CHAPTER XIX.Cremation Becomes a Law.No more grave robberies in the twentieth century. The old style of burial becomes a back number. Popular errors about Cremation removed. Undertakers at a discount. Costly funerals discouraged. Funeral etiquette in 1999. No person buried alive in the twentieth century. Sacred memories of the dead still jealously treasured. “Rented graves” and other burial abominations of the nineteenth century are forever banished.The great innovation of the twentieth century which long rankled within the human breast, but finally uprooted and conquered prejudice, was cremation. TheNo More “Earth to Earth.”old traditions and forms of Christian burial were difficult to eradicate, but reason and a general sense of public safety finally broke down the barriers and traditions of ages. Cremation for many years shocked public sensibilities. The terrors of the hidden grave, nameless and horrible, were eliminated by the new and only safe process of disposing of the dead. In the contention which prevailed during the first half of the twentieth century, many were reluctant to accept cremation as the true mode of burial. By degrees, however, public opinion settled down and adjusting itself to the new conditions, accepted the quicker and safer methods of burial.Cremation in 1999 became the only legalized form of burial. Every cemetery wasCremation Became a Law.provided with a crematory long before 1950. Electricity was employed in reducing the body to ashes. Grave robberies that so often disgraced the nineteenth century, became impossible. A rich man was at least sure of a safe burial of his ashes after cremation, while the poor man’s body, which formerly was thrust into a Potter’s field, was safe at last from medical students and professional body-snatchers, who often robbed graves toRich and Poor on Equal Footing.secure a skeleton. Millionaires in the twentieth century enjoyed after death the same degree of safety vouchsafed to the poor man. Their dust was on equal footing.The old graves were left undisturbed in 1999. Graves in that year, in the manner of their occupants, gradually passed into decay. In the centre of every cemetery was constructed a fine mausoleum, a pantheon in which the ashes of the dead were carefully deposited in vaults or family receptacles. Cremation having become in 1999 the only mode of burial authorized by law,The State pays for All Burials.these mausoleums were built at the expense of the town. Each vault was owned by a family in perpetuity. Those who were too poor topurchase a vault had their ashes placed in a common burial plot in the ground.These large mausoleums were built of white marble in a style of architecture appropriate to the solemnity of their purpose. The interior was well-lighted and ventilated and on the door of each vault was carved the family name. All mausoleums were built about on the same plan. From the centre of the structure arose a high dome of beautifully chiseled white marble, while light poured from the top into the circular floor of the structure. The vaults used as receptacles for the ashes were stationed about in a large circle, in several tiers, one above another. The ashes of the cremated body were deposited in a small metallic box, 9 ×18 inches, and four inches deep. On the cover was engraved the name, age, date of death and cremation of the deceased. Each family vault was capable of holding thirty metallic cases, or burials.It was universally conceded that cremation was the only safe and proper mode ofIt Looked Heathenish to Them.disposing of the dead. In 1999 people wondered how the ancient form of burial had so long been practiced by civilized nations. When in 1999 cremation became the only legal form of burial, they looked with feelings of horror upon the ancient form of interment. How people could lay away their loved ones in the cold ground to remain for years thecompanion of the worm, could not be understood in the days of cremation. All arguments brought against burials in the ground were unanswerable. It was an offense against the laws of humanity, and the practice was maintained even as late as 1965, but public opinion became firm against it. The revolt against burials spreadrapidly, once inaugurated.In 1965 a family that consented to the burial of their dead was regarded not onlyGuarding the Bodies of Rich Men.as a back number but with feelings of aversion. The question arose in the minds of many if they really could love the memory of their departed one and place the body where it was liable to be stolen or desecrated; where it became the food of vermin. People in 1899 often had to even place strong guards over the tombs of rich relatives for fear that vandals might steal the body and retain it for ransom. Long after death bodies of men had been drawn from their tomb and hanged by a mob. When in 1899 Lord Kitchner, the Sidar of the British forces in Egypt, subdued and captured Khartoum,Nineteenth Century Practices.he permitted his men to violate the tomb of the Mahdi. The body of the Prophet was torn from its resting place and its head was decapitated. And this, note well, was done by British soldiers in 1899, to avenge the cruel death of Gen. Gordon.In 1999 desecrations, robberies and violations of graves became impossible. The world was no longer shocked by such atrocities. Hyenas, both biped and quadruped, were thrown out of business. Cremation, the purest and swiftest mode of reducing the body to dust and ashes, was universally declared to be immeasurably better than the ancient mode of burial. The dead were not permitted to pollute the ground and to infuse germs of diseases, deadly microbes, into living springs of water. It mattersEverything For and Nothing Against It.little, in 1999, whether the cemetery were situate on top of a hill, in a valley or in the midst of a crowded city. The ashes they contained could pollute neither water, earth nor air. A mausoleum or cemetery in 1999 was often built in the most crowded or most fashionable section of a city. Cremation was acknowledged to be a clean, wholesome method of burying the dead. Boys in 1999 were not under the painful necessity while walking past a cemetery at night to whistle to keep up their courage.In 1899 the popular idea about cremation was erroneous and was largely the cause of prejudice against this method of disposing of the dead. A vast number of people believed in that year that bodies which were cremated were literally roasted or reduced to ashes over a fierce fire. When people, however, began to learn the truth of thematter, that cremated bodies were placed in the retort of a crematory and were reduced to ashes by an exceedingly high temperature and not touched in any manner by fire, then prejudice let down the bars and cremations soon became common.As a result of cremation and the law of 1999 which compelled its adoption as the only legal method of burial, undertakersUndertakers Wear Long Faces.were deprived of large revenues they often derived from the sale of caskets. Caskets were no longer in demand because, as a wag in 1985 observed: “There is nobody to bury.” A seven foot casket of the 1899 pattern, however gorgeous, would have been absurdly too large and meaningless to enshrine the ashes of a departed relative. Such contrivances were good enough in the backward age of the nineteenth century. Burials in 1899 were made under ground, while in 1999 they were all made above ground. In 1899, immediately after death in a family one of the first duties was to purchase a casket and arrange with an undertaker for the funeral. In their unhappy frame of mind, with hearts bowed in grief, undertakers often made terms their own way with mourners. Few mourners are in a state of mind to drive a bargain in such moments, and they too often yield to the blandishments of the suave casket-broker accepting any terms he may offer. Cremation did awaywith this, and unscrupulous undertakers had to come off their perch.Hearses were not abolished in the days of cremation. The style of the hearse entirely changed. In the place of the pompous affair of 1899, bedecked in its towering plumes, rich in silver appointments, massiveThe Twentieth Century Hearse.structures covered with plate glass, driven by an awe-inspiring individual perched on a high seat, the hearse of 1999 was a far less pretentious affair. It weighed no more than a light, racing sulky. It had four wheels. In the centre of the vehicle, which, of course, was propelled by electricity, was constructed a small platform about three feet square, the sides of which were elaborately trimmed in gold and silver ornaments. The platform was covered by an open canopy supported by four elaborate silver pillars. The metallic case containing the ashes of the deceased seldom exceeded 9 × 18 inches, 4 inches deep, and weighed about four pounds. These metallic cases were of exquisite designs, usually in highly burnished silver or gold. Those which contained the ashes of the wealthier classes were often covered with precious stones and brilliant gems, presenting a most artistic and attractive appearance. These burial cases looked like jewel-boxes of an elaborate pattern. In looking at them death was robbed of its terrors. A beautiful jewel-case, 9 × 18 inches,containing the ashes of some loved one did not strike one’s imagination with the horror of a long burial casket with its inanimate tenant.There was everything about cremation to appeal to loftier ideals. The light, portable character of the little cremation cases became more popular than the heavy casket. The heart-rending accidents that too often occurred under the old system of burials, became impossible in the brighter and better days of cremation. In 1899 it sometimes happened that in lowering a body into the grave the bottom of the casket gave way. The rest can better be imagined than described. It sometimes happened thatSample Horrors of 1899.while a funeral procession was on its way to the cemetery, the hearse team got frightened. In the thrilling runaway that followed the casket fell out of the hearse and breaking open the corpse rolled out on the ground. The horror-stricken relatives and friends would remember the sad scene through life, mentioning it only in whispers.These horrors of the old-style, so-called Christian burials, were rendered impossible in the cremation regime. Not that alone, but cremation removed from earth the most horrible experience that can be endured by mortal man and that is premature burial. The practice of burying bodies is a relic of barbarism. Its horrors and possibilities arewithout limit. No civilized community should tolerate it. Custom and tradition are the forces that maintain it. It does not possess a single point in its favor, while, on the other hand, there are scores of sound arguments against it.No person who ever spent a minute in the fierce temperature of a crematory everCan’t Bury them Alive.lived to tell the tale. The ancient method of burial is not so certain—many cases have come to light where people, supposed to be dead, revived after interment. Imagine the horror of the situation. Can any human experience be more dreadful than this one? Many cases have come to light in the nineteenth century proving beyond a shadow of doubt that unfortunate men and women had been buried alive. In graves opened many weeks after burial the scratched face, torn hair and imprint of terror upon the features told only too plainly what had happened and of the final anguish of the unfortunate one. Such horrors were not possible in the cremation process. If there is anything the world appreciates it’s a “sure thing”—and that salient feature of cremation did not escape its attention.On the day following the death of a person, after the remains had been viewed for the last time by relatives and friends, the body was taken by night to the crematory where it was immediately reduced to ashes.These were carefully deposited in a small metallic burial case and returned to theNo Hurry for the Funeral.mortuary residence. The date of the funeral was agreed upon and notices were sent out to the public. Sometimes it was deemed desirable to hold the funeral one or two months after death. In cremation funerals everything passed off in the most leisurely manner possible, accompanied with the highest effects of art. A funeral could be held a week, a month or a year after death. There was ample time to make arrangements, or to postpone a funeral on account of the weather. On the day of interment when the ashes were to be deposited in the family vault in the mausoleum, at the appointed hour, friends and relatives gathered at the mortuary residence. The small metallic casket containing the ashes of the deceased was usually placed in the centre of the room, resting upon a light bamboo stand, covered with black velvet. The stand was usually surrounded with choice flowers and floral designs. The tiniest caskets used in the old burial days were double in size of the beautiful silver and gold cases sometimes holding the ashes of a person who might have weighed, during life, over three hundred pounds. The absence of the large casket used in old burial days and the substitution in its place of a small jewel-size case containing the ashes was an agreeableinnovation. Otherwise, all funeral services in 1999 were substantially the same as in 1899. Although the surroundings were far more pleasant, the grief of the stricken ones was none the less profound. When funerals in 1999 were held in a church, theexerciseswere about the same as in the days of the old burial system. Instead of six bearers, only one became necessary.There was a marked contrast between the funeral processions of 1899 and thoseFuneral Procession in 1999.of 1999. The great, cumbersome hearse had disappeared, and in the line of carriages that followed the small, light electric hearse, no horses were to be seen. All mourners’ carriages were propelled by electricity. The automobile containing the minister, led the procession, then followed the hearse and carriages of the mourners. In 1999, when a funeral passed by, people on the streets at the time were always careful to remove their hats as a mark of respect to the ashes of the deceased. This was a concession to common decency almost wholly unknown in the days of burials. People living in 1899 should not be too severely criticised in their lack of respect for the dead in the matter of uncovering as a funeral procession passed by. The entire system was a relic of barbarism and people were hardly to blame for denying this mark of respect to such an objectionable mode of burial.It was at first thought that cremation would destroy the sacred memories and observancesMemorial Day in 1999.of Memorial or Decoration Day. In a few years, however, it was discovered that these fears were unfounded. People in 1999 were loyal to the sacred memory of departed ones, and on Memorial days the interior of the mausoleums and doors of the vaults were garlanded with flowers, presenting a most beautiful appearance. The old graves of the nineteenth and preceding centuries were still cared for by loving hands.These were decorated as in the good old days of 1899 and were not in anywise neglected. Many families in the twentieth century took up the remains of their ancestors and caused them to be cremated in order that their ashes might rest in the same vault. It was conceded that the ashes could never perish in a vault and another supreme advantage in favor of the cremation system arose from the fact that they required no care.The abominations of the old fashioned burials were apparently without limit. Under that barbaric system of the 19th century, it might truly be said that after death a man hadnowhere to lay his head.Ejected for Non-Payment of Rent.One would think that after death a person had severed his connection with the living world. Such was not the case. It often happenedthat men were taken out of their graves for non-payment of rent. That is, the lease or care of the ground not having been satisfied or paid, the ground or cemetery lot reverts to the Association, who dislodge the body of the tenant and offer the cemetery lot for sale to other parties. In the 19th century, especially in European cities, it was a common practice to lease a grave for five years, at the expiration of which period the grave was opened and the skeletons deposited in underground catacombs or left to the tender mercies of medical students. The barbarity of such practices, sanctioned by the civilization of the 19th century, need not be dwelt upon. Cremation removed the stigma of such unholiness from civilized nations. The ashes of the dead required no material space and were easily disposed of. No grave rentals or purchases were required in their case.Last but not the least of the advantages of cremation was the death blow it gave toSpoils the Ghost Business.the ghost industry. Superstition tottered when in 1999 graveyards had been abolished by law, as well as custom. The stately, white marble mausoleum which held the ashes of departed ones did not possess the gruesome appearance of the old fashioned cemeteries of 1899, with mounds and graves scattered in every direction, some of them in a condition of shameful neglect. There wassomething about a graveyard which was naturally repellent to the living. The ones who scoffed the loudest at ghosts, and were really very brave at noon time, were never favorably impressed with the idea of spending a few hours alone at night in a cemetery. When graveyards were abolished and bodies were promptly reduced to ashes after death, superstition began to weaken. Many people who would have been terrified at the suggestion of keeping a dead body in a house any unusual length of time, did not hesitate in many instances, to keep the ashes of several cremated members of the family for years, in their parlor. Cremation removed the sting of death, robbing it of its terrors. It was a blessing to the world and was thereafter ever sustained by enlightened ages.
CHAPTER XIX.Cremation Becomes a Law.No more grave robberies in the twentieth century. The old style of burial becomes a back number. Popular errors about Cremation removed. Undertakers at a discount. Costly funerals discouraged. Funeral etiquette in 1999. No person buried alive in the twentieth century. Sacred memories of the dead still jealously treasured. “Rented graves” and other burial abominations of the nineteenth century are forever banished.The great innovation of the twentieth century which long rankled within the human breast, but finally uprooted and conquered prejudice, was cremation. TheNo More “Earth to Earth.”old traditions and forms of Christian burial were difficult to eradicate, but reason and a general sense of public safety finally broke down the barriers and traditions of ages. Cremation for many years shocked public sensibilities. The terrors of the hidden grave, nameless and horrible, were eliminated by the new and only safe process of disposing of the dead. In the contention which prevailed during the first half of the twentieth century, many were reluctant to accept cremation as the true mode of burial. By degrees, however, public opinion settled down and adjusting itself to the new conditions, accepted the quicker and safer methods of burial.Cremation in 1999 became the only legalized form of burial. Every cemetery wasCremation Became a Law.provided with a crematory long before 1950. Electricity was employed in reducing the body to ashes. Grave robberies that so often disgraced the nineteenth century, became impossible. A rich man was at least sure of a safe burial of his ashes after cremation, while the poor man’s body, which formerly was thrust into a Potter’s field, was safe at last from medical students and professional body-snatchers, who often robbed graves toRich and Poor on Equal Footing.secure a skeleton. Millionaires in the twentieth century enjoyed after death the same degree of safety vouchsafed to the poor man. Their dust was on equal footing.The old graves were left undisturbed in 1999. Graves in that year, in the manner of their occupants, gradually passed into decay. In the centre of every cemetery was constructed a fine mausoleum, a pantheon in which the ashes of the dead were carefully deposited in vaults or family receptacles. Cremation having become in 1999 the only mode of burial authorized by law,The State pays for All Burials.these mausoleums were built at the expense of the town. Each vault was owned by a family in perpetuity. Those who were too poor topurchase a vault had their ashes placed in a common burial plot in the ground.These large mausoleums were built of white marble in a style of architecture appropriate to the solemnity of their purpose. The interior was well-lighted and ventilated and on the door of each vault was carved the family name. All mausoleums were built about on the same plan. From the centre of the structure arose a high dome of beautifully chiseled white marble, while light poured from the top into the circular floor of the structure. The vaults used as receptacles for the ashes were stationed about in a large circle, in several tiers, one above another. The ashes of the cremated body were deposited in a small metallic box, 9 ×18 inches, and four inches deep. On the cover was engraved the name, age, date of death and cremation of the deceased. Each family vault was capable of holding thirty metallic cases, or burials.It was universally conceded that cremation was the only safe and proper mode ofIt Looked Heathenish to Them.disposing of the dead. In 1999 people wondered how the ancient form of burial had so long been practiced by civilized nations. When in 1999 cremation became the only legal form of burial, they looked with feelings of horror upon the ancient form of interment. How people could lay away their loved ones in the cold ground to remain for years thecompanion of the worm, could not be understood in the days of cremation. All arguments brought against burials in the ground were unanswerable. It was an offense against the laws of humanity, and the practice was maintained even as late as 1965, but public opinion became firm against it. The revolt against burials spreadrapidly, once inaugurated.In 1965 a family that consented to the burial of their dead was regarded not onlyGuarding the Bodies of Rich Men.as a back number but with feelings of aversion. The question arose in the minds of many if they really could love the memory of their departed one and place the body where it was liable to be stolen or desecrated; where it became the food of vermin. People in 1899 often had to even place strong guards over the tombs of rich relatives for fear that vandals might steal the body and retain it for ransom. Long after death bodies of men had been drawn from their tomb and hanged by a mob. When in 1899 Lord Kitchner, the Sidar of the British forces in Egypt, subdued and captured Khartoum,Nineteenth Century Practices.he permitted his men to violate the tomb of the Mahdi. The body of the Prophet was torn from its resting place and its head was decapitated. And this, note well, was done by British soldiers in 1899, to avenge the cruel death of Gen. Gordon.In 1999 desecrations, robberies and violations of graves became impossible. The world was no longer shocked by such atrocities. Hyenas, both biped and quadruped, were thrown out of business. Cremation, the purest and swiftest mode of reducing the body to dust and ashes, was universally declared to be immeasurably better than the ancient mode of burial. The dead were not permitted to pollute the ground and to infuse germs of diseases, deadly microbes, into living springs of water. It mattersEverything For and Nothing Against It.little, in 1999, whether the cemetery were situate on top of a hill, in a valley or in the midst of a crowded city. The ashes they contained could pollute neither water, earth nor air. A mausoleum or cemetery in 1999 was often built in the most crowded or most fashionable section of a city. Cremation was acknowledged to be a clean, wholesome method of burying the dead. Boys in 1999 were not under the painful necessity while walking past a cemetery at night to whistle to keep up their courage.In 1899 the popular idea about cremation was erroneous and was largely the cause of prejudice against this method of disposing of the dead. A vast number of people believed in that year that bodies which were cremated were literally roasted or reduced to ashes over a fierce fire. When people, however, began to learn the truth of thematter, that cremated bodies were placed in the retort of a crematory and were reduced to ashes by an exceedingly high temperature and not touched in any manner by fire, then prejudice let down the bars and cremations soon became common.As a result of cremation and the law of 1999 which compelled its adoption as the only legal method of burial, undertakersUndertakers Wear Long Faces.were deprived of large revenues they often derived from the sale of caskets. Caskets were no longer in demand because, as a wag in 1985 observed: “There is nobody to bury.” A seven foot casket of the 1899 pattern, however gorgeous, would have been absurdly too large and meaningless to enshrine the ashes of a departed relative. Such contrivances were good enough in the backward age of the nineteenth century. Burials in 1899 were made under ground, while in 1999 they were all made above ground. In 1899, immediately after death in a family one of the first duties was to purchase a casket and arrange with an undertaker for the funeral. In their unhappy frame of mind, with hearts bowed in grief, undertakers often made terms their own way with mourners. Few mourners are in a state of mind to drive a bargain in such moments, and they too often yield to the blandishments of the suave casket-broker accepting any terms he may offer. Cremation did awaywith this, and unscrupulous undertakers had to come off their perch.Hearses were not abolished in the days of cremation. The style of the hearse entirely changed. In the place of the pompous affair of 1899, bedecked in its towering plumes, rich in silver appointments, massiveThe Twentieth Century Hearse.structures covered with plate glass, driven by an awe-inspiring individual perched on a high seat, the hearse of 1999 was a far less pretentious affair. It weighed no more than a light, racing sulky. It had four wheels. In the centre of the vehicle, which, of course, was propelled by electricity, was constructed a small platform about three feet square, the sides of which were elaborately trimmed in gold and silver ornaments. The platform was covered by an open canopy supported by four elaborate silver pillars. The metallic case containing the ashes of the deceased seldom exceeded 9 × 18 inches, 4 inches deep, and weighed about four pounds. These metallic cases were of exquisite designs, usually in highly burnished silver or gold. Those which contained the ashes of the wealthier classes were often covered with precious stones and brilliant gems, presenting a most artistic and attractive appearance. These burial cases looked like jewel-boxes of an elaborate pattern. In looking at them death was robbed of its terrors. A beautiful jewel-case, 9 × 18 inches,containing the ashes of some loved one did not strike one’s imagination with the horror of a long burial casket with its inanimate tenant.There was everything about cremation to appeal to loftier ideals. The light, portable character of the little cremation cases became more popular than the heavy casket. The heart-rending accidents that too often occurred under the old system of burials, became impossible in the brighter and better days of cremation. In 1899 it sometimes happened that in lowering a body into the grave the bottom of the casket gave way. The rest can better be imagined than described. It sometimes happened thatSample Horrors of 1899.while a funeral procession was on its way to the cemetery, the hearse team got frightened. In the thrilling runaway that followed the casket fell out of the hearse and breaking open the corpse rolled out on the ground. The horror-stricken relatives and friends would remember the sad scene through life, mentioning it only in whispers.These horrors of the old-style, so-called Christian burials, were rendered impossible in the cremation regime. Not that alone, but cremation removed from earth the most horrible experience that can be endured by mortal man and that is premature burial. The practice of burying bodies is a relic of barbarism. Its horrors and possibilities arewithout limit. No civilized community should tolerate it. Custom and tradition are the forces that maintain it. It does not possess a single point in its favor, while, on the other hand, there are scores of sound arguments against it.No person who ever spent a minute in the fierce temperature of a crematory everCan’t Bury them Alive.lived to tell the tale. The ancient method of burial is not so certain—many cases have come to light where people, supposed to be dead, revived after interment. Imagine the horror of the situation. Can any human experience be more dreadful than this one? Many cases have come to light in the nineteenth century proving beyond a shadow of doubt that unfortunate men and women had been buried alive. In graves opened many weeks after burial the scratched face, torn hair and imprint of terror upon the features told only too plainly what had happened and of the final anguish of the unfortunate one. Such horrors were not possible in the cremation process. If there is anything the world appreciates it’s a “sure thing”—and that salient feature of cremation did not escape its attention.On the day following the death of a person, after the remains had been viewed for the last time by relatives and friends, the body was taken by night to the crematory where it was immediately reduced to ashes.These were carefully deposited in a small metallic burial case and returned to theNo Hurry for the Funeral.mortuary residence. The date of the funeral was agreed upon and notices were sent out to the public. Sometimes it was deemed desirable to hold the funeral one or two months after death. In cremation funerals everything passed off in the most leisurely manner possible, accompanied with the highest effects of art. A funeral could be held a week, a month or a year after death. There was ample time to make arrangements, or to postpone a funeral on account of the weather. On the day of interment when the ashes were to be deposited in the family vault in the mausoleum, at the appointed hour, friends and relatives gathered at the mortuary residence. The small metallic casket containing the ashes of the deceased was usually placed in the centre of the room, resting upon a light bamboo stand, covered with black velvet. The stand was usually surrounded with choice flowers and floral designs. The tiniest caskets used in the old burial days were double in size of the beautiful silver and gold cases sometimes holding the ashes of a person who might have weighed, during life, over three hundred pounds. The absence of the large casket used in old burial days and the substitution in its place of a small jewel-size case containing the ashes was an agreeableinnovation. Otherwise, all funeral services in 1999 were substantially the same as in 1899. Although the surroundings were far more pleasant, the grief of the stricken ones was none the less profound. When funerals in 1999 were held in a church, theexerciseswere about the same as in the days of the old burial system. Instead of six bearers, only one became necessary.There was a marked contrast between the funeral processions of 1899 and thoseFuneral Procession in 1999.of 1999. The great, cumbersome hearse had disappeared, and in the line of carriages that followed the small, light electric hearse, no horses were to be seen. All mourners’ carriages were propelled by electricity. The automobile containing the minister, led the procession, then followed the hearse and carriages of the mourners. In 1999, when a funeral passed by, people on the streets at the time were always careful to remove their hats as a mark of respect to the ashes of the deceased. This was a concession to common decency almost wholly unknown in the days of burials. People living in 1899 should not be too severely criticised in their lack of respect for the dead in the matter of uncovering as a funeral procession passed by. The entire system was a relic of barbarism and people were hardly to blame for denying this mark of respect to such an objectionable mode of burial.It was at first thought that cremation would destroy the sacred memories and observancesMemorial Day in 1999.of Memorial or Decoration Day. In a few years, however, it was discovered that these fears were unfounded. People in 1999 were loyal to the sacred memory of departed ones, and on Memorial days the interior of the mausoleums and doors of the vaults were garlanded with flowers, presenting a most beautiful appearance. The old graves of the nineteenth and preceding centuries were still cared for by loving hands.These were decorated as in the good old days of 1899 and were not in anywise neglected. Many families in the twentieth century took up the remains of their ancestors and caused them to be cremated in order that their ashes might rest in the same vault. It was conceded that the ashes could never perish in a vault and another supreme advantage in favor of the cremation system arose from the fact that they required no care.The abominations of the old fashioned burials were apparently without limit. Under that barbaric system of the 19th century, it might truly be said that after death a man hadnowhere to lay his head.Ejected for Non-Payment of Rent.One would think that after death a person had severed his connection with the living world. Such was not the case. It often happenedthat men were taken out of their graves for non-payment of rent. That is, the lease or care of the ground not having been satisfied or paid, the ground or cemetery lot reverts to the Association, who dislodge the body of the tenant and offer the cemetery lot for sale to other parties. In the 19th century, especially in European cities, it was a common practice to lease a grave for five years, at the expiration of which period the grave was opened and the skeletons deposited in underground catacombs or left to the tender mercies of medical students. The barbarity of such practices, sanctioned by the civilization of the 19th century, need not be dwelt upon. Cremation removed the stigma of such unholiness from civilized nations. The ashes of the dead required no material space and were easily disposed of. No grave rentals or purchases were required in their case.Last but not the least of the advantages of cremation was the death blow it gave toSpoils the Ghost Business.the ghost industry. Superstition tottered when in 1999 graveyards had been abolished by law, as well as custom. The stately, white marble mausoleum which held the ashes of departed ones did not possess the gruesome appearance of the old fashioned cemeteries of 1899, with mounds and graves scattered in every direction, some of them in a condition of shameful neglect. There wassomething about a graveyard which was naturally repellent to the living. The ones who scoffed the loudest at ghosts, and were really very brave at noon time, were never favorably impressed with the idea of spending a few hours alone at night in a cemetery. When graveyards were abolished and bodies were promptly reduced to ashes after death, superstition began to weaken. Many people who would have been terrified at the suggestion of keeping a dead body in a house any unusual length of time, did not hesitate in many instances, to keep the ashes of several cremated members of the family for years, in their parlor. Cremation removed the sting of death, robbing it of its terrors. It was a blessing to the world and was thereafter ever sustained by enlightened ages.
CHAPTER XIX.Cremation Becomes a Law.No more grave robberies in the twentieth century. The old style of burial becomes a back number. Popular errors about Cremation removed. Undertakers at a discount. Costly funerals discouraged. Funeral etiquette in 1999. No person buried alive in the twentieth century. Sacred memories of the dead still jealously treasured. “Rented graves” and other burial abominations of the nineteenth century are forever banished.
No more grave robberies in the twentieth century. The old style of burial becomes a back number. Popular errors about Cremation removed. Undertakers at a discount. Costly funerals discouraged. Funeral etiquette in 1999. No person buried alive in the twentieth century. Sacred memories of the dead still jealously treasured. “Rented graves” and other burial abominations of the nineteenth century are forever banished.
No more grave robberies in the twentieth century. The old style of burial becomes a back number. Popular errors about Cremation removed. Undertakers at a discount. Costly funerals discouraged. Funeral etiquette in 1999. No person buried alive in the twentieth century. Sacred memories of the dead still jealously treasured. “Rented graves” and other burial abominations of the nineteenth century are forever banished.
The great innovation of the twentieth century which long rankled within the human breast, but finally uprooted and conquered prejudice, was cremation. TheNo More “Earth to Earth.”old traditions and forms of Christian burial were difficult to eradicate, but reason and a general sense of public safety finally broke down the barriers and traditions of ages. Cremation for many years shocked public sensibilities. The terrors of the hidden grave, nameless and horrible, were eliminated by the new and only safe process of disposing of the dead. In the contention which prevailed during the first half of the twentieth century, many were reluctant to accept cremation as the true mode of burial. By degrees, however, public opinion settled down and adjusting itself to the new conditions, accepted the quicker and safer methods of burial.Cremation in 1999 became the only legalized form of burial. Every cemetery wasCremation Became a Law.provided with a crematory long before 1950. Electricity was employed in reducing the body to ashes. Grave robberies that so often disgraced the nineteenth century, became impossible. A rich man was at least sure of a safe burial of his ashes after cremation, while the poor man’s body, which formerly was thrust into a Potter’s field, was safe at last from medical students and professional body-snatchers, who often robbed graves toRich and Poor on Equal Footing.secure a skeleton. Millionaires in the twentieth century enjoyed after death the same degree of safety vouchsafed to the poor man. Their dust was on equal footing.The old graves were left undisturbed in 1999. Graves in that year, in the manner of their occupants, gradually passed into decay. In the centre of every cemetery was constructed a fine mausoleum, a pantheon in which the ashes of the dead were carefully deposited in vaults or family receptacles. Cremation having become in 1999 the only mode of burial authorized by law,The State pays for All Burials.these mausoleums were built at the expense of the town. Each vault was owned by a family in perpetuity. Those who were too poor topurchase a vault had their ashes placed in a common burial plot in the ground.These large mausoleums were built of white marble in a style of architecture appropriate to the solemnity of their purpose. The interior was well-lighted and ventilated and on the door of each vault was carved the family name. All mausoleums were built about on the same plan. From the centre of the structure arose a high dome of beautifully chiseled white marble, while light poured from the top into the circular floor of the structure. The vaults used as receptacles for the ashes were stationed about in a large circle, in several tiers, one above another. The ashes of the cremated body were deposited in a small metallic box, 9 ×18 inches, and four inches deep. On the cover was engraved the name, age, date of death and cremation of the deceased. Each family vault was capable of holding thirty metallic cases, or burials.It was universally conceded that cremation was the only safe and proper mode ofIt Looked Heathenish to Them.disposing of the dead. In 1999 people wondered how the ancient form of burial had so long been practiced by civilized nations. When in 1999 cremation became the only legal form of burial, they looked with feelings of horror upon the ancient form of interment. How people could lay away their loved ones in the cold ground to remain for years thecompanion of the worm, could not be understood in the days of cremation. All arguments brought against burials in the ground were unanswerable. It was an offense against the laws of humanity, and the practice was maintained even as late as 1965, but public opinion became firm against it. The revolt against burials spreadrapidly, once inaugurated.In 1965 a family that consented to the burial of their dead was regarded not onlyGuarding the Bodies of Rich Men.as a back number but with feelings of aversion. The question arose in the minds of many if they really could love the memory of their departed one and place the body where it was liable to be stolen or desecrated; where it became the food of vermin. People in 1899 often had to even place strong guards over the tombs of rich relatives for fear that vandals might steal the body and retain it for ransom. Long after death bodies of men had been drawn from their tomb and hanged by a mob. When in 1899 Lord Kitchner, the Sidar of the British forces in Egypt, subdued and captured Khartoum,Nineteenth Century Practices.he permitted his men to violate the tomb of the Mahdi. The body of the Prophet was torn from its resting place and its head was decapitated. And this, note well, was done by British soldiers in 1899, to avenge the cruel death of Gen. Gordon.In 1999 desecrations, robberies and violations of graves became impossible. The world was no longer shocked by such atrocities. Hyenas, both biped and quadruped, were thrown out of business. Cremation, the purest and swiftest mode of reducing the body to dust and ashes, was universally declared to be immeasurably better than the ancient mode of burial. The dead were not permitted to pollute the ground and to infuse germs of diseases, deadly microbes, into living springs of water. It mattersEverything For and Nothing Against It.little, in 1999, whether the cemetery were situate on top of a hill, in a valley or in the midst of a crowded city. The ashes they contained could pollute neither water, earth nor air. A mausoleum or cemetery in 1999 was often built in the most crowded or most fashionable section of a city. Cremation was acknowledged to be a clean, wholesome method of burying the dead. Boys in 1999 were not under the painful necessity while walking past a cemetery at night to whistle to keep up their courage.In 1899 the popular idea about cremation was erroneous and was largely the cause of prejudice against this method of disposing of the dead. A vast number of people believed in that year that bodies which were cremated were literally roasted or reduced to ashes over a fierce fire. When people, however, began to learn the truth of thematter, that cremated bodies were placed in the retort of a crematory and were reduced to ashes by an exceedingly high temperature and not touched in any manner by fire, then prejudice let down the bars and cremations soon became common.As a result of cremation and the law of 1999 which compelled its adoption as the only legal method of burial, undertakersUndertakers Wear Long Faces.were deprived of large revenues they often derived from the sale of caskets. Caskets were no longer in demand because, as a wag in 1985 observed: “There is nobody to bury.” A seven foot casket of the 1899 pattern, however gorgeous, would have been absurdly too large and meaningless to enshrine the ashes of a departed relative. Such contrivances were good enough in the backward age of the nineteenth century. Burials in 1899 were made under ground, while in 1999 they were all made above ground. In 1899, immediately after death in a family one of the first duties was to purchase a casket and arrange with an undertaker for the funeral. In their unhappy frame of mind, with hearts bowed in grief, undertakers often made terms their own way with mourners. Few mourners are in a state of mind to drive a bargain in such moments, and they too often yield to the blandishments of the suave casket-broker accepting any terms he may offer. Cremation did awaywith this, and unscrupulous undertakers had to come off their perch.Hearses were not abolished in the days of cremation. The style of the hearse entirely changed. In the place of the pompous affair of 1899, bedecked in its towering plumes, rich in silver appointments, massiveThe Twentieth Century Hearse.structures covered with plate glass, driven by an awe-inspiring individual perched on a high seat, the hearse of 1999 was a far less pretentious affair. It weighed no more than a light, racing sulky. It had four wheels. In the centre of the vehicle, which, of course, was propelled by electricity, was constructed a small platform about three feet square, the sides of which were elaborately trimmed in gold and silver ornaments. The platform was covered by an open canopy supported by four elaborate silver pillars. The metallic case containing the ashes of the deceased seldom exceeded 9 × 18 inches, 4 inches deep, and weighed about four pounds. These metallic cases were of exquisite designs, usually in highly burnished silver or gold. Those which contained the ashes of the wealthier classes were often covered with precious stones and brilliant gems, presenting a most artistic and attractive appearance. These burial cases looked like jewel-boxes of an elaborate pattern. In looking at them death was robbed of its terrors. A beautiful jewel-case, 9 × 18 inches,containing the ashes of some loved one did not strike one’s imagination with the horror of a long burial casket with its inanimate tenant.There was everything about cremation to appeal to loftier ideals. The light, portable character of the little cremation cases became more popular than the heavy casket. The heart-rending accidents that too often occurred under the old system of burials, became impossible in the brighter and better days of cremation. In 1899 it sometimes happened that in lowering a body into the grave the bottom of the casket gave way. The rest can better be imagined than described. It sometimes happened thatSample Horrors of 1899.while a funeral procession was on its way to the cemetery, the hearse team got frightened. In the thrilling runaway that followed the casket fell out of the hearse and breaking open the corpse rolled out on the ground. The horror-stricken relatives and friends would remember the sad scene through life, mentioning it only in whispers.These horrors of the old-style, so-called Christian burials, were rendered impossible in the cremation regime. Not that alone, but cremation removed from earth the most horrible experience that can be endured by mortal man and that is premature burial. The practice of burying bodies is a relic of barbarism. Its horrors and possibilities arewithout limit. No civilized community should tolerate it. Custom and tradition are the forces that maintain it. It does not possess a single point in its favor, while, on the other hand, there are scores of sound arguments against it.No person who ever spent a minute in the fierce temperature of a crematory everCan’t Bury them Alive.lived to tell the tale. The ancient method of burial is not so certain—many cases have come to light where people, supposed to be dead, revived after interment. Imagine the horror of the situation. Can any human experience be more dreadful than this one? Many cases have come to light in the nineteenth century proving beyond a shadow of doubt that unfortunate men and women had been buried alive. In graves opened many weeks after burial the scratched face, torn hair and imprint of terror upon the features told only too plainly what had happened and of the final anguish of the unfortunate one. Such horrors were not possible in the cremation process. If there is anything the world appreciates it’s a “sure thing”—and that salient feature of cremation did not escape its attention.On the day following the death of a person, after the remains had been viewed for the last time by relatives and friends, the body was taken by night to the crematory where it was immediately reduced to ashes.These were carefully deposited in a small metallic burial case and returned to theNo Hurry for the Funeral.mortuary residence. The date of the funeral was agreed upon and notices were sent out to the public. Sometimes it was deemed desirable to hold the funeral one or two months after death. In cremation funerals everything passed off in the most leisurely manner possible, accompanied with the highest effects of art. A funeral could be held a week, a month or a year after death. There was ample time to make arrangements, or to postpone a funeral on account of the weather. On the day of interment when the ashes were to be deposited in the family vault in the mausoleum, at the appointed hour, friends and relatives gathered at the mortuary residence. The small metallic casket containing the ashes of the deceased was usually placed in the centre of the room, resting upon a light bamboo stand, covered with black velvet. The stand was usually surrounded with choice flowers and floral designs. The tiniest caskets used in the old burial days were double in size of the beautiful silver and gold cases sometimes holding the ashes of a person who might have weighed, during life, over three hundred pounds. The absence of the large casket used in old burial days and the substitution in its place of a small jewel-size case containing the ashes was an agreeableinnovation. Otherwise, all funeral services in 1999 were substantially the same as in 1899. Although the surroundings were far more pleasant, the grief of the stricken ones was none the less profound. When funerals in 1999 were held in a church, theexerciseswere about the same as in the days of the old burial system. Instead of six bearers, only one became necessary.There was a marked contrast between the funeral processions of 1899 and thoseFuneral Procession in 1999.of 1999. The great, cumbersome hearse had disappeared, and in the line of carriages that followed the small, light electric hearse, no horses were to be seen. All mourners’ carriages were propelled by electricity. The automobile containing the minister, led the procession, then followed the hearse and carriages of the mourners. In 1999, when a funeral passed by, people on the streets at the time were always careful to remove their hats as a mark of respect to the ashes of the deceased. This was a concession to common decency almost wholly unknown in the days of burials. People living in 1899 should not be too severely criticised in their lack of respect for the dead in the matter of uncovering as a funeral procession passed by. The entire system was a relic of barbarism and people were hardly to blame for denying this mark of respect to such an objectionable mode of burial.It was at first thought that cremation would destroy the sacred memories and observancesMemorial Day in 1999.of Memorial or Decoration Day. In a few years, however, it was discovered that these fears were unfounded. People in 1999 were loyal to the sacred memory of departed ones, and on Memorial days the interior of the mausoleums and doors of the vaults were garlanded with flowers, presenting a most beautiful appearance. The old graves of the nineteenth and preceding centuries were still cared for by loving hands.These were decorated as in the good old days of 1899 and were not in anywise neglected. Many families in the twentieth century took up the remains of their ancestors and caused them to be cremated in order that their ashes might rest in the same vault. It was conceded that the ashes could never perish in a vault and another supreme advantage in favor of the cremation system arose from the fact that they required no care.The abominations of the old fashioned burials were apparently without limit. Under that barbaric system of the 19th century, it might truly be said that after death a man hadnowhere to lay his head.Ejected for Non-Payment of Rent.One would think that after death a person had severed his connection with the living world. Such was not the case. It often happenedthat men were taken out of their graves for non-payment of rent. That is, the lease or care of the ground not having been satisfied or paid, the ground or cemetery lot reverts to the Association, who dislodge the body of the tenant and offer the cemetery lot for sale to other parties. In the 19th century, especially in European cities, it was a common practice to lease a grave for five years, at the expiration of which period the grave was opened and the skeletons deposited in underground catacombs or left to the tender mercies of medical students. The barbarity of such practices, sanctioned by the civilization of the 19th century, need not be dwelt upon. Cremation removed the stigma of such unholiness from civilized nations. The ashes of the dead required no material space and were easily disposed of. No grave rentals or purchases were required in their case.Last but not the least of the advantages of cremation was the death blow it gave toSpoils the Ghost Business.the ghost industry. Superstition tottered when in 1999 graveyards had been abolished by law, as well as custom. The stately, white marble mausoleum which held the ashes of departed ones did not possess the gruesome appearance of the old fashioned cemeteries of 1899, with mounds and graves scattered in every direction, some of them in a condition of shameful neglect. There wassomething about a graveyard which was naturally repellent to the living. The ones who scoffed the loudest at ghosts, and were really very brave at noon time, were never favorably impressed with the idea of spending a few hours alone at night in a cemetery. When graveyards were abolished and bodies were promptly reduced to ashes after death, superstition began to weaken. Many people who would have been terrified at the suggestion of keeping a dead body in a house any unusual length of time, did not hesitate in many instances, to keep the ashes of several cremated members of the family for years, in their parlor. Cremation removed the sting of death, robbing it of its terrors. It was a blessing to the world and was thereafter ever sustained by enlightened ages.
The great innovation of the twentieth century which long rankled within the human breast, but finally uprooted and conquered prejudice, was cremation. TheNo More “Earth to Earth.”old traditions and forms of Christian burial were difficult to eradicate, but reason and a general sense of public safety finally broke down the barriers and traditions of ages. Cremation for many years shocked public sensibilities. The terrors of the hidden grave, nameless and horrible, were eliminated by the new and only safe process of disposing of the dead. In the contention which prevailed during the first half of the twentieth century, many were reluctant to accept cremation as the true mode of burial. By degrees, however, public opinion settled down and adjusting itself to the new conditions, accepted the quicker and safer methods of burial.
Cremation in 1999 became the only legalized form of burial. Every cemetery wasCremation Became a Law.provided with a crematory long before 1950. Electricity was employed in reducing the body to ashes. Grave robberies that so often disgraced the nineteenth century, became impossible. A rich man was at least sure of a safe burial of his ashes after cremation, while the poor man’s body, which formerly was thrust into a Potter’s field, was safe at last from medical students and professional body-snatchers, who often robbed graves toRich and Poor on Equal Footing.secure a skeleton. Millionaires in the twentieth century enjoyed after death the same degree of safety vouchsafed to the poor man. Their dust was on equal footing.
The old graves were left undisturbed in 1999. Graves in that year, in the manner of their occupants, gradually passed into decay. In the centre of every cemetery was constructed a fine mausoleum, a pantheon in which the ashes of the dead were carefully deposited in vaults or family receptacles. Cremation having become in 1999 the only mode of burial authorized by law,The State pays for All Burials.these mausoleums were built at the expense of the town. Each vault was owned by a family in perpetuity. Those who were too poor topurchase a vault had their ashes placed in a common burial plot in the ground.
These large mausoleums were built of white marble in a style of architecture appropriate to the solemnity of their purpose. The interior was well-lighted and ventilated and on the door of each vault was carved the family name. All mausoleums were built about on the same plan. From the centre of the structure arose a high dome of beautifully chiseled white marble, while light poured from the top into the circular floor of the structure. The vaults used as receptacles for the ashes were stationed about in a large circle, in several tiers, one above another. The ashes of the cremated body were deposited in a small metallic box, 9 ×18 inches, and four inches deep. On the cover was engraved the name, age, date of death and cremation of the deceased. Each family vault was capable of holding thirty metallic cases, or burials.
It was universally conceded that cremation was the only safe and proper mode ofIt Looked Heathenish to Them.disposing of the dead. In 1999 people wondered how the ancient form of burial had so long been practiced by civilized nations. When in 1999 cremation became the only legal form of burial, they looked with feelings of horror upon the ancient form of interment. How people could lay away their loved ones in the cold ground to remain for years thecompanion of the worm, could not be understood in the days of cremation. All arguments brought against burials in the ground were unanswerable. It was an offense against the laws of humanity, and the practice was maintained even as late as 1965, but public opinion became firm against it. The revolt against burials spreadrapidly, once inaugurated.
In 1965 a family that consented to the burial of their dead was regarded not onlyGuarding the Bodies of Rich Men.as a back number but with feelings of aversion. The question arose in the minds of many if they really could love the memory of their departed one and place the body where it was liable to be stolen or desecrated; where it became the food of vermin. People in 1899 often had to even place strong guards over the tombs of rich relatives for fear that vandals might steal the body and retain it for ransom. Long after death bodies of men had been drawn from their tomb and hanged by a mob. When in 1899 Lord Kitchner, the Sidar of the British forces in Egypt, subdued and captured Khartoum,Nineteenth Century Practices.he permitted his men to violate the tomb of the Mahdi. The body of the Prophet was torn from its resting place and its head was decapitated. And this, note well, was done by British soldiers in 1899, to avenge the cruel death of Gen. Gordon.
In 1999 desecrations, robberies and violations of graves became impossible. The world was no longer shocked by such atrocities. Hyenas, both biped and quadruped, were thrown out of business. Cremation, the purest and swiftest mode of reducing the body to dust and ashes, was universally declared to be immeasurably better than the ancient mode of burial. The dead were not permitted to pollute the ground and to infuse germs of diseases, deadly microbes, into living springs of water. It mattersEverything For and Nothing Against It.little, in 1999, whether the cemetery were situate on top of a hill, in a valley or in the midst of a crowded city. The ashes they contained could pollute neither water, earth nor air. A mausoleum or cemetery in 1999 was often built in the most crowded or most fashionable section of a city. Cremation was acknowledged to be a clean, wholesome method of burying the dead. Boys in 1999 were not under the painful necessity while walking past a cemetery at night to whistle to keep up their courage.
In 1899 the popular idea about cremation was erroneous and was largely the cause of prejudice against this method of disposing of the dead. A vast number of people believed in that year that bodies which were cremated were literally roasted or reduced to ashes over a fierce fire. When people, however, began to learn the truth of thematter, that cremated bodies were placed in the retort of a crematory and were reduced to ashes by an exceedingly high temperature and not touched in any manner by fire, then prejudice let down the bars and cremations soon became common.
As a result of cremation and the law of 1999 which compelled its adoption as the only legal method of burial, undertakersUndertakers Wear Long Faces.were deprived of large revenues they often derived from the sale of caskets. Caskets were no longer in demand because, as a wag in 1985 observed: “There is nobody to bury.” A seven foot casket of the 1899 pattern, however gorgeous, would have been absurdly too large and meaningless to enshrine the ashes of a departed relative. Such contrivances were good enough in the backward age of the nineteenth century. Burials in 1899 were made under ground, while in 1999 they were all made above ground. In 1899, immediately after death in a family one of the first duties was to purchase a casket and arrange with an undertaker for the funeral. In their unhappy frame of mind, with hearts bowed in grief, undertakers often made terms their own way with mourners. Few mourners are in a state of mind to drive a bargain in such moments, and they too often yield to the blandishments of the suave casket-broker accepting any terms he may offer. Cremation did awaywith this, and unscrupulous undertakers had to come off their perch.
Hearses were not abolished in the days of cremation. The style of the hearse entirely changed. In the place of the pompous affair of 1899, bedecked in its towering plumes, rich in silver appointments, massiveThe Twentieth Century Hearse.structures covered with plate glass, driven by an awe-inspiring individual perched on a high seat, the hearse of 1999 was a far less pretentious affair. It weighed no more than a light, racing sulky. It had four wheels. In the centre of the vehicle, which, of course, was propelled by electricity, was constructed a small platform about three feet square, the sides of which were elaborately trimmed in gold and silver ornaments. The platform was covered by an open canopy supported by four elaborate silver pillars. The metallic case containing the ashes of the deceased seldom exceeded 9 × 18 inches, 4 inches deep, and weighed about four pounds. These metallic cases were of exquisite designs, usually in highly burnished silver or gold. Those which contained the ashes of the wealthier classes were often covered with precious stones and brilliant gems, presenting a most artistic and attractive appearance. These burial cases looked like jewel-boxes of an elaborate pattern. In looking at them death was robbed of its terrors. A beautiful jewel-case, 9 × 18 inches,containing the ashes of some loved one did not strike one’s imagination with the horror of a long burial casket with its inanimate tenant.
There was everything about cremation to appeal to loftier ideals. The light, portable character of the little cremation cases became more popular than the heavy casket. The heart-rending accidents that too often occurred under the old system of burials, became impossible in the brighter and better days of cremation. In 1899 it sometimes happened that in lowering a body into the grave the bottom of the casket gave way. The rest can better be imagined than described. It sometimes happened thatSample Horrors of 1899.while a funeral procession was on its way to the cemetery, the hearse team got frightened. In the thrilling runaway that followed the casket fell out of the hearse and breaking open the corpse rolled out on the ground. The horror-stricken relatives and friends would remember the sad scene through life, mentioning it only in whispers.
These horrors of the old-style, so-called Christian burials, were rendered impossible in the cremation regime. Not that alone, but cremation removed from earth the most horrible experience that can be endured by mortal man and that is premature burial. The practice of burying bodies is a relic of barbarism. Its horrors and possibilities arewithout limit. No civilized community should tolerate it. Custom and tradition are the forces that maintain it. It does not possess a single point in its favor, while, on the other hand, there are scores of sound arguments against it.
No person who ever spent a minute in the fierce temperature of a crematory everCan’t Bury them Alive.lived to tell the tale. The ancient method of burial is not so certain—many cases have come to light where people, supposed to be dead, revived after interment. Imagine the horror of the situation. Can any human experience be more dreadful than this one? Many cases have come to light in the nineteenth century proving beyond a shadow of doubt that unfortunate men and women had been buried alive. In graves opened many weeks after burial the scratched face, torn hair and imprint of terror upon the features told only too plainly what had happened and of the final anguish of the unfortunate one. Such horrors were not possible in the cremation process. If there is anything the world appreciates it’s a “sure thing”—and that salient feature of cremation did not escape its attention.
On the day following the death of a person, after the remains had been viewed for the last time by relatives and friends, the body was taken by night to the crematory where it was immediately reduced to ashes.These were carefully deposited in a small metallic burial case and returned to theNo Hurry for the Funeral.mortuary residence. The date of the funeral was agreed upon and notices were sent out to the public. Sometimes it was deemed desirable to hold the funeral one or two months after death. In cremation funerals everything passed off in the most leisurely manner possible, accompanied with the highest effects of art. A funeral could be held a week, a month or a year after death. There was ample time to make arrangements, or to postpone a funeral on account of the weather. On the day of interment when the ashes were to be deposited in the family vault in the mausoleum, at the appointed hour, friends and relatives gathered at the mortuary residence. The small metallic casket containing the ashes of the deceased was usually placed in the centre of the room, resting upon a light bamboo stand, covered with black velvet. The stand was usually surrounded with choice flowers and floral designs. The tiniest caskets used in the old burial days were double in size of the beautiful silver and gold cases sometimes holding the ashes of a person who might have weighed, during life, over three hundred pounds. The absence of the large casket used in old burial days and the substitution in its place of a small jewel-size case containing the ashes was an agreeableinnovation. Otherwise, all funeral services in 1999 were substantially the same as in 1899. Although the surroundings were far more pleasant, the grief of the stricken ones was none the less profound. When funerals in 1999 were held in a church, theexerciseswere about the same as in the days of the old burial system. Instead of six bearers, only one became necessary.
There was a marked contrast between the funeral processions of 1899 and thoseFuneral Procession in 1999.of 1999. The great, cumbersome hearse had disappeared, and in the line of carriages that followed the small, light electric hearse, no horses were to be seen. All mourners’ carriages were propelled by electricity. The automobile containing the minister, led the procession, then followed the hearse and carriages of the mourners. In 1999, when a funeral passed by, people on the streets at the time were always careful to remove their hats as a mark of respect to the ashes of the deceased. This was a concession to common decency almost wholly unknown in the days of burials. People living in 1899 should not be too severely criticised in their lack of respect for the dead in the matter of uncovering as a funeral procession passed by. The entire system was a relic of barbarism and people were hardly to blame for denying this mark of respect to such an objectionable mode of burial.
It was at first thought that cremation would destroy the sacred memories and observancesMemorial Day in 1999.of Memorial or Decoration Day. In a few years, however, it was discovered that these fears were unfounded. People in 1999 were loyal to the sacred memory of departed ones, and on Memorial days the interior of the mausoleums and doors of the vaults were garlanded with flowers, presenting a most beautiful appearance. The old graves of the nineteenth and preceding centuries were still cared for by loving hands.
These were decorated as in the good old days of 1899 and were not in anywise neglected. Many families in the twentieth century took up the remains of their ancestors and caused them to be cremated in order that their ashes might rest in the same vault. It was conceded that the ashes could never perish in a vault and another supreme advantage in favor of the cremation system arose from the fact that they required no care.
The abominations of the old fashioned burials were apparently without limit. Under that barbaric system of the 19th century, it might truly be said that after death a man hadnowhere to lay his head.Ejected for Non-Payment of Rent.One would think that after death a person had severed his connection with the living world. Such was not the case. It often happenedthat men were taken out of their graves for non-payment of rent. That is, the lease or care of the ground not having been satisfied or paid, the ground or cemetery lot reverts to the Association, who dislodge the body of the tenant and offer the cemetery lot for sale to other parties. In the 19th century, especially in European cities, it was a common practice to lease a grave for five years, at the expiration of which period the grave was opened and the skeletons deposited in underground catacombs or left to the tender mercies of medical students. The barbarity of such practices, sanctioned by the civilization of the 19th century, need not be dwelt upon. Cremation removed the stigma of such unholiness from civilized nations. The ashes of the dead required no material space and were easily disposed of. No grave rentals or purchases were required in their case.
Last but not the least of the advantages of cremation was the death blow it gave toSpoils the Ghost Business.the ghost industry. Superstition tottered when in 1999 graveyards had been abolished by law, as well as custom. The stately, white marble mausoleum which held the ashes of departed ones did not possess the gruesome appearance of the old fashioned cemeteries of 1899, with mounds and graves scattered in every direction, some of them in a condition of shameful neglect. There wassomething about a graveyard which was naturally repellent to the living. The ones who scoffed the loudest at ghosts, and were really very brave at noon time, were never favorably impressed with the idea of spending a few hours alone at night in a cemetery. When graveyards were abolished and bodies were promptly reduced to ashes after death, superstition began to weaken. Many people who would have been terrified at the suggestion of keeping a dead body in a house any unusual length of time, did not hesitate in many instances, to keep the ashes of several cremated members of the family for years, in their parlor. Cremation removed the sting of death, robbing it of its terrors. It was a blessing to the world and was thereafter ever sustained by enlightened ages.