Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-11-25

furniture msn would charge 50. And
he must make at least three trips With
wagon at 81 each, SO. So far we have
a total expense in actual outlay anc
fair charges Of $50 %. This outfit u
generally furnished at from $50 to 500
according TO how promptly the bill Is
paid. There is another thing y. W OF
considering. An undertaken must
hold himself in READINGS TO go M ali
hours of the day or light, he must go
into all kinds of contagious diseases
and run the risk of contracting them
himself and conveying them TO his
family and in every case be runs risk
of blood poisoning. What shall. be his
compensation for thisf And there are
other items that it would be fair to be
paid for. He mnst use one of the best
of fur rugs, gold lacq Iered, brass
pode stalls. a church 'rurk costing $40
$50, in mary cases . C u b co. ting
500 and all of his buggies. wagons n ar
ness and horses must be flest class and
ke pt in the best of order, and last but
by no means least the Undertaken must
have the ability to approach the be
rieved family and the chamber of death
with approved demeanor, to give =
word of mfort, to see that the fam lily
are relieved of the Iespons lily OF
knowing that everything needful Is
provi led; he must never forget any
thing, never be out of place
| and must always do the thing that
will rake it easiest for the
grief stricken family. In fact, theIe
| is no calling that require better Qusii
1 l. 20
services Of such a person at such
time can hardly be reckoned in dollars
and cents.
| But to return to the matter OF ex
pense | will say for the benefit OF
those seeking information that covered
caskets cost the undertaken as they
come from the ia tory from ST. to
$3.50, and as the price goes up thu
margin Of profit is a little better. Il
lit was not the undertaken would breai
Iup, as there are many expenses tina
are not commonly thought of, as re
member now l have omittt d from 10,
lexpense account Office rent, heat. ligh
and telephone service and the aid OF I
he,psr, all of which takes cash t
satisfy.
Many wonder why funerals ar
more expensive than they used to b.
wears ago | can assure them tn.
j they would not be if people would b
, satisfied with the same furnishings
1.-The same outfit and the same service.
But it is no more reasonable to sup
pose that we could turn the tide o
progress backward in this respect an,
t more than we could induce a well
to do farmers wife and daughters t.
think that it would do just as well TO
them to ride to town in lumbe
wagon with an old bed quilt TO
} lap robe. because it was cheaper, a
!, | they used to do seventy-five years ago
instt ad of in 5000 carriage and a I'm
fur lab robe as they do nowadays
The line between the nee sssaries an
the Injuries of life is constantly chang
, ing, and many things that used to b
Regarded as absolutely superfuous ar
now regarded as absolutely necessary
l see nothing wrong in we'll furnisbe
funeral so long as it is kept within tn
limit of the family's means; it is th
last thing that can be done for the OF
that has departed.
My advice to the "Reformer" woul
be, that if he thinks the business Is s
! profitable as it is now managed,
| would be wiser for him to engage in
and reap a share of its profits than t
undertake to reform its customs.