The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-02-10

statement, the chances are that they
/ may be wholly wanting As a result
/ Of the vague. uncertain ana unre,f-
able statistics, or the absolute lack
thereof, with which your committee
met. il is evident that good deal AT
the report on the tabulated statement
/ Is conjecture. This uncertainty. how
ever, applies 10 the number Of inter-
ments in the cemeteries. not to other
! things.
TABULATED STATEMENT.
Your committee has included in this
statement such facts as it believes 10
be Of public interest. and cover the
name, class. location. area. age. title.
nature Of ground. number of inter-
| ments. estimates Of available space
and miscellaneous remarks or sugges-
lions regarding burial places in and
near Honolulu. With only one or two
exceptions. the name is merely that
| OF the locality where the cemetery is
situated. or relates to the ownership.
The designation of the "class" does
not merely mean that only those may
be inferred who are Of the faith
named though this is probably true
! With regard TO the Roman Catholic
and Chinese cemeteries. In the column
noting the number of fnterments, the
4" shows the estimated interments
prior 10 1901; "2'' indicates the actual
number Of interments known. from
the beginning, ar, as is generally the
ease. these are the of1ciai records of
the Board of Health, since 1901 There
have been some, but not many, re-
movals of remains from the Gene.
teries- It is the hope and expectation
of Chinese who die here that their
bones shall eventually be taken 10
China. hut the great majority of those
buried here still repose where orig
inally inferred, owing, perhaps. TO the
poverty and inability of the friends 10
remove the body. It is probable that
a few of the cemeteries. chiefly those
connected with the old Portuguese
churches, We're in use more than sew
enty years ago, but this does not APP
pear to be definitely known, and. there
fore. in the column for age. the dates
are generally little indefinite.
NEEDS AND PROSPECT.
There is no such thing in any one
of the cemeteries examined. or in
which statistics have been obtained by
your committee, as a plot for a pot
ter's field. But it is true that the in
digent dead may be inferred in a
number Of cemeteries. A plot for
prisoners is set apart in the Makiki
cemetery, and we are informed that
the Board of Health has caused a |
number of INDECENT dead to be in /
TERED in this place Either cemetery |
timation of the feelings of men on |
the subject. or else there exists pretty |
widespread and strange indifference
among. the poor as to where the. re-
mains of their friends should be
placed. We were informed in more I
than one instance that the setting |
apart Of a potter's field has been neg
atived on account of the fact that it /
would Immediately be used by a large /
number of people who would like to /
have their families. buried at public /
though entirely able to pay /
the cost of interment themselves. In t
spite of the number of cases brought /
10 the attention of your committee, /
which seems to support this view, 1.
deems it a very grave lack in our
existing system of burial places; also /
that no provision is made in our laws,
nor is any appropriation provided for
the assumption by any public depart
ment of the care and burial of the
INDECENT dead. It is fact to the
credit of the president Of the Board
IF Health and his officers, as we'll
as a good many private individuals IA
f honolulu, that in many instances they
nave. without any obligation whatso-
ever, paid the expense Of burial OF
deceased poor persons. We are in
sorned that the cost Of burial at
he Loeb View cemetery in Eva is
about s21, SO of which is the amount
charged by the cemetery association
ior a site, digging the grave, taking
The remains from the train of the Q.
R. & Leo. and decently burying the
anne. The o. r. & L. Co. makes a
charge, which is certainly very small,
# one dollar from Honolulu TO the
cemetery station in Eva for carrying
he coffin. and twenty-five cents each
ray for the mourners going and re-
urning TO Honolulu. AT the present
inae the Loeb View cemetery affords
he most extensive location for burials,
he statement having been made TO
association that there is room for Z3'-
90 bodies at the present time. The
objections to this location are its dis
ance from Honolulu and the expense
f going to and from. which is con-
iderable in the case Of very poor peo-
lie, who desire to frequently visit the
raves Of departed friends. The TACT
hat springs Of water appear a Fiofc
distance below and in the line OF
rainage of this cemetery, may posi-
lv he a, sanitary objection, though
pon this the committee bases no con-
fusion. nor does it make any sugges-
ion. excepting that the matter should
q settled by the proper authorities
The establishment of a crematory at
he oahu cemetery on Nuuanu ave-
ue. with it's increasing use, mas q
curse, greatly enlarged the aSallaoii
y Of that locality for interments OF
Oh very SfldAk /