The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-11-07
4 LMMIsm cEMErLnY-

There haas been "a great deal of talk
about cemeteries for the city. and also
o. urematury for those who would dee
sire that method of the disposal of
their earthly remains, and an kinds
on possible ana impossible sites have
been proposed, from a cemetery at the
top of Punchbovl to "a cemetery With
in Diamond Head. with "a tunnel to run
into the crater. The more learned the
gentlemen were who proposed these
things, the more impracticable seemed
the propositions. After our usual man
nUr we took sides as ardent partizans
and the battle of location of cemeteries
was waged with considerable force of
logic, invective, satire and IN feeling.
The crematory also called forth a
considerable amount of controversy.
There seemed TO be an idea that an
attempt would be made TO make Gre
nation compulsory, and that at once
called forth antagonism, That no one
held such an idea was nothing to the
point. 1t at once called forth criticism
because some one was supposed to.
The principal physicians of the city
and a large number of other people
were in favor Of establishing a crema-
tory, and even the matter was taken
up by people on the other Islands, but
it all came to naught. The reason that
it came to naught was that our people
at that time, and even some now,
were depending on the government to
carry out the plans. We must get out
of that idea entirely. What we want
done we must do ourselves.
A solution of our overcrowded ceme-
ferries was, however, reached, and
private company now has a cemetery
in the vicinity of Remond Grove, the
corpse and mourners being carried
down by a special mortuary train
every day. Other ventures of a similar
character may follow, and there is one
in particular to which The Star calls
attention, as showing what lines vari-
GUS of our bodies might follow
Our Jewish fellow citizens, than
whom more liberal or more charit-
able set of men and women can seldom
be found, have recognized that there
are large number of their co-religion-
lists who come under various circum-
stances, often in sickness, and die here
In any city of the mainland where
there is as considerable a Jewish popu-
lation as there is here, there is a spe-
cial Jewish cemetery. There is now a
movement on foot to establish a Jewish
cemetery and many of the Jews of Ho-
nolulu, rich and poor, are beginning
to join together in the scheme. 1t is
an eminently practical one and though
like all schemes, in the beginning it
finds some opposition, this will doubt
less find itself thoroughly well sup
ported when it is more thoroughly un-
derstood The main idea is, of course,
to have place of burial for poor Jews.
In that case there would not have to
be a running round to get money for
the last resting place of some poor
being who had gone to his long home,
less successful than his fellows, but the
Jewish society would have a spot
ready.
If the Jews succeed in these scheme,
and there is every reason to think that
they will do, seeing how charitable
they always are, other bodies might
follow in their footsteps. The city is
quite large enough to support special
cemeteries, or have portions of ceme-
teries specially set aside. This is done
elsewhere and should be done here.
The whole question of cemeteries ought
to be settled by the people. All that
the executive should do is to guard
against Objectionable sites being taken
up. Our Jewish fellow citizens are set
ting good example.