New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-07-28
THE COST or OFFICIAL CHIEF.


Chairman Odcll OF the Committee on Ac-
counts Of the House Of Representatives OBJECTS
TO paving the bills of the undertaken VINO buried
the body of the late Edward Dean Cooke-in
his lifetime and nj the time OF his death rep
resentlng the With District of Illinois in the
popular branch of Congress-on the ground
that they are excessive. unreasonable. eXorDi-
tant and exceeding all bounds ordinarily set
for the expression Of official sorrow on the part
of Congress. The sum total OF the Dill pre-
scented is $3.50, and the House is called upon
to decide whether this amount Is not after all,
a little too stiff to bear the scrutiny of an hon
est audit.
We regret to say that an itemzed account
is not before us. but from what Mr.. Odell Is
reported to have said we may obtain a rea-
sonably clear idea Of the general character OF
the services for which payment at outrageo'lsly
high rates. as is asserted. Is demanded MT.
Odcll objects more particularly, as we under
stand il. to charge of $50 for "cmbalmng
the remains" which. according to his state
ment-and we are bound TO say that as the
owner of large ice interests in that state he
must be supposed TO speak with the authority
and knowledge of a rival and competitor-is
three times as much as undcrtakcrs usually
ask in the State of Ncw-York The charge OF
$3.50 for "casket" is another which he thinks
altogether too great. Then, too, the funeral
director" asks So for The three days he was
engaged in travelling between Washington and
Chicago. and this. Mr.. Odcll says. amounts to
more than his own salary a Congressman
for the same time. He point blank refuses to
consent to the payment of the bill unless 1t Is
reduced by at least 500. And there the matter
rests for the present
Without assuming the privilege of deciding
whether Mr.. Odcll is right or wrong in the
stand he has taken we cannot resist The
temptation of pointing To number OF IN
tcrcsing and important problems presented by
this controversy. Leaving out OF consideration
altogether-as being entirely too professional
the question of whether $50 is an cXorbant
charge for embalmlng II Congressman. or no,
the following thoughts suggest themselves:
Frst-If Congress desires n less expensive
testimonial of its grief over the departure of
colleague. would ii not be well TO order
coffin: "Ca>kets." as we understand ii, are
ordinarily used as reccptacles of jewels and
prccous ornaments only. And while late Ia
mentcd member of the House of Representa-
lives may frequently have been both Jewel
and "precious.'' there is no reason TO suppose
that his remains will rest easier because they
are inclosed in what some people not ac
Quainted with the meaning of words call a
'caSket' instead Of a coffin.
Second-'Funeral directors" we are inclined
TO think. are the outcome Of Baskets" They
seem nowadays ut any rate. inscparabe. Both
come high, no doubt. but Congress apparently
must have them VIII II he considered pre-
sumptuous in us in the interest Of economy to
propose the employment Of undertakerS mere
after instead Of funeral directors"?
Thrd-The question Of whether funeral
director" is worth a. much pay a Congress
man. or if more how much more, is one we
freely confess ourselves unable TO decide off
hand. Ii is one OF extreme dclicacy and one
requiring an adjustment as nice and accurate
almost as that called for by the most intricate
schedule of the Tariff bill Honestly we shrink
from the task and The labor 1t would involve
and gladly leave it in hands more competent
than ours.
These are some of the thoughts that have
come to lis upon reading Mr. Odell's objections
and noting his failure To see why there should
he difference Cf thousand dollars between
the expense of buryng Il Representative and
Il common. ordinary. everyday employe of the
House. We are unable. We repeat. To express
IN opinion as 10 whether 81 80 is. or is not.
an eXorbtant charge for the burial of the late
Edward Dean Cooke. though we free 10 say
any other sum which might be- named. a bar
gain-cOunlcr offering in the eases Of some other
people we know Of