Michigan Registration Report

A copy of the last Vital Statistics Report of Michigan issued by the Department of State has been received at this office from Secretary Gardner, and appears to be of unusual interest. In addition to the usual statistical study of the births, marriages and deaths returned for the state and counties during the year 1892, the report presents valuable data concerning the methods and results of registration under the state systetn and under local ordinances in the cities of Michigan, and recommends that such results of local registration, when more efficiënt than the state system, as they are in tnany cases, be utilized in the state registration reports. The total number of births returned in Michigan for 1893 was 46,221; of marriages, 20,107; and of deaths, 21,729. These returns, except for marriages, are much below the true numbers, owing to imperfections in the present method of enumeration by supervisros after the close of the registration year, and would require to be increased by at least 60 per cent., the secretary estimates, to give the true figures. Even then the death rate of the state, 15.9 per ioo population, would be much less than the death rates of any states in this country where accurate registration prevails. The article on causes of death in Michigan in 1892 will be of great interest to physicians and sanitarians, and is wel illustrated by diagrams and by two ' colored maps showing the distribution of the recorded mortality from consumption and from diphtheria and croup in the different counties of the state during the five-vear period, 1888-92. The rates are based upon the lation of each county, and henee show the relative distribution correctly in counties of small size as well as those with dense populations. Such maps comply in the plainest and most readily understood manner with the primary object of of the registration law, viz., to show the comparative healthfulness of different parts of the state. Attention is called tu the great tardiness of the present systeta of registration, which has not been iroproved since 1869, and under which the returns do not reach the rompiling office until nearly a year after the close of the year of registration. This delay causes other deficiencies, which are fully discussed in the report, and which, it is strongly urged, should be removed by the passage of a registration act more in accordance with modern requirements. The report as a whole will be found very interesting and valuable for reference, and may be obtained by supervisors and others entitled to it from the county clerk, and also directly from the office of the Secretary of State at Lansing.