The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1918-03-15
ASKEDTO.
HELP HEAlTHDOARD
Registrar OF Vital statistics, In
Interview, Points Out What
May Be Done

,is that of recording the birth Of chill
-iren ae soon after II comes into the.
world as possible. b. .,. /
In late years the territorial bureau Of
vital statistics Of the board OF Thealth,
has made great strides In having citi.
zens and other residents, Of the Terri
tory see the absolute necessity Of rec
'ording, partic ularly, the birth of their
children.
Washington, D. c., has Of late taken
an active interest in the vital stats.
lies Of this Territory and one Of It's
/. gents, r. c. Lappin, has been in, Ho-,
lolulu for some weeks past checking
up the local records. a.. ,-s. F.. =
( at Seems to me, " said MrsRM. Hes.
ter Lemon, registrar.generA d vital
! TtRtistirs, in discussing this question
Yesterday, THAT principals and teach
TB in the public and, private SCHOOL,
/ # the Islands can be Of material aid
nd assistance to this bureau by ask.
/ ng the children attending school, 70 rs.
'ertain from Their parents whsther or
not their births have been registered.
nd by reporting to this department
u any of its district agentH.. s-4st
oraft Questions In Point L.,
- Cases have arisen, Of late especial
", since questions of the military
drift have cropped up, that show the
bsolute necessity Of recording the
firth of children. And. then, there are
many reasons. other than thia, why Thu
s a material and vital necessity.',,
DR.. j. s. B. Pratt, president Of the
'orritorial board Of health, has asked
"he Advertiser to continue the assist.
nee this paper has rendered, his depart
ueRt in this particular, 49,. .,2,s.,,
|, "YOrr daily column Of vital stats.
les. I find. has been Of great yalus and
ssiStaRce to the board. OF health, y
1octor Pratt said ysaterday. sfYour
1eaders cannot fail to remember, Wheb
'hildten bless their homes, that they
must, be Registered. -. a..
|, ain the case Of deaths we have p
'reater check on the public. No sburialp
y" "nnwNd WIDER the law. without
cemetery or other permits and in this
division of our work we have, therefore
but little trouble. - E'Han ~ q e +
owe have had frequent trouble with
the. recording Of marriages, The, law
requires that persons performing the
marriage service, sha h file their reports
immediately, but there have been
asses whore these do not Come In mn
| ii weeks and months aftetRafd,%' Z
L tIr>Nelieve the sehsolt sadt hofitist
IAN help IA good deal md this fwiE
'e appreciated by the department, tpaf
.ieularly in teaching parents thr6dgh
their children the xalue Of rspertiIa
"why should births and deaths S,
egistered, - is the title Of an intet.
sting pamphlet published recently D,
he American Medical Association d
?hicRgo. The introduction in tn
'amnhlet says: '.!r,@,f. .. ..r.-i
"Proper registration of births AM
leaths is Of great Importance to tn
drlt members of any Community, Ndt
,nly are such records necessary 70
he accurate study of disease and III
'revention, but they are also Of the
tmost importance In oil question,
eIating to ''heredity, Legitimacy, prop.
rty rights and identity No chill
"hor INV ia of value, unless II rest
on a system of birth registration am
firth certificates, by which the chill
nd theSparent can he required at an
me TO produce positive proof Of tlr
ge Of the child. Laws regulating til
ge of consent cannot be rigidly cd,
"r"ed. 50 Ion" az the question Of thu
age of the girl depends on the state
'ents Of Interested persons rather thai
m official state records.
laws In Only Few States
I'm practically all other civilized ne
ions proper Registration of births /
accepted as matter Of course. Euro
peans look with astoniShmeut upon the
American people, when they learn tina
here are at present only eleven Amer
can states, and, the District of Colum
',ia, which have any, adequate birtl
'egistratiOn. These str ties are: Maine
Vermont, New Hampshire. MassachuE
tits, Connecticut, Rhode Island, NeF
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Mich
;an and Minnesota.
" Resolutions adopted by the Genera
Federation of Women's Clubs at SaI
francisco recognized the fact thal
'rOper registration of births Is absp
lutely essential for the effective operh
ion of the Children y Bureau WhiSl
was established by the Federal Gov
eminent in 1913, and of which Mib
lula Iathrop Of Chicago is the Chief
Equally important is the prope
registration Of. deaths. No civilizeC
community should allow a human bein,
to die and be buried without a prope
'fficial record having been. m AIDE of til,
fact. Such records ara indispensable
in determining death rate, proportion
# deaths and sbiTths, duration of life
rates Of life insurance, etc, and II
preventing and detecting crime.
"In preparing legislative bills OIL
most subjects, the first question 70
consideration is the drafting Of I'll,
Will. In this case, fortunately il /
0ot necessary. as a model bill on thi
mhiect has been in existence for som
time. The text Of this bill appear
on page l3 of this pamphlet. II wa
'rHfted in 1907, patterned after tn
Pennsylvania law, which has prove
most effective.
This bill has since been endorse,
by the Census Department of the Uni
'"d States Government, the America
Medical Association, the American Pub
We Health Association, the American
Statistical Association, the Committe
ON Uniform Laws of the American Ba
tSsociatiOn, the American Association
for the Study and Prevention of Iu
fnnt Mortality. the general officers q
the American Federation of Labor au
the National Conservation Congress, a
we'll as by numerous local and Al int