New-York tribune., 1902-01-26
WHO BUY COSTLY COFFINS
NOT THE RICH, BUT THOSE WHO CAN
LEAST AFFORD TO.

Most nersons suppose. have the idea that the
| rich are buried in expensive collins. said man
who has spent twenty years IN the undertaking
supply business and whose firm had Just been
merged I'm the combina tion. but, according 10 my
experience II Is generally people who desire 10 oe
thought wealthy who invest much money IN corlhs'
You see rich people have their secretaries
whose business il Is to keep down expenses all the
time and the undertakers have found 10 their sor-
row that they are just strict when 1t comes 10
funeral expenses as In anything ese. They want
the best always, but they won't order anything
that Is extravagant or unnecessary.
It's the people who not so rich that put
money into cofins' he continued Il remember
the costliest firm ever turned out, 1t was
for a man in Brooklyn. and was supposed TO cost
s. eco but II didn't. Nothing would do the family
but that the plate and handles should be of solid
gold. The undertaken who had the order told us
To put plated ones instead. He managed To
spend about 81 eco the coffin. The rest. sup
pose went into his pocket There Is thing
Certain-the family never knew the difference
There are some undertakers in New-York who are
willing To give people what they pay for, but the
most of them are not. An undertaken seldom pays
than 500 for coffin no matter how much
money the family Is willing to expend Almost
in the business will tell YOU that when yon
get beyond $50 YOU are throwing away money,
Experience has taught me that the undertaking;
business Is one line In which YOU cannot Jnd$e a
customer at all according to mis- appearance. Some
tines the very worst looking persons are the ones
who spend the most money. Several years ago
an old German woman came into our establishment.
She poorly clad and Wore a shawl over her
head. When she said that she wanted coffin for
her husband l made up my mind at that
something very ordinary would do, so showed her
for S50. 'Nein. nein.' she replied. shaking her
head Then l showed her another for 500. for
>15 and one for S0O. All the time she shaking
her head. | was beginning to think that our prices
high for her when she caught sight q
something that took her eve at once. 1t a
patent coffin that had been experimenting FOX
u year. 1t elabOrately trimmed In old gold
plush and other fancy colors which had used TO
attract attention 10 at different exhibitions where
less conspicuous collins shown. l suppose
the bright cOlors caught the old wOman's eye. She
took such great liking to II that sold IL TO her
for $CO before she left the building. had another
experience with a ragged woman who bought a
$500 coffin for her husband. When l delivered II
found that she lived In basement with water
three inches deep I'm It,
such persons are singular" continued the ur-
deTtaker, but In my estimat tion they not TO
be compared with persons who go 10 the expense
of buying collins for dogs and pet animals. You
would be surprised 10 know the number we have
made for dogs. The orders come mostly from
women Not long ago men worked nearly all
towns up the Hudson River. 1t had to go out ON
wT OF silver "f cost p sS1 wS 9'T ana handles
worth
There is one idea l have found prevalent in all
belong to them seem to think that the funerals i'm
Ihelr families are for the sexton and one else
ThlS Is especially true of the rich people. Nearly
everybody who belongs TO the big churches EMPLOYS
the sexton 10 bury the dead. IL they die i'm the
county the local undertaken is called in to do the
emhaim @ imns I'M and then the sexton of the church is
sent Tor. lie has the nice part of the work arj
draws the money. | know OF one woman her ~
N%ew-fork who was so firmly imbued with this idea
mat when she called In outside undertaker xho
hhappened h @ TO De close friend OF the family To
Duty her husband. she wrote the sexton a iattsr
OF apology as II she had done somethtnS ,,
tnn 'aiy onehd him: and nclosed her check for
~" 20 compensate him for his loss of nrodt On
Of hg cbudh rms Is what makes the job OF sexton
hhyWhere from $1,000 to 10000 a wear accordtng ~ 10
f sne h oI the congregation parish and the wealth
cx ,nr ,pWTuP.e Not infrequently the choice for
salaries n5 S TO men Who have earned large
,hein' Ihe list OF church sections who bsvs Ions |
70 w @ une na9 IN New-Nork is long one Drinking
h. ya ,oo 20 og their main failing. although a number
he races tneir places by specuating and playing
nHo three sections in as many wears Thay caa r.,e
ooin,a ,oe, ana Industrious when they were an
'oin'eu' OUT they couldn't stand prosperity N'