Milford chronicle., 1883-02-16
PARsIMoNIOUs in The extreme IS Tue

PARsIMONIOUs in the extreme Is the
action of the Legislature in regard to
the appropriation fer the State Board
Of Health, They are placing Kent
and Sussex counties in very unfair
position as against New Castle. While
several States annually place at the
disposals Of their health boards,
amounts running well up into the
thousands, Delaware appropriates only
500 per annum to hers, and only
want to increase the amount $50.
The requisite blanks for the Secretary's
office of the board, to properly carry
out the business of the Office, will cost
about 500, and the good results from
the State Board of Health is seriously
dwarfed for the want of them.
This Legislature viii without doubt
create commissioner of immigration.
How can lie compile any reliable ac-
count of the vital statistics so essential
10 our State but through our State
Board of Health? Then, should Sus-
sex or Kent couny secure the appoint
ment of man as commissioner from
either, his showing would besueh that
strangers to cur method of mOrtuary
reports would be led to believe, that
the inhabitants of these two counties
seldom die, but live on, on, and on un-
til they are absorbed into another
world without ever entering the
grave.
We have a law on our statutes which
reads as follows, and is found on page
AIS of pamphlet laws of 1881, section 9:
If any physician, or coroner, or sexton,
or magistrate, or midwife, or register
of deaths, or clergyman, or clerk of
any society by or before which mar
riages may be solemnized, shall neg
lect or refuse tO'cOmply with the duties
imposed on such person by the pre-
ceeding Sections of this act, he shall
be fined not less than five nor more
than ten dollars for each and every |
case so neglected or refused; to be re-
covered before any Justice of the Peace
of the county in which said delinquent
resides the One-half thereof to the use |
of the State and the other half thereof
20 the person who shall sue for the
same.
Ifthose to whom this law applies
would only make their reports and |
send them promptly to the Recorder
of Deeds of Kent and Sussex counties
the trouble would be obviated. In
New Castle county the reports are
made promptly to the Recorder and by
him promptly transmitted to the Sec
retary of the State Board of Health,
but this is in the main, owing to the
stringent laws of the city of Whining
ton, which influences the balance of
the county.
Let the Legislature so increase the
appropriation that the State Board of
Health can made their work a thous-
and fold more beneficial.
Under the present system, New Cas-
Ties death rate shows that county to
be the greatest of the three, and the
reports coming from the three Record
ers speaks volumes in themselves.
New Castles report is a large, neat, and
business-like document Kent coun-
ty's report is smaller in size and is
crowded into a large official envelope,
while Sussex county does not rise to
even the dignity of an envelope. A
piece of scrap brown paper and a hemp
string holds the reports for the entire
year of 1882
Gentlemen you are the peoples SER
wants and you must not carry your
small ideas into public life; but rise
up and look into the wants of the fu-
ture.