The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-05-13

view, Of WetSel county preacher on the
ubIect Of Cremation. Ailer EkirmbhiDg
considerably and undoubtedly with the
question for some time he finally comes To-
q rather sensible conclusion, viz: that
outsids Of The great cities Of the world II
Is no. likely 10 become . matter Of practi.
cal moment and therefore II matters but
little what we think about it theoretically.
To the people Of the large cities, however,
It is daily becoming a question Of real
concern, and for two reasons, oneof which
Is the poison exhSled from the earth
where immense numbers Of people are
buried, and the other is because Of the Ter.
rible expense attending modern fuDerAlG
The item q economy Is the only feature
Of Cremation that will ever populArize It
outside Of the deusely populated districts
where The public health is likely TO be AZ
fected by buriAls. Fashion has conspired
with the undertaking business all over
the land To make death doubly dreadful
TO the msjOhtY Of people. The grim
vIsged monster bereaves them not only
Of those who are near and dear to them,
but entails on those who survive expenses
from which they do not escape for
yearA There are men in moderate cir
cumStances,W with large families, who know
what It Il 10 dread such VisitAtions, both on
aceount Of those who are taken and those
who are left Many such men have strug.
gled with fate In their desire to do full
Justice TO The dead and the living,
and have found their resources, perhaps
their labor alone, 4nortgsged far into the
future in order TO keep up appearances
Therefore We msy say, that II cremation
shAll ever be adopted by people generally,
twill be because the modern burial sys-
tenn has become srch an oppressive usage
a. 70 drive the public TO It's adoption.
In regard 10 the sanitary feature Of the
subject the preservation Of the public
health, We have lately read an extract
from . Paris letter, that asks the question
"WhAt shall be done with the dead -
and then goes on to speak Of the situation
in that great city as follows:
sour larger cemeteries are full. A por.
ton Of them il paIceled out and sold TO
parties a perIetultE, but 10 those who are
unable 10 pay the price, the limit Is five
years, and although the dead may be lett
little longer, they are soon driven out,
the ground ID overturned, and room is
made Tor others. The bones Of All the
poor who died ten years ago now lie in
one common heap, and once more the
cemeteries are FILED. Bot the soil refuses
e TO do It's work any longer. lthas become
satursted and will no longer absorb. The
graves are now dug in mass Of pufetac
ton, and exhalatio3s are constantly rising
10 poison the living Only thin layer
Of Garth separate the graves, and lew
days ago young and beautiful girl, the
idol Of her home, was lowered into q
grave which filed the minds Of every as
sistant with horror. A stream Of liquifed
putrid matter was running in from the
grave beside II. Two grAve-diggers re.
Gently struck too near when opening
grave, broke open coffin, and died in
few hours from the poisonous eXhalations
Great precautions have TO be taken in dig.
ging ordinary graves, Tor, as have pre-.
Tiously stated, the ground Is thoroughly
saturated, and can absorb no longer. The
condition Of the atmosphere and Of the
wafer in this vicinity is something hori.
bic 70 think about, and it Is not aston
shiDg thst the sicklT quarters Of the city
should be near these great cemeteries.
The above Is certainly revolving pic
ture Of death and burial in Paris, and
one that works upon our sensibilities al
most as much as the idea Of cremation.
We al naturally shrink from contact
with decay and corruption in either life
or death, and We fortunately are apt to
associate with burial The idea Of preser-
walton in the ground instead Ct loAth-
some decomposition. Ii Is well for us
that we hardly ever coldly speculate in
our minds upon the facts that science and
experience teach us, but that we always
think OF the dead as we last saw them
and as We somehow imagine we could
still find them by disinterment
A few days ago some one, evidently q
lady, wrote the following letter 10 Rev
HENRY WARD BREcuRR in regard TO
cremation. Its Of interest in this pres
ent connection and we accordingly re-
produce it as follows:
DRAR SIR; For the love Of all you
hold sacred do wait through the medium
OF your inspired pen q sermon upon the
horrors OF that ghsstly thing called Gre
nation.
or course / believe that dust we are,
and unto duet we must return; that we
shall be raised with renewed bodies; or,
as St Paul says, spiritual bodice" yet
who Is there among Us that holds not
sacred the beloved bodies Of our precious
dead : Picture 10 yourself the beloved
bodies Of your precious wife and children
subjected TO q tervent heat that shall des-
troy them utterly in an "hour and half"
as stated in one OF our lsvorite journals.
Horrible ! God forbid that any such
scheme shall ever prosper Do, do, Mr..
Beecher, use your influence IN suppressing
the same and oblige, TRUE FRIENDS.
n. B.-Do not toss this in that recep-
tAcle for nonsense termed waste basket
In replying TO this letter MR. BKRcHRR,
like the Wetzel county preacher, inclines
to take practical view Of the question.
he remarks that people are not likely TO
easily change customs that involve 90
much feeling as the disposal Of the dead.
But he says:
"There are many practices in connec.
ton with burial which would almost In.
cline one TO the practice Of cremstion-