Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-10-25

a little chamber, smooth and white, ex-
tending from the face of the interior.
pure and spotless, OF lined with cloth
and strewn with flowers. That is all.
When the body has been deposited
there block fitted with exact precision
closes the opening and is cemented into
place, Theoretically sealing the crypt.
Over this block fits the Italian marble
face, with its suitable inscription The
chamber is sealed air tight. proof
against any disturbance unless dyna-
mite were to be used. The construc-
ton of the crypt makes it air, water
and vermin proof. First it is built of
cement. reinforced every six inches
longtigudinally and laterally with iron
rods six inches apart Then one end is
sealed with an expanded metal cap
Then more cement, and finally the
marble facing and finish polished,
heavy and thick.
How Mausoleums Arc Built.
These mausoleums which, by the
way, are being constructed by an Iowa
firm, the Iowa Mausoleum Company.
with headquarters at Waterloo. are
marvels of solid and ornate building.
| The foundations are four feet thick
| built of granite concrete, reinforced
with steel rods every six inches. Upon
this foundation is the floor which is
constructed after the following fash
ion: First three inches of concrete in
which steel rods are embedded, next
three inches more of concrete, similarly
reinforced by steel rods, laid crosswise
of those below; then another three
inches, with cross rods. and another.
and finally three additional inches of
cement. These rods laid in the cement
lare carried on up the side walls and
end at the l beams which support the
roof. The roof itself is of steel and
concrete, and covered with tile. The
perpendicular rods set in the four feet
lof concrete granite so on up to the
roof assisting to form the sides of the
lcrypt. and with the expanded metal of
the ends and bottom render them safe
land solid as burglar proof safe.
IGathered at the roof, and immutably
set in its granite concrete. the steel
rods render the building solid as the
Ieternal rock. Every ounce of concrete
is mixed by a formula patterned after
the composition of Roman cement,
which is standing today and will stand
forever. and mixed under the super
vision of a single special expert en-
ployed for the purpose. At the apex of
the roof skylight renders the chapel
light and cheerful, and within this
chapel, which at Monroe may comfort
ably hold 300 to 400 persons, funeral
lserviccs may be conducted in Indictment
weather.
If mausoleums are to be judged by
the satisfaction and pride expressed by
the townspeople and solid farmers of
Monroe yesterday, and by the universal
approval of those who had come from
a distance, we are likely to combine the
sentiment of the ancients with modern
ideas of economy and sanitation, and
these modernized burial palaces be
substituted for the cemetery and
ground interment at which scientists
look askance and medical experts sus-
pect of poisoning the earth. The con-
,sensus of expressed opinion was ex-
tremely favorable to the mausoleum.
To the bystander the argument amused
while it convinced. They pointed out to
each other the relief from the horrors
of earth burial, the economy which
gave a 100000 monument to every
) crypt owner The question OF SANTA
ton was not forgotten. but most of all
the cleanliness. the safety, the economy
and the sense of comfort which, as one
woman expressed it. II always hated to
S think of being buried out under a
4 snow bank in the damp earth" pre-
] vailed. If the comment at Monroe is
, | to be taken as an indication the mau-
soleum has come to multiply.