The Washington herald., 1909-07-04
SECONDHAND HEARSES.
where They Come From. and VarI-
Gus Buyers FOund for Them.

Z
Gus Buyers FOund for Them.
From ths NeE YORK Sun.
/ The hearse IS a lOng-lived vehicle Even
though put 20 constant daily use on
paved city streets a hearse wiz last
/ fifty years II IS built or good materials.
TO begin with, and is always carefully
driven and handled
In the course Of time, what with con
lstant exposure 70 al sorts OF weather and
with repeated washings. the springs VIII
rust and the wood decay. and there comes
al last a time when the hearse Is prac-
ticaIly worn out. That doesn't mean that
the days OF the old hearse are over; very
rarely IS Il so worn that X must be bro
ken up The old hearse IS sold % a hearse
builder or 20 a carriage and hearse
builder. who may take t. making some
allowance for f. N part payment for
new hearse. and then this purchaser may
sell Il again Just as Il IS 20 somebody
who can stil get sOu~ Sc out OF Il.
though commonly he r. LIS and reits Il
rrst. or pFr1--s ~iuDsL entirely rebuilCs
Il and then pats il on sale.
+ So Just as there are secondhand pianos.
secondhand steam boilers. secondhand
almost everything On earth. there are also
secondhand hearses.
An undertaken may go out OF business
and his stock be sold az auction. A. such
sale only undertakers OF dealers in
+ hearses you'd be likely 10 b.d. and here
+ hearSes would be likely 10 bid. and here
might be bought at a low price II
bought by a builder and dealer in hearses
they would be repaired and put in order
and sold as second hand
. Styles change in hearses as they do in
ali things else and The city undertaken
may want a new hearse Of the latest d.
sign and most modern equipment. in
which case he would turn IN his old
T hearse. though II may stiu be a perfectly
good vehicle. and buy a new heaTse-
While Il IS commonly the city under
taker who wants the most modern thing
. IN hearses IL might be that the under
talce- IN some far smaller but thriving
place might come 10 have the same de-
sire. IN such q town there might set up
F in business a new undertake.. with a
F complete modern equipment. including a
modern hearse- To compete with the new
conner the old undertaken might buy a
new hearse and give the old in part pay
ment.
+ So the hearses sold as second hand
come from various sources. and some OF
them may be stiu very socd hearses.
though perhaps Ol6-fashioned. The builder
f OF dealer Wl0 had bought such a hearse
might take OF IFS roof and put on a new
covering. thus completely changing Us
F. appearance. mOdernizlnE it. and upon any
. Of those Eearses he would eXpeDd IN re-
pairs, -edrring and reconstruction what
. ever amount its condition might warrant
some secondhand hsarses are sold very
cheap. but thoroughly good secondhand
+ hearse brought into frst-class condition
might bring half as much as a new
. hearse Of the same class.
. Secondhand hearses are sold mostly in
the country. 10 undertakers I'm smaller
/ communities whose use they serve well
and once such hesrSes We're sold from
. here over q wide part Of the country
E Years ago there was sold IN New York a
. secondhand hearse = so 20 the Indian
. reservation in Oklahoma Territory. IN
these days there are IN the West big
manufacturing establishments turning
out hearses as well as other vehicles. and
those establishments now supply hearses.
both new and secondhand. I'm the various
regions within their respective natural
shipping distances. so that the business
. IN secondhand hearses from here is row
confined largely 20 q region within a few
hundred miles OF the city
There are sold numbers Of secondhand
I hearses for export. New hearses OF
+ American construction 80 20 various for
! eign lands and so do secondhand hearses.
4 For export the secondhand hearses are
+ not only repaired and put IN order. but
they are reflJted and IN every way
+ equipped TO meet the requirements OF tbs
funeral customs Of the countries 10
which thy are sent. Such second hand
as well as new hearses OF American man
ma sold -
West Indies, South America, and South
Africa.
I A new hea-se Of very elaborate con
+ struction and with expensive fittings
might cost 5000 The great majority OF
I the hearses seen IN this city cost new
/ from 81 200 70 S2.050 each.
Il is estimated that there are in U.S.
IN New York City about so0 hearses,
whose total value would approximate a
million dollars