The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1902-10-08

matter, DC" at the same time
joining with the State Board oi
Embalmers and issuing the Joint
Shipping Faster" stating over il
! Official Signatures under the Seal
of the Board. as follows:
"Under the laws of West Vir.
ginia the State Board of Embalm-
ers are authorized to issue thei1
license to "QualiSed Em6almers''
and being satisfied that no license
will be granted except to those
aohO are qualified, and who will
comply with the rules of the West
Virginia State Board of Health,
and those recommended by the
Nationel Conference of State
Boards of Health which were ap-
proved by the American Associa-
ton of General Baggage Agents,
October 18th, 1897. We hereby
arprore and adopt this Joint Ship
ping Paster. as being in full com.
pliance with rules adopted by the
American Association of General
Baggage Agents, and the State
Board of Health Resolutions"
The Rules above referred to are
practically the same as your Board
of Health adopted and issued.
One gear prior to an act of the
Legislature. regulating the practice
of embalming in West Virginia
wherein, (rule 2 and 81 you pro-
hibited the transportation of bodies
dead of certain contagious and in
fictitious diseases, stating as follows:
"ShaW not be accepted for trans.
portation unless prepared for ship
ment by "Du1y qualified en-
6almern and that being one year
prior to any opportunity for the
embalmers of West Virginia to give
evidence that they were qualified.
Bodies coming under rules 2 and 3
were as absolutely forbidden trans
portation as those now under rule
/, for in every case where an under
taker had a body for shipment, he
was compelled to have certificate
from the "Gttendimg physician"
stating that it did not die of con-
tagio1s or infectious disease"
The transportation rules are
those of the State Board of Health.
The only connection the State
Board of Embalmers have with
them is in the issuing a "Joint
Shipping Faster" of the West Vir-
ginia State Board of Health and
the West Virginia State Board of
Embalmers, printed on paper GEL
loao in color and issued only to
"Qudlifed embGlmers," or in other
words, to those they know to be
qualified, they having passed the
examination before the Board and
had issued to them as evidence of
their qualifications the Certificate
or License of the Board.
The yeELOeo pGSter being used in
shipping bodies dead of an infec-
tious or contagious disease, (the
color of the paper yellow, denoting
contagion }
The point rests upon what con-
stitutes "duly qualified ena5alna-
er." The License or Certificate
issued by the State Board of EN-
balmers, to those who have suo.
cessfully passed their examination
is an evidence of their qualifca-
tiOn and that they are capable of
embalming, disinfecting and safely
discharging their duties as en-
balmers.
An embalmer, "registered" un-
der SEQ 5, of the Act, however
competent, can produce no evidence
of the same. In my knowledge
there are many unlicensed embalm-
ers in West Virginia that are fully
competent, and there are others
wholly incompetent, and therein
lies the danger. Issue to that
class the permission to ship bodies
dying of contagious or infectious
disease. and those dangerously an
competent will cause spread of dis
ease.
I admire the stand you take,
Doctor. 1t is we'll known how
jealous you have always been as
member of the Board of Health in
the discharge of your duties to
protect the health and life of the
citizens of our State, and the
question of shipping dead bodies
is a most vital one, and 1 am GER