The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-05-11

| Editor Advertiser: I thought ] had
! written on every subject under the
| sun, but yesterday a friend came to
| me and asked me to give my views OH
cremation. Said I, "'Surely that is the
end of IT.
There is a sentiment running through
the human family which causes US to
bodies of loved ones. When, however,
we begin to philosophize we speak of
the cremation of the dead (meaning
of some other dead than our OWN as
being the proper and most sanitary
disposition of what were once sentient
bodies. There is no one who cares to
let his or her thoughts dwell on the in
GENERATING of those nearly connected
with us, although individually we may
express the wish that for various reas-
ons we would like to be disposed of IN
that way.
Nowhere in the Bible is cremation
mentioned. In fact, it was calamity
amongst the Hebrews to not have
earth burial. Still, in the vale of
Tophet, those who died of the plague
were incinerated.
The Persians and Hebrews wrapped
the bodies of the dead in what pre-
served them for some time, while the
Egyptians embalmed theirs so that, in
that climate, they could keep them for
all time. In China, earth burial is the
sine qua non. In Greece, however, all
, were incinerated except suicides, I'M
teethed children and persons struck by
lightning. In Rome, until the fourth
century, they followed the Greek Gus
tom. It began to be considered a
pagan custom, and earth burial took
its place. Not because earth burial
is particularly Christian, as the Christi
ians are taught that ''fiesh and blood
cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heav-
en- but they thought they would
take a shot at it any way. Japan,
which seems to be taking the lead,
or following a close second in the sci
ences, incinerates about fifty per cent
of its dead.
Physicians unanimously recommend
cremation, largely on the grounds that
the bacteria of contagious diseases rise
to the surface after earth burial and
continue to spread those diseases and
probably in an aggravated form. AS
the world advances in knowledge, we
find that the principal DIRECTORS to
cremation are found among the Tilt !.
crate and superstitious.
No one questions the fact that the
disposal of the body by fire is for san
itarv reasons the best 30 far invented.
With our knowledge of the chemical
of the human body and
that it must in the near future be dis
solved into those elements, there IS no
reason why we should not expedite the
natural process. especially If such ac-
ton on our part will result in the pro-
lection of the living from possible con-
tamination.
The natural increase of the numbers
and acreage of the cities of the dead
has alarmed every center where hu-
nanitv has congested. Place them as
far as we will from a given center and
We will grow out to them and enclrcie
them to our ultimate discontinue. For
instance. in a great city ike Par1s,
have become 1ntramural
and closed up and new ones opened
mill the whole surroundings is one
mass of corruption and in many locah-
ties diseases are directly attributed to
hose sources. Although Honolulu is
cot in IFS infancy, some of US remem-
her when it was so far out to the King
street cemetery that we seldom went
there. Today it is getting rapidly to-
ward the center of the city. Six GENE
cries laid out by us have been enclr-
led nv homes of the living, and who
IAN fell their baleful effects on the llv-
ng9 With our knowledge of the his
.orv of other cities. as well as our own,
We ought to. individually, advocate
.remation. Incarceration is certainly
.ffectual in preventing the possible
vii consequences of interment IN the
EARTH NJ.
I understand that public meeting
9 To be called to advocate cremation
md 70 form a corporation for the pur-
,ose of establishing crematory. There
s no wav to sell goods so well as to
80 +bam. What the eye does not