Omaha daily bee., 1910-08-17
OMAHA HONORS ITS DEAD
No Place Has Better Facilities for
Caring for the Departed
CENTER OF MONUMENT INDUSTRY
wOOdmen Of the world Give orders
for 1000 Monuments Last Year
Mine Concerns in
Omaha.

Fourteen undertakerS, nine monument
builders, twenty florists and one caske
company are taxing care Of omAhA's dead
The grim cavaicade OF departing souls Ii
ushered to the various resting places ir
the cemeteries with the ceremony anC
| sKlll that attends an advancing and i'm
proving business.
Despite the fact that the burying bust
ness is fairly prosperous for those directly
engaged in It and those who have an at
tendant share in its phases, conditions ara
reported marked by notable Increases II
the cost of supplies and labor. For In
stance. 1t now costs generally more to ern.
oalm a body than the undertaken is palt
for that task Yet, by reason Of the fac
that the public has become educated intC
luxury even relating to burial and more
Of those accessory services and fixtures Of
the death room are required, undertakers
find life emlnenty satisfactory from q
business standpoint.
Several local undertakers have not hesi-
tated to say that the single phase Of erii-
banning Is n-uorative. 1t is explained
that the state law fixes the price for EN-
banning a body at SIS, whereas as the UNI
dertaker is sometimes put to an expense
Of $50 for the work. He makes up for his
loss through supplying the accessories to
the funeral and the services.
AS q matter Of fact, the embalming In
cdent of the undertaking business is but
small one Local members OF the trade
say that Omaha patrons now use more
silk canOpies and gorgeous furnishings FOL
their dead than ever before has been the
case. Twenty years ago canopies were
used prevalently, but they were discarded
to great extent In the succeeding years
until recently. Now nothing Is too good
for patrons OF the undertakes.
II 1T were matter which could be taste
fully mentioned In the category of Omaha's
development, 1t might be said that this
city ranks among the foremost In the coun-
try for the sumptuousness Of its burials
and the experiences of Its funeral directors
Omaha on the other hand, ranks a.
having the smallest percentage OF death:
annually Of any city in the country of it,
population. The rate is eight deaths u
every 1000 Of population every year.
Monuments come in for a large ant
growing portion of funeral expense. Nova
days nearly everyone who dies gets 9
memorial in the form of a monument.
! Omaha has become a headquarters of thG
country for monuments. The Woodmen Of
the World organization makes this city
the abiding place Of It's main offices and
through that channel about 1000 monu
ments are ordered every year. 1t is a Law
of the order that monument costing no.
less than 500 shall be erected to tn,
me- mory of every deceased member Al
such deaths In the ranks of the Woodmen
all over the world, cause orders for tn,
prescribed memorials to go through th'
Total office, tt
r. E. MaKeivy. who has direct eharg,
| of all the Woodmen monuments, has re-
ported a number of the shafts erected II
foreign lands during the last year.
While no monuments are purchased by
tho fraternal organization from firms II
this city outside of wi at is directly re
quired for local deaths, the influence Of
the organization is great by reason of the
large demand 1t makes for shafts from al
dealers in general.
From the rine monument producing
establishments in the city It is learned thai
an aggregate business reaching the volume
of $t75OOO annually is done in Omaha. The
prices of the monuments range from 81
up to $4,000 and tie tendency has steadily
been toward the more elaborate and costly
kind. The individual firms turn out ar
average Of 400 orders a year. The time
required on Individual orders ranges from
twelve hours to twelve months.
Omaha, like all other cities of the middl,
west is compelled 20 send hundreds Of
miles for its monument material. Their,
Is absolutely no stone produced in the stat,
and material for the most part must bC
gotten from Vermont Minnesota or the
extreme southern states Barre granite
from Vermont, is In use most prevalently
Foreign labor is en pioyed almost ex,
clusively In the department OF monument
carving OF the local Establishments. 1t il
declared the worlSmen from Germany
France and Italy are by far the most
skilled as stohecutters. There are a mum
Der OF the most expert stonecutters in the
country employed in the Omaha concerns.
Though there are sixty-five monument es
adjustments throughout the state of Ne
braska, Omaha fills by far the most con
tracts, This city is looked upon as the mos
satisfactory producing point in the state
/ by reason OF its large volume of business
and the better facilities enjoyed by con
Germs here than those IN other cities. Tn,
/ local establishments keep In stock a larg
supply of shafts of every description, ant
are in readiness TO deliver one completed.
finished in half the time required by tn
smaller concerns OF the state.
Prices have gone up in this industry II
the same proportion as Increases have Wis
tied the other industries during the pas
five years, but because Of the fact that
reduction in freight rates probably will b
brought about in the near future, tn
monument dealers are hopeful of being abb
\ to reduce their schedules. Skilled labor
a considerable expense TO the dealers also
but increasing system In the direction Q
their work is now giving increased value I
the employers.
Omaha monument builders are prepare
on any occasion TO deliver a monumen
carved completely by the chisel Of on
man. No matter how rushed the concer