Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-09
THEIR FINAL ADDRESS,
Own Their COfhns and Are Registered
at the Undertakers' Rooms.


at the Undertakers' Rooms.
From the San FraI cisco Call.
There are at least 200 people walking the
streets Of San Francisco, in good health
and likely to live many years, who have al
ready arranged the details of their fu-
nerals. They have selected the collins in
which they will be buried. and paid cash
for the same, as we'll as for the burial plot,
hearse. etc. Nearly every undertaken in
the city has several contracts of this kind,
all OF them made by people who are sup
posed to be in rational frames of mind.
Age seems to cut no figure, for some of
the contracts are signed by men in the
prime Of life. who are noted for their
cheerfulness and good dispositions. They
have simply provided for their funerals to
assure themselves that they will have de-
cent interment The undertakers think 1t
nothing out OF the way, but look upon it as
sensible forethought. and according to
stories told 1t has proved so in many cases.
Men without families have dropped dead
on the street. and had 1t not been for their
arrangements with the undertaken they
would have been buried in the potterS field
Some people have made arrangements for
the minutest details of their funerals, even
to the advertisements in the newspapers.
There are a few people who have not been
content with selecting their collins, but
have had them sent to their homes Such
cases are rare, however.
YES l have a good many contracts of
that kind" said Undertaken MetZer, when
speaking of the matter land in great
many cases they have proved to be good
things. 1t is a sensible thing for anybody
to do who has not a family to look after
him when he Is gone
Il have collins in those cases there" said
he. pointing, that were contracted for at
| least six years ago, and paid for at the
| time. 1t may be six years or sixteen years
| before they are wanted but when the own
! ers need them they will be ready, and will
fulfill every part Of the contract 1t is not
| so long ago that / fulfilled a contract of
| this kind after I had had the contract sew
| eral years. When the man made it he look
| ed ready to die, and no doubt thought he
| would live only few months. In this case
| the casket was a fine one, and he paid cash
| for it. He also made arrangements for the
| grave, hearse. carriages, shroud and every
| little detail. He left letters saying that l
| would be his undertaken, and. of course, l
| was notified at once, and did all l agreed
| to.
| But there are cases where have to find
| out about the persons death myself. / al
| ways keep watch Of those events, of course.
and soon as l H1now of a case 1 have
| been paid for, go a once and attend to 1t.
| In more than one case came as a surprise
to poor relatives. who were almost crazy
| wondering how they were going to bury
their dead. All kinds Of people make these
contracts-rich and poor sick and we'll
Some think that they are going to die soon,
and some are preparing for a thing a long
way off. Sometimes both are right, and
sometimes inst the reverse happens. You
cannot tell anything about 1t. If man is
going to die on certain day he is going to
die, and II he isn't, why, he won't. That
want to be prepared for death when it does
| come"