Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-04-07
Want CHANGE IN LAW
Next Legislature Will Be Asked
to Amend the Vital Stats
tics Statute
RECORDS BECOME MIXED UP
Much Difficulty Has Been Found in
Compiling the Statistics Owing to
Peculiar Provisions Of tho Law -
Counties Should Keep the Detailed
Records.
Special to Times-Republlcan.

Especial to TineS-Republlcan.
Des Moines, April 1.-THE next
Legislature will be asked to revise the
law on the subject Of vital statis-
tics said Secretary OF State Martin
to-day. "rhe law on that subject as
passed at the last session has been
found to contain several serious de-
| fects and think the system OF COM
piling vital statistics should be con-
siderably changed.
Under the present law all reports
Of births and deaths In the state come
direct from the local registrars to the
office of the state board of health and
then to my department. No record Is
now kept In the counties of the births
and deaths except as we report back
to the county auditors. My Office now
has the name Of every person born or
died In the entire state since the new
law went into effect, July ]. 1904. 1t
seems to me that the detailed statis-
tics should be kept by the counties
themselves and that only the summar-
les should be sent to the state de-
partment."
Much difficulty has been found at
the state house in compiling the vital
visions of the new law and the failure
of local registrars to fully understand
it. The registrars are required to make
monthly reports to the state board OF
health of the births and deaths in
their districts for the month. These
reports include both cards and certih-
Gates, which should agree IN totals.
but the registrars have not followed
closely to the two forms. Sometimes
reports have been made on cards and
no certificates sent in; other times
certificates have been forwarded, but
no card reports made. This was not
detected until Secretary Kennedy of
the state board OF health turned the
cards over to the secretary Of state
for compilation.
Recently the number Of births and
deaths counted for each district WAS
reported to each county auditor that
the registrars might be paid the fees
allowed them by law. This fee Is
twenty five cents for each registration
of birth or death and the same
amount for fling monthly report of
no births, or deaths. AS soon as the
registrars began to receive their fees,
it was discovered that a marked dis
crepancy had occurred between the
births and deaths as reported by the
registrars and the number counted by
the secretary of state. All investigation
showed that the cards did not give the
full number of births and deaths and
now Secretary Of State Martin has
asked the secretary of the state board
of health to turn all the vital statistic
documents over to him as soon as re-
ceived The state department will
hereafter take full charge Of these re-
ports, although according to the new
law they must still be forwarded first
to the state board of health.
1t is the idea Of Secretary Martin
that the law should be amended to re-
quire the local registrars to report
either to the county clerks, who have
had charge of the vital statistics, or
to the county auditors. The counties
have to pay the registrars and it is be-
lieved that the register of births and
deaths should be kept in each county
instead of at the state house.