The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1882-02-16
A. Needed Reform.


A number of the Catholic citizens of "a town
in Pennsylvania recently held meeting and
resolved that, in future, when death occurred
in any of their families, not more than two
hacks should be in attendance at the funeral.
This rule should apply whatever the standing
of the family might be, and it was fully under
stood that no exception would be made to it.
We shall watch with good deal of interest
for any further intelligence in relation to this
new and very sensible departure from Gus
tom which has proven as memorable i'll its de-
mands as the DEGREES of fate, and added a
deeper tinge to the sorrow Of many a house
hold across the doorway of which the grim
messenger has entered. No other practice re-
quires such heavy penalty with so slight
return, and yet SO strong hold has it gained
upon all classes of society that there seems
little chance of modifying, much less abolish
ing it, In many cases, the bread is taken from
the mouths of hungry ones to supply the
means of securing funeral hacks. We owe to
our dead the sacred duty OF christian burial,
but we do not owe to the world al large frolic
or free ride when that dead is laid away to
mingle with its kindred dust. To many a
family the protracted illness Of one OF its
members mean privations Of actual comforts
that the wants of the invalid may be minister
ed to. Month after month the lingering dis
ease may require a daily sacrifice to appease
its fierceness. When the end comes the re-
sources of the living, already well-nigh if not
| entirely exhausted, are drained to the last
| penny to meet the expenses necessarily at
tendant upon the decent burial OF the dead.
! But, as if this were not enough, custom Or
dams that hacks must be provided to convey
| to the cemetery those whom curiosity, as often
as sincere regard, attracts to the house OF
mourning. Few, if any, are brave enough to
| defy this custom. 1t is only by a concert OF
! action among many that its forceean possibly
be broken To illustrate the extent to which
it is carried, we may mention an incident which
| occurred not a thousand miles from here
within the past two months. A young man
entered an Office in which the proprietor was
sitting alone With considerable emotion, the
visitor frankly stated that he came to ask q
small contribution to aid III paying for hacks
to attend his mothers funeral. The toaon at
M035taes had Furnished the c0ti1 and while the
body of the mother lay in it, the son was go
ing from house to house begging money tt
give supposed friends a free ride to the grave
yard For him, private mendicancy was les
humiliatng than a public disregard of Thu
l. yN,rtd ,avra
know, he doubtless thought, that u paupe
4 coffin enclosed his mothers body, but his poy
\ erty would be laid open to public gaze, and hi
/ respect for the dead be brought into seriou
4 question, should he fail to observe those out
4 ward forms that none dare disregard.
4 If a reform, such as these Pennsylvania
4 suggest, could be successfully inaugurated,
would prove an absolute blessing to society
If bold departure is made, the common sens
of the people at large should sustain it. he
spect for the dead ought not to be measured b
the number of carriages at a funeral Th
pomp and ceremony and show of the lon
cortege assauge not single pang OF genuln
sorrow. On the contrary, in two many IL
stances, they represent perplexity added
grief; sacrifice without reason, or debt TO
those least able to incur it.
A simple flower or evergreen placed on tn
grave of the loved and lost will speak MOI
for the heart affections of those left behint
than any imposing cortege, and this no degre
OF poverty can interdict 1t is the emblem {
the fresh love that lives after death and gives
the tomb fragrance that wealth cannot pun
| chase.