88 ILLINOIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



crease in tlie deaths assigned to other diseases. In five 

 years experience of the Metropolitan Life Insurance 

 Company such investigation of deaths reported simply 

 for pneumonia resulted in a transference of 7.5 per cent 

 to other causes. 



In this study an estimate was first made of influenza 

 alone, county by county through the State. When it 

 seemed best to study the reports for cities it was found 

 that there had been such a transference of assigned 

 cause from the pneumonias to influenza that the deaths 

 in the city from influenza exceeded the total formerly 

 given for the entire county. 



The experience of statisticians in the study of influenza 

 indicates that it is generally best to consider deaths as- 

 signed to the different forms of pneumonia with those 

 assigned to influenza. This was done in comparing the 

 rates in the cities with those of the counties in which the 

 cities were located. For the purpose of studying the dis- 

 tribution of the disease through the State we depended 

 solely upon the records of influenza. In comparing cities 

 with containing counties we compare the number of 

 deaths from influenza and all the pneumonias with mor- 

 bidity reports only of influenza for the reason that 

 through most of the State cases of pneumonia are very 

 imperfectly reported. 



5. There is another source of error in Death records. 

 Some undertakers neglect to obtain burial permits 

 promptly and it seems impossible to get some local 

 registrars to send in their reports each month. This 

 negligence on the part of some registrars is assisted by 

 the absolute failure of boards of county commissioners 

 to provide for the payment of the fees which the Law de- 

 mands. Cook County Commissioners have never since 

 the Law went into effect provided for the payment of 

 registrars in the County. After the data were collected 

 for this study bunches of death certificates were received 

 from some local registrars which would have decidedly 

 increased the mortality rate.* * * 



* Since this paper was written Cook County lias paid local registrars. 



