New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-17
l3O BIRTHS UNREPORTED
one Physician NegIeCtS This
DUTY Five Years, He Admits.
IT COSTS HIM HEAVILY
1ederle Thinks Apparent De
cline in Birth Rate Due
to Such Cases.

sy his own confession, well known
.,rsician on the upper West Side has
80, reported to the Department of Health
,os Of the 100 births at which he has been
,rssent during tho last i've years. 1t is
.,o most fagrant case Of neglecting TO
-.,ort births that has come TO the at
IGNITION Of the department The physician
s,id he left the reporting of the births
~ nurses and had no intention Of evad-
ing the law.
The matter has been settled by the
,svrrsrt Of a fine Of $40 10 the Corpora
,;o, counsel The small fine. however,
rsprssonts only an insignificant part Of
The punishment FOR the negligence Of the
,bvsiclan. He was required by the
Health Commissioner 10 provide birth
certificates for all the children the fam
lies Of which he could reach Some
had gone 10 distant states and could not
be found. The majority are still here,
and in each instance three atidavits had
10 be made.
The notary's fees amounted to $50.
There we're four hundred af1idavlts sub
uitted. and it required two months dill
gent search TO stralghteu the records.
The department would not disclose the
name Of the physician yesterday. and 1t
was said that although the fine had not
been d heavy one the work necessary to
comply with the laws requirements was
z severer punishment than heavy fine
would have been.
There has been a noticeable falling of
IN the birth rate since the first Of the
year. and the Health Commissioner. be-
uev!ng the neglect TO report births was
the cause Of the trouble, recently an
rounced that ne would prosecute TO the
full extent Of the law any physicians or
mldWiyes falling TO report births.
The West Side physician soon there
after confessed his negligence to The de-
partment and the Corporation Counsel
According to the rate of decrease for
the first five months of the present year,
as compared with the same period in 1911,
there would Dc a falling off Of $3.50 births
by the end Of 1912 if the decrease CON
tinued.
Commissioner Lederle does not believe
this decline is the result Of natural
causes. In the month Of May alone sew
enteen children died whose births had
never been recorded.
The decline has been most marked in
Brooklyn. where the birth rate fell ,
points during the first FIVE months of the
year. on the other hand. the infant death
rate Of these under one year has re-
NAMED stationary. II the decline in the
rate we're dependent on natural causes,
the department pointed out, it would be
accompanied by a decrease in the mum
Ter Of children dying under one year of
age. The number OF deaths Of sucn in
fants. however, during the present year
exceeded those Of 1911 by fOrty-three.
From these figures, according 10 health
officials. it seems evident that the de
cline I'm the birth rate is due 70 the fact
that physicians and mldwiveS have, In
many instances, failed TO report births.
D.. Gunfoy. registrar Of the depart
Ul-lLI %dl4 trElt- Nc-E NiAeAN ~ ia i4-7t
10 report births the vital statistics were
greatly impaired II accuracy and the
amount OF trouble and. expense caused
TO people in later life was large.
Since the first Of the year 800 such
cases Of neglect have been prosecuted
By the Health Commissioner and Of that
number three hundred have been con-
victed and made 10 pay fines. In some
cases, those of old offenders. the fines
amounted TO 500 and we're imposed by
the CORPORATION Counsel Others were
go so and the larger number So In
nearly all cases the physicians and md
wives did not take them TO court, and
IN those that did they were convicted.
II was learned yesterday that Commits
sioner Lederle had been comforting with
the Corporation Counsers Office regard
ing the advisability of advocating law
holding physicians and midwives respon-
siole for neglect to report births over
period Of ten years instead OF two years.
as The law stands al present In that
event Il would be possible, it was said,
10 hold physicians and midwlyes respon-
sible for any births in the last ten years
which had not been reported.