The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-10-30
TOSTOP PREMATURE bUR|ALS
New Law Views bnba|ming Alive
As a Crime
OF UNIQUE SOCIETY IN ENGLAND
PUBLISHES A "CREEPY" STORY
IN PAPERS EACH DAY-THE
GERMAN SYSTEM.
OF UNIQUE SOCIETY IN ENGLAND

George W. Allen recently wrote to
the Boston, Mass, Transcript, says
Suggestion.
There are two bills before the Mas
sachusetts legislature to require safe
guards from premature burial. The
bill introduced by Representative
Chandler has two purposes, one to
save life by requiring that tests SHALL
be applied to discover any indications
of life, and if there are such indica-
lions to attempts restoration and to
prevent premature burial by requiring
that in no case shall a certificate of
death be issued until death is GER
tain. This bill makes it a crime, with
penalty attached, to encoffin, en-
balm. bury or cremate human body
until a certificate has been obtained as
above. The other bill introduced by
Representative Walker only requires
that a physician shall examine the
supposed dead person and certify that
life is extinct before embalming or
burial. If this bill should become a
law without further provision the sit
uation would be practically but little
better than at present. Unless the
only sure test of death is required be-
fore the certificate is issued, any in
dication Of death may be regarded as
sufficient and embalming may be per-
formed as it is now before the body
is even cold, and burial may take
place, as now, while the person Is alive.
Under the present law an undertaken
can embalm while the person is alive
or bury the person before death, and
he commits no crime. If it is known
he can say, What are you going to
do about it," Under the Walker bill
neither is made a crime.
No sure proof of death has been dis
covered outside the setting in of putre-
factive decomposition. Although there
has been a reward of 10000 francs for
the discovery of some sure test, for
years no claimant has appeared. It is
surprising that with so many causes.
internal and external, for the suspen-
sion of animation and stimulation Of
death that anything less than certain
ty Of death should be required to save
a person from the undertaken.
In England there is a society whose
object is to awaken public opinion on
the subject Of premature burial and to
work for the passage of laws which will
make premature burial impossible.
Statistics have been prepared to show
that in Europe out of every 500 sup
posed deaths, one person is resuscltat-
ed. Although the medical profession
refuse to take any interest In the
matter. it is unquestionably the case
that many persons are buried while
in the state of suspended animation.
Every day the newspapers chronicle
case in which a person is revived at
ter being given over to the UNDER
taker. Allowing for exaggeration,
there are certainly grounds for agita-
ton and enlightenment of this subject.
Certainly there should be no unseemly
haste in injecting the embalming fluid.
It Is stated that in the cemetery
just outside the town Of Weimar, in
the mausoleum in which the remains
of the poets, Schiller and Goethe, lie
buried. there is special provision made
against the danger of premature burial
from suspended animation. No bodies
are placed in the ground until they
have spent a considerable time in
receiving vault In the fingers Of the
corpse are placed strings which COM
municate with an alarm. The least
pulsation will ring bell in an adjoin-
ing chamber, where a guardian is al
ways on the watch. In several in
stances, by this timely alarm, persons
buried have been rescued.
It is said that the provision arose
from the tradition that one of the
princes of Sake Weimer, this being
their family burial place, was buried
olive horo