Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-11-01
NO BUIiIALS ALIVE.
A MEDICAL JOURNAL SAYS sUCH
STORIES AEE USv0USpTD.


Very comforting Eew- Is brought
u those who s.and in s.Ei.y cr,.Id oi
being buried alive. The current
numcs.r e the N1Ecli and SiUc1-u'
| Esl'YTtrr SAYS:
Tht lea. u being hurled alive
! hauu,s tie minds @: 80 many al cur
ieliOw-ucn thai Il may hardly te It
( yarici \ strange. in sonic respects,
that it was recently reported that u
number Of physicians in a city near
Philadelphia had banded theLnselvC g
| together 10 devise means % prevent
such a catastrophe in th-ifOwn ease.
Aud. when physicians could take
such measures in view OF "a supposed
! LANCER. Il j. not remarkable that
the community should have special
aud exaggerated horror of being
Ju!i.d alive. But this horror j. rs
without reason - j. the timiiity %
the physicians referred 10.
There seems 20 he no good ground
Whatever Tor supposing that il il
possible in this enlightened age for
any rtr,uu 10 ne committed 10 che
grave while yet living Stories
reporting such occurrences are by
no means rare; hut any one who
examines them cllssiy VIII certIiu-
" remark that they ars wholly lack
ing in originality, and that there L.
In lct 50 strong q resemblance tie
tween them As 20 excite the Sis
picion that one la been copied from
another. Investigation VIII show.
too, tia. this suspicion is we'll
founded enc; ut least such has been
tin. experience % the editor Of the
Medical and Surgical HCp0r,sr, who
has tor some years followe-! up every
story OF burial alive which CAME 90
his notice, and always with the re.
suit Of learning that they were false
OF OF falling e. learn anything about
their origin.
"Thc most recent experience oil
this SOFT occurred in connection
with . story Published in the daily
papers on June 10. 1890, Of man
who was said % have died End o
have been buried alive in Chicago.
After tracing the story from one
point Of the newspaper world 20
another ii was found @ have orig
mated in ! Chicago paper. which
-aii tine man lad been sent O. dead /
from hospital I'm that city on Feb
ruary - anu that 2fterwari he
had been bufied; that tEe burier- !
had hplm SOUNDS ike knocking
or the CJilin til, bu- wen.
ahead with the burial, ami that 1
after m interval the grave |
was opened ard the coffin lid
removed 90 disclose tlgt tie man |
hsd turned over, torn his hair out. |
buried his fingers in his desh, and |
so on. At the end OfOur invrsiiga-
ton we received q letter from the
hospital stating thaI ii never had 4 I
patient Of the name given, thai no /
person died il the hospital on the
date given, and treating the story
- hoax. The Associated. Press
agent in Chicago, VINO started the
story round the country, ON being
asked il he thought the.e was any
t-uth IN il, replied % our repre-
sentative: 4 AN not supposed 10
hflieve every thing these TEL
lows fme1Giu, the reIoT;ensl w.ite'
'-Fais is the latest story, and il
illustrates The unreliabllity 81 all
that we know anything about, aud
the utter lack Of principle which
usually lies NJ the bottom u them.
As physicians we may, by publish
ing the faisctfe-s Of sucn stories, do
something 10 ailay the awful fears
which they excite in the minds OF
many % our fellow beings; and we
uiay hope that those who manage
the daily newspapers will some Jay
properly punish reporters who fur
nish them with such cruel inven-
tons"