disease, 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 obtained in as complete a manner as possible from relatives, friends, or other persons acquainted with the facts.

SEC. 18. That 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 procure 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 supplied as may be necessary to make the record complete and satisfactory. And all physicians, midwives, informants, or undertakers, and all other persons having knowledge of the facts, are hereby required to supply, upon a form provided by the state registrar or upon the original certificate, such information as they may possess regarding any birth or death upon demand of the state registrar, in person, by mail, or through the local registrar; provided, that no certificate of birth or death, after its acceptance for registration by the local registrar, and no other record made in pursuance of this Act, shall be altered or changed in any respect otherwise than by amendments properly dated, signed, and witnessed. The state registrar 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 births and deaths registered; said index to be arranged alphabetically, in the case of deaths, by the names of decedents, and in case of births, by the names of fathers and mothers. He shall inform all registrars what diseases are to be considered 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 their spread.

If any cemetery company or association, or any church or historical society or association, or any other company, society, or association, or any individual, is in possession of any record of births or deaths which may be of value in establishing the genealogy of any resident of this state, such company, society, association, or individual, may file such record or a duly authenticated transcript thereof with the state registrar, and it shall be the duty of the state registrar to preserve such record or transcript and to make a record and index thereof in such form as to facilitate the finding of any information contained therein. Such record and index shall be open to inspection by the public, subject to such reasonable conditions as the state registrar may prescribe. If any person desires a transcript of any record filed in accordance herewith, the state registrar shall furnish the same upon application, together with a certificate that it is a true copy of such record, as filed in his office, and for his services in so furnishing such transcript and certificate he shall be entitled to a fee of (ten cents per folio) (fifty cents per hour or fraction of an hour necessarily consumed in making such transcript) and to a fee of twenty-five cents for the certificate, which fees shall be paid by the applicant.

SEC. 19. That each local registrar shall supply blank forms of certificates to such persons as require them. Each local registrar shall carefully examine each certificate of birth or death when presented for record in order to ascertain whether or not it has been made out in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the instructions of the state registrar; and if any certificate of death is incomplete or unsatisfactory, it shall be his duty to call attention to the defects in the return, and to withhold the

APPENDIX 4. -THE MODEL LAW.

85 burial or removal permit until such defects are corrected. All certificates, either of birth or of death, shall be written legibly, in durable black ink, and no certificate shall be held to be complete and correct that does not supply all of the items of information called for therein, or satisfactorily account for their omission. If the certificate of death 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 which 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 issued by the registrar, except under such conditions as may be prescribed by the State Board of Health. If a certificate of birth is incomplete, the local registrar shall immediately notify the informant, and require him to supply the missing items of information if they can be obtained. He shall number consecutively the certificates of birth and death, in two separate series, beginning with number 1 for the first birth and the first death in each calendar year, and sign his name as registrar in attest of the date of filing in his office. He shall also make a complete and accurate copy of each birth and each death certificate registered by him in a record book supplied by the state registrar, to be preserved permanently in his office as the local record, in such manner as directed by the state registrar. And he shall, on the tenth day of each month, transmit to the state registrar all original certificates registered by him for the preceding month. And if no births or no deaths occurred in any month, he shall, on the tenth day of the following month, report that fact to the state registrar, on a card provided for such purpose.

SEC. 20.-That each local registrar shall be paid the sum of twenty-five cents for each birth certificate and each death certificate properly and completely made out and registered with him, and correctly recorded and promptly returned by him to the state registrar, as required by this Act. And in case no births or 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, but only if such report be made promptly as required by this Act. All amounts payable to a local registrar under the provisions of this section shall be paid by the treasurer of the county in which the registration district is located, upon certification by the state registrar. And the state registrar shall annually certify to the treasurers of the several counties the number of births and deaths properly registered, with the names of the local registrars and the amounts due each at the rates fixed herein.2

SEC. 21. That the state registrar shall, upon request, supply to any applicant a certified copy of the record of any birth or 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 birth or death, when properly certified by the state registrar, 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 part of an hour of time of search, said fee 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 treasurer: Provided, That the state registrar shall, upon request of any parent or guardian, supply, without fee, a certificate limited to a statement as to the date of birth of any child when the same shall be necessary for admission to school, or for the purpose of securing employment. And provided further, That the United States

1 A proviso may be inserted at this point relative to fees of city registrars who are already compensated by salary for their services. See laws of Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

2 Provision may be made in this section for the payment of sub-registrars and also, if desired, for the payment of physicians and midwives. See Kentucky law.

8695 registra

le of U.S.

DATE DUE

(13) Birthplace of mother; at least state or foreign country, if known.

(14) Signature and address of informant.

(15) Official signature of registrar, with the date when certificate was filed, and registered number.

(16) Date of death, year, month, and day.

(17) Certification as to medical attendance on decedent, fact and time of death, time last seen alive, and the cause of death, with contributory (secondary) cause of complication, if any, and duration of each, and whether attributed to dangerous or insanitary conditions of employment; signature and address of physician or official making the medical certificate.

(18) Length of residence (for inmates of hospitals and other institutions; transients or recent residents) at place of death and in the state, together with the place where disease was contracted, if not at place of death, and former or usual residence. (19) Place of burial or removal; date of burial.

(20) Signature and address of undertaker or person acting as such.

The personal and statistical particulars (Items 1 to 13) shall be authenticated by the signature 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 the death, giving first the name of the disease causing death (primary cause), and the contributory (secondary) cause, if any, and the duration of each. Indefinite and unsatisfactory terms, denoting only symptoms of disease or conditions resulting from disease, will not be held sufficient for the issuance of a burial or removal permit; and any certificate containing only such terms, as defined by the state registrar, shall be returned to the physician or person making the medical certificate for correction and more definite statement. Causes of death which may be the result of either disease or violence shall be carefully defined; and if from violence, the means of injury shall be stated, and whether (probably) accidental, suicidal, or homicidal.1 And for deaths in hospitals, institutions, or of non-residents, the physician shall supply the information required under this head (Item 18), if he is able to do so, and may state where, in his opinion, the disease was contracted.

SEC. 8. That in case of any death occurring without medical attendance, it shall be the duty of the undertaker to notify the local registrar of such death, and when so notified the registrar shall, prior to the issuance of the permit, inform the local health officer and refer the case to him for immediate investigation and certification; provided, that when the local health officer is not a physician, or when there is no such official, and in such cases only, 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 registrar has reason to believe that the death may have been due to unlawful act or neglect, he shall then refer the case to the coroner or other proper officer for his investigation and certification. And the coroner or other proper officer whose duty it is to hold an inquest on the body of any deceased person, and to make the certificate of death required for a burial permit, shall state in his certificate the name of the disease causing death, or if from external causes, (1) the means of death; and (2) whether (probably) accidental, suicidal, or homicidal; and shall, in any case, furnish such information as may be required by the state registrar in order properly to classify the death.

1 In some states the question whether a death was accidental, suicidal, or homicidal must be determined by the coroner or medical examiner, and the registration law must be framed to harmonize.

SEC. 9.-That the undertaker, or person acting as undertaker, shall file the certifiate of death with the local registrar of the district in which the death occurred and btain a burial or removal permit prior to any disposition of the body. He shall obtain he required personal and statistical particulars from the person best qualified to suply them, over the signature and address of his informant. He shall then present the ertificate to the attending physician, if any, or to the health officer or coroner, as directed by the local registrar, for the medical certificate of the cause of death and other particulars necessary to complete the record, as specified in Sections 7 and 8. And he hall then state the facts required relative to the date and place of burial or removal, over his signature and with his address, and present the completed certificate to the ocal registrar in order to obtain a permit for burial, removal, or other disposition of the body. The undertaker shall deliver the burial permit to the person in charge of the place of burial, before interring or otherwise disposing of the body: or shall attach the removal permit to the box containing the corpse, when shipped by any transportation company; said permit to accompany the corpse to its destination, where, if within the state of it shall be delivered to the person in charge of the place

of burial.

(13) Birthplace of mother; at least state or foreign co (14) Signature and address of informant.

(15) Official signature of registrar, with the date wo istered number.

(16) Date of death, year, month, and day.

(17) Certification as to medical attendance on de.. last seen alive, and the cause of death, with cor plication, if any, and duration of each, and wh itary conditions of employment; signature a the medical certificate.

(18) Length of residence (for inmates of or recent residents) at place of death and disease was contracted, if not at place of (19) Place of burial or removal; date (20) Signature and address of under The personal and statistical partion.. signature of the informant, who may facts.

The statement of facts relating to undertaker or person acting as s'i The medical certificate shall attendance on the deceased, y last saw the deceased alive, a.. shall further state the cause o causes resulting in the dea! mary cause), and the contr. Indefinite and unsatisfac resulting from disease, wi permit; and any certific trar, shall be returned correction and more either disease or vic of injury shall be st And for deaths in 1. the information r state where, in h