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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1899)
6 'Cbe Conservative * TUB CONSHRVA- INCINEKATION. TIVE is indebted to Mr. , T. H. Harrison of Davenport , Iowa , for a prettily printed and very in teresting booklet upon cremation in general and the crematorium at that city in particular. It contains a good representation of the building itself which is architecturally much like the public library of Nebraska City. A I'J.BA KOIl CltBMATION. Why , why consign the faultless form of clay To pestilent and loathsome , HO\V decay , To he n food for worms , and mouldering , To poison earth and air and crystal spring ? Yielding to Nature's law in kindlier way 'Tis thin" to cheat corruption of its prey , And yet , true to thy dead and to thy trust , Be to thi ) living and the coining just. Rather with rosy glow and gracious heat Bo cineration's pious task complete ; Then , undcflled , will the dear passing frame Bo waft , as on the golden wings of flame , Each during part of unenduring clay , Like the freed spirit , rise and float away , Leaving , ns the all-wise Creator designed , To earth a handful of more cartli refined. This will accord with Nature's law , love , sense And duty , 'tis wisdom's way. and hence Of all man's methods since the world began Doth best become the cultured state of man. Then , prejudice away , none ne ds to turn From the clean ashes in yon sacred urn , Th' innoxious fruit of fire's refining art , And lone chaste remnant of life's human part. "Why hide or Reason's or Affection's eyes ? The grave pollutes the furnace purifies. J. H. H. . in The Urn. "There is no tyrant like custom , and no free dom where its edicts are not resisted. " Bovee. "Wisdom instructs us to examine , compare , and rightly to value the objects that court our affections and challenge our cares. ' ' Isaac Barrow. In these days of educational and in tellectual advancement , intelligent men and women are The Introduction. awaking to a re alizing sense of the thrall whereby a hoary and imperious custom enslaves them , and to the fact that duty , both to the dead and to the living , justifies , nay , demands , at least some investigation and comparison for a system which broadly claims to be more reverent , cleanly , sensible , and kind than the one in vogue , and which is endorsed by many and eminent persons of education and refinement. Inquires come to us from far and near , and this booklet is intended to be help ful in answering those of most usual expression , while giving a brief descrip tive account of the Davenport Crema torium , and of incineration as perform ed there , with merely an outline of argument. The disposal of the perishable remains of the human dead is ever a sad and im perative necessity The Argument. which devolves up on the living , and this responsibility is peremptory in its demand. "For when the course of life complete is run That moment dissolution is begun. " It is manifestly incumbent , then , in this age of intelligent thought , in the presence of our love and veneration for the sacred dead , and of a bounden obli gation to civilization , to consider whether this dueness and decorum will be best discharged by yielding to the tyranny of custom or to the guidance of reason. The resolving of the inanimate body nto its elementary atoms , despite the unwise and mistaken efforts of man to defeat it , is one of the verties of fate , the finality of an inherent natural law , a sure , unchangeable decree ; and whether accomplished in an hour , in the rosy-hued retort , or in a long series of years , in the dark , dark , depths of the grave , the end achieved is the same ; that is to say , the ultimate remains of the human form is a handful of ashes. One process "cheats corruption of its prey , " is kindly , clean , and prompt ; bho other , though hidden and unheeded , is lingering , slow , and dire decay a pestilence prolonged. As advocated by every increasing numbers , and as practiced today in Davenport , and in many other cities of the United States , and abroad , offers a ratioml , reverent , and offenseless method , consistent with the tenderest sentiments of human love , with the just and reasonable requirements of sanitary science , and with the higher culture and wisdom of the time. To encourage and to satisfy a growing demand for this better plan , associations have been formed , and at convenient centers buildings of artistic and appro priate design have been and are being constructed , having every appliance re quisite to adapt them for their solemn use. use.The The Davenport Crematorium is one of these , and since its completion and first incineration , The Davenport . . , . Crematorium. m 1891 , it has abundantly veri fied its usefulness and admirable adap tability for its purpose , having well served not only the people of this vicin ity , but patrons , as well , from Chicago , Minneapolis , Omaha , Denver , Dnluth , Topeka , Sioux Falls , and many other distant localities. The crematorium ia a handsome structure of brick , cut stone , and terra cotta , in the renaissance style. It has b , quiet and convenient river view location , near the western margin of the city. Its most commodious apartment is the chapel. The chapel is a well lighted well pro portioned , and tastefully frescoed auditorium , where The Chapel. . . , , , may bo held such services as accord with the wishes of patrons. This , with a private waiting room , adjoining , occupies the entire upper floor of the main building. In front of a speaker's stand at the rear is the catafalque , so arranged that its draperies obscure the casket , which , having been placed thereon by the pall bearers , is , at the proper and desired moment , silently lowered by a special mechanism to the preparation room , 3olow , where it is enwrapped in a sheet of white cloth saturated with a solution of alum , and then placed in a shallow steel cradle with rollers , and this on a special movable table , for convenient transference to the near-by incinerat ing chamber. The preparation room is reached by an easy stairway from the chapel , and here the friends of , Preparation Room. . . . , the deceased may repair to note the decorum always ob served by attendants , and witness the depositing of the remains in the heated chamber. The other apartments are the furnace and coke room , occupying a one-story extension back of the build ing , and a receiving vault or room , in the basement beneath the chapel. The incineration is accomplished by intense heat ( about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit - , , , , . , heit ) , and is aptly . The Incineration. , " , , , called "ethereal- ization , " the fire and flame of the fur nace being beneath and about the retort , but never within , never in contact with the body , as on the ancient funeral pyre. No gasses or odors escape , no sounds are heard ; the entire process being gentle and offenseless , 1. Order for incineration must be re ceived at least twenty-four hours in ad vance. Persons at Rules and , . SuBB 8tioiK. a distance may notify the secre tary by wire or otherwise , mentioning route and time of arrival , with in structions for hearse or undertaker's wagon , as desired. 2 The casket should bo of wood or zinc , and is usually reduced with the remains therein as received. No special requirement is made with reference to the body or dress , but metals are liable to fuse with the ashes , and should as far as possible , be omitted. Glass plates and metallic trimmings are taken from wooden coffins and destroyed. If the casket is of metal other than zinc , it is destroyed separately , the remains having been removed therefrom. 8. In case of death from contagious or infectious disease , the body is not taken from the coffin. 4. Cremation may be private , if re quested when order is given , otherwise persons who so desire will be admitted to the preparation room , application having been made to the secretary in advance. 5. The chapel is at the disposal of the relatives and friends of the deceased , who may provide for such services and ceremonies as accord with their wishes , and in this matter the secretary will endeavor to arrange in accordance with requests of distant patrons. 6. The retort is permitted to cool slowly. In six to eight hours after the incineration the ashes , contained in a
