The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-02-02
CREMATION IN PARIS.
The Great Columbarinm at Pere la
Chaise-Cost of the Paris Funeral.

paris Letter in New York Sum-
The municipality has just completed
the second arcade of the great COLUMBIAN
ium at Pere la Chaise, thus doubling it's
facilities for the reception of tbs ashes OF
oremated persons. When cremation first
became fashionable, in 1889. 1t was
thought that building providing inches
for, 5000 urns would be sufficient for many
years, but before the end of the decade
the space was entirely exhausted. An
other building was erected, and that, too,
soon became filed. 1t was then seen
that cremation had taken strong hold
upon the people and that some definite
plan must be made to keep pace with the
progress it was making; then the column
barium was decided upon.
The two arcades occupy two sides of the
rectangle in which is situated the great
stone crematory. Che elocation is just
south of the Mussulman cemetery and
mosque, in the new part of Pere Is Chaise
and not far from the Menlmontant en-.
trance. The structures are identical, be-
lug open on one side, and closed on the
other, and each is about $50 fest long by
20 wide. The closed sides are taken up
by the inches, of which there are 10 tiers
beginning at the tesselated flooring and
running to the .vaulted roof. There ARE
manly thousand of these inches in each
arcade. When an urn is deposited in a
niche the entrance is closed with slab
of marble, which seals the opening her
medically. All that is to besseen then. are
these rows Of slabs, upon which are in
scriptioDs similar to those upon grave
stones, except that they are as. a rule sim
pier. In most cases there is nothing but
name, with the date of birth and OF
death. Some are fancifully decorated,
especially Ethose of artists, the brother
craftsmen spending hours of love in the
last tribute. The small space allowed to
each niche is serious hindrance to the
taste for decorating graves with artificial
flowers and wreaths made up of purple
glass beads which the French have in
common with all continental peoples.
They try to keep up the custom just as if
the n iches were graves, with the conse-
Ou6Dc6 UldU upUu oil OCCdslOh l1hO fAAA
Saints day, inches, slabs, and. in fact,
the whole wall of the arcade, are buried
from sight in the mass of decorations,
which are sometimes three feet deep, and
always in crowded confusion.
Fors,the last three or four years thernum-
Der of persons cremated in Paris has been
about one-thirteenth of the total dead.
The statistics for 1895, the last year avail
able show: Total deaths, $3.50; burlals
inn noratinnC A1S0. diQEpGt6d IN
| hospitals and medical schools, 4539. In
| 1894, the number of persons cremated
was 1899, and in 1896 4302. For the II
months of the present year the number
also exceeds, 1900. Since 1882, when law
| was passed permitting a person to deter
mine how his body should be disposed OF
after death, nearly 5000 persons have
been cremated in Paris.
1t has been contended that one of the
principal causes of the growth of crema-
ton is the expense of being buried
decently in Paris, but that is only part
exclamation. Funerals, in common With
most other things, are regulated by the
| government in France. The business OF
conducting them is a monopoly, licensed
and taxed by the state. A single COM
pany has the concession for all Paris
and from it the government gets Large
| revenue. One may be buried only by
| this company, as there are no other
undertakers. A private burial is illegal
and should one be contemplated, the body
! would be seized and the responsible per
eoS,ps be thrown into prison. This one
co1,,aany settles everything. You must
b b,1v tn. coffin from it, you must hire the
b beS en- a, I'd carriages from 1t, and you
n ,,1" nav through it all the incidental
nxIey p"s = f church and state. This ap
niles to Incl nerations as well as to inter.
p p,a1S The charges of this company fol
f,nara,s are y 'ivided into many Glasses
IF fu Won ,'i are ca a + oman Catholic, a funera
~ tbe fret c1ass will cost you $4,000; If {
y pro on@ the aIne class will cost only
ZOO: if an Israe lite, but 5000, and if yol
have no9faith at al you will pay but $3.50
The differences in hese prices does no