(NEW SERIES) OF THE State Board of Health And Vital Statistics OF MINNESOTA 1916-1917 SYNDICATE PRINTING CO. Minneapolis, Minn. 1918 Office of the State Board of Health and Vital Statistics, St. Paul, Minn., December 20, 1918. To His Excellency, J. A. A. Burnquist, Governor of Minnesota. Sir: In accordance with the law which requires that the Minnesota State Board of Health "shall report its doings and discoveries to the legislature at each regular session thereof, with such recommendations as it shall deem useful," I herewith submit to you a report covering the calendar years 1916-1917. Respectfully submitted, H. M. BRACKEN, Secretary and Executive Officer. Medical Library 12.4-53 MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH AND VITAL STATISTICS. Egil Boeckmann, M. D., President..... Christopher Graham, M. D., Vice President. C. L. Scofield, M. D. Neill M. Watson, M. D. R. C. Hunt, M. D. F. W. Cappelen C. E. D. N. Jones, M. D.. Werner Hemstead, M. D. L. P. Wolff, C. E.. H. M. Bracken, M. D., Secretary and Executive Officer. .Term expires 1920 .Term expires 1920 Term expires 1920 Term expires 1921 .Term expires 1921 Term expires 1921 .Term expires 1919 Term expires 1919 .Term expires 1919 Introduction. This report covers the record of the Board for the calendar years 1916 and 1917, and this work is set forth in special sections, having been prepared by the directors of the four (4) divisions reporting for the years indicated, namely; the Division of Vital Statistics, the Division of Preventable Diseases, the Division of Sanitation and the Divison of Records. This introduction will cover not only the years referred to in these reports but will also give some outline of the work as carried on in 1918. State Board of Health-The State Board of Health is supported by nine (9) members appointed by the governor. Their term of office is three (3) years, and each member shall serve until his successor qualifies. The members of the Board do not receive salaries or per diem but are allowed necessary traveling expenses. Officers-The officers of the Board are a president, vice president, and a secretary. The law makes no provision for a vice president, but the board for its own convenience names such. General Duties of Officers--The duties of the president are prescribed by law as follows: "The president shall preside at the meetings, when present, and in the absence or disability of the secretary, shall perform all the duties imposed upon the latter by law, and be paid therefor. The secretary shall be the executive officer of the Board, and, in addition to keeping a record of its proceedings, shall see that all lawful rules and orders of the Board, and all duties laid upon it by law, are enforced and performed, and that every law enacted in the interests of human health is obeyed. And he shall be custodian of the official records and documents of the Board." The secretary of the Board is also state registrar of vital statistics, and is the administrating officer of the state in connection therewith. Meetings-The Board holds quarterly meetings, designated by law, and can hold special meetings at such times and places as the secretary or any two (2) members of the Board shall appoint upon three (3) days' notice to the members by mail. At the meeting of the Board, July 10, 1917, Dr. Charles E. Smith, Jr., of St. Paul, was employed to fill the position of assistant secretary to the Board. Dr. Smith began his duties in September of 1917. The administrative department and two (2) divisions, namely; the Division of Vital Statistics, and the Division of Records, are located in the state capitol. The clerical force required for the administrative department, the Division of Vital Statistics and the Division of Records are crowded into three (3) rooms in the basement of the state capitol. Extra rooms have been secured from time to time in different parts of the building during the non-legislative period, but there is no permanency in these rooms, and the difficulty is great in carrying on work satisfactorily under such conditions. DIVISION OF RECORDS. This division is located in the state capitol. The work was formerly carried on under the administrative department, but there was such an increase in the work that the Board at its meeting, January 9, 1917, created a Division of Records following the recommendation for the creation of |