Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-10-15
Selecting a Coroner

When a member of our family
falls i'll we call physician and not a
merchant or mechanic. What we
want at such a time is one who un-
derstands human anatomy and its
ills. Likewise when a member of
our family dies a natural death we
call an undertaken and not mem
Der of some other profession.
Perhaps that is why it seems odd
to a great number of people when a
member of their family dies unnatur-
ally, to have someone come in as a
coroner who is neither physician nor
undertaker-s someone allied with
just any profession or line of busi-
ness-to conduct an official inspec-
tion and determine the circumstances
of death. 1t seems incongruous for
a coroner to be of any profession or
calling other than that of physician
or undertaken
The undertaken is a familiar Off
cial visitant at the scene of death,
while the business man engaged in
other lines is not. The undertaken
is trained to go about his work quiet
ly and scientifically. His training
enables him to minimize distressing
conditions, though doing his work
thoroughly and effectively. His
training along this line would natur-
ally be carried into the office of cor
oner. OF all citizens the undertaken
is best fitted to do coroner's work,
without blunder and with the small
est degree of guesswork as to the
cause of death.
There seems small argument in
favor of electing coroners from other
walks in life so long as men specially
qualified can be found willing to ac-
cept the unpleasant duties of coroner.
Yet it is not uncommon in the world
of politics for men to be elected cor
oner whose regular occupation may
be that of running a meat market or
moving houses. They are intelligent
in their lines of business, but on re-
Election the people would rarely
choose such to make technical in
quiry into the causes of unnatural
death.
There is a legal phase also to the
matter. Manifestly the person un'
trained in human anatomy is less
capable of discovering the cause and
conditions of the death and pointing
out the evidences of crime and acci
dent. This being true, 1t follows thai
the person trained to observe these
things will bring forth verdicts mos
likely to uncover crime or to save
public expense where no crime hat
been committed.
The voters of Jackson county havt
two candidates before them this fal
for the office of coroner. One i
w. w. USHER of Ashland. the othe
is John A. Perl of Medford. Mr.
USHER is local manager OF the Pa
cific Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany. He does not claim to be es
pecially fitted for the position, bu
frankly states that he wants the CT
flee because he wants the money.
Mr.. Perl is known to be the lead
ing undertaken of Medrord. He doe
not specify that he needs the salar!
but merely states that the busine'
of the coroncrs office is in line wit
his profession and that he is Gel
trally located where he can reach a
parts Of the county readily an
quickly either by auto or one OF III
three lines of railroad leading fro
his city.
The emoluments of the office a,
not large enough to make it polit
cal plum, and 1t is one of the offic
that should be outside OF politi
and that should be filled with vie
only to service and efficiency. y.--As
land Record.
(Paid Adv