The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-09
FIRST CLASS PASSENGERS.
How COrpses Are Transported on
Railway Trains.

From an Exchange
Every corpse that is shipped on the rail-
road is charged for as a first-class pas
senger. The. full fare is charged whether
body be that of an infant or a full grown
man. During 1895 there were 44S corpses
sent east from Denver and all were ham
died at the Union depot baggage rooms.
OF this number 337 were bodies of persons
who had died in other parts of the state.
"a In addition to the bodies forwarded there
were several hundred received for burial
in Denver This means that the baggage
men have a cadaver for company daily
and sometimes several a day. In August
what were received. The shipment of
corpses represents no inconsderable item
in the receipts of the railroads, for in
every case some relative or friend of the
dead person must go along to take care
of it. Such person, of course, also pays
full first class fare.
The RAILROADS have adopted certain rules
governing the transportation of corpses,
one of which reads as follows: "One fun
regular first-class ticket, limited, will be
honored for the transportation of the
corpse of a person of any age in baggage
cars, when accompanied by passenger
in charge on the same train, the word
corpse to be plainly written on the face
Of Of the ticket and of each coupon there
One of the local ticket agents the other
day picked UP the stubs of a corpse tick
ct he had just Sold and called attention
to the word, which in that case was print
ed with rubber stamp in purple ink.
That seems brutal" he said. 1T doesn't
look so cold blooded when a corpse is
written across the ticket. but 1t strikes
one as being peculiarly offensive to stamp
it on"
ping corDses would be a simple matter.
The friend of the deceased presents ply
sician's or coroner's certificate giving the
name of the deceased, age, date of death,
cause of death, place of death, and, If the
deceased was minor, the parents names
must also be certified to.
There must also be a certificate from the
undertaken stating that the body had been
prepared by him for transportation, and
that it had been incased in a cere-cloth.
or in an antiseptic interment sack, her
metically sealed and that 1t has been
placed in an air-tight casket or in a tight
wooden box. If the corpse is that of a
person who has died of smallpox, cholera,
ieprosy, yellow fever or typhus fever the
railroads cannot accept IT. The laws of
California, Colorado, District OF Columbia
Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, New Hampshire
New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennes-
see, Texas Utah, Vermont, West Virginia,
Wisconsin and province of Quebec do not
allow the passage of bodies dead of Dip
liberia through or into the state. Such bod
les should be refused If destined to points
to or through above states.
The certificates mentioned must be made
out in duplicate, one copy to be retained
by the party in charge of the body and the
other copy is taken up by the baggage
agent and forwarded to the general bag
gage office. with a daily report.
The train baggageman must way-bill the
the corpse and ticket it as baggage, giving
name and destination as marked on the
box.
exceeding $50 pounds, may be checked
free upon the corpse ticket.
The majority of those who died in Col
orado originally came from the central
corpse and caretaker usually amount to
$50 to 500 for each shipment.