The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-06-23

towns for installing or altering thelr
public water supplies or sewage CHS
posal plants. and in advising a mum
Der of individuals about sewerage ioi
their private homes
tg) Passing upon the quarterly re-
ports of the sanitary conditions OF the
watersheds Of all the surface water
supplies Of the State, IN connection
with the labcratory's fndlngS snow
ing the chemical and bacterioioglcal
conditions of the water, and IN Gaining
the attention Of the proper state and
local authorities to any danger maj
Gated through such reports and hnd-
ings.
Bureau of County Health Work.
Eleven counties in North Carolina.
to wit, Buncombe. olnmbus Durham
Forsyth. Guilford, Johnston. NaSh,
New Hanover, Robson, Rockingham
and Sampson. employ wholetime
county health officers. While there
are several states employing more
whole-time health officers than Nortn
Carolina. our State leads the states
Of the Union in having the largest
number of whole-time health off1cers.
The county health problem offers
at once greater difficulties and greater
possibilities than any other health
problem. The difficulties are worthy
of the patience Of Wood, the dlplo-
macy of Lewis, and the persistence or
Terrell. Unlike any other State health
policy, unlike the laboratory polIcy.
the hookworm policy, the educational
policy, the engineering pollcy, the
vital satisfies policy, and other tuper-
culOsis policy. all Of which are un-
der the sole jurisdiction of the State,
the county health policy Is under the
double government of the State ana
county, a divided jurisdiction. Along
the hazy boundary etwee State and
county Jurisdictions lies the danger
zone to the full development Of coun-
ty health work. If the State does not
go as far as it can in helping the
county, the best possible results are
mot obtained: if the State goes 90 far,
| the county reSents it. The most fun
damental principle of our government,
that of local self government, is in
volved in handling the county health
problem.
In accordance with the ~fundamen-
tai purposes of the Board of Health
a Bureau of County Health Work has
, been established. The work of this
bureau is:
, (a) Tho assist interested individuals
: and organizations in county campaigns
for whole time-health officerss.
: (b) To and furnish health
| literature, placardS, pamphlets. an6
e autographed letters to county health
officers.
= Co To attempt to correlate, syste'
l Matte and standardize the work O
e county health officerss.
This bureau is under the direction
6 Of DR.. Plat w. C~ovington.
" The Report of the Bureau Of Vita
n Statistics.
The Statewide vital statistics Law
q went into effect July ], 1913. Thi
law is known to the registration Off
Gals of the entire country as tn
- ~1o3o1 r,Aol lor, -~@
q SEES the combined registration expert
ence of the country, as interpreted b
a committee representing the Burea
q Of the Census Of the National gov
eminent, the American Medical AS
Is ISOLATION, the American Bar Associa
ton, and the American Public Healt
re Association. The law is revised fror
g time to time to meet every deciSio
: of supreme courts affecting statistic.
. This mode law, with slight mOdifica
/ tons to adapt it to i%ndicidual State.
q has been admitted to the registratio
g area Of the Union during the la:
m ten years.
From July to December, 1913, f~
' months, the work of the bureau cor
sisted in organizing itself, in secu.
~ ing the appointment of 1.400 loo;
registrars, by the chairman Of TT
boards of county commissioners,
G. preparing the various blank form
oh0 = iTCASSSdIy III he tx
II, cutlOn OF the act, and in securing ar
% listing alphabetically all the doctor
Gu undertakers, midWives, local regi
u trars and others concerned in IL
- prOpe enforcement of the law.
70 When one considers tina State re,
u istration depends upop the intellisef
K prompt, and cordial cooperation
~ 1,4O0 local registrars, 100 docto,
fo' 1900 mldWlveS, and 700 undertaken
'c and consists in securing q total
al 1000 birth and death certiticat
each month, or 100 600 birth a,
X: death certificates each year, he G.:
OF readily understand that satisfacto
en- registration can not be obtained in
day. u month or several month
OF MISSISSIPPI, with one of the best reg
TX trarS IN the United States. has be
IN under the model law for two yea
no and is now only recording about on
hal1 other actual death rate, that
TN about 10 deaths per 1000 of h
population. Virginia, under reeistr
Ied ton for the past eighteen months
recording u death rate of only IN
cts teen and a fraction per thousand +
from COEnIplefQ 2S rod ,r;%l F..