The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-04-18

ated, his remains would never have been found in the pickling vat of Cleveland medical college. Had Alex ander Stewards remains been reduced to
 ashes and burned they would not to-day
 occupy an unknown and unhonored
 grave, if they were ever accorded that
 honor Cremation would have obviated
 the necessity of guards patrollng night
 and day for many months at the burial
 places of Lincoln and Grant
 Many object to crematiou on religious
 grounds. Christian burial" is to them
 matter of as grave importance as Christian living. But Is 1t Christian?
 Cremation does not lessen the respect paid to the earthly tabernacle of our loved ones. No Christian ceremony or rite need be'omitted. The most devout
 Christians have been cremated, from
 the time of the martyrs down-for burn Ing at the stake Is but one form of cremation. Professor Max Muller, the famous linguist, writes! q often regret
 that the Jews buried and did not burn the dead, for in that case the Christian idea of the resurrection would have re- mained far from spiritual" Cannon Liddon says: "The resurrection of the body from its ashes is not a greater miracle than the resurrection of an un- burnt body, Each must be purely mir aculous. Faith in the resurrection would have been as clear and strong If the Jews had burnt their dead as 1t is when, as a matter of fact, they buried them"
 As far as religious principles are in volved, I know of no church which de- cries it. All denominations have been represented at the crematories, and in July last, at a conference of Jewish rab- bis held in New York city, 1t was unan- imously voted to permit the adoption of cremation. No Jewish rabbi should object to performing funeral rites be- cause the dead was to be cremated. I have noted, too, that other religious bodies have expressed themselves in a similar manner.
 While the shape and size of the crem- atories vary-the general plan Is the same-a chapel for the funeral services and a columbarium or receptacle for urns containing the ashes of the dead. The furnace is below and the door of the crematory opens into the chapel. It Is made of fire-proof brick and con tains an iron cradle into which the body is laid. Previous to the reception of body the retort is heated to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, for no flame is allowed to enter the receptacle of the dead. The body is wrapped in a sheet of asbestos, or one that has been dipped in a solu- tion of alum. This not only prevents the escape of any unpleasant odors, but it retains the ashes so they can be col lected after cooling. If the person has died of an infectious disease, the coffin is also placed In the cradle, but other wise the body is removed and the coffin rejected. The heat of the retort is so great that when the door Is opened to admit the body, a rosy, beautiful light fills the space. The cradle being run in on smooth rollers the door is closed and the heat is left to do its work. An ordinary sized person can be reduced to ashes in about two hours. The retort must be cooled, and afterward the ash es are gathered and given to the friends to be disposed of according to their own wishes or the wishes of the deceased.