The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-02-11
MORTUARY FIGURES
DR. c. W. WILLIAMSON IS APPOINT
 IcR STATE REGISTRAR.
He Wfil Compile Under Direction Of state Health Department on MoFtuary and Vital
 StmtEstfcN

The State Health Department of Ala bama yesterday received another imA portant addition in the appointment of the State Registrar of Mortuary and Vital Statistics. This office was creat- ed by the act of the last Legislature. which increased the appropriations for the use of this department and goes for the first term to pr. c. W. Will Hanson, formerly of Columbia, Tenn.
 The duties of the Registrar of Nor tuary and Vital Statistics are elaborate under the directions of pr. w. Il. Sanders. the State Health Officer. who made the appointment of Dr. William son. He will compile minute details of information about the birth of every child and about the death of every person in the State as made up from the reports of the various county health officers.
 The statistics will be put into a compact record to be kept in the files of the Health Board at the Capitol. They will be there ready for reference by anybody who cares at any time to gather Information therefroAn. If any one imagines that there are only rare calls for information of this charac- ter he would best post himself by ask ing State Health Officer Sanders how many inquiries in person and through the mail he receives for details such as the Registrar is required to com pile.
 The gathering of statistics on births and deaths Is not a new thing by any means to the State Health Department The Department has had the practice fin vogue many years before the creation of the official Registrars of- flee. On account of the limited ap- proprtation for the use of the Depart ment heretofore the details and value of the information gathered were like wise limited. Now that county health officers have been encouraged by tn- creased compensation and the Depart ment has an officer concerned exelu- sively with the work. there will be an unbroken system in making up the statistics. If in one instance the statistics are slow in coming in. 1t is the duty of the Registrar to investi- gate the neglect and cause every thing to move uniformly and surely
 The appointment of pr. Williamson was influenced in degree by the ex- cellent showing which he made on the examination of applicants for licenses to practice medicine in Alabama held last January. But aside from the re- suits of this examination, Dr. Sanders looked at other qualifications for the office and made the appointment ac- cordingly. pr. Williamson will have an office on the third floor of the capi- tol.
 To Illustrate the nature of the statis- tics which will have to be sent to the Registrar from the various counties and incorporated towns and cities of the State, the certificates to be made out will contain the date of birth of every infant, the color. the sex. the ages of tAe father and the mother the number of the birth to both father and mother. and other descriptions of the circumstances of the birth. In the matter of deaths. the causes of deaths. the age at death. the duration of iIi- ness. the place of burial and q num- Der of other data will be set out fin the certificates which reach thef Regis trar.