The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-17
THE UNDERWRITERS BILL
ONE or THE ACCOUNTS LEAR
LIKELY TO BE PAID,
Less Credit Given Now Than Formerly-M ods~
Methods Of the Undertaker-Ii How Fam,.
Custom IL Bsilt Up and Transferred to Ma.
Men - when Death Enters q Hou,.ho,s

Methods Of the Undertaker-Il How Famn.
Custom II Bsilt Up and Transferred to Ma.
Men = when Death Enters a Hou.sbolS
THE bills that u man Is least likely to par .
said an undertaken OF long experience, am
the Doctors and the u~ndertakcr's."
Il should have thought, said his Questions,
that a man would hold a bill for the burial
of somebody that he loved sacred and that h. |
weuld be sure 70 paw T."
"To get the money from him" said the lin.
dertaker. you must get it before his tears havs
ceased to flow" and this was said by no meas
fippantly or carelessly, but simply as a briss
way Of setting forth a fact nv an undertake.,
who has buried many a manIor whose funeral
ne never got a cent OF pay.
There Is nothing left" he went on, giyins
one reason why such bills are not always col.
lectible. The man that owes the bill hasn,
a thing 70 show for IL; the body has been buried
and there's absolutely nothing left The sams
is true as to the undertaken. Of course, there,
nothing left for him; the man that owes the
bill hates to pay for something that he hasn't
got. that is gone. absolutely. and the under.
taker can't collect because there is absolutely
nothing that he can touch"
This would of course apply TO people thar
were without means, UndertakerS are likely
TO sue people who have means but do not paw
but after trying for two or three years 10 co.
lect n bill from a man who is without means
they aie likely 10 give up the effort as useless |
There are undertakes who do not trust at all
but require the cash. II was said that, as q gen.
eral proposition, fewer undertakes than ior.
merly now give credit; for the reason that they
- --,oh b, uix,ipr craJit H..
undertakers, nevertheless. who do give credit
Just az a man in any business might. in accord.
ance with his own Judgment of the person ask.
ing credit. or requiring perhaps References
or II may be requiring other more tangible
voucher, IN the signing OF a contract, with q
guarantee from an employer, or something Of
that sort. and part payment, at lenst. in advanoa
Except when the undertaker's bill is to bs
paid from an estate in which case IL may havs
10 wait a long time. or where some arrangement
for payment has been made in advance. under.
takers bills are likely to be sent IN promptly.
very likely at once, or within a very lew
days or q very few weeks AT the most, Perhaps
the prevailing promptness IN ms respect is
due 10 the difficulty said to attend The collect.
ing of undertakers' bills after they get old
Undertakers say that the rich are as likely as
the poor 10 complain or overcharging, or what
they think Is overcharging. Commonly the
cost of a funeral IL determined IN detail 10
advance, the poorer people being more likely
TO 40 into these details in advance than The
richer. Undertakers agree that the modern
system Of industrial insurance is a grand Ting
Tor the poorer people, who are thereby pro-
yided with "A means Of burying their dea.
and a grand thing for the undertakes as wei,
who are thereby made sure OF payment lr
funerals that they might otherwise never get
paid for. An undertaken ran his finger down
the pages OF a book containing the brIei records
in one line to each, OF many funerals, scors
and hundreds of funerals,
Industrial" he said. his finger haltns
trial. industrial" he repeated, as he drew ha
finger along down the page. Many people
are buried with this insurance money,
When some one Of a household dies the head
OF the family or somebody for him goes to Tho
undertaken. IL is perhaps his first experience
with death and he goes. it may be, TO the Nearest
undertaken whose sign he has seen. The
undertaken attends 10 all, the details, 10 ee.
ting the permit for burial from the Board o.
Health on the doctors certificate Of death; he
looks after every detail. Here, In such a case a,
this OF a stranger. the undertaken. II he trusts at
all, comes up against the question whether bs
shall trust or not, and of course he wants the
business, He sizes the customer up, and takes
his chances. though as already stated he takes
fewer chances Than ne dld ana he taxes NOR
ance simplifes the situation in many cases
But he may trust; and OF course he may be able
TO collect,
OnP uUutl tAhtT VI iOh.s anu WI z anu tAVir
siye experience In New York said that there
were owing to him debts amounting 10 $50
IL Is probable that there would be found IN The
city no undertaken OF experience who had ld
suffered more or less loss from bad debts, due
SON from people who want 10 pay but cant
who rave hard work TO support the living. Ia
let alone paying for burying the dead, SON.
over il. some who live beyond their income, a|
no TO II all the time, and so can'tpay and soms
who would rather spend the money for some
thing else. The undertaken In fact still trusts
people more or less; he wants the business, ana
while the undertaken doesn't stand in need Of
anybody's commentator. it may be sad that
he is not wanting In humanity, and he loses
something on thisa account. So THAT, take ital'o-
gether, he is still losing something. but The iqf
appears Ia be that he is not losing 80 much ASH
did. The undertaking business, Ike every
other in modern times. IL conducted mors
and more on business principles and on a al
bass, and dis without any sacrifice OF form
1t Ia simply In keeping with the modern way,
In smaller communities the family that mas
once had occasion to call In an undertaken .
undertaken grow up and grow old together
anybody dies out of this household they 70 NJ
ways TO him, and he expects that they will come
TO him. lie knows the family well, knows lust
what their financial Resources are and Whfi Sorl
of funeral they want, which is always about lhe
same, and whether they ARE good pay or not, am
usually they are good. and he trusts them VIM
out hesitation, The same thing happ"n" W
great cities. Here. for instance, Their" ar" ianlr
lies who have gone for Il generation or rnor-to
tho same undertaken. as they still do, But here,
with the constant shifting OF residence distress,
families and undertakers have becour more
or less separated. N may be that m" lhnIy
moves and the undertaken does not. In SUN
cases the family may still cling 20 The old under.
taker. or II may 70 back TO him once or iwlc' anu
then 90 to somebody nearer their now hone.
And II may be that families, or their Younger
branches as they come up, transfer their pay
ronage TO establishments with more mGa.