The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-01-29
REGISTRY OF DEATHS.
Records as Required by Law Are
Not Kept Up.


Not long since a Herald man made
inquiry concerning the number OF
deaths occurring in the city Of OsEa.
loosa and the county or Mahaska dur
ing the past year. He likewise made
attempt to arrive at something like a
comparative mortuary statement for
the past several years. To his u r
prise it was found that it was impos-
sible to get a complete or correct
list of either births or deaths occurring
in the county. The cnly record that
is preserved in a way that is open for
ready reference is that OF marriages
that is kept in the Office of the clerk
of the district court.
Under the present state law the as
SCISSORS in the several townships are
required to return a list of the deaths
that have occurred in the county for
the year preceding their service. There
is no desire to find fault with the en-
deavors Of the several assessors in the
county, but the fact remains that dur
ing the year 1901 there were about $50
deaths occurring in the county as the
records of the several undertakers in
the cities and towns of the county will
show and Of this number only about
$50 were reported by the assessors
There must be a fault or a neglect
some where.
The clerk Of the city is required to
issue a certificate or burial permit
upon the death of any person occur
ring within the limits of a city, town
or township" The sections of Oska-
loosa and New Sharon cemeteries re-
quire these permits before making in
terments but it is said that the certi-
fcates, which are charged for at the
rate of fifty cents each, are not requir-
ed for burials that are made in country
burying grounds. 1t will thus be seen
that the records of the city clerk are
not complete and yet he is required to
make a report TO the state. The mat
ter has been permitted to run loosely
of late to the extent that objection has
been made to the paying of the fee for
burial permit, n undertaken of the
city claiming that the city had no
right to charge such fee.
The inquiry and Investigation start
Gu DIV the IlELdlu lEOuAlEu III a AACSL
ing of undertakers and a careful in
quiry into the rules and regulations
uade by the State Board of Health
and supported by the Iowa statutes
was made. 1t was found that the fol-
lowing rules touching the subject are
in force as adopted by the State Board
of Health and that. they are founded
upon the statutes Of the state. The
rules viii be Of general interest at this
time.
Burials.
Rule %, Upon the death of any
person within the limits Of a city,
town or township, it shall be the duty
Of the physician who was attending at
the time of death, or of the coroner,
when the case comes under his official
Jurisdiction, to furnish within twenty
four hours after such death, to the I'M
dertaker, or other person superintend-
ing the burial Of said decedent, a GER
tifcate setting forth the full name,
age, sex, color, place Of death, date
and cause Of death and such other
facts as may be required by regula-
tons of the State Board of Health and
the statutes of the State of Iowa. If
any person shall die without a physi-
clan in attendance, it shall be the duty
of the undertaken, or of any person &C
quainted with the facts, to report the
same to the health officer of the local
Board Of Health who is hereby au-
-thOrized to give a certificate Of death
as aforesaid, provided, it be not a
case recurring the attendance of a cor
oner.
rule 29.-No sexton or other per
son or persons, having charge or con-
troll of any cemetery, burying place, or
tomb. or vault, and no undertaken, or
other person or persons, shall enter,
entomb, or place in any vault, the
dead body of any person, or remove
such body from or u of any city,
town or township without having pro-
cured a certificate of death as proyid-
ed in Rule %; and it shall be the duty
Of any undertaken, or other person or
persons having charge of the burial
or removal of the dead body of any
person to deliver said certificate OF
death forthwith to the clerk Of the
local Board of Health.
Rule 80. 1t shall be the duty of the
clerk Of a local board OF health upon
the presentation of a certificate OF
death, to issue a permit to inter, en-
tomb, or place in a vault the body OF
the deceased person named in the GER
tiicate. Provided a body dead from
smallpox, Asiatic cholera, leprosy, vel
low fever, typhus fever or bubonic
plague, shall not be deposited in a re-
ceiYing vault"