Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-04-10
NEED FORA MORGUE
Neither City or County Has
Provided for One
IN ANY MANNER WHATEVER
Three Gentlemen Express Opinions rs TO
the Value and Necessity for Such
Place in Grand Rapids.

While public improv sments for the
benetit Of the living engross attention
the subject OF suitable place for car
ing for the bodies of those who meet
with violent deaths has sunk, for the
time being out Of sight. Every fatality
emphasizes the necessity that morgue
be procured and maintained, and vet
no determined effort. nor any other
kind Of an effort is made to secure IL
Soon the swelterlng summer days will
come and soon the annaal harvest OF
the drowned will be ripe. The teld OF
dead will not only increase In that
direction, but we shall have the usual
quota of suicides, accidents, murders
| and deaths from unknown causes.
There Is 1T present no pubiic or private
! mace where the csrpses OF such can be
I taken anu prepared for identification
or burial. A handsome and expensive
court house and police headquarters
have been built during the year, hut
| neither county or city has provided
any kind of place for the decent care
| of the dead. Believing that this 10 more
a matter of oversight than neglect, The
| HERALD calls attention To the import
ance of immediate and definite action
| IN the sutloined interviews with three
| gentlemen who of all others are best
/ qualified to speak:
Coroner Penwarden.
| When interviewed on the question by
reporter for The HERALD, Dr.Willlam
+. Penwarden. county physician and
! coroner, said: II think there is no
question but Grand Rapids needs
morgue. The point To Inc considered is
| how it shall be maintained. some ad-
vocate the plan that the city build,
manage and own It's morgue. Others
| say that the purposes of euch an insti-
| tuition could he better carried out 10y
renting bui. d ng completely equipped
| from some undertaken, who should
! have the entire management and charge
| of the place. think the latter plan
| might prove more feasible. BY appro-
| priating SO much annually We could be-
| sure that some one would be always
| on hand as the morguc would te IN
| privite hands, thus receiving more per-
| sonal attention than il under munich
pal care. We surely should have some
| place where those dying suddenly IN
| the streets or public places, or by accl-
| dent, could be more expedltously
cared for. All eastern Cities OF any
| size have morgues, and they are
| looked upon as real necessities.
| "Another point Is that in deaths from
an unknown cause and in murder
cases we have no place for performing
| post-mortems. At present the coron-
| ers frequently meet vigorous protests
| from the unoertakers aud those reeld-
ing around his establishment ON ac-
count of the odors inseparable from
many post-mQrtema. Detection ans
I Identification in criminal or mys-
ferrous cases would" also be
| much facilitated by morgue.
| In cases of sudden and violent deaths
an excited crowd will often lose vaiua-
BILE time in debating as TO where the
body shall he sent and frequently it ls
| half an hour before any one has head
enough to send for an ambulance. !
| can recall several cases during the last
year when moIgue would have been
very desirable. One case WAS that OF a
man who WAS killed on the Michigan
Central road near Fishers station. The
body lay for three days IN an under
taking establishment until at last
| man turned up and identified the body
as that OF his sou. have studied the
system in New York, where there are
several large morgues. / have care
/ fully observed the system rs main
tanned at the Bellevue hospital IN New
York and have seen Its value proved
time anu again.
| Undertaken O'Briep.
Probably no man in Grand Rapids
has more complete knowledge of the
morgue system, as maintained in the
| larger cities of this country, than
| Patrick OBriep. Mr.. O'Brien strongly
advocates the establishment OF q
morgue In this city for various reasons
and IN answer to some questions from
a reporter for The HERALD he said: II
| have studied the question IN the large
cities for six years and am convinced
that Grand Rap ds should have place
where those dying suddenly or without
friends could be property and respect
ably cared for. There should be a
! psat where ali bodies could be cared
Tor IN more humane anu heslthful
manner. 1t should be we'll ventilated
| and equipped and all the modern pro-
visions for the purpose furnished. ot.
| ten those who appear the most TREND
| less have near and dear friends who
would desire that the bCdles of their
dead he neatly and carefully handled.
Under the present provision, bodies
| must be taken 10 some under
takers Establishment or where the
coroner may indicate and there are
| many cases when are not fit to be
taken to any undcr,aker's place.
| Often the stencil from bodies Is 30 bad
that "a proper post-mortem or
autopsy is not possible aud IL
| unsafe for the living and 10 the pablic
health generally. 1t is very difficult
for the phfslcIans TO perform post
morteIn under the existing circum-
stances. With the present idess of
| ventIiatlng snd cooling bodies the re-
| MAINS may he brought 10 such a tem-
| peratuFe that there - no danger 10
/ pubiic health or TO those having the
l., dy IN charge. but these applances
| are Of such a nature that no regular
undertaken can provide them com
! pletsly. Some will say that ice boxes
| snd refrgefstoTs sre out of date. bat
IN death by accident the arterssi sys-
| tenn Is often broken, and embalmIng =
1 not possible. but ] am fully satisfied
/ from nv observations that embslmlng
q often not necessary. Then top. IN
| criminal cases where post-mortems are
required. the undertaken - forbidden