The times., 1897-08-20
Northeast Citizens Complain Of
Graeeland's Open Graves.
SIXTEEN CASES OF TYPHOID
Odor From the Cemetery Said to
Be the Direct Cause OF Sickness
Protest to the Health Officer
and His Reply What tue Seigi.-
bors Hnye to Say.

vicinity OF Seventeenth street and Bennings
road are InEch wrought up over what they
] consider the decidedly unhealthfuI condi-
| TONS resulting from the removal of bodies
| from Graceland Cemetery. 1t is claimed by
| those living near the cemetery tha I at times
! the stencil arising from the exhumed bodies
| is simply awful The removal OF bodies
| from Graeeland Cemetery has been going
on ever since the condemnation OF the
| cemetery two years ago. but not until re-
Gently haze the residents In the vicinity
| OF the graveyard risen in revolt
The conditions attending the transfer
or bodies We're bad enough last summer il
is claimed, but il was then mild III cofl
pRrison TO that which exists al present
Never before, the residents near the
cemetery say, has there been SO much
| sickness. Typhoid fever has been rife
that section for two months past, and
there is no hestaney III attributing the
disease TO the foul odors which arise from
the reopened graves. People whose houses
race the Cemetery say that they are cong
PEELED 20 close their windows in the warm,
est weather in order To keep Out the
| odors, wnile others say they are obliged
To inhale camphor and burn paper, coal
tar, etc, in order to destroy the sickening
Smells which permeate the atmosphere
So unbearabe had the nuisance become
in the opinion OF the people that it was
DECIDED that some action must be taken
TO abate it. Mr.. Il. NJ. Raymond,
prominent citizen and property owner, liY-
ing at 706 Seventeenth street, on Tues
day addressed the following letter to Health
Officer Woodward
&
eases of typhoid fever along Benning's
road and tales street, near where me
wagons Diing the remains out OF draCeland
Cemetery, and on account of TINS AMI much
other sickness great deal Of d lara is
felt In this immediate vicinity about the
Work OF exhanaiion going ON there.
By request OF seFefai pelglDors 1 visited
the cemetery and found about d dozen
coffins lying around containing remains.
The smell from tie water N the gTaves
was worse tnaG that from the bones nd
old ctDfffiBg hnat the cDf1ins contained.
have lived, n this vicinity For fourteen
Years ana l never noticed as much sick
ness as there has been this summer.
The moment complained Mr.. Meads
Erasped lis pen TO " rite 10 you, as though
he fully realized the awful nature CT the
work going on, and L believe that his
object in doing so was to steal a ma rch
upon people whose health and lives he
Know are menaced by tisis work, and |
iahor Under tie suspicion that in that
letter he has asked yCu 10 nave a com
mittee Of physieians 10 Investigate - the
mater tc smooth II over tnat the work
1hey VIII most likely make light OF
complaints becaus they ars after the
mighty dollar as not footed as others
are, aid are reaptng a harvest iroiu the (
ulrst vi conditions that spring from 1t.
But VI r. " o0dH ara, this is Il ssr1oas matter
and not one u be winked AZ OF poet-p -p1oRssl
by wiseacF9s Just because the graves can
be opeHed and the refniIns removed eneater
IN summer thanin winter " hen the ground
Is frozen.
Mr.. Theodore Rider, corner Bennines
road and seyefte entif streets, IN front OF
where ttie wagons come out OF the Gene
tery. has now q daHE liter and a sister
snltten with typhoid fever, and they aud
EirH. Ndlls next door a. well as nHrller-
Gus others, say tiEti the stencil IS 80 Lad
at times they have 20 shut down their
windows. Nr. Aedds says it Is chicEate
OF lime ihey nave been smelling, buI JlPse
pevFte ere not foOts My vile al1D com
planned OF the stencil from one Of tie
wagons she passed, and was in a few
Gays taken very Ill with viTuient fever
In Ftew Of these facts, feel that | 40
not oV erTate your goodness and islsi .fn,.ili
III believing that you viii give TIE matter
fun and faiT inv estigati0n to stop work
during BOT weather. cry respectfully,
"A. ~ RA YAOED-
Mr.. Raymond received from Dr. Wood
ward the following answer on Wednesday
evening:
A 81. Raymond, Esq.
SI-keieHI TO yours OF the i7tA
you VIII kindly furnish the names and ad-
dresses OF the eight persons living along
Benn.ng foad and on Gales street, who
have recently suffered from typhoid feYer,
shall be glad to have the matter promptly
Iii vestlgated. IN view OF our present kn0wl-
edge of the CaUsaiiol of this disease there
would seen. however. To bc more IkeIi-
hood OF these cases arising from the
presence oil the dead bodies In tiraceiand
Cemetery than being due To the fact of
tneiI removal therefrom.
AS Tar Ieiates TO the alleged odor
arising during the operation OF inter
ment, hare Been advised py an entirely
dIsinterested party connected neither
with Gracei1nu cemetery Association nor
With the Health DeparUuaentJ who has had
occasion TO make frequent visits 10 the
cemetery dullng the time at which dis
luternentS Were being made, that ne has
been unable todseoTerany oti9r whatsoever
Dpon visiting these grounds myself this
morning there was no ouor OtneT Inan that
or wet earth, wnlcn was no more than
ordinarily arises from a plowed field,
Immediate vicinity OF the graves W wn:c n were
beng opened. The facts in possession Of
this department at the present time do
not. therefore, IN my Judgment, warrant
interference with the Work OF the GENE
tery association.
The matter VIII be Kept under observa ton
and Should occasion arise Tor sucr inter
ference, steps Will be promptly taken
to that end Very respectfully,
WM. &. WOODWARD NJ. D.,
Health OFFICER.
A Times reporter called Oh Mi. isa yInOuQ
last evening and received more particulars
regarding thu. Nuisance than can we'll be
published. a number of people on the
square between Sixteenth and Sew
enteenth streets Were interviewed CON
corning the nuisance, and without excep
lion they were bitter in their denuncia tions.
Misses Jennie AMI Leonora Ryder, wholive
with their aunt at the conner of Seven
ueenth street and Benning's road, are
both very ill from typhoid fever. Mrs. Nc
I4aughlin, the aGnt. said that the TWO girls
slept in the room fronting Oh the cemetery,
and that about two weeks 20 body was
taken ap one afternoon, the foul otIor from
which nauseated every person in the house
The two girls seemed especially affected
and III few days were down with the
dreaded typhoid. Mrs. Mclaughlin says
she is absolutely confident that their SICK
ness is the result OF the exhamation OF
the bodies. H5a
Misses Florence and Annie Brown, Hy-
ing at the corner of Gales and Seventeenth
streets, aTe just recovering frcm a long
spell OF typhoid. Their parents firmly
believe that their sickness can be traced
to the opening Of the graves
Miss Susie Tancil, who lives ON Seven.
teenth street, near Gales, is canyalescent |
after hard siege, OF typhoid. ut was
caused by that cemetery and nothing
eise,'' she said last night
Mrs. W. Mera, 1927 Benning's read,
and her two daughters, Kate and Mamie,
are just recovering from a fever. Mrs. |
George Walker is just recovering freIu q