function of the State Board of Health-as in the majority of the present registration States. If there is an efficient State Board of Health, thoroughly organized, and having local health officers in every city, village, and town or township, it will perhaps be advantageous to make the whole work the province of the State Board of Health. The changes in the provisions of the law necessary to do this would be slight.

SPECIMEN FORM OF LAW FOR THE REGISTRATION OF DEATHS.

SEC. 1. That for the complete and proper registration of deaths, for legal, sanitary, and statistical purposes, there shall be, and hereby is, created and established a State Bureau of Vital Statistics, to be under the immediate superintendence of a State Registrar, who shall be a competent medical practitioner and vital statistician, and who shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. And within thirty days from the date of taking effect of this Act the Governor shall appoint a State Registrar, as herein provided. The term of office of the State Registrar shall be four years from the first day of January of the year in which he is appointed.

SEC. 2. The State Registrar shall receive an annual salary of twenty-five hundred dollars. And he may employ such clerical and other assistants as are necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the office, and fix their compensation within the amount appropriated therefor by the legislature. He shall designate, in writing, one of his assistants, who shall possess the powers and perform the duties of the State Registrar during his absence, illness, or disability, or during a vacancy in the office.

SEC. 3. That for the purposes of this Act the State shall be divided into registration districts as follows: Each incorporated village and city, and each township, exclusive of any incorporated village or city, shall constitute a primary registration district.

SEC. 4. That the clerk of each township, village, or city shall be the local registrar in and for the township, village, or city of which he is clerk, and he shall perform all the duties of local registrar, as hereinafter provided. And he shall immediately appoint, in writing, a deputy, who shall be authorized to act in his stead in case of absence, illness, or disability: Provided, That in cities where health officers at the date of this Act are officiating as registrars of deaths under local ordinances, such health officers shall be continued as registrars in and for such cities. And when it may appear necessary for the convenience of the people in any township, the local registrar is hereby authorized, with the approval of the State Registrar, to appoint one or more suitable and proper persons to act as subregistrars, who shall be authorized to receive certificates and to issue burial permits in and for such portions of the township as may be designated. And each subregistrar shall note the date each certificate was filed, over his signature, and forward the certificates to the registrar of the township within ten days, and in all cases before the third day of the following month: Provided, That all subregistrars shall be subject to the supervision and control of the State Registrar, and may be by him removed for neglect or failure to perform their duties in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the instructions of the State Registrar, and they shall be liable to the same penalties for neglect of duties as the local registrars.

SEC. 5. That the body of no person whose death occurs in the State shall be interred, deposited in a vault or tomb, cremated, or otherwise disposed of, or removed from or into any registration district until a permit for burial or removal shall have been properly issued by the registrar of the registration district in which the death occurs. And no such burial or removal permit shall be issued by any registrar until a complete and satisfactory certificate and return of the death has been filed with him, as hereinafter provided: Provided, That in case of any death outside of the State, where the body is accompanied by a removal or transit permit issued in accordance with the law and the health regulations in force where the death occurred, such removal or transit permit may be accepted as of the same authority as a permit from the local registrar.

SEC. 6. Stillborn children, or those dead at birth, shall be registered as deaths under this Act, and a certificate of death and burial or removal permit in usual form shall be required. The medical certificate of cause of death shall be signed by the attending physician or midwife, and shall state the cause of death. as stillborn," with the cause of the stillbirth, if known, whether a premature birth, and, if born prematurely, the period of utero-gestation in months, if known.

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SEC. 7. That the certificate of death shall be of the standard form recommended by the United States Census Office and the American Public Health Association, and shall contain the following items:

(1) Place of death, including State, county, township or town, city or village. If in a city, the ward, street, and house number. If in a hospital or other institution, the name of the same to be given instead of the street and house number.

(2) Full name of decedent. If an unnamed child the surname, preceded by “Unnamed.” (3) Sex.

(4) Color or Race-as White, Black (Negro or Negro descent), Indian, Chinese, Japanese, or other.

(5) Conjugal Condition—as Single, Married, Widowed, or Divorced.

(6) Date of birth, including the year, month, and day.

(7) Age, in years, months, and days.

(8) Place of birth; State or foreign country.

(9) Name of Father.

(10) Birthplace of Father; State or foreign country.

(11) Maiden name of Mother.

(12) Birthplace of Mother; State or foreign country.

(13) Occupation: the occupation to be reported of any person who had any remunerative employment-women as well as men.

(14) Signature and address of informant.

(15) Date of death, including the year, month, and day.

(16) Statement of medical attendance on decedent, fact and time of death, including the time last seen alive.

(17) Cause of death, including the primary and immediate causes, and contributory causes or complications, if any, and the duration of each.

(18) Signature and address of physician or official making the medical certificate.

(19) Special information concerning deaths in hospitals and institutions and of persons dying away from home, including the former or usual residence, length of time at place of death, and place where the disease was contracted.

(20) Place of burial or removal.

(21) Date of burial or removal.

(22) Signature and address of undertaker.

(23) Official signature of registrar, with date certificate was filed and registered number. The certificate shall be written legibly in permanent black ink, and no certificate shall be held to be complete and correct that does not supply all of the items of information specified above or satisfactorily account for the omission of any of said items.

The personal and statistical particulars (items I to 13) shall be authenticated by the sig nature of the informant, who may be any competent person acquainted with the facts.

The statement of facts relating to the disposition of the body shall be signed by the undertaker or person acting as such.

The medical certificate shall be made and signed by the physician, if any, last in attendance on the deceased, who shall specify the time in attendance, the time he last saw the deceased alive, and the hour of the day at which death occurred. And he shall further state the cause of death so as to show the course of disease or sequence of causes resulting in death, giving the primary and immediate causes, and contributing causes, if any, and the duration of each. Indefinite and unsatisfactory terms indicating only symptoms of disease or conditions resulting from disease will not be held sufficient for issuing a burial or removal permit, and

any certificate containing only such terms, as defined by the State Registrar, shall be returned to the physician for correction or definition. Causes of death which may be the result of either disease or violence shall be carefully defined, and, if from violence, its nature shall be stated, and whether accidental, suicidal, or homicidal. And in case of deaths in hospitals, institutions, or away from home, the physician shall furnish the information required under this head (item 19), and shall state where, in his opinion, the disease was contracted. And the cause of death and all other facts required shall in all cases be stated in accordance with the instructions and directions of the State Registrar.

SEC. 8. In case of any death occurring without medical attendance, it shall be the duty of the undertaker to notify the registrar of such death, and when so notified the registrar shall inform the local health officer and refer the case to him for immediate investigation and certification prior to issuing the permit: Provided, That when the local health officer is not a qualified physician, or when there is no such official, and only in such cases, the registrar is authorized to make the certificate and return from the statement of relatives or other persons having adequate knowledge of the facts: Provided further, That if the circumstances of the case render it probable that the death was caused by unlawful or suspicious means, the registrar shall then refer the case to the coroner for his investigation and certification.

SEC. 9. The undertaker, or person acting as undertaker, shall be responsible for obtaining and filing the certificate of death with the registrar and securing a burial or removal permit prior to any disposition of the body. He shall obtain the personal and statistical particulars required from the person best qualified to supply them over the signature and address of his informant. He shall then present the certificate to the attending physician, if any, or to the health officer or coroner, as directed by the registrar, for the medical certificate of the cause of death and other particulars necessary to complete the record, as specified in the preceding section. And he shall then state the facts required relative to the date and place of burial over his signature and with his address, and present the completed certificate to the registrar within the time limit, if any, designated by the local board of health for the issuance of a burial or removal permit. The undertaker shall deliver the burial permit to the sexton or person in charge of the premises before interring the body, or attach it to the box containing the corpse, when shipped by any transportation company, to accompany same to destination, when it shall be accepted by the sexton as authority for the interment of the body.

SEC. 10. That it shall be the duty of the local registrar to supply blank forms of certificates to such persons as require them. And he shall carefully examine each certificate when presented for record to see that it has been made out in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the instructions of the State Registrar, and if any certificate is incomplete or unsatisfactory it shall be his duty to call attention to the defects in the return and to withhold issuing the burial or removal permit until they are corrected. He shall then number them in consecutive order, beginning with number one for the first death in each calendar year, and sign his name as registrar in attest of the date of filing in his office. If the certificate is properly executed and complete, he shall then issue a burial or removal permit to the undertaker: Provided, That in case the death occurred from some disease that is held by the State Board of Health to be infectious, contagious, or communicable and dangerous to the public health, no permit for the removal or other disposition of the body shall be granted by the registrar except under such conditions as may be prescribed by the State and local boards of health. He shall also make a complete and accurate copy of each certificate registered by him, upon a form identical with the original certificate, to be filed and permanently preserved in his office as the local record of such death, in such manner as directed by the State Registrar. And he shall, on or before the 5th day of each month, transmit to the State Registrar all original certificates registered by him during the preceding month. And if no deaths occurred in any month he shall, on or before the 5th day of the following month, report that fact to the State Registrar in such manner as the State Registrar shall direct.

SEC. II. If the interment, or other disposition of the body is to be made in the registration district in which the death occurred, the wording of the burial permit may be limited to a statement by the registrar, and over his signature, that a satisfactory certificate of death

having been filed with him as required by law, permission is granted to inter, remove, or otherwise dispose of the body of the deceased, stating the name, age, sex, and cause of death and other necessary details upon the form prescribed by the State Registrar. But in case the interment, or other disposition of the body, is to be made in some registration district other than that in which the death occurred, a complete copy of the certificate of death shall be attached to and made a part of the permit.

SEC. 12. No sexton or person in charge of any premises in which interments are made shall inter or permit the interment of any body unless it is accompanied by a burial, removal, or transit permit as herein provided. And each sexton or person in charge of any burial ground shall indorse upon the permit the date of interment, over his signature, and shall return all permits, so indorsed, to the local registrar of his district within ten days from the date of interment, or within the time fixed by the local board of health. He shall also keep a record of all interments made in the premises under his charge, stating the name of the deceased person, place of death, date of burial, and name and address of the undertaker, which record shall at all times be open to public inspection.

SEC. 13. The State Registrar shall prepare, print, and supply to all registrars all blanks and forms used in registering, recording, and preserving the returns or in otherwise carrying out the purposes of this Act, and shall prepare and issue such detailed instructions as may be required to secure the uniform observance of its provisions and the maintenance of a perfect system of registration. And no other blanks shall be used than those supplied by the State Registrar. He shall carefully examine the certificates received monthly from the local registrars, and if any such are incomplete or unsatisfactory he shall require such further information to be furnished as may be necessary to make the record satisfactory. And all physicians, informants, or undertakers connected with the case, and all other persons having knowledge of the facts, are hereby required to furnish such information as they may possess regarding any death, upon demand of the State Registrar, in person, by mail, or through the local registrar. He shall further arrange, bind, and permanently preserve the certificates in a systematic manner, and shall prepare and maintain a comprehensive and continuous card index of all deaths registered, the cards to show the name of deceased, place and date of death, number of certificate, and the volume in which it is contained. He shall inform all registrars what diseases are to be considered as infectious, contagious, or communicable, and dangerous to the public health, as decided by the State Board of Health, in order that when deaths occur from such diseases proper precautions may be taken to prevent the spreading of dangerous diseases, and all rules and regulations made by him for carrying out and enforcing the purposes of this Act shall, when promulgated, have the same force and effect as if enacted by law.

SEC. 14. Whenever it may be alleged that the facts are not correctly stated in any certificate of death theretofore registered, the registrar shall require a deposition under oath to be made by the person asserting the fact, to be supported by the depositions of two or more credible persons having knowledge of the facts, setting forth the changes necessary to make the record correct. Having received such depositions, he shall file them and shall then draw a line through the incorrect statement or statements in the certificate, without erasing them, and make the necessary corrections, noting on the margin of the certificate his authority for so doing, and transmit the deposition, attached to the original certificate, when making his regular monthly returns to the State Registrar. Or, if the correction relates to a certificate previously returned to the State Registrar, he shall transmit the deposition forthwith to the State Registrar. If the correction is first made upon the original certificate on file in the State Bureau of Registration, the State Registrar shall immediately transmit a certified copy of the original certificate, corrected as above, to the local registrar, who shall thereupon substitute such certified copy for the copy of the certificate in his records. All such corrections and marginal notes referring to them shall be made in permanent red ink.

SEC. 15. Each local registrar shall be entitled to be paid the sum of twenty-five cents for each death certificate properly and completely made out and registered with him, and by him returned to the State Registrar on or before the 5th day of the following month, which sum

shall cover and include the making out of the burial permit and the copy of the certificate to be filed and preserved in his office: Provided, That in cities in which the city clerk or health officer, acting as registrar, receives a fixed salary in lieu of fees no further compensation shall be paid for the duties required by this Act. And in case no deaths were registered during any month, the local registrar shall be entitled to be paid the sum of twenty-five cents for each report to that effect promptly made in accordance with the directions of the State Registrar. All amounts payable to registrars under provisions of this section shall be paid by the Treasurer of the county in which the registration districts are located upon presentation of warrants issued by the State Registrar. And the State Registrar shall issue warrants in favor of local registrars at the end of their official years, specifying the number of certificates properly registered and promptly returned and the number of reports promptly made by each to the effect that there were no deaths registered, with the amount due at the rate fixed herein.

SEC. 16. The State Registrar shall, upon request, furnish any applicant a certified copy of the record of any death registered under provisions of this Act, for the making and certification of which he shall be entitled to a fee of fifty cents, to be paid by the applicant. And any such copy of the record of a death, when properly certified by the State Registrar to be a true copy thereof, shall be prima facie evidence in all courts and places of the facts therein stated. For any search of the files and records, when no certified copy is made, the State Registrar shall be entitled to a fee of fifty cents for each hour or fractional hour of time of search, to be paid by the applicant. And the State Registrar shall keep a true and correct account of all fees by him received under these provisions, and turn the same over to the State Treasury.

SEC. 17. All superintendents or managers or other persons in charge of hospitals or institutions, public or private, to which persons resort for treatment of disease or are committed by process of law, are hereby required to make a record of all of the personal and statistical particulars relative to the inmates in their institutions at the date of approval of this Act, that are required in the form of certificate herein provided for, in addition to such other record as may be required by existing law or the circumstances of the case. And thereafter such record shall be by them made, for all future inmates, at the time of admission. And in case of persons admitted or committed for medical treatment the physician in charge shall specify, for entry in the record, the nature of the disease and where, in his opinion, it was contracted. The personal particulars and information required by this section shall be obtained from the individual himself, if it is practicable to do so, and when they can not be so obtained they shall be secured in as complete a manner as possible from the relatives, friends, or other persons acquainted with the facts.

SEC. 18. That every physician and undertaker residing in, at the date of this Act or thereafter establishing a residence in, any registration district, shall forthwith register his or her name, address, and occupation, with the local registrar of the district in which they reside, and they shall thereupon be furnished by the registrar a copy of this Act and such rules, regulations, and instructions as may be prepared by the State Registrar with relation to their duties under this Act.

SEC. 19. If any physician who was in medical attendance upon any deceased person at the time of death shall neglect or refuse to make out and deliver to the undertaker, sexton, or other person in charge of the interment, removal, or other disposition of the body, upon request, the medical certificate of cause of death hereinbefore provided for, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five nor more than fifty dollars. And if any physician shall willfully or knowingly make a false certification of the cause of death in any case, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, he shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars. And if any undertaker, sexton, or other person acting as undertaker shall inter, remove, or otherwise dispose of the body of any deceased person without having received a burial or removal permit as herein provided, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars.