228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INDIANA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



one thousand dollars. In the report of 1879, Dr. Stevens read a paper en- 

 titled, "Report of Public Hygiene in Indiana." In this paper. Dr. Stevens 

 ably set forth an argument in favor of the supervision of the public health by 

 the State. 



In the report of 1880, will be found President Weist's address entitled. 

 "Problems in Relation to the Prevention of Disease." In his address, he said: 

 "While we as physicians, mean to give our chief thoughts to the practical 

 facts of medi(3ine that we may relieve suffering and thus lessen the sum of 

 human sorrow, we will fail in the transport of our whole duty, if we do not 

 recognize that outside of the sick chamber and beyond the limits of hospital 

 wards, lies our highest work — work that has for its object the prevention of 

 disease, not its cure. In this same report of 1880 will be found an article 

 by Dr. Hervey entitled, "Some of the Unsolved Problems of Public Hygiene." 

 In this paper. Dr. Hervey, in his well-known eloquent manner, again made a 

 plea for the legal protection of the people against unnecessary disease and 

 health. 



The following year, 1881, Dr. Hervey was the president of the Society, 

 and the subject of his address was "The Advance of Medicine." This meet- 

 ing of 1881 was unusually rich in articles upon hygiene. Including the address 

 of the president, there were four papers as follows: "Sanitary Progress," 

 Dr. .1. W. Crompton; "State Medicine," Dr. Stevens; "Hygiene," Dr. Hervey; 

 "Infectious Diseases," Dr. L. C Johnson. In this year was passed the first 

 health law of the State of Indiana. 



The first annual report of the State Board of Health of Indiana was for 

 the year ending October 31, 1882. The members of the Board were Dr. J. 

 W. Crompton, Evansville, Ind.; Dr. Wm. Lomax, Marion, Ind.; Dr. W. W. 

 Vinnedge, Lafayette, Ind.; Dr. J. M. Partridge, South Bend, Ind.; Dr. Thad. 

 N. Stevens, Indianapolis. Dr. Crompton was the president, and Dr. Stevens 

 the secretary and executive officer. This first report is an excc^edingly valu- 

 able one. It gives in detail the work of the Board, contains various essays 

 upon sanitary subjects and presents the first official tables of vital statistics 

 for Indiana. The population of the State in 1880, according to United States 

 Statistics, was 1,909.916. The total deaths reported from all causes was 

 11,398, showing a d(>ath rate of 5.96 to each one thousand of population. 

 This fact indicated that certainly less than one-third of the deaths were 

 reported, for surely the death rate v'^ould not have been at the time less than 

 18 to 20 in the thousand. It was therefore apparent that the first effort to 

 collect the vital statistics of Indiana, while not wholly a failure, was far from 

 being a success. 



Although all that time, the board put forth most strenuous exertions to 

 secure accurate reports of births, deaths, marriages and contagious diseases, 

 poor success attended their efforts. In the report for 1900 issufid by the State 

 Board of Health the number of deaths reported was 1,'),846. This calculated 

 to an estimated population of 2,500,000, gives a death rate of 6.3 to one thou- 



