The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-07-05
Cremation VS.. Burial.
Philadelphia Bulletin. |

One of the anomalies of life. or of
business, or both. which becomes
more torcibly noticeable with every
fresh cremation at that little out-of-
the-way town in Western Pennsvl-
vania, is the reluctance of business
men TO erect crema' OrieS in places
more convenient of access. As it is
now, only wealthy people or enthusi-
aStS will go to the trouble and eX-
pense of taking their dead to Wash
lngtOn, Pa, and the fires of Dr. LIE
Moyne's furnace are lighted so unfre-
quently as to give the impression that
there is a deep and general opposition
in this country to the practice of
burning the dead; whereas there is
good reason to believe that the truth
is directly the reverse of this. While
there is no way of ascertaining pub
lie sentiment generally on a subject
of this kind, expressions of approval
and even of preference for personal
cremation are not infrequently heard,
and such expressions would become
much more common if the idea were
more familiar to the general public.
1t is pretty certain that the common
sense of the American people would
accept this system of disposing of the
dead as soon. as its merits became |
generally known.
The experience in every large city
shows tina: the question is one that |
will grow in Importance and in the |
trouble it must cause with every sue
ceeding year Here in Philadelphia,
for instance, the cemeteries are very
much in the way already. Several of |
the older and smaller burial places
were desecrated years ago, and their
sites are now occupied by stores and
warehouses, while the bones of their
occupants are scattered far and wide.
The excitement caused by cutting
streets through Monument Cemetery |
is not yet forgotten; the opening of
the Odd Fellows Cemetery in the
same way is burning question at
present; Laurel Hill, itself, with all
its advantages of location, has no Sc
curity, and the many handsome ceme-
terieS which flank it are certain to be
disturbed before many years. Moth
ing can be more repugnant to a ma
ture which is at all sensitive than the
thought that the body cannot remain
undisturbed for more than few
years, no matter how carefully it's
resting place may be guarded.
On the other hand, there is nothing
repulsiVe about the idea of crema-
tion after one becomes able to disas-
sociate the idea of burning the body
from that of painful death. There
is no mutilation of the body,
not even as much as the familiar and
favorite plan of embalming. 1t may
be carried, with any desired ceremo-
nies, to the crematOry. hidden from
view for few hours the
mournerS do not care to witness the
burning, which. in the LIE Moyne fur
mace, is said to be by no means hor-
ribIe sight-and then returned to the
family in the shape of small packet
of ashes, inodorous, inoffensive, which
may be enclosed in any kind of cas-
ket and kept anywhere and as long as
may be wished.
Then there can be no fears of
grave robber and the diSSecting table,
no distressing thought that the re-
mains now so sacred may one day be
thrown upon the highway or used,
like any other refuse, for the lowest
Any form of testimonial
which affection may dictate can be
given to the deceased as freely as
now, and if costly monuments are de-
sired, they can be as freely built.
Public convenience and private
sentiment are thus both best served
by adopting crematories in place of
cemeteries. We have said moth
ing about the sanitary adj
vantages of burning as COM
pared with burying. They
are apparent to any one having the
most superficial knowledge of the
subject. Medical works are full of
Of cemeteries as breed
ers and preservers of disease; and fire.
quent warnings of the evils arising
from over-crOwded cemeteries or
those which have an opportunity to
drinking water are part
and parcel of the worlds daily read
ing. This is another and a very strong
reason why cemeteries should be
banished from the vicinity of crowd
ed cities. Thus, many considerations
favor the practice of cremating.
while few good reasons can be found
for continuing that of burying. 1t is
only question of time when the
new method shall supplant the old.