Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1907-04-18
REGISTRATION Of
VITAL STATISTICS

bureau of statistics of the department
of health is seen by the records which
show that during the year 1906 there
were registered with this bureau, 173,
SAC births, 1913, 042 deaths, 81, 757 cases
Of communicable disease.
These certificates have been collect
ed, registered, indexed, filed and tabul
ated at a cost slightly less than four
cents each, including all salaries, post
age and necessary incidentaIs. In ad
dition to the expense borne by the
State, the cost to the several counties
has been practically the same as they
heretofore paid under the act of 1898.
Under the present system of regis
tration the vital statistics of Pennsyl
vania for the first time in it's history
have been officially recognized by the
federal government and will be includ-
ed in the annual report of the United
States census office for 1906, now in
preparation. This recognition in itself
affords the best possible evidence as to
the value and efficiency of the present
registration law, coming as it does
during the very first year of its opera
tion and standing against fifty-fye
years of futile effort on the part of the
State to accomplish this result. Colo
RADIO has just passed a registration law
modelled after that of Pennsylvania.
The personal, legal and sanitary
value of vital statistics has probably
never been more exhaustively set forth
than it was in the preamble of the law
enacted by the Pennsylvania legislat-
ure in 1851. which recites as follows:
Whereas, From the death of wit
nesses and from other causes it has
often been found difficult to prove the
marriage, birth or death Of persons,
whereby the rights of many have been
sacrificed ami great wrongs have been
done: and
Whereas, Important truths deeply
affecting the physical welfare of man
kind are to be drawn from the number
of marriages, births or deaths that dur
ing term of years may be contracted
or may appear within the limits of
any extensive commonwealth.
Forty-six years later, in 1897, the
then governor of this State in his
message to the legislature. recognizing
the failure of the laws then upon the
statute books in relation to the collec-
tion of vital statistics. wrote as fol-
lows:
1.-the need OF, a suitable system of
registration of vital statistics is also
being constantly brought to the atten-
tion of the health authorities. In an
enlightened community there live but
| few people of the marriage age whose
birth. marriage or death does not at
some time become a matter for the
cognizance and consideration of the
| legal authorities. The attainment of
majority with its rights and duties,
the fact and fate of wedlock, the in
heritance or conveyance of property,
parentage and nationality, place, date
! and cause of death and interment and
many other questions of sociological,
| economic, sanitary and even historical
character often assume much import
ance with reference to many of our
citizens. In the absence of State sys-
tenn of registration many of our citi-
zens are deprived of their legal rights
or are enabled to deprive their fell
lows of their legal rights"
The figures above quoted concerning
the work of the bureau of statistics of
1906 represent absolutely the first sue
! cessful attempt on the part of Penn
| sylvania to gather an intelligent man.
ner the facts relating to its people
which over half century before it
had declared to be a most pressing
necessity. These figures also form the
first intelligent basis upon which any
sanitary administration for this entire
State must rest; for wherever vital
statistics are wanting sanitary admin
istration must be defective, and where
they are complete sanitary administra-
tion will be efficient.