File No. 150.655/2.
The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of State.
Washington , February 8, 1911 .
Sir: By direction of the Secretary I have the honor to state that the Bureau of Public Health and Marine Hospital Service is in receipt of a letter dated February 1, 1911, from the State quarantine [Page 310] officer of the port of New York, in which the suggestion is made that arrangements be effected for the medical representatives of the Italian Government who travel back and forth on vessels carrying immigrants between the Italian and United States ports to furnish to the quarantine officers of the port of arrival a report concerning the health of the immigrants during the trip and all details of any sickness that may have occurred. It is intended that this report should be made in addition to and independent of the report which is regularly made by the ship’s surgeon.
It is understood that the medical representatives of the Italian Government above referred to are surgeons detailed from the Italian Navy for the specific purpose of keeping close observation on emigrants from Italy. Therefore the Department has to request your good offices in arranging for these medical officials of the Italian Government to render reports concerning the” health of and all details of any sickness occurring in Italian immigrants during the voyage, to the quarantine officer at New York, and also to the quarantine officers at Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans.
Respectfully,