including:
  • 1,735 with loathsome or contagious diseases
  • 1,442 cases of trachoma (a highly contagious eye disease)
  • 84 cases of favus (a fungal scalp infection common among immigrants)
  • 2,637 cases of senility
  • 1,478 cases of hernia

4. The Financial and Logistical Burden of New York’s Quarantine System

• Unlike Ellis Island, which was federally funded, New York’s state-run quarantine system relied on fees from steamship companies.
• The costs of quarantine services were rising while steamship fees remained fixed, forcing New York’s legislature to subsidize quarantine efforts with state tax dollars—essentially funding national protection at the state’s expense.
• New York’s officials repeatedly called for federal control to standardize quarantine practices and relieve the state’s financial burden.

Why This Article is Important for Immigration & Public Health History

This article provides a rare look at the intersection of immigration policy and public health in early 20th-century America. It highlights:
✅ The sheer scale of the medical screening process for immigrants.
✅ The struggles between state and federal authorities over quarantine responsibilities.
✅ The impact of disease outbreaks in Europe on U.S. immigration policy.
✅ How immigrant health screenings shaped the lives of millions of new arrivals.

For family historians, this article offers context on why ancestors may have been detained or denied entry due to health concerns.

For educators and students, it is a fascinating case study of how public health shaped immigration policies—a topic that remains relevant today.

📖 Explore this article to gain a deeper understanding of how quarantine policies shaped immigration history and public health in the U.S.!