CHAPTER VII.

ECONOMY OF CREMATING THE DEAD.—THE PRESENT STATE OF THE CREMATION QUESTION.

Dr. F. Julius le Moyne, speaking of the great expense often lavished on funerals, says:—

“The aggregate of such questionable expenditures over the United States would amount to billions of dollars, a sum truly alarming in size; and this criminal expenditure has been an important factor in conducing to the monetary panic[1] still prevailing. This is one of the many extravagances which account in a great degree for national financial difficulties. The average expenditure for each body by the system of inhumation may be placed at $100. The average expense by the cremation plan would not exceed $20,—showing what an immense national saving would be gained by substituting cremation for interment.”

Footnote 1:

Dr. Le Moyne’s paper was written in 1878.

It must be kept in mind that the expense of a modern funeral consists of the purchase of a lot in the graveyard, the funeral expenditure, and the outlay for the customary tombstone or monument.

The cost of a cemetery to the community is tremendous. The cost of a plain furnace with a columbarium does not exceed $5000, a mere trifle when compared with the price of a burial ground.

Imagine what a lot of valuable land—the best soil is always selected for cemeteries—is lost by our present method of disposing of the dead. I firmly believe that graveyards are often a hindrance to the growth of a city; but progress cannot be stopped forever; it may be delayed for a short time, but finally it will overcome all obstacles, the dead are carted away, and a world of activity takes their place.

Graves are not houses which last till doomsday. In this country where cities grow so rapidly, graveyards are soon surrounded by dwellings, and a cemetery which was once far outside of the city limits finally is almost in the centre of the city. It then becomes necessary to remove the dead. They are dug up and carted away, and are, perhaps, quietly dumped into some swamp to fill it up and assist in the generation of malaria. Business blocks are then erected in the place that was once sacred to the dead, and the peace of the burial ground is changed for the din of traffic.

The following citation from an editorial of the _Detroit Free Press_ will serve to elucidate what I have said:—

“The interment of the numerous dead of a large population in the midst of a large population is very serious. To it are attributed the constant outbreaks of cholera in India, and the increase of leprosy in China, and it is certain as anything can be that the existence of cemeteries in crowded communities is meeting with an increasing prejudice. The people of large cities are already forced to seek, at some distance from their limits, suitable places for interment. And the existence of great cemeteries in the suburban communities themselves is provoking vigorous opposition. At Newton, Long Island, there are 13 cemeteries, in which 30,000 bodies of people dying in New York and Brooklyn are buried annually. There are, therefore, 60,000 live people in one part of the town, the rest being occupied by 3,500,000 dead ones. Property is depreciating and taxes are increasing. People are not attracted to a town of this sort, and the real estate of the village has been falling in value for some time.”

But the financial deterioration is nothing when compared with the effect which the aggregation of many dead produces upon the health of the surrounding population.

In and about New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, 4000 acres of valuable land are taken up by cemeteries. It is calculated that with the probable increase of population in the next half a decade, 500,000 acres of the best land in the United States will be enclosed by graveyard walls. Think of it! Five hundred thousand acres of soil that might contribute towards the maintenance of the living given up to the “cities of the dead.” It is an outrage!

Now, let us compare the cost of burial with that of incineration. As I have mentioned before, there is an immense saving of valuable land when cremation is adopted. Millions of acres now uncultivated, and simply used for burial to the detriment of the living, would be changed into food-bearing land and furnish additional means for the maintenance of the people. A crematory connected with an urn-hall would not occupy more space than 360 to 400 square feet, and would last for centuries. There would also be a diminution of funeral expenses. The average expense of cremation in the United States is $25. Contrast this with the ordinary funeral expense, and you will agree with me when I assert that the present waste of money for burials is as enormous as it is unnecessary. Some author has said justly that the difference in expense would often equal one-half the proceeds of a life insurance policy. It is plain that the expense of the burning of single bodies will be very much _reduced_ by the general use of the system. The annual expense for the cremation of 7000 bodies in Bombay, India, amounts to $15,000 only, which is but $2.50 for each corpse.

The cost of incineration in our own country has varied. It is, of course, impossible to estimate the expense of the earlier cremations.

The furnace at Washington, Pa., was erected for the use of Dr. Le Moyne only, and those of his friends who concurred with him in this reform. The public at one time believed that this furnace had been built for its accommodation, and that the owner followed cremation as a business, and charged fees for the use of his crematory. During the lifetime of the doctor no fee whatever was charged for incineration in his furnace. After his death the trustees of the crematorium were obliged to charge the moderate sum of $45 to compensate them for their time and trouble. This included all expenses after the body reached the railway station at Washington,—a hearse, carriage, and box to contain the remains, as well as fuel, attendance, etc.

The building at Washington was put up at the least possible expense (as economy was one of Dr. Le Moyne’s principal arguments), and cost in all about $1500. Compare this expenditure with that of purchasing a cemetery, not taking into consideration the improvements which must be made on a graveyard before it can be opened to the public.

It will prove interesting to consider the present state of the cremation question, and to note the progress which the reform has thus far made in various countries of the civilized world.

Incineration is making great headway in Europe. In Germany, societies were organized at Coeln, Hainichen, Bonn, Frankfort on the Main, Potsdam, Liegnitz, Chemnitz, Heidelberg, Elberfeld, Eger, Breslau, Nordhausen, Rheda, Kollberg, Bremen, and Schleswig.

Since Prince Bismarck declared that he would not be adverse to a law regulating and permitting the practice of cremation in all parts of the empire, the leading physicians of Berlin and the members and officers of all the cremation societies of Germany have petitioned the national parliament—the Reichstag—to permit incineration in all cities of the empire, not restricting cremation to Gotha, as has been done heretofore.

In Austria, opinion is about evenly divided for and against the practice. A deputation from the “Urne” Society of Vienna waited on the president of the Austrian cabinet to ask that cremation should be authorized. This society now comprises 800 members, amongst whom every class is represented; they have collected sufficient funds for the construction of a crematory apparatus. And what was the answer of the government to this request? The Minister of Austro-Hungary replied to the Urne Society for the Propagation of Cremation that incineration is forbidden in the empire because public opinion is against it.

The committee of the Belgian chamber has favorably reported upon a petition for a law making cremation optional.

The municipality of Paris lately decided to cremate the bodies which have been used at the School of Practical Anatomy and at Clamort. Over 3000 bodies a year are received at these two institutions for the purpose of dissection.

The Municipal Council of Paris also recently authorized the erection of three crematories in the Père la Chaise Cemetery, according to the Gorini system, which are to be used for the purpose of cremating the remains of those persons who die of infectious or contagious diseases. They will be heated with wood, and are calculated to be capable of reducing the bodies of 50 persons per day at a cost of 15 francs inclusive of personal expenditure and the cost of an urn for the reception of the ashes. The Prefect of Police of Paris has endorsed the decree of the municipality, laying stress especially on the many advantages—sanitary and economical—of cremation. He stated that sufficient testimony had been recorded by Kuechenmeister and many other scientific authorities to demonstrate beyond a doubt that cremation is a protection against cholera, yellow fever, and small-pox epidemics. The furnaces at the Père la Chaise can be used eight hours a day. The total expense is estimated at 50,000 francs; and preparations will be made to burn 4500 bodies a year. The establishment of these crematories was brought about mainly through the efforts of M. Koechlin-Schwartz, mayor of the eighth ward of Paris; and the plan for their construction was submitted to the municipality in the name of the Commission of the Assistance Publique by M. Chaisoaing.

The French Chamber recently enacted the following: “Any adult or free minor, capable of being a testator, may freely determine the mode of his sepulture. He may elect inhumation or incineration, may will his body or any part thereof to institutions of public instruction or to learned societies, and may regulate the conditions of his funeral, notably in regard to its civil or religious character.”

The privilege of cremation in the crematories at the Père la Chaise is now granted to any one who asks for the same.

The Paris Municipality will at a future sitting vote the construction of a sort of lay temple, where families will be allowed to keep urns or other funereal vessels, containing the ashes of dead relatives. This will not necessarily do away with any religious ceremony short of that of consigning the dead to consecrated ground; but, as M. Koechlin-Schwartz says, there is no reason why urns may not be consecrated, or why Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Free Thinkers may not build a vast mausoleum in which the ashes of thousands could be deposited in beautiful vessels without injury to the living.

It is probable that crematories being now legal in such an art center as Paris, new and beautiful forms of artistic decoration will grow out of it.

Altogether, cremation is progressing so favorably everywhere that one may be hopeful that comparatively soon it will be adopted by every country in the world.

Public opinion in England has undergone a wonderful change, and now is universally in favor of cremation. Even so great a newspaper as the _Times_, once a vehement opponent of the reform, has come around, and now upholds incineration.

The crematory belonging to the Cremation Society of England, erected by them at St. John’s, Woking, Surrey, was made use of for the first time on the 26th of March, 1885. The body upon which the rite was performed was that of Mrs. Pickersgill, of London, aged seventy-one—a lady well known in literary and scientific circles. She had previously become a member of the society, with a view of supporting the reform, in which she took great interest. The form of declaration drawn up by the society had been signed by her, and, after the medical certificates had been duly filled up by registered medical men and an application from a representative of the deceased, the cremation was allowed to proceed. An autopsy had been previously carried out by the medical attendants of the deceased.

The body was conveyed to the crematory from London in a suitable hearse; and the cremation, which lasted one hour, was attended by two friends of the deceased, who expressed themselves perfectly satisfied with the system employed. The cost for fuel was under ten shillings altogether; and during the time of the cremation, no smoke escaped from the chimney-shaft, whilst the ashes were of a purest white and small in volume.

The Italian government ordered the building of a crematory, on the Gorini-Gozzi system, for the cholera hospital at Varignano, which was completed in the summer of 1885.

A crematorium was erected at Florence, on the Venini system, which cremates a body in 70 minutes, and the cost of which was 4500 francs. Crematories are building at Pisa and Como.

On the 23d of June, 1885, the crematorium at Livorno was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. It contains a Spaciani Mesmer furnace.

General acquiescence in the process of cremation is steadily growing among us; and I verily believe that the time is not far distant when crematories will be established in every state and territory of the Union. The fact that one was recently erected in New York City, one has been built at Lancaster, and one has just been completed at Pittsburg, certainly proves that cremation has found a foothold in this country.

The New York Cremation Society was organized in the city of New York on March 8, 1881, under the presidency of the Rev. Dr. J. D. Beugless, and was incorporated on the 26th of March in the same year. The objects and purposes of this society are to disseminate sound and enlightened views respecting the incineration of the dead; to advocate and promote in every proper and legitimate way the substitution of this method for burial; and to advance the public good by affording facilities for carrying cremation into operation. The members of the society consist of three classes: active, associate, and corresponding members. Active members are subdivided into annual and life members, of whom the annual members pay the regular dues, and the life members the amount of $30 in one sum. Those who have paid the regular dues for twelve successive years also become life members. No further payment is then required from such member. These payments for twelve successive years entitle an active member to all the privileges of the society for the remainder of his life; and an associate member to the benefit of the incineration fund without further charge.

Only active members are qualified for election or appointment to any official position in the society; to vote at any election; and to debate and vote at any meeting; corresponding members are chosen from among those who have distinguished themselves by rendering service in the promotion of cremation; and they may reside in any part of the world, except within a radius of five miles around the city of New York. At present, the New York Cremation Society numbers 470 members, of whom 400 are active and 70 passive members.

The United States Cremation Company, incorporated under the laws of the state of New York, is in no manner connected with the New York Cremation Society, although many members of the latter are stockholders in the former. This company was founded for the purpose of acquiring land, and erecting thereon the necessary buildings, works, and other appliances for carrying cremation into operation. It was incorporated under the general business act of 1876 of the state of New York, with a capital stock of $35,000, divided into 1400 shares of the par value of $25 per share; $28,200 worth of stock has already been taken. Among the stockholders of the United States Cremation Company are such persons of note as Andrew Carnegie, Professor H. H. Boyesen, the distinguished author, Professor Felix Adler, and Courtlandt Palmer.

Early in 1884, the company purchased a fine site on Long Island, about 45 minutes’ drive from the city. The cremation temple was erected upon the summit of a hill at Fresh Pond, Long Island. The site is bounded by Olivet, Evelin, and Summit Avenues respectively on the east, south, and west, and commands an unobstructed view of the cities of New York and Brooklyn, from the center of population in either of which it is about five miles distant. It lies between two cemeteries. The grounds are high and picturesque. This place of rest will be, if present plans are carried out, more complete than anything of the kind in the world. It is expressly wished to deprive it of the mournful aspect usually associated with burial-grounds. To this end there are no yew or willow trees, nor any emblems of mourning. The grounds are tastefully laid out, and adorned with flowers.

The corner-stone of the crematory at Fresh Pond was laid on Nov. 20, 1884. Prof. Felix Adler conducted the services, the principal speeches being made by him and the Rev. Howard Henderson.

The directors of the United States Cremation Company fixed the charge for the incineration of bodies at $25. The crematorium was finished in the latter part of October, 1885. Experiments were made with the bodies of a number of the lower animals, in order to perfect the workings of the machinery. On Nov. 10, 1885, a dressed ram, weighing 75 pounds, together with the skin, shank, and hip bones of an ox, was introduced into the furnace. With a temperature of 2000° F. the incineration was completed in two hours. A strong wind greatly retarded the process by interfering with the draught of cold air. The defect was remedied at once by altering the flues and the insertion of a steam jet at a point above the entrance of the flues.

The site was selected in order to carry out the first plans of the edifice, which were those of a Grecian temple. The plans have been modified and modernized so that only a remnant of the classical design is left. The front portion of the building will be, when finished, two stories high. The rest of the structure is one story high, and is built of plain red brick. The dimensions are 38 × 74. Light is admitted to the interior of the building by skylights in the roof, as well as by the half-dozen windows on each side.

Cremation in New York has been advancing steadily, although perhaps slowly, in public favor. The first body was incinerated at Fresh Pond on Dec. 4, 1885, and since then more than 100 persons have been cremated there.

Cremation is spoken of with respect, and the stage of smiling and joking over it in New York passed away long ago.

It receives the unanimous support of the press and the medical profession. The Society of Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine appointed early in 1886 a committee to consider the subject. The report of that committee, which was adopted, declared cremation to be “a sanitary necessity,” and recommended that all persons dying of contagious diseases should be cremated under direction of the medical authorities.

The cremation of Dr. Dio Lewis, the famous health reformer, in the latter part of May, 1886, and that of Mr. Henry Dodge, of one of the leading banking firms on Wall Street, in the early part of June, attracted wide attention.

The first one to advocate the adoption of cremation in Buffalo, N. Y., was, to my knowledge, Dr. Frederick Peterson, who championed the reform in an article written for the _Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal_. Many years passed, however, before his ardent advocacy was followed by practical results. The Buffalo Cremation Company (Limited) was incorporated in July, 1884, under the law of 1875,—the so-called limited liability act.

At a meeting held May 18, 1886, the first board of directors was elected, with Dr. Charles Cary as president. The gentlemen constituting this first board managed the affairs of the company so well, and agreed among themselves so perfectly, that they were reelected, and are still in office.

At this meeting committees were appointed on the purchase of real estate for a suitable site for building a crematorium, also for plans for the erection of a furnace for the incineration of bodies. Subscriptions came in rapidly, and those who had strong faith in the ultimate accomplishment of this work were gratified by the realization of their hopes. Any one who takes a look at the crematorium of Buffalo to-day, must acknowledge that the crematists of this city have a right to be glad and proud to behold at last the practical outcome of their work.

At a meeting of the board of directors in the early part of August, 1885, the committees appointed for the purpose rendered their reports in reference to a site for a crematorium and a cinerary apparatus. In accordance with these reports the directors purchased a site on Delavan Avenue, near Delaware Avenue. The dimensions are 181 feet front, 161 feet rear, and 148 feet in depth. The property was bought at a cost of $20 per foot, and on very favorable terms.

Originally the capital stock was $10,000, divided into 400 shares, of the par value of $25 per share. This was afterward increased to $15,000, divided into 600 shares of the same par value. This stock when once paid up is non-assessable, and not liable for the debts of the company.

The Buffalo crematorium, which was finished recently, is of a composite style of architecture, and is constructed of Medina stone, with a slate roof. The outline of the building is a pleasing one, and the architecture is of such a character that it resembles a church more closely than a place where any mechanical operation is carried on. The grounds of the company are entered from Delavan Avenue by a spacious roadway, running to a porch and then passing around the building to the door of the mortuary chamber, on the east side. Those who accompany the body alight at the porch, and pass thence into the auditorium. The body itself is removed from the hearse at the door of the mortuary chamber.

When the coffin containing the body is received in the mortuary chamber, the body is removed and placed on the car which awaits its reception. The car is then moved by machinery, and without noise, into the chancel, where, if it is desired, the body may remain in sight of those in the auditorium during the progress of such service as the friends and relatives may wish to have performed. At the proper time the same mechanism moves the car noiselessly behind the doors which cut off the incinerating room from the sight of the audience.

The building itself is some 70 feet in width, by 60 feet deep. The construction throughout is of the most substantial character. The lot is graded and seeded, and trees and shrubs were planted, so that the appearance of the crematorium and its surroundings is most pleasing to the eye.

On Dec. 20, 1883, Mr. John Storer Cobb, who was one of the projectors and founders of the New York Cremation Society and the United States Cremation Company, requested Bostonians (in the columns of a leading newspaper) who were in favor of substituting incineration for inhumation as a means of disposing of the dead, to furnish him with their names and addresses. After the receipt of these names he called a meeting, which took place Jan. 24, 1884, and the result of which was the organization of the New England Cremation Society. Organization was effected under