New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-01-24

broad In their scope that the limits are pTacti-
eaIly undefnable They say that only small
part of the cost OF a monument or mausoleum
IS represented by the raw material OF which II
Is composed. They contend that the large pro-
portion Of the cost that goes to labor is bene-
fit more far reaching than would be a similar
sum devoted TO charity. They say that it az
fOrds employment that lessons by the number OF
men engaged the competition in other fields OF
labor; that the earnings of these men are paid
out for necessaries and luxuries to merchants
In various lines Of trade who, in turn. distribute
Just that much more to the producers of these
necessaries and Iuxuries. and that there is no
end to the work for humanity Of the nimble
dollars thus set free from the boarded funds Of
the wealthy
The advocates OF less expensive funerals
answer the arguments Of those who defend them
by the assertion that scholarships in colleges,
beds in hospitals, the construction equipment
and maintenance of libraries. OF drinking foun-
tains and other public conveniences as effec-
lively distribute money among workingmen
the building Of costly monuments. and that the
utility of such memorials to the dead is con-
tnuous benefit to man They say that when
monument is completed and paid for the pub
lie ceases TO derive from it any benefit, and il
Is sooner later abandoned to decay, while a
scholarship in OF the universities, for in
stance, is a permanent blessing to those who
e1.oy the privileges it cOnfers and the invest
ment of the endowment, the income OF which
supports the scholarships, enables the banks to
extend by just so much their yearly loans to
various enterprises which afford employment to
large numbers of persons. They hold that such
a fund is constantly doing the work that the
same amount invested in memorial Of marble.
Srayffe Or brODZe DerfOrTTS only
Sentiment demands some respectful mark at
The graves of the departed Shall il be sim
pie stone, with the name, date OF birth and that
OF death. such as are to be found in the burial
places of the Society of Friends, shall IL be
a huge monolith costing $1,000, a statue elab-
orately mounted. costing twice or thrice that
sum, or a mausoleum built at an expense Of
from $4,000 to $25OOOO? Suppose s25 900 Is
available for the purpose, and that there is
disposition TO make it go as far possible
toward immOrtalizing the who gathered
and treasured the money. Shall 1t all be in
vested in a pile of stone? Cannot monument
Of that sort, as enduring as any more costly,
be built for a fifth Of the sum, or less. and the
remaining $4,000 be used as one or more
memorials Of another kind. enduring, at
least, as the stone and fraught with greater
good 10 the living?
On this point the editor of the diocesan news
department of 1.-The Living Church recently
directed attention to a school fund Of 81 000 es-
tabIished iR 1875. at Westerly. r L. In mem
ory OF a church woman and friend Of education
The fund had yielded. up to last August, 1,356
In interest This is thirty years Of the work
OF an endowment, in nowise impaired in earning
capacity by the lapse Of time, although its full
amount and 1856 more have been already ex-
pended for the purpose intended The editor
comments thus:
mo statue of Faith in the cemetery equal
4 work OF faith. entering into the hearts and
lives OF later generations. and 81 900 endow-
rnent could many times be made to charitable
o. missionary objects out OF the thousands Of
collars layished upon perishable tombs and
fragile monuments VIII not some Of our read
be persuaded to regard practically what Is
written so practicaIyT'
OF course. such monuments as that of Leland
Stanford. costing $4,000. and the Mackay
mausoleum In Greenwood, which is said to have