Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-12-29
CREMATION.
AGITATION OF THE QUESTION OF
BURIAL REFORM.
disposal of Bodies by Cremation
May Become a Necessity in
Crowded Cities.

subject, says Association is one of the
greatest clogs on the wheels of human
progress, whether intellectual or material,
for it is the feeling which more than any
other influences the uneducated and I'M
thinking. The feeling is none the less in
tense that it is unconsciously acquired,
and that its operations do not consciously
enter into the calculations of those who
are under its spell. 1t is against this feel
ing that such bodies as the Burial Reform
Society find their best efforts dashed in
vain. From the very earliest times it has
been the custom to bury the dead, and
associated with this custom are some of the
tenderest emotions of the human breast.
1t cannot, of course, be denied that much
of the sentiment which has so grown up
is of the cheapest and most tawdry de-
scription.
But this is precisely the kind of senti-
ment which finds favor with the multitude
whether it be expressed in the ranting
rhodomontade of the modern melo-dram-
attic hero, or in the hating lines of the
grief-inspired rhyme, though the very
subject of the latter class of illusions seems
to exclude them from the region of criti-
cism. Still, the fact that an institution is
hallowed by long usage and tender associ-
alton must not be allowed to interfere
with the fullest and freest criticism when
it has been discovered that such an insti-
tuition is prejudicial to the public veal.
Recent events in Glasgow have directed
public attention to the subject of the dis
posal of the dead; and public opinion
seems to be slowly but surely tending
toward the adoption of cremation. As we
have said, it will be the sentimental rather
than the sanitary aspect Of the question
which the reformers will have most diff
Guilty in graphing with; and the hesitat-
ing tone of the meeting of the Burial
Reform Society held in Glasgow on
Wednesday seems to confirm this view.
AS in most cases where a long-reyered
system is broken through, the beginning is
the most troublesome part of the proce-
dure; but, as one ofthe speakers remarked,
it does seem little odd for body of men
to set about arranging for burning them
selves But there is little difference be-
tween arranging to be burned and ar
ranging to be buried in specified
piece of ground. There seems, for one
thing, less chance of dissertation of the re-
mains in the former case than in the lat
ter. Happily we are far removed from the
time when such a dissertation of the
sanctity of the tomb as that which over
took the bones of Cromwell and Wyclif is
likely to be repeste ted. But even if the dis
f1l he !. IL,
times mark the relations between Nom
conformists and Churchmen on the other
side of the border could be avoided by the
adoption of cremation, point would be
gained in public morality.
The incinerated remains would not, of
course, lend themselves to that show of
care which is expended on excepting the
grave green;" but, on the other hand, rel
atiyes would be spared the pain of seeing
at subsequent funerals the bones of the
former dear departed being kicked about,
as not unfrequently happens. The chapel
which the Burial Reform Society proposes
to erect over their crematorium would
afford the opportunity at present utilized
by friends to show the last token of respect
Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the
adoption of cremation is the i'm
possibility Of exhuming for investi-
cation the body of any person who
might after a time be believed to have
fallen victim to poison or other foul
play, and the encouragement thereby
given to crimes of this class. If,
however, sufficiently stringent regu-
lations as to granting certifcation
of the cause of death could be devised,
which ought to be easy, cremation would
soon become, as it seems bound ultimately
to become, the recognized mode of dis
posing of our moral remains.
Many of the most distinguished men in
all ranks and professions have come to
acknowledgment only its sanitary necessity,
but its inherent rational superiority. Not
so long ago the Duke of Argyll, a model
Presbyterian, said, in reply to a CORE
spondent, that, while himself not enam-
ored of cremation, he could imagined time
when it might have to be applied in the
crowded centers in order to save the popu-
lation from sanitary corruption. One of
the greatest obstacles, however, to the
adoption of the new system will be the
power of the cemetery companies, who
may be expected to work the sentimental
oracle. Naturally, also, Scotchmen will
not, as a rule, be in haste to subscribe to a
cremation association, although the burn
ing example of its members may be ex-
pected to encourage the living public.