The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-16

ing occasion to look up a reference in the Australian Year Book for the cur rent year. Dr. Fulton said that nc turned to the chapter on vital statis, tics In 1t Australia's death rate was compared with thirty-two countries. The United States was not in the list, not because such statistics were not available, but because they were not considered sufficiently reliable to war. rant their publication. In the same chapter, a comparison was made of the Australian birth rate with that of other countries. Again the United tSates was conspicuous by It's absence. This time not because the statistics were unre- liable, but because they were non- existent In this connection. a state- ment made by Mir. E. Dana Durand. the Director of the Census. on the sub feet Of vital statistics in this coun' try, Is significant. The statement fol- lows;
 ssrhe States having effective regis tration laws of death are as follows: California. Colorado. Connecticut. In- diana, Maine, Maryland. Massachusetts Michigan, New Hampshire. New Jersey. New York. Pennsylvania. Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska. North Dakota. Ohio and Utah have recently adopted laws whose re- suits are now under observation. Other States have registration laws which do not meet the requirement of this office. The vital statistics reports oT the bureau relate solely to deaths. no State nor even a single city being yet certainly known to have q complete registration Of births (s0 per cent of all births that >occur--minimum stand ard) to warrant its admission to the registration area for births.'
 Discussing this phase of the problem. Dr. Fulton remarked that the statistic cal consciousness of this country ns a awakedens that It's statistical con- science has also been asleep. By way of illustration, he instanced the tendency to draw conclusions from "crude" sta- tfstics, such as might be made upon a comparison of the figures for Boston and Birmingham, or Boston and Seat tle without regard to corrections for race, or for the length of time during which the cities have been in existence.
 If the registration of births were re- auired merely to satisfy soma bureaus Insatiate statistical hunger, the record might be dispensed with and nobody would suffer from the omission. It's close connection with the life and fu- ture health of the babies is what mak es it imperative. But there are indirect advantages to be gained from 1t as we'll Many of the relations of the in- dividual to the community and to the State hinge upon what is legally known as the attained age" On the side of the individual are the right to hold property. the right to vote; on the part of the State. the age at which jury duty. military service, etc. may be re- quired. Many of the dinaculties expe- rienced in the practical solution of the child labo- problem are vitally~ affect. ed. also by the existence or non-ex- istence of an accurately kept register of births. Therefore. leaving the baby with his immediate rights out of the question and counting up only the ad- vantages to the grown-up. 1t soon ba' comes evident that the accurate regis- tration of births conserves the rights of the adult as well as those of the baby