STATE BOARD OF HEALTH ACT.

The act to create and establish a Board of Health in the State of Illinois, approved May 25, 1877, in force July 1st, 1877, reads as follows: SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint seven persons who shall constitute the Board of Health. The persons so appointed shall hold their offices for seven years; Provided, That the terms of office of the seven first appointed shall be so arranged that the term of one shall expire on the thirtieth day of December of each year, and the vacancies so created, as well as all vacancies occurring otherwise, shall be filled by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate; And Provided, also, That appointments made when the Senate is not in session, may be confirmed at its next ensuing session.

SEC. 2. The State Board of Health shall have the general supervision of the interests of the health and life of the citizens of the State. They shall have charge of all matters pertaining to quarantine; and shall have authority to make such rules and regulations, and such sanitary investigations as they may from time to time deem necessary for the preservation or improvement of public health, and it shall be the duty of all police officers, sheriffs, constables, and all other officers and employes of the State, to enforce such rules and regulations, so far as the efficiency and success of the Board may depend upon their official co-operation.

SEC. 3. The Board of Health shall have supervision of the State system of registration of births and deaths as hereinafter provided; they shall make up such forms, and recommend such legislation as shall be deemed necessary for the thorough registration of vital and mortuary statistics throughout the State. The Secretary of the Board shall be the Superintendent of such registration. The clerical duties, and the safe-keeping of the bureau of vital statistics thus created shall be provided by the Secretary of State.

SEC. 4. It shall be the duty of all physicians and accoucheurs in this State, to register their names and post-office address with the County Clerk of the county where they reside; and said physician and accoucheurs shall be required, under penalty of ten dollars, to be recovered in any Court of competent jurisdiction in the State, at suit of the County Clerk, to report to the County Clerk, within thirty days from date of their occurrence, all births and deaths which may come under their supervision, with a certificate of the cause of death, and such correlative facts as the Board may require, in the blank forms furnished as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 5. Where any birth or death shall take place, no physician or accoucheur being in attendance, the same shall be reported to the County Clerk within thirty days from the date of their occurrence, with the supposed cause of death, by the parent, or if none, by the nearest of kin not a minor, or if none, by the resident householder where the death shall occur, under penalty as provided in the preceding section of this act.

SEC. 6. The Coroners of the several counties shall be required to report to the County Clerk, all cases of death which may come under their supervision, with the cause and mode of death, etc., as per forms furnished, under penalty as provided in section four (4) of this act.

SEC. 7. All amounts recovered under the penalties herein provided, shall be appropriated to a special fund for the carrying out the object of this law.

SEC. 8. The County Clerks of the several counties in the State shall be required to keep separate books for the registration of the names and post-office address of physicians and accoucheurs, for births, for marriages, and for deaths; said books shall always be open to inspection without fee; and said County Clerks shall be required to render a full and complete report of all births, marriages and deaths, to the Secretary of the Board of Health, annually, and at such other times as the Board may direct.

SEC. 9. It shall be the duty of the Board of Health to prepare such forms for the record of births, marriages and deaths, as they may deem proper; the said forms to be furnished by the Secretary of said Board to the County Clerks of the several counties, whose duty it shall be to furnish them to such persons as are herein required to make reports.

SEC. 10. The first meeting of the Board shall be within fifteen days after their appointment, and thereafter in January and June of each year, and at such other times as

the Board shall deem expedient. The meeting in January of each year shall be in Springfield. A majority shall constitute a quorum. They shall choose one of their number to be President, and they may adopt rules and by-laws for their government, subject to the provisions of this act.

SEC. 11. They shall elect a Secretary who shall perform the duties prescribed by the Board; and by this act, he shall receive a salary which shall be fixed by the Board; he shall also receive his traveling and other expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties. The other members of the Board shall receive no compensation for their services, but their traveling and other expenses, while employed on the business of the Board, shall be paid. The President of the Board shall quarterly certify the amount due the Secretary, and on presentation of his certificate, the Auditor of State shall draw his warrant on the Treasurer for the amount.

SEC. 12. It shall be the duty of the Board of Health to make an annual report through heir secretary, or otherwise, in writing to the Governor of this state, on or before the first day of January of each year, and such report shall include so much of the proceedings of the Board, and such information concerning vital statistics; such knowledge respecting diseases, and such instruction on the subject of hygiene, as may be thought useful by the Board, for dissemination among the people with such suggestions as to legislative action, as they may deem necessary.

SEC. 13. The sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000), or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to pay the salary of the secretary, meet the contingent expenses of the office of the secretary, and the expenses of the Board, and all costs for printing, which together shall not exceed the sum hereby appropriated; said expenses shall be certified and paid in the same manner as the salary of the secretary.

SEC. 14. The Secretary of State shall provide rooms suitable for the meetings of the Board and office-room for the secretary.

COMPLAINTS OF VIOLATION OR EVASION OF THE LAW.

Owing to a want of time the Board has not been able to give the attention always needed to the investigation of applications, and of complaints against those violating the law, but its intentions and best endeavors have been to wrong no one. In many instances complaints have been brought to the notice of the Board by rivals against others who were amenable, and in some cases against those not amenable, to the law. In such cases the Board has advised moderation in acting against them, in order that they might have time in which to comply with the provisions of the law. Owing to the fact that there has been a general disposition to comply with the law, the Board, desiring to avoid even the appearance of persecuting any one, has for the most part discouraged prosecutions. Information received in such complaints was not always reliable; but more attention has been paid to the complaints of parties who were themselves on proper record in this office, or in the office of the county clerks, than those not on record. It has not been an uncommon occurrence that complaints against others were made by those who had neither registered in the office of the county clerk, nor were on record in this office, nor had given any evidence that they had complied with either law. This to some extent was owing to the fact that two laws, each imperfectly or ambiguously drawn, were entrusted to this Board for enforcement, and complainants did not always understand the law.

SPURIOUS DIPLOMAS.

As nearly as can be ascertained about 400 diplomas were held in this state by parties who had either bought them directly, or obtained them upon a nominal examination. Agencies of these diploma-shops were found in different parts of the state, and for a time the sale of diplomas was pressed with considerable vigor under the inpression that the Board would recognize them because they were issued by legally chartered institutions. Parties that we can name have such diplomas with grand gold medals of honor for distinguished attainments in medical knowledge, both diplomas and medals having been obtained by direct purchase. The diplomas of nine medical colleges have not been recognized, owing to the fact that the Board had positive knowledge that they sold their diplomas. There were four or more schools whose diplomas also should have been rejected on account of suspected laxity in issuing them, and the Board is hoping soon to secure the necessary proofs to warrant it in rejecting their diplomas. Recently none of these bogus diplomas have been offered for verification, and the Board has accomplished more in breaking up this nefarious traffic than any other agency has been able to do.

A number of respectable and influential newspapers announce that they will not receive advertisements of such character for insertion in their columns henceforth.

At a meeting of the Board held at Chicago, in August, 1878, the subject of unprofessional medical advertisements was discussed. Soon afterwards, before the Board had actually revoked any certificates of practice of those rendering themselves subject to such action by the Board, the bill of N. J. Aikin vs. State Board of Health, was filed in Cook Circuit Court in Chancery, at the October term, praying for au injunction restraining the proposed action upon the part of the Board, of revocation of the certificate it had issued to said Aikin.

The Hon. E. S. Williams rendered an able decision in which the prayer for injunction was denied.

The said N. J. Aikin took an appeal therefrom to the Appellate Court, and again without any relief, that Court declining to interfere with the decision of Judge Williams.

The work accomplished in carrying into effect that portion of the Medical Practice Act which consists in issuing of certificates to those who come under the provisions of the law, has been accurately tabulated and is hereto appended.

A register has been kept of all certificates issued to physicians and accoucheurs, and of the returns thereon, made by the county clerks and said register is made a part of the report herewith submitted in manuscript.

W

of those who fully urged that this register be printed separately, and fled to them. At present communications are almost daily received asking for copies of the laws and wishing to know the results of our practical experience, desiring to profit thereby, and it is only a question of time when similar laws will be enacted in our neighboring states, the public and the medical profession of those states being deeply interested in procuring such laws. More interest is excited in our work from the fact that our Board is a mixed one, composed of representatives from different schools of practice. So far, no diversity of opinion has occurred among the members of the Board; all schools of practice have been treated alike, provided they came within the provisions of the law. In this connection it is proper to state that many organizations have been formed by practitioners of all schools to assist in carrying out the requirements of the Practice Act.

There will be some recommendations made as to amendments of the law which the experience of the Board has taught would be necessary.

Total

Total certificates issued.....

424

5374

This total includes certificates issued to licentiates upon examination by the Board, as follows:

To practitioners.
To Ludwire

Tota!

EXHIBIT OF FORMS OF PRACTICE, 80 for as kunen, of those hi Certificates from Illinois State Board of Health.

There are on file in this office 178 affidavits from parties who ar under the exemption clause, and do not ask for certificates.

There are also on file about four hundred applications for cer cates from parties who have not complied with all the necessary ditions, and there are many applications on file from parties to wi certificates have been refused.

The following are copies of blank affidavits prepared for use uri the Medical Practice Act, and copies of the different forms of cer cates issued under the seal of the Board and signatures of its me bers.