Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-06-12
A new METHOD.
Registrars Of Vital Statistics to Adopt
a General System.
Or. A. G. Young One Of Three Commissioners
oi United States.

Many of the leading physicians of the
state and some outside the State, are
being set to thinking by communica-
tions that DR.. A. G. Young, the secre-
tary of the State Board of Health. VIII
IS also the registrar of vital statistics,
Is sending TO them. This is in regard
TO uniform classification of the
causes of death for the use of the
statisticians of the world. DR.. Young
is one of the three commissioners ap-
pointed by the president of the Ameri-
can Public Health Association for the
| purpose of assisting in the revision of
the present mode of classification, and
II is u part of his duty to send to the
| physicians. and to gain from them
ideas on the subject which will be
used in his work of assisting the exc
cutive member of the commission. DR.
Cressey L, Wilbur of Michigan, in max
ing up his report for the United States.
registration Of vital statistics in the
world there must, Of course, to obtain
| the required results. be a method OF
classifying the causes. There have
/ been In the past, and there are today
/ several methods, and as long as there
! is no one great method that will be
adopted by all the members of the IN
| ternational Revision Commission, the
result Of the work of all is lessened to
a certain extent.
At the present time the method in
use is that of the Bertillon method
! formed by the chief of the vital statis-
teal bureau of the city of Paris. This
is as near the perfect method as was
ever yet presented to the profession,
and yet there are many great defects
in it.
1t is for the purpose of revising this
Bertillon method that the commission
have been appointed, and they will
meet in an international convention in
|
they have made, will make up a new
method of registration.
| The most important object to be
! gained by the adoption of a uniform
classification said DR.. Young, Satur
| day, lis not the mere formal arrange
ment of the titles employed, or the
i1pntltNT # n ri .t.
| classes of diseases. These features are
Of very minor Importance, as compared
with the precise meaning and COM
parablity of the individual terms com
posing the tabular lists Of diseases. 1t
might be supposed that there would be
no difficulty in preserving an agree
ment as to the inclusion of these terms
] but in practice this is found to be a
very difficult matter.
The classification is not intended
primarily for the use Of the physicians
in reporting causes of death upon GER
| tificates of death. 1t is not desirable
that they report all deaths under the
'
| that they should make a precise state
ment of the cause Of the death. using
any accepted medical terminology for
the same. and the translation into the
formal list Of the statistical table then
! becomes a matter pertaining to the
work of the registration office.
,f n, AZ
of terms describing the causes Of death,
as reported by the physicians, in
| to comparatively short tabular
list. such as it is practicable
to print in a mortality report,
| should be governed by the most
precise rules, and should be conducted
with the most absolute precision.
otherwise terms apparently precisely
the same. as used in the different
countries, states or cities. Viii in real
ity have quite different inclusions."
The changes in the Bertillon method
as advised by each member Of the In
ternational Association will be made
up before the representatives. liiC't' -
making up these, the registrars after
getting advice upon matters. take eacn
separate cause of death in the Bertll-
Ion system and either approve or tell
what change should be made. For IN
stance in the case of Potts disease
Some registrars use this term in their
lists. Others say it is usually tubef-
cular disease, and they think it should
he included in a list under one general
head of tubercuar diseases, 10
change the present system a vote OF
two-thirds will be necessary IN the
International Association meeting
DR.. Young solicits the suggestions OF
anvone who is interested in the matter
Unity Club closed its 18th year in
most ENJOYABLE way. While there was
no special departure from the usual
programme a large number was pres
|