The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-01-24
A NEW cREMAToRY TEMPLE.
The Cornerstone Laid and the building
To lie Ready I'm February.

To he Ready In February.
Thirty mon and two women climbed the
muddy slopes of Mount Olivet, l.. l., tbs
! other day, to lay the cornerstone Of the new
crematory temple. The structure was al
ready finished TO the ground level On the
occasion Professor Felix Adler, one of the
directors in the new company. spoke of tho
sanitary benefits Of incineration. Every
time he went t. the cemetery, he
said, he was more and more impressed.
with the loathsome unhealthiness and decay
consequent upon earth burial 1t was pro-
ductive 81 disease and pestience Professor
Adler thought that poetic imagery had much
to do with the tenacity with which men
clung to the custom OF putting their dead
into the ground. Poets and singers referred
to the grave as an abode of rest, led of
final repose, n place Of shelter, thus throwing
a false glamor over tho hideous reality
Nowadays, he said al aesthetic sense re-
volted against earth burial Our bodies
are tho garments Of intelligence, the homes
OF the spirit aud should not be permitted 10
gradually putrefy
Speaking of the expressed fear TINT people
might be cremated when life was In the
body, no .1dviscd that an autopsy be held.
before inciDeration to satisfy doubling law
yers ard ply sicians For his part he had
rather die under tho knife than awaken
under ground. Taking q moral view OF cre-
nation hc thought IL would be well To have,
tho ashes of departed ones before US In
churches, either In inches along the walls, or
In receptacle behind the altar, "to remind
US Of the trusts we have inherited from past
generations Cremation would do away
with all the gloomy blackness Of the pail
which now surrounds death
With good luck the company expects to.
cremate its first body next February in tho
largest retort In America IL Is improved
in'many respects over the lie Moyne furnace
I'm Pennsylvania. Twenty dead bodies are
now awaiting its completion TO I've reduced TO.
ashes. The cost Of cremation I'm each case.
will be from so to s25 The cost OF the
bsildins will bo about 1890. The land cost
g., 800
The edlfce is designed as modified Gre
clan temple Of brick AMI marble, forty by
seventy two feet The basement will con-
tain, in the rear, tho furnace, which will be
constructed chiefly of flrcb brick, and will be
adapted to coke, with a regenerator. The
incinerating chamber will consist Of retorts,
which will exclude all fuel and flame from
contact with the body and from which tho
volatile products Of the incineration will he
carried into the furnace for recombustion
Incineration will take place ata temperatures
OF about 800 degrees Fahrenheit. 1t will
require about forty minutes per 100
pounds OF the subject, and viii leave about
per cent In weight Of u pure pearly ash.
No smoke will be visible and no odor percep-.
tible during incineration. The ba. emsnt will.
also contain a refrigi larium, where bodies
may be kept when desired awaiting the ar
rival Of friends from distance; also a cali
darium for cases Of possibly suspended ami
nation, tho high temperature of which will
induce speedy evidences Of life or death, as.
the case may be. There will be, also, In the
basement an adicularium, or urn room, and
an atslior. This last ,v.il ha used alse sos
making autopsies, which will be reqtfired i'm /.
all cases wherein IL Is not clear that death Il.
not the result OF natural causes.
The body Of tho building. or the ground
floor, will he fitted up as chapel, where any
service desired may be held In the central
aisle Of this chapel, directly in front Of the
lectern, will be permanent catafalques
within which the boiy. I'll be placed, ands
hidden from view by a Tan falling from O.
frame above. Thence the body will desceai,
by an elevator TO the incinerating room, and
the service and incineration win prvcesd
simultaneously. Tho office and reception
rooms will be on the main floor, In front Of
the auditorium and on either side OF tie,
vestibule.