Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-07
OBJECTIONS TO CREMATION.
1t Interferes With the Old Doctrine OF
Resurrection and Shields the Poisoner

From the New York World.
What are the objections which initiate
against the great sanitary reform recon-
mended to us by such names as those
of the Duke of Bedford. Mr.. Kinglake
the historian; Baron Huddleston and many
others, the latest being Sir Samuel Baker?
Those which deserve respect and discus
sion are twofold, says the London Tele-
graph, the first thing being the religious
and the next the jurisprudential objections
Many excellent persons, interpreting too
verbally certain passages of Scripture and
clinging too closely to the material side of
beautiful belief. object to cremation as
interfering with the doctrine of the resur-
rection of the body; but we do not think
that the truly pious, if they are also iogi-
cal, can maintain this demurrer against
some obvious considerations We leave
aside with reverence the problem of the
rising again of an individual and material
BODY. We are told ii will be raised in
corruption. and this should warn against
blgoted and commonplace view. What
Will such DIRECTORS. however, say TO the
case of men blown to pieces by an explo-
SION or of others reduced to indistinguisha-
BILE cinders in a great confederation, or of
others deyoured by wild animals? There
have been distressing instances in which
good and fearless men preaching the Gospel
to cannibals have formed a meal for their
frame of that missionary has become iden-
tilted physically with the frames of those
who devoured him.
According to that theory of the resur-
rection which such directors maintain
what Is TO become of that worthy mis-
sionary? Even the Mahometans who
everywhere bury their dead and are So
scrupuloUSly particular about the dismissal
of bodies. do not cherish any such ineIastic
tenets. They have an idea that one small
bone in man is indestructible-the lowest OF
the Ve:tebrae, which they call Luz" and
from this the ignorant Muslin believe tho
whole corpus may be re-established There
Is also an Arab fable which saws that
Abraham, reasoning upon these things
asked God how there could be resurrection
Tor body whose component parts were
scattered. Allah, the legend SAYS ordered
him to cut a white cock into the smallest
possible pieces, and, dividing these into
seven, TO place the portions on seven diff
ferent hill tops This being done ISRAELI
the Angel of the Trumpet, was ordered To
summon the bird, and in a moment it re-
appeared close to Abraham. complete, liv-
ing ana loudly growing. The story is gro
tesdue but Indicates the 4 m belief which
even Islam has that nothing is beyond the
power Of the Almighty to effect
me other serious objection stands upon
the ground that to dispose of all corpses
by burning would furnish TO the poisoner a
dangerous mode of concealing his crime
Now, IN answer to this first of all there
are many countries like India and japan.
IN "Stplfi "l cremation does pre-
vail. and no increase in murders efTacta1
by poison is automatically alleged In the
next place, the risk. if it exists, ought nor
70 have 80 much weight as to check ana
suspend the enormous sanitary reformation
which would be brought about by the pen
efdI adoption Of incineration Thirdlv-snd
this IL the strongest reply-a due recog-
milton of the danger indicated would lead to
what We very much want, a more strict
and careful system Of certifying the cansas
o1 death. In every case. 10 the great od-
vantage OF Justice, medical men would 10
more heedful as to giving Il true. certificate.
while IN any suspicious instance the fact
that cremation would do away with fu,iIra
tNli-nce would lead 10 the necessary az
topsy and Investigations then and there
80 lar from multiplying cases of undetected
poisoning, the example of Sir Samuel Baker
generally adopted would probably conduce
to new rules TO- death certificates. and =
much more rigid guarantee against The
form of crime contemplated