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. The [No 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 was [Cremation 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 to
[Rich 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 to purchase
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 of [It 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 the companion 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 spread rapidly, once inaugurated.
In 1965 a family that consented to the burial of their dead was
regarded not only [Guarding 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 matters [Everything 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 the matter,
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, undertakers
[Undertakers 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 away with 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,
massive [The 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 that [Sample 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
are without 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 ever [Can'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 the [No 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 agreeable innovation. 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, the exercises were 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
those [Funeral 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 observances [Memorial 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 had no where 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 happened that 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 to [Spoils 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 was something 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.