Arizona republican., 1910-12-02

was practically no equipment at the beginning.
 The expenses Of the Board for the | past twelve months hay. been as follows:
 l. Office expenses (equipmenU 24S.1 Stenographer .............. 26S. 10 TostdSe -.-..-''... ...'.--.'.. 9i.O5 Travelling expenses .... l22.l5
 sl.O732S
 The above amounts were expended from the appropriation for the Reg istrar of Vital Statistics. The fund allowed the Superintendent of Public Health will be entirely used up by necessary printing. As it is so very small CS30O.00), it will be necessary to practically combine two years ap- propriations in one. For this reason the printing of pamphlets on the in fectious diseases will he deferred till near the close of the present fiscal year.
 4 stenographer has been employed (part or full time) during the past eight months. It is found that those who are willing to work full time for the salary offered are inefficient or will soon leave for more attractive pay. The only alternative is part time employment and this has been found better. though far from satis- factory. Physicians should be re- minded that a large part of the work of the office. and particularly that part relating to registration. is pure ly clerical and can be more eff ciently managed by person with that sort of training. IL is rather absurd tO assign a medical man such q task. The Secretary of the Board should give his time largely to study to directing and advising rather than to all the infinite details of the work. TO do all that he should do under the present condi- tions would take day of forty eight hours and year of twenty four months. IL is unreasonable and un- just. and at the risk of being thought purely self seeking. here call at tention to it and ask that you give your aid in properly solving the diff ficulty.
 Another practical difficulty is with the local and country registrars Why it was thought necessary to have county registrars. 1 do not know. In some of the counties they are little worse than useless. Ger tificates transmitted by local regis trars have never reached the Ter fitorial office and it was only through the checking up of the ac- counts et the end of the year that their omission was discovered They cost the counties of the territory S3.s00 in salaries. and l am satis- fled that one half that sum expended tor clerks in a central office could do the work very much better. This Is not an objection to the county superinIendents receiving larger salary. It is an objection to wasteful system. wasteful because the work for which they are osten- sibly paid can he better done in q cheaper way. Generalization is specific provisio of the requirements provided by the committees of the American Medical and other asso- citations which drafted the model law. il having been found by long exper- fence that the county system was failure. while the centralized state systems had so far given success Let me he understood. In the cOun- ties where there are efficient county superintendents, the system works: in those where they are not. it does not work and the only recourse is through tedious court proceedings. which would require more time than can. possibly be spared from the routine. and which are Of very doubtful utility The power of ap- pointment and removal lies without the control of the Territorial Board and in this way it's hands are quite tied
 Another practical difficulty is that Of securing competent persons to act as local registrars in the smaller out lying districts. The fees collected by these registrars amount to so little that they are practically no object It 1 might be possible to overcome this | by doubling the fees for 1 districts, of less than one thousand 1 population and of paying the regis | trarS quarterly or semi i-an1ually in- | stead of annually as at present. IL | seems. too. that these registrars are | entitled to larger fees than in the | more pOpulous communities. The | absence of undertakers requires that l they spend some little time collect 1 ing the particulars of information for each certificate. If their work is | done. it requires good | deal more of their time than does | similar work of the registrars of | larger places. and in the interests | Of efficiency ard of justice it seems | the increase should he granted.
 In the foregoing I have simply | called the attention of this AssOcia- i ton to some of the practical diffi- | rulties which should he considered | in recommending legislation. That | they can be remedied to large eN- tent by legislation seems to me quite | though considerable care should be given to the drafting of | the measure. In my opinion this Association should ask for what it thinks necessary and take the best it 1