The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-04-12
The Anti-A1onopolist.

room, through which runs, dividing il
into Two halves, great glazed partition
with door in the middle. The front
door door is wide, the window is broad,
and there is abundance Of light. The
floor is tessalated thing.
Inside the cage or enclosure are four
stone tables, two with bodies upon them,
above the face Of which bangles a now
useless rubber hose with sprinklers on the
end OF it. In warm weather cold water
was kept constantly dripping upon the
faces, but it is more than doubtful if it
ever preserves corpses. Mr.. A. M.
White, the keeper, informed us that
corpse will here keep well through four
| or even i've cold months and be inoffen-
| sive, but this is pre-supposing that it was
in pretty good condition when it came.
In summer time the bodies can only
be kept for from six hours to, at the
utmost, four days on public view To
keep four days they must be those of per-
sons who have died Of consumption or
some other wasting disease which has
left them but little more than skin and
bone-then they spoil slowly ;but plump
man especially if he has been a beer
drinker, will not last at the farthest
longer than ten hours, and even in that
short space Of time becomes in very bad
condition indeed.
| Mr.. White says "theY begin in a very
few hours to get black and blister, and
carry on all kinds Of funny ways. >
Brandy drinkers last longer, as they say
brandy dries the tissues and preserve s
corpses.
No ice is used On them. The Morgue
is cold, damp room, always at a low
temperature. even in summer, and so
humid that in winter bodies turn brown
and mildew before they decay. Only
two bodies are on exhibition at the time
of our visit-one is that Of man who
has been here some nine weeks without
anybody claiming him; the other that
of a young girl who was dragged from
the river week ago. There were 9th.
ers earlier in the day. but friends have
claimed and taken them away.
The tables are never quite empty
The Aotsam and jetsam of the rivers
yield are on an average, at least one
every two days. and the waits and strays
found dead about the streets and in other
places the starved, drowned, dragged,
bludgeoned, shot, selt-murdered, stab~
bed, mangled, frozen, and those who
die natural deaths in the public institu'
tons keep up the supply.
There passed through the hands o.
the Morgue.keeper last year 4, 1927 bodies
that is counting in all those who, SO to
speak, struggled in, a natural way from
; hospi: ais and such places. About 100
; a month of these were children. Vi
} the accidental classes ~ were recog>
nized and II were not; SO that a persons
} chances are a little better than 80 pei
cent. that somebody who knows him will
drop in and recognize him ii he ends W
on the slabs in the dead house. The
highest number OF bodies brought here
in one day was eighty TOUR from tn,
J Westield steamboat disaster in 1871.
The general average is thirteen pei
diem from all sources. AS many a!
twelve have been on the slabs, and tenn
poray tables between them, at one time
That was during the very hot summer
J weather, and they were cases. OF SUI
stroke People who die in the institute
are not put upon the slabs. Every weel
in winter, and twice or thrice in summer
, the wagon goes to the founding asylum
and brings down a load of children
, bodies.
! Upon the wall opposite the dead folks
, compartment are exhibited grea
! many photographs, -de-visites ant
: a few tintypes of unrccognlz.d corpse5
! Out Of the entire mum ber but one female
face is pretty. and but one mans coun
} tenance that has anything noteworthy
good in it.
In and out of this room pour strangel
+ varied throng. Children p aging, das
} in at the open b,or and out again. Othe
t people stare OF the dead faces, and som
look as if disappointed nj not finding tn
, air heavy with the odors OF decomposi
ton, and chatter with each other abou
: the pictures on the wall.
Now and then a carriage stops befor
the door, and heavily yelled woma
comes in, gazes at the dead faces, an
then either shrek or faints in demonstra
!. ton Of her identification OF one. or els
!, turns away and departs muttering INC
|. there! Thank Cod"
1 The people who live in the neighbol
+ hood of the Morgue are wonderfully in
different to its ghostly inmates and sur
! roundings.
9 Being free to the public. the weme
f drop in and retail their gossip; ont sid
n the building old cronies sit about, knit
d ting in hand. One young Irish womal
: not long ago, idly sauntered in with som
q Of her friends out OF mere curiosity ST.
j had bundle OF KEYS in her hand whic
e she carlessly .jingled against the part
tion. Suddenly she dropped the KEY
4 and screamed She had recognized HI
: husband on one Of the slabs. They wei
d young married couple. and about
b year previously had had tiff. at the col
9 clusion OF which he darted out savin
II when she saw him again she would kno
le him. He was gone twelve montl
y without her hearing from him or seein
g him. He was houae palmer. and b.
2. fallen from scaffo1ding and killed hin
3 self the morning Of her chance visit
y the Morgue.
- A Young fellow living with his INC