Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-12
IT'S CHEAPER TOLIVE
Than 1t is to Die and Have to be
Buried in or Around Pittsburg.
A TENDENCY FOR LESS EXPENSE.
Supporters of Cremation Claim 1t is
Cheaper Than Burial.
TWO UNUSUAL AND COSTLY. COFFINs
Flowers Are No Longer Popular ct fashionable
Funeraa

Few men pretend to understand the splr-
itual injunction, "Let the dead bury the
dead" II it is to be taken literally the
average American will promptly say that
we don't do business that way in this
country.
There are two common methods of getting
rid OF the body after lie is extinct. One is
the old plan which is the most popular of
storing it away under the sod until it re-
turns to its native dust, and the other is
cremation, by which it is soon reduced to
ashes The undertakes these days who
furnish fine coffins at handsome prices,
are careful to foster the first method.
The crematorv idea makes their
blood run cold since it touches most vital
spot, the pocketbook.
AT the time when bodies are. to be buried
the lonely relatives are always governed by
sentiment, but after the burial the bills
must be footed. With the undertakers it is
a business transaction, and he wants his
profit. Then it is that the living begin to
feel in reality the weight of the dead, espe-
cially if they are poor.
UNDERTAKERs TALK BUSINESS.
Areporter was sent out to interview funeral
directors about the cost of burying people
in Pittsburg. The undertakers were free to
talk, and it was found that the expense is
regulated by the tastes OF the relatives The
poor have the largest funerals, while
the general tendency of the times is
toward private burials and less outlay.
To 60 into details the actuol cost of Gre
nation is less than burial. Forty dollars
is charged for the use of the furnace to in
cinerate the bodies of grown people, and S25
for children under II years of age. The
bodies are reduced on an average to six
pounds of white ashes which are placed in
urns. These urns are made OF different
material, and the prices for them vary. A
tin urn can be bought Tor So; copper costs
81 and fancy one made of imported pottery
ware will net So.
A charge OF So is made for the hearse in
transferring the body, and the average
price, there ore, of cremation is $780, If the
relatives insist on display and hire num-
Der of carriages, the uniform price for each
vehicle all over the city is 81. The advo-
Gates Of cremation claim the element of
cheapness over the common method.
COMPARING THE COST.
A grave in Pittsburg costs S25 and only |
one body can be placed In it, but when the |
human frame is incinerated a whole family |
can be buried in one of them. The price Of |
q cemetery lot is $4OO.
The minimum price of cofins is about $40 |
the average $50, and beyond these figures a |
man is at liberty to 60 as high as he pleases.
Never less than from six to eight carriages |
are used at a funeral, and frequently the (
number is from 80 to 40. At S4
apiece 1t is not hard to calculate
what the bill will be. II the relatives de-
'ire shroud 1t means $40 more. The price
If the coffin depends on the kind of wood
md the quality of the furnishings. Two
prominent people in Allegheny county have
been buried in bronze caskets which cost
considerable money. The average cloth
covered coffin is made out of red cedar.
hough other varieties of wood are used. 1t
s lined inside with copper to keep out the
water, and is supplied with plate glass.
rhe other accoutrements are selected accord
ng to the taste o. the people, and the price,
f course, is in keeping with their ideas.
NOT A SENTIMENTAL BUSINESS.
A local funeral director. in discussing his
rade OF burying the dead, said: ''This is not
sentimental business with US. We must
ave our price, for what we deal in costs
loney. We have to be prepared at all
ours to furnish cofins and hearse. besides
lany other articles used at funerals The
roft is normal, but not halt as large as
ONE people imagine. In contracting for q |
uneral with relative of the dead, if he |
oes not mention the important item OF pay
lent we are compelled to suggest it to him,
,hether it hurts his feelings or not Like
octors, we zee great many disagreeable
hings, some sad and heart-rending, but we
Don become case-hardened, or we couldn't (
tay at the business. A physician with too
,uch sympathy Tor his patients will not be
success.
SIN these days it is necessary for US not
My to furnish the cofins, but the Grape to
ut on the door, the carriages and number
f other articles needed Flowers, by the
ray, are no longer popular, and am glad
hey have gone out of date, except for chill
rem. 1t certainly does look out Of place to
ee man who has been a rake and un-
7orthy during life when he is dead covered
nth the innocent flowers. The contrast is