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Show I IMPORTANCE OF I VITAL STATISTICS H - ..-. H. United States Public Health Service Ht Cites Pertinent KensoiiH Tor H Registering Itirlhs. H (From U. S. Pub. Health Service H' Kullotin, sent out by the Statu- Hoard of ilcnlth.) H The establishment of community H records, such as those resulting from B tho registration, of births, is ono of H the first evidences tlmt a community H expects to havo some degree of pcr- B-' ' munency nnd tlmt the inhabitants do RL. not consider themselves as temporary HLL residents. This was as true of tho HHj Greek and Roman civilization as of our own. The necessity for the rcg- H istration of births is felt in many of Hi the activities of the modern statu or H city. Tho ubch of registration are le gal and Bocial. It also may serve an important function in public health administration. Legal and Social Uses. The registration of a child's birth forms a logal record which is fre-cfucntly fre-cfucntly useful and may be of greatest importance. It establishes the date of birth and the child's parentage. It may be required to establish tin; child's age for attendance at public schools, or for permission to work in states whero restrictions are placed upon child labor; to show in courts of law whether a girl has reached the age of consent, or whether individuals individ-uals havo attained the age when they may marry without tho parent's permission; per-mission; to establish age in connection connec-tion with the grnnting of permission, military and jury duty, and voting. It may be important in connection with the bequeathing nnd inheritance of property or to furnish acceptable evidence of genealogy, identification papers for foreign travel, and in fact may bo important and useful in possible pos-sible events too numerous to montion. A Duty to the Child. It is needless to say that the average aver-age American community, composed of American fathers and mothers, may properly be expected to be more zealous zeal-ous in the care of its babies and their wolfaro than in that of cattle, horses", and dogs, even though tho animals be of pedigreed stock. It is the custom to register the births of registered animals, ani-mals, that their parentage may bo authenticated by carefully preserved records, and not 11 mere matter of neighborhood memory or Hearsay. Thero are many more reasons why a baby's parentage and rights should be safeguarded and protected by an official of-ficial registration of its birth than there arc for recording tho birth and parentage of a colt or calf. Registration Registra-tion of its time and place of birth is a duty the community owes the child, its future citizen. A Duty to. the Mother. It is important to a mother that a proper record that will be fully accepted ac-cepted and unquestioned in courts of law shall be mado of her child's birth and parentage. This may bo neccs-, sary to settle questions of legitimacy' and to detcrmino tho legal heirs to property. Necessary to the Community. I Without official birth records the rights of tho individual will, be f re-, quently jeopardized, legal procedure will often be unnecessarily complica-! ted, child labor and school laws will bo impossible of enforcement, there will bo difficulty in determining whether those desiring to cast the ballot have reached the voting age, and other difficulties dif-ficulties too numerous to mention will arise. Then, too, birth records show the additions mado to tjie population by natural increase, and tho elements, of tho population supplying this increase. in-crease. 1 A Factor in the Public Health. I Registration of births shows where tho babies are and makes possible such observance and protection as tho health department desires to extend. With birth registration it is possible for the health officers to see that the babies and their mothers have proper caro and attention. |