The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-01-26

~ : ~ i"nS oitcA Al Dc'StoH, IIOs
land and in Scandinavia. Russia fol
lowed witk the same system with {
delay of three or four days before
burial, but not required by law.
But to Germany belongs the credit
of recognizing the fact that the state.
of suspended vital activity, or appar
cnt death, is natural attribute Of the
human organization, somewhat like
Information in the lower creatures
that should be guarded against by
strict expert inspections of bodies
supposed to be dead and their deten.
tion in waiting mortuarics until deat!,
was known to have taken place, re.
| gardless Of the length Of time. Hufe-
land was the first to put this concep-
tion ineo practical form, and it was
incorporated into reforms in sepulture
adopted by Frankfort.on the Maine in
1929. Soon after it was employed by
many ether German States and also by
Austria, where it was further provid-
ed that if the survivors requested it
the heart would be pierced through by
the officials in order to prevent pos
sible revival in the coffin.
Wherever these systems have oncc
been established they have never been
abolished. This is strong argument
for their adoption elsewhere: and it
can easily be done now if desired, for
all the medical, legal, sanitary and
social problems connected with the
matter have been satisfactorily solved
in the thorough German manner, and
formulated into clear, wise and prac-
tical laws, whose benc6cent operation
FOR over fifty years has given great
satisfaction to the authorities and
protection and consolation to the peo-
pie. Copies of these laws would con-
stitute valuable additions to the re-
cords of the board Of health and other
medical bodies in the United States,
and they are cheerfally supplied, with
other data ON the subject, to appli-
cants through diplomatic channels.
1t may interest some of our readers
to learn the particulars Of the German
system, upon which its safety de-
pends, from description of the man
ner in which it is carried out In Mum
ich, where every detail is strictly OBJ
served.
Munich, with 100000 inhabitants,
is divided into twenty two burial dis
tricts, to each Of which is assigned
medical inspector of the dead"
CLeichenschaues,) with an alternate,
both of whom arc specially qualified
for their duties, and an -,undertaker's s
woman, Neiohe1frau,} who is likewise
qualified by technical examination,
and she has male assistant. There
are six cemeteries, each Of which has
waiting mortuary Ueichenhaus.)
The procedure is as follows: AS soon
as an attending physician announces
death the family sends for the under
takers woman, who has charge Of all
the funeral preparations She, in
turn, informs the medical inspector,
but does nothing before she appears,
for, in the words of the law, "No
corpse must be interferesl with before
the arrival of the inspector, who is
expected to pay several visits before
granting the death certificate, which
he alone is authorized to give The
body practically becomes the property
of the city until the examinations of
the inspector are over with and its
probation in the mortuary has ended.
Ordinarily in cases TINT have passed
through course Of disease Of suti
cient duration and severity to cause
death by organic changes, the inspec-
tor, after his examinations have con-
frmed the diagnosis Of death, obtains
.::ss data for completing the certificate
of death from the attending physician,
who appends mis- signature to it; the
.undertaker's woman makes the toilet
of the body generally puts on a COM
plete suit of clothesand after de-
lay not;longer than twelve hours, dur.
ing which, in the absence Of infection,
there may be ceremonies and visits in
The residence, the body istaken to the
waiting mortuary and there kept for
seyenty.two hours longer, more or
less, according to It's state of preser-
vation, the nature of the disease as to
ipfsction, etc. Finally, the medical
attendant connected with the mortu-
AIRY, after frequent examinations,
grants his certificate, informs the
family of the time for the funeral, and
this takes place from the mortuary