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Show Birth R egistration Is Most Important Prepaied by Children's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor Birth registration has assumed a new, and in some cases tragic, importance impor-tance in the light of the European war. Hundreds of families k our country have suddenly realized that the absence ab-sence of a birth record is a grave omission omis-sion which may have the most serious result One little true story is typical of many incidents which have happened since the first of August, 1914. The young son of a Washington family, just graduated from one of the big American Ameri-can colleges in the spring of that year, had gone to France to study. He was comfortably settled in a small French village, learning the language, when suddenly news came that war had been declared. The authorities of the village vil-lage demanded of all strangers evidence evi-dence of their nationality. This American Amer-ican had no evidence save personal letters, let-ters, and he was suspected of being a German spy. In haste he cabled for a passport, but when it came this was not sufficient. "Where Is your birth certificate?" Inquired the officer, and the young man could only admit that he had none. But he cabled again to his fa tiler for help, and the father hurriedly instituted institut-ed a search for the boy's birth record. It happened at the time of the boy's birth the family had beon living in a state and a city where births were registered, so the precious record was found a copy sent abroad. A I'iuh certificate mr.y bo important In the ordinary concerns of everyday life. It is the one indisputable proof of inheritance. Good state laws must provide the machinery for registration, but the completeness of the records must depend, ultimately, on the interest inter-est of parents. Even yet the birth records in this country nre far from complete. No state, and probably no city, has absolutely abso-lutely perfect registration. Only in the New England states, and in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and the District of Columbia Colum-bia are the records accepted by the census bureau. Birth registration is one of those-fundamental those-fundamental matters of infant welfare to which many communities are turning turn-ing their attention during Baby Week, and one of the most valuable bits of follow-up work after a Baby Week Is the conducting of a birth-registration test. Such a test, carried out by a local lo-cal volunteer committee, has been devised de-vised by the Children's bureau, and Is valuable not only In revealing the facts but In bringing home to the community com-munity the importance of registration. In some places the registrar Is sending send-ing a notice of registration to the parents par-ents as soon as a birth is recorded. This Is proving an excellent device to keep parents Interested in seeing that their babies' births are registered. If the notice contains all the facts Included Includ-ed In the record and bears the signature signa-ture and seal of the registrar. It will serve in future years as the official transcript which may be required to ; establish Identity or the right of in- heritnnce, or as proof of age or citl- zenshlp. j The Children's bureau of the United States Department of Labor has a : pamphlet of directions for carrying out a birth-registration test, and a general ' pamphlet on "Birth Itecistrn'ion." ; Both are furnished upon request. I |
