Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-10-10
STATISTICS MUST BE FILED
With DR.. Pomainville, Who is
Local Register.

Some time age the REPORTER gave
Drief account of the new vital StatiS
tic law. Many inquiries have been
made regarding it since and for the
further information of readers we ap-
pend the following complete analysis
of this law:
Ihe new law. known as Chapter 400,
which went into effect October |, and
relates 10 the complete and proper re-
giStration OF births. deaths, marriages,
accidents and divorces. Heretofore
these have been registered with the
register of deeds nf the county within
thirty days after they have taken
place.
Under the new law. register OF
vital statistic is provided who shall
be associated with the state board of
health and shall have his Office at the
capitol. All such certificates shall be
filed with him.
In case OF death the attending ply
sician is required to make out COM
plete record OF the case, upon blank
giving details as TO the age, condition
and death of the deceased. cause of
cath, place Of burial name of under
taker and other information. The
health officer is required to receive
such certificates before issuing burial
permit and TO receive from the sexton
within five days the return of the
burial permit.
Undertakers, physicians and mid
wives are required to register their
names and addresses with the health
officer, who is designated the local reg
lister. They are required to file with
him, within five days, every birth,
death or still birth, together with all
information.
All ministers or magistrates are re-
quired to file with him all marriages
permits within three days from the
date OF performing the marriage cere-
mony, and all data concerning the
parties is included in the blanks to be
filed out. The county clerk is reauir-
ed tn preserve, upon special blanks,
the names and addresses of persons to
whom licenses are issued, which shall
be delivered TO the state regis ster of
vital statistics.
LII persons go out of the state to be
married, they are required to secure
from the county clerk blank certih-
cate which they shall Tile with the reg
iS'er OF statistics, or health officer,
within ten days after their retarn.
All physicians are required to report
to The register all accidents which in
capacitate IA person from performing
hh,ssstlal duties of life for period of
Two weeks or more. All divorce courts
are required to lille complete state
ment of each action On or bef ore the
thirteenth day of September of each
year.
This data is required in all detail
to comply with joint resolution Of
congress asking that the states pass
such law. Accurate and complete
reports could not be obtained under
the old system, and the federal census
bureau states that: THE cOun ty
system Of collecting vital statistics
is an utter. absolute failure, and any
system that employs it can be known
from the start, before even the law
goes into effect, to be worthless in it's
results. There is not single excep-
tion to this rule in the history of re-
gistratiOn in the United States. Any
law that undertakes to collect The
statistics of births, and deaths through
county officials is foredoomed failure
from the start.