The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1909-11-26
OPINION FILED
BY PROSECUTOR
Relative to Duties ofAgents
Appointed for Burial of
INDECENT Soldiers.
STATUTE IS MISC0NSTRuE Ed
County Not Liable for Burial Expens-
es If Family of Deceased are Finan-
cially Responsible,

!
cially Responsible,
On October l3, 1909 the board OF su-
pervlsOrs for the county of Van Buren,
adopted the following resolutions:
"That the prosecuting attorney be re-
quested and instructed to draft an opin-
ion relative to burial of INDECENT soldiers,
their widows or wives, directing the at
tention OF the various burial agents and
undertakers to the law governing such
cases, aud particularly to sections one
two and three of act No. 252 of the pub
| lie Acts of 1909; also to certain resolu-
tion of the board of supervisors wherein
the burial expenses for INDECENT soldiers,
their wives or widows is limited to the
sum of forty dollars; and the clerk of
the board of supervisors is hereby in-
structed to have printed sufficient copies
of the above referred to opinion that
each burial agent, undertaken and su-
pervisor may be supplied with said cop
| ies'
Pursuant to the above resolution, l
desire to submit the following:
Act No. 252 of the Public Acts of 1909
is entitled, "An act to provide for the
burial of the bodies of certain honora-
bly, discharged soldiers, sailors or ma
rines, or the wives or widows of said
soldiers, sailors or marines, or the army
nurses of this state who shall here
after die without having means suffi-
cient to defray funeral expenses"
Section one of the above act makes it
the duty of the board of supervisors of
each county to appoint in each town
ship and ward suitable person, whose
duty it snail be in his township or
ward to look after and cause to be ip-
TERED in a decent and respectable man.
ner in any cemetery or burial ground
within this state other than those used
exclusively for the pauper dead, the
body of any honorably discharged Union
soldier, sailor or marine having served
in the army or navy of the United
States during the civil war, or the late
war with Spain, or the wives or widows Of
such soldiers, sailors or marines, or any
army nurse who was employed as a
nurse by authority which is recognized
by the war department, and who rem
|
tendance upon the sick or wounded in
any regimental post, camp or general
hospital of the armies OF the Uuited
States for period of six months or
more and who was honorably relieved
from such service, who shall hereafter
die not having means sufficient to defray
the necessary funeral expenses.
| tu,o nft a..
it shall be the duty of the person so ap-
pointed for his township or ward by the
board of supervisors as provided in Sec
! ton one of this act, to satisfy himself
by careful inquiry into and examina-
ton of all the circumstances in the case,
that the family of such deceased soldier,
sailor or marine, or the wife or widow of
any soldier, sailor or marine, or any
army nurse, as afo resaid, il he or she
had any at the time of his or her de-
cease residing in such township or ward,
is unable for want OF means to defray
the expenses of funeral or burial, where
upon il he finds such inability to exist,
he shall cause such deceased soldier,
sailor or marine, widow or nurse to
be buried at the expense of the county.
In other words, the fact that one is
an honcraby discharged soldier, sailor
or marine. or the wife or widow of said
soldier, sailor or marine, or army nurse,
as described in section one of this act,
does not justify the person appointed
under section one OF this act in incur
ring the burial expense and present.
ing the same as against the county.
Before the person appointed under Sec
ton one Of this act is justified in assum-
ing to charge the expense OF such burial
against the county, he must first satisfy
himself that the family OF the deceased
soldier, sailor or mariLe,, wife, widow or
army nurse is unable to defray the ex-
penses Of such funeral or burial.
After the expense has been incurred,
it is the duty of the person appointed
under section one Of the act to report
his action Immediately to the clerk OF
the board of supervisors of the county,
10 which report he shall set forth all
the facts and that he found the family OF
such deceased person, il he or she had
any, IN INDECENT circumstances and un-
able to pay the expense Of such funeral
and burial, together with the name.
rank aud command to which such SOL
der, sailor or marine belonged. and in
case OF such wife or widow, the rank
and command to which her husband. or
deceased husband, belonged, the name.
service rendered as such army nurse.
, the date of his or her death, place where
buried and his or her occupation while