Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-21
A STRONG CIRCULAR SENT OUT,
Warning Physicians, Clergymen and I'm
dertakers Against Eeglecting
Their Duty.
MAKING VITAL STATISTICS OF VALUE.
Suits to be Entered if Returns Are Not Promptly and
Properly Made.

births, marriages and deaths. To this end
circulars have been sent out to all persons
who are officially interested in these events,
and if that does not prove eficacious suits
will be entered against the offenders and the
penalty recovered. The vital statistics pre-
pared by the officials of Pittsburg are much
more reliable than in the majority of mu-
inequalities. In New York, for instance,
the returns of deaths far exceeds the births.
This would indicate the gradual passing
away OF the American, and the only metho
of keeping up the population would be by
encouraging i'm migration. Even this would
fail in time if it became noised abroad that
the United States was becoming 3 vast
graveyard.
Statistics which show such a state of affairs
are incorrect. 1t is the old story of the man
who related wonderful incident in his lie.
and then asked his auditor to explain it.
''That's simple enough" was the reply,
"you are lying" In every town and city in
the United States, with, perhaps. the excep-
ton OF several which have won a reputation
as health resorts, and where persons with one
foot in the grave go to recuperate or die, but
generally the latter, there is greater num-
Der OF births than deaths.
PITTsBURG's GOOD SHOWING.
In this city the annual death rate is about
5000, while the number of births reported is
between 5000 and 1000. These figures are
very near the mark, but the Bureau OF
Health desires that they shall be absolutely
correct, and Tor that reason the circular was
issued warning preachers, physicians and
undertakers that they must make return
in every case, or suffer the consequences.
Superintendent Baker said yesterday that
as a general thing returns were made
promptly. The slowest returns to come in
were those of marriages.
There is law providing severe penal
ties for failure to make returns of births,
marriages and deaths, - said Chief Clerk
W. F. MeKelvy yesterday. 'Perhaps the
the most important returns are those of
births. and it is with these we have the
greatest trouble. Many physicians forget
all about making return of birth in the
rush of work, and midwives are often very
careless about such matters. There is law
covering this, and it would do no harm to
enforce it now and again as hint to people
to do better You would be surprised at
the number of people who comc here to get
copy of their birth certificates. Hardly
day passes but we have one or more appli-
cations. We have many cases where the
date of a birth affects the disposition of
valuable property. A man may find him.
self in middle life without any record of his
birth. The family Bible may be lost, his
parents and the physician who ushered him
into this world may be dead, and his only
recourse is to obtain a certificate of the
date of his birth from the health Office of
the city be was born in. If there is no rec
ord there his last hope is gone.
TOOK THE HINT.
Enforcing the legal penalty for neglect
to make returns has good effect The rea-
son that the death returns are accurate is
because no cemetery will receive a body for
interment without a certificate from us.
Some years ago we had considerable trouble
with our death returns. Some undertakers
were willing to take chances on being fined
for not complying with the law and failed to
take out burial permits. The bodies were
received and inferred in the cemeteries, and
our statistics were. of course, inaccurate and
OF but little or no value. Finally l decided
TO sue cemetery company for receiving a
corpse without burial permit. 1 did so,
the company was fined, and now we have no
trouble with our death returns. No funeral
can now take place without burial permit
is presented at the cemetery Office"
Chief j. o. Brown, of the Department of
Public Safety, was seen yesterday as he was
hurrying down to the health Office, which is
in his department. The chiefs few days
vacation has infused him with fresh vigor,
and he is looking closely after the minutia
of his bureaus. When asked what would
be done with persons who neglected their
duty by failing to make returns, the chief
said: why there is only one thing to be
done. We will prosecute them. 1 am
going down to the Health Bureau now, and
if find any such cases of neglect L shall
instruct the officers to enter suits against
the offenders Immediately"
BIRTHS AND MARRIAGES.
Certain duties as citizen attend every
act of mans life in a civilized community.
A babe cannot enter this vale of tears, tele-
graph and rapid transit without making his
advent known to the powers that be. Of
course, child less than a month old is not
expected to walk down to the health Office
and saw, 81 have come, out if the at
tendant physician or midwife fails to make
the notification within 30 days of the birth,
it may cost him or her anywhere from S. to
$40.
Marriages must also be registered. This
can't be avoided even by going to New Jer-
sew; it only changes the location of the
registry Office, for the laws on this point are
pretty much the same all over the country.
The Young man first obtains a license from
the county permitting him to go through the
ceremony which allows him to call his
affinity his very own, or such other terms of
endearment as may suggest themselves to
him. After the ceremony is performed,
which may be by magistrate or clergymen,
the latter must make q return to
the Health Bureau in which he
gives q vast amount of interesting informa-
ton, such as the names. ages, color and oc-
cupation of the parties who have determined
to 60 through life with but single heart
throb. Failure TO make this return will
cost the hymenial joiner from So to $40 in
cash. Magistrates generally refuse to ac-
eept 6O-day notes in liquidation of fines.
These returns must be made every three
months.
In case of death certificate of the cause
must be given to the undertaken by the at
tendant physician, or if it happens to be q
case for the Coroner the latter issues the
certificate The undertaken. armed with
this certificate, obtains burial permit from
the Bureau of Health, and the curtain is
dropped on the last act of one Of the many
dramas being enacted all around us.
KEEPING THE RECORDS.
Under the act of Assembly of April 16,
1870, the books kept by the health officer
or certificate certified by him as containing
ANN nf the rannrd of any m narriaoe birth or