The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-04-13
Ghe4ttelIiae
A Local View of Cremation.

tho doctrine Of Cremation IS so popula
with those who advocate 1t. II seem
that they seek to escape resurrection a
the last day, and they have an idea tha
II their bodies are burned up they canno
be identified on that occasion, and so vii
escape punishment for their sins. Th
language Of the writer on this point ls a
follows:
"They doubt the power OF tho Eterna
TO collect the dust and ashes Of the deaf
and to reanimate the bodies of all tho
have lived. Yet underneath their doub
they yet think 1t barely possible that per
haps the thing might be done In the cas-
Of persons who arc buried, and whosC
bodies quietly and undisturbedly moulde
into dust In one spot, but that this shoulG
be possible in the case Oi body burned
q great portion Of which will thus revert
to vapor or air and leave but perhaps q
Cup.fnll Of ashes, that they do not believe.
They cry aha to the Lord-we have got
you now You can't find our bodies
now; and hence they fAtter themselves
hu0h C9SupS
for sins"
Tho writer of the above really seems to
have misgiving that cremation" might
actually stand in the way Of Identification
on the Resurrection morning. he shows
In this apprehension great familiarity
with the laws Of chemistry. he says in
so many words
II oppose this thing Of burning-be-
Cause, iorsooth, | TOO in my weakness,
although would believe, yet cannot un-
derstand how the bodies OF oil that have
lived should, can or could be restored"
What does the writer OF this suppose
has become Of the bodies OF his ancestors
who died one hundred years ago and
were buried In the Garth? Does no sup.
pose that one vestige Of them remains, in
any form that is even approximate 10 the
human body? II he docs, he should with.
out delay consult some elementary work
on chemistry or geology. He will not be
obliged to read far or spend much time
to satisfy himself that the difference in
the condition oil body that has been
cremated and one that has quietly mould.
cred into dust is, at the end oil the time
named, moro q matter Of Imagination
than reality. In other words chemistry
will teach him that in obedience 10 the
great law OF change that is constantly at
work in the earth, as well as above it, all
dead bodies committed to its keeping are
speedily appropriated by it and resolved
into various elements. Very little of all
that goes TO make up the largest or most
important man or woman remains in
the earth. Nearly all that constitutes
their bulk becomes OF last a mere cxha.
lation, and enters into the air VIC breath,
the water we drink or the food VIC eat.
The most original part Of the communi.
cation however from which we have quo.
ted Is as follows. 1t will certainly not
fail to impress the reader as decidedly
original:
II have little proposition to submit
which ] hope you will publish TO the
world. 1t is this: that our bodies be
boiled, the flesh burnt or buried, and the
sKELEToNs carefully preserved in hermet
ecally sealed glass vases. l cannot but
think that 1t will be thus an easier
matter to clothe them with flesh,
and that these bones shall live Il
would thus also feel a greater assurance
at the resurrection that It Is really me and
my bones and not somebody else! It
would be annoying to think that in the
hurry and acurry Of q general resurrec.
ton some particles Of other mems bones
may accidentally get mixed with mine,
and that at least part Of me might hap.
pen to get punished for another's mis-.
deedsl And lest this might appear TO be
selfish view Of the case, would turn It
around aad say that would not that 9th.
crs should be punis he'd for my sins, by
their having any part OF me mixed with
them!
! say thisin all reverence, tho WOULD
believe in the omnipotenCe the Creator.
At any rate | cannot swallow this idea Of
cremation fully, underneath Of which l
feel certain lies the thought OF endeavor-
ing 10 circumvent the Almighty power
that created all things"
The idea that Is specially deserving Of
notice in tho above extract is that we
should preserve the skeletons Of dead
people as tho surest means OF securing
their Identification in the last day. And
where and how are the skeletons to be
preserved from calcipstion or decayp A.
glass case will only delay and not prevent
that fnalty. To the complexion OF dust
We must come at last. Glass cases, like
human bodies, arc themselves perishable.
There is no way known to man 10 cir.
Cumvent tho resolution and distribution
CT all animal organisms into their native
elements.
But aside from this difficulty, there is
another one, and It Is as to who Is to take
care of the glass cases and the skeletons
in them, even supposing that our precious
bones could be thus preserved until the
end ofthe world, which some people sup.
pose is not for of. The altectlonate re-
membranes Of our posterity cannot be
relied on beyond the third generation. It
Is said that a monument that lasts fifty
years generally crumbles away without
attention after that time. lrthis ia go.
who would look after all the glass cases
that would accumulate In hundred
years. We fear that there would
be no one left to "mourn for
Logan" at the end of q century. True,
Mark Twain wcpt at the tomb Of Adam,
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