The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-09-04
By Ex-ATTACHE.

Brussels Is 20 be the scene this month
Of a great international congress on Gre
nation. at which one of the most notable
delegates will be the Duke Of Bedford.
I the vice president Of the Cremation So
ciety Of England. Germany France. the
United States, Switzerland. Italy. Aus
/ tria, Canada, and Australia are all send
/ ing representatives. while the congress
viii be opened and welcomed n the name
Of King Albert by his premier. although
Belgium is one OF the countries where
| incineration OF the human body is still
! forbidden by law. In fact. Belgians who
| wish their dead 20 be cremated have to
dispatch the corpses either to Germany
or to France for the purpose
Belgium is by no means the only coun-
| try where cremation is still prohibited.
It is a peculiar fact that despite the we'll
known opposition OF the Roman Catholic
/ Church to this form OF the disposal OF
human remains, II Is tolerated in coun-
/ tries that are essentially Roman Catho-
| lie. such as. for instance, italy ard
Bavaria; while it remains forbidden by
/ Protestant governments. such as those Of
| Sweden and Denmark.
| Thus. when some years ago the Danish
| legislature. OF sanitary grounds. passed
! by an overwhelming majority a vote in
favor OF the liberation OF cremation. the
minister OF public worship, 10 the name
OF the Crown and government. informed
the House that after having consulted
the principal dignitaries Of the Lutheran
or state church of the kingdom. he must
! decline to permit the bill to become law
or 70 be put into execution. since the
entire clergy. as well as the religious
sentiments Of the nation, were most
4 strongly opposed thereto. In Sweden the
| Lutheran State Church has taken UP a
similar stand toward incineration; and
so. too. have the Lutheran synods OF
/ Prussia and Wurtemberg.
/ Many thousands Of cremations. how
/ ever. take place each year in the do
minions OF King Victor Emmanuel. while
Munich and Nuremberg. the two principal
cities Of Bavaria, a kingdom in which
more than 100000 OF the 10000 inhab-
itants are Catholics. have each Of them
| recently established huge municipal Gre
matoria, that az Munich being IN con-
! junction with the great Eastern Gene
! terry. II. however. by no means follows
| that all the Protestant denominations
/ entertain the same views as TO the burn
/ ing OF the dead as those Of Scandinavia.
/ Of Prussia, and Of wurtemberg. Thus. IN
! the grand duchy OF Baden the govern
ment has expressed It's approval OF In
1 clneratlon, while the Lutheran clergy
/ there have announced that from a doc
/ trinal point OF view there is nothing
whatever to prevent them from reading
the service Of the dead at obsequies
which terminate in the humiliation Of
! the corpse by means Of fire.
! In England some Of the divlaes OF the
/ Established Church assume that crema-
ton is permissible. since the words
ashes 20 ashes" are comprised In the
most solemn portion Of the liturgy for
/ the dead. and there has been no canoni-
cal pronouncement against IT, Yet the
general attitude OF the ecclesiastics OF
the Anglican rite, both In Great Britain
and the United States. may be said to
be one OF mild disapproval; and I have
never yet known Of bishop OF of an
archbishop Of the Church Of England
! consentlng to oficiate at a cremation.
/ SIN. there are a number OF the most
devout Episcopalians who, dying after
having received the last sacraments Of
the church. have been incinerated in ac-
cordance with their previously expressed
wishes. and with full religious services.
members OF the old English aristocracy.
in spite Of their proverbial conservatism,
leading the way in the matter and con-
/ tributing much 10 render this form Of
the disposal OF the dead fashionable.
Some Of them have even converted
their ancestral mausOleums into colum-
baria That OF the Lords Monson was
constructed about fifteen years ago. and
forms an annex OF the family mausoleum
at Carlton. II IS OF carved ornamental
stone. bearing the Monson heraldEc de-
vices. and is something IN the shape Of
a pigeon house. there being tiers Of
inches, like pigeon holes. one above an
/ other. destined 20 receive the silver urns
| or jars containing the ashes OF the Mon