The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-03-29

buried?
From the earliest periods of recorded
time there were different modes Of dis
posing of the dead. Among some of
the barbarous tribes of Africa the body
| is allowed to remain in the house un-
til it becomes putrid; then the nearest
| relative carries it outside the village
! and places it on the surface of the
ground to decompOse and mlngle with
the earth. Other tribes place their
dead in trees, either i'll the forks OF
lashed to the limbs, to be devoured by
Yultures, Naturalization or embalm-
ing was the custom among the Egyp-
tians, and incineratiOn the general GUS
tom among the more enlightened0f of an
cient times. The old Romans, whose
sayings we are wont to quOte-CRsar
Antolius, Brutns, OctaVius, Augustus
Eacitus and many other distinguished
men of that age--were cremated. And
why was not the custom continued
some writer's give as a reason that ii
was because of the pomp, ceremony
and expense attending it, which the
middle and poorer classes were unable
to afford. Then it was that the custom
| commenced of depOsiting the remains
| III llttbNltbl llOIl AOllOh
ell inhumatiOn, which has continued to
be the popular mode to the present
day.
IN article has been going the rounds
of the papers that irm in Philadel-
phia had obtained letters patent for a
process whereby the dead body could be
converted into stone us large as life and
quite as natural well adapted to orna-
ment the parlOr and library. Whether
the public are inclined to encourage
this enterprise IS questionable. Our
natural instincts rather lead us to be-
come reconciled to a removal of the
body out of sight, when bereft of the
soul, though pleased to perpetuate the
memory by portraits and statues OF
marble and brass.
Viewed i'll a sanitary light, there can
\ be no question as to the advantages of
cremation. The only plausible Objec-
! lions are those founded in sentimental
considerations. 10 overcome these,
which are grounded in prejudice,
| it is only necessary TO realize
the pollution of the body in the
course of ordinary decomposition;
commenting upon which, Sir Spencer
Wells says, "Public sentiment
81. MUST FAVOR CREM ALTON .-'
in place of corruption, and for putre-
faction substitute publication" Sentl1
| ment is mental emotion, the result of
education. The HindOo widow has
| he same constituent properties of
brain, acknowledged to be the seat of
The mind, as tile AnglO-SaXon, and she
believes it to be her religious duty to
sacrifice her life upon the pyre of her
deceased husband. What proportion
of our married women could be
wrought up to make this sacrifice, and
| vet, had they been born in India and
educated in the schools of the country
| they would have done Just as the
! women do there and cOnSCientiouSly
| believed they were doing right. The
disposal of the dead body is only a mat
| ter of form, or fashion it may be term
ed; and that mode should be preferred
Which works the least harm to the
living. "Ashes to ashes" is the appro-
! pirate finale of mortality. In contrast
nent Swiss physician and philanthropy
ist uses the following language:
"The grave presents the most horri-
! BILE spectacle which it is possible to CON
celvG, whether the body within it is
| Ihat of prominent statesman under a
! magnificent monument, or pauper in
il potter's field. In either case, most
| foul and intOlerable stencil meets the
daring investigator who opens the
tbode of peace. And however great
the horror and disgust caused by the
sense of smell, the impressions produc
ed by inspection are yet more horrible.
rhe brain, the noblest part of man,
which may shortly before have fur
nished the wisdom that saved an EN-
pire, has fallen out Of its bOny case, a
Shapeless, ur ctuOus, sinking mass,
abhorred even by the worms which so
ravenously seize upon the flesh, the
heart, the lungs, and especially the in
testines. The eye-s0cketS are empty,
and every part except the bones is
ROTTEN, REvOLTING,
narrowing to the senses III the highest
degree" And then he propounds the
question: "Why, in the name of mer-
ciful God, should we subject ourselves
and those we love to so dreadful a con-
ditiOn, while science at once offers us
ways and means of avoiding it by a
rapid and complete destruction of the
body?" "Verily no man of sensibility,
animated by piOus reverence for the
dead, who, laying aside all illusions and
self deception, and aided at once by
science and imagination, looks into the
grave and for a moment watches the
process of decay, will never again speak
of the common mode of Sepulture as
the mode enjoined by respect, or in
spired by affection, or by tenderness for
the departed ...
THE DISSERTATION OF THE GRAVE,
though not frequent, in proportion to
the number of bodies inferred, yet it
does occur, and will continue to occur,
and, when known, how narrowing to
the feelings of the living friends. Stol-
en- for the purpose Of obtaining ran
som, as in the case of A. Y. Stewart,
and as was attempted with the remains
of the martyred Lincoln, or for the dis
secting table, as in the case of son of
president of the United States, who
would not prefer that his remains be
annihilated rather than be subjected to
such an indignity.
In this connection we would mention
the fact, that when the general
government at the close of the war, es-
tabliShed National cemeteries, and gave
out by contract the recovery and rein
terment of the thousands who fell in
battle and died from disease, the con
tractor obtaining from reports on file
an approximate estimate of the num-
ber to be recovered, took the contract
at so much body, delivered in box
on the ground selected. for the ceme-
terry As it was less trouble to gather
the small bones of horses and mules
lying around promiscuously, then to
search for the remains of soldiers en-
tombed in an unmarked grave, bones