The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-01-01
TRUSTEES OF THE POOR.
Mr.. +. +. Herbert Demands Decent In
terment of Dead Paupsrs.

terment of Dead Paupers.
The regular monthly meeting of the
Trustees Of the Poor was held yester-
day at the almshouse, President Bald
win in the chair. The following other
members We're present: j. Wilkins
Cooch, Milton Lackey, John W. Law
son, William II. Mooney, DR.. Frank
Springer, Frank Z. Herbert, Joseph T.
Chandler, w. M. Cloud and Mark HI.
Davis.
Superintendent Guthrie reported
229 imates in the a1mshouse classified
as follows: White men, lis; colored
men, 10; white women, B5; colored
women, 13; white children, III; eolored
children, 4, total whites, 1870, total col
ored, 35. Nine deaths have occurred
during the month of December. Seven
deaths occurred among the inmates
from this city and one each from New
Castle and Pencader hundreds. OF
those from this city Anna Lynch was
70 and Ann Hazlett 10 years OF age.
The payroll amounting to 1854, 35,
was ordered paid.
Mr.. Frank Il. Herbert offered the fol-
lowing resolution which was referred
to the committee on buildings and
grounds, with instructions to inyesti-
gate the matter and report the cost OF
the proposed improvements at the
next meeting:
Resolved, That the Committee on
Buildings and Grounds be, and they
are hereby authorized, empowered and
directed to have the burial ground
situated along the railroad enclosed by
a good substantial fence, plant shrub
berry, mark the graves with respecta-
bic headstones, and do such other
things In the premises as will provide
a decent and respectable burial ground
for our dead"
In advocacy of this resolution Mr..
Herbert spoke in substance as follows:
THE New Castle County Cemetery
for the burial of the unfortunate poor
IS a disgrace to the intelligence and
civilization of the community.
Go sec IL for yourselves. Ask your
selves ii, after having llvod as law
abiding citizen, you should be so un-
fortunate as to have to end your days
in this almshouSe. would you enjoy
the prospect of being buried in this
cemetery in Its present condition. Yet
In 1t lie the remains OF some persons
who We're once among our most loyal
citizens.
in that graveyard, il may call 1t
such, lies the remains of young man,
who started in life with as bright pros
poets for happy future as any one /
know. Misfortune overlook him,
brought him to the almshouse, here
he died, and there-without word of
sorrow or grief for his misfortune, or
a prayer for his soul-his body was
buried.
II remember an old coiored man
Nt,h of "A La,
days who had great horror of that
place. / was anxious to send him TO
the hospital because he would get bet
ter care than mt his home He knew
he was going to die, and when spoke
TO him about going TO the almshouse
he said; For Gods sake don't send me
there. / have lived 80 years and tried
to he good citizen so far as my ignor-
ance would let me. l have no fear of
the poor house, but il die there they
will bury me in the swamp. Ii / die
here perhaps my church Will give me
room in The cEurehyard.' lie was sent
to the almehouse, was buried in the
Potters field and his grave IS marked
with q stick.
.1f | understand the law correctly,
the object of this institution is to pro-
vide for the wants of the cOunty's un-
fortunates while they live and to give
their bodies decent aud Christian burial
when they die.
Are they receiving this2 Their
bodies are nailed up in pine box and
the always open grave receives them
without tho performance of funeral
rites, without a song or a prayer, or u
tear Of sympathy. There seems to be
no time for these essentials of decent
or Christian burial, SO anxious arc
those iii charge of their burial to get
them under ground, and 10 open u
grave for the next victim.
,'In the name of all that Is humane
and Just, is this decent burial? Think
of such ihings-in his day of enlight-
ened civilization being done in cold
blood, with no necessity for unseemly
ing epldemles of contagious diseases
being done with premeditation ard
done over and over again.
is it not due to other people, to
those VINO daily pass this cemetery,
that IL shout ut least be made decent?
With labor to be hal for tho asking
could not this place be AIDED, shub-
berry planted and enclosed with de-
cont feneep Il !. not nossihle tts mari.
these graves Vii VII tieatti.ent heanDoaris
or stonesf believe all this can be
done at tr1iling cost, and in this be-
lief offer the resolution and ask that
the matter be investigated.
Il, r.. Cochran, Il bondsman of County
Treasurer Edmund Hanan having
asked to have a portion of his property
released to enable him to complete
title to some. that he had sold. attor-
ney for the court, w. +. Lyman, ESQ,
suggested that tho county would DO
better protected by new bondsman.
Mr.. Haman then offered the name of
John L, Dickey III lieu of Mr. Cochran,
and the other bondsmen being sntis-
fled, Mr.. Dickey was accepted. Mr.
Lyman WAS then directed to enter sat
isfaction upon the old bond and to pre-
pare new one.
John W. lawson, II. A. Nowland and
W. NJ. Cloud We're appointed com
mittee to inspect tho alnsliouse and
report at the next meeting. The Board
then adjourned