The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-06-11

but they may he made more or less costly to suit
the taste aud pocket OF the customer 49,
PEOPLES tastes change" said one deeler
and we have TO change our styles 80 as to nave
somethInv fresh every two or three wears"
Some cofiinr are now made to open hiOueb-
out their whole lensth. some are fastened oy
that open from top to bottom 40 as TO display
the whole body said an undertaken. " are very
commonly used tor children. aud sometimes Tor
grown per-ons when the family wants to make
a sulurRc." The style varies In dine ent 'ocali-
trs. New York and Boston are smllal In thor
funeri tastes, and they use tnsew9uu ,aSs ,
and cloth covered goods. In PM idelphia, the
nome of the great obituary poet; g. Mnsn .,l VI
tops, tue favOrite style, ana caskeis are
tabooed. h trade In Philadelphia - said 70 oe
poorly supt lied, and IN undert ikcr d 81 req ne
knew of no place where acOiin ulan win capital
would have 80 fine an orenlng as IN that CITY;
The wholesale tr de In New YORK, which
manufactures more cofius than any other two
cities IN the United states, Is affected consid-
Cincinna 1, Pit sburgh, Allegheny city, and
other Western towns, where the CONN business
has within a few years taken an extraordinary
start. 1heie Western manut icturers send COT.
nns to New York and undert Ike To- undersell
the makers here. ms beating down OF prices
firms within "A year. COflin "drummers' from
New York wnoieslle houses go all over the
full OF immature cOffins, lined with tempting III.
tie satin pillows anu jingliny with silver plated
handles. which win orders from COUNTRY deaiers'
THE UNDERTAKERs AND SECTIONS.
tact with their customers probably feel the hard
times more quickly and severely than the whole
sale manufacturers. The undettakers dopt
welcome any accession to their ranks, aud they
declare that their business also Is ovefdone.
"wny." said one OF them, "twenty-sx years
AGO there were onl, seventynve undertakers IN
| New York city, and now there were l,sOO
| Another declared that every man who ever
handled a CONN, or sold one, or had ANYTHING to
do with one, tue first chance he gets he's an un-
dcrtaker. As to the manufacturers, why there
are collins enough on hand In New York TO
/ l.aaRU nFYa nd al III
| times over"
| The undertaking business Is said to be very
safe one Tor careful men to invest In. The prin-
| cipal danger Of loss arises from the risk viii n
| the unuertaker has to assume. He almost never
ee,s his pay III advance, and II sometimes nap
| taker said that there had been more failures IN
| the business this year than he had known dur
| ing the whole twenty years OF his experience
| People who have been well OF, OF perhap.
wealthy, become reduced In circumstances, but
| when death occurs, a riety OF motives lead
| them to seek to make a display proportioned tC
tueir former wealth, rather than to their presen
aoiity, aud al Ell all Is over the undertakers oil
must 20 begging.
IL has become a regular thing for undertakers
to I've made xtOns OF churches, and somet ne'
sections by virtue OF their ONCE becO ne under
takers. 10 have place In church Is consid
| cred a " fat thing" by most undert ikers, be
besides they have pretty regular trade on ac
count Of their Official position. A. long AS tho
hold their places they are In measure indie
pendent OF the fluctuations OF trade. Even sex
tons, however. complain, with other undertak
ers, that tneir business Is depressed.
| very Intelligent undertaken, wnen asked &
account for the dulness Of mis- business. sal,
that he believed II was a regular law that II
times OF business depression aud money scare
ity, the death rate decreased. Statistics, Ia
said, would show this, and The reason was be
cause when people could not get much none,
they had To live VI .tuiy aud avoid excuses
, | thereby adding years to their lives, and kecpn
the undertaken from their doors. AnOthe
reason why the cO11n TRACE suffered from tn
general stagnation was because there a e nov
more paupers, VINO are buried at the public Ell
pense IN rough boxes, and without the elaborat
funerals from wnicn under akers oOin money
Ii Is the custom Of many undertakeTs to dea
directly with large wholesale houses Then tn
undertaken has nothing to do but oniclate
at the funeral. lne Wholesale house turnishe
the coffin, the paraphernalia, the heyfse. AM
often tue carriages aud when the funeral
over, tue undertaken, who acts a. a sort q
middleman, COllects his bill IN his own nam
manufacturers with whom he has dealt tn
Wholesale price for the goods. large manu-
iacturer alleges that the undertakes often max
enormous prOdts, CHI ,rging no regular Rates, Uu
suting their bills to the apparent length VI thei
customers purses. the addition VI a sinsl
simple ornament ON CONN often, he says. 4
| tots way adds many dollars to tue undertaken
| bill.
The undertaken ind Rnantly deny this charge
eacn for himself declaring that he can't hal
| make d living. out some Of them are quite read
| to suppose that some low fellow In anotbe
| quarter OF the city may resort TO such practices
| Eyerywhere the cry 10 the same, " 100 man
| In the business but ths truth seems TO be tina
| the undertakers aud cofiin manuf icturers arr
| 10th hOurishlng, for the numuer Of those who
| IN either branch OF the trade, have made ass gn
| mehts for the benefit of their creditors ma
| probably be counted on ones fingers. As ON
| Of them frankly admitted, Death Is d sur
| thing, anu We must ali he buried some day.
| That is tue undertaker's surety on Investment
| anu tue coffin makers basis Of business.