Adapted from a presentation at the 2004 ICFA Annual Convention

There is a certain passion in Europe with respect to memorialization.  One of the key differences in the United States as opposed to Europe is that in Europe, cemeteries are municipally owned, so you don't make money selling crypts. You make money memorializing. Through memorialization, they have found ways to make money and satisfy their customers' needs by diversifying.

In North America, we hear, "sell crypts," with the memorialization being secondary. The Europeans have focused on memorialization as a way of surviving.

Poland
Poland is 95 percent Catholic, has a very low cremation rate and is relatively poor on a per-capita basis. Memorialization is either done on an above-ground family mausoleum or below-ground tomb.

What is unique to a lot of the European states—and as you move farther south, it becomes more of an issue—is that space is leased. You only have the space for about 25 to 30 years, so the amount of money that is spent for 25 to 30 years for memorialization is astronomical. What happens after 25 years? Where do the remains go? The bones are moved from the initial resting places to ossuaries, where they will remain.

Germany
The Germans have their own style, evident in the style of the letters. Caggiati, where I worked, had about 15 different character styles. If you were to count the number of character styles sold in Europe, it would be 60 to 70 styles. In the United States, are we offering all these different varieties?

France
At a French memorial the contents are always the same: photo ceramics or cameos, lamps, vases, crosses and lots of plaques on the top. What are the plaques? They're called souvenirs. In the United States, it is traditional to send flowers to the funeral. In France, that is also true, and the family members and other guests will also buy a "souvenir." These are products with sayings, remembrances, personal tributes that the person who has purchased it has of their loved ones. They place it on the tomb. To us, that may look like clutter. To them, it's an opportunity to memorialize and personalize. To me, it's a revenue-generating idea.

Spain
As you move farther south, you start to realize some very different memorialization trends. In Spain, the cemeteries are predominately municipally owned.

In mausoleums, often the crypt front is provided by the cemetery or the municipality and the color of the stone is standardized. However, the content is completely left to the family, so you may have more than a dozen crypt fronts, no two of them the same.

In the pictures shown here, you have white, you have bronze, you have gold, you have different lettering, you have different vases—all personalization creating an opportunity to generate additional revenues. Some areas of Spain have a relatively high cremation rate, but you still have highly personalized niche fronts.

Think about the growing Latin populations in the United States and ask yourself whether they are asking for these types of memorialization options. It's not about what you like; it's about what your customer wants.

Look at the in-ground tombs (above). Look how close they are. Look at the amount of marble or granite. Look at the number of products for memorialization on the tomb. The cemeteries have the same issues that ours have—they want to keep things looking neat and clean and provide easy access for families. Often what they'll do is place nothing but gravel (no grass) in these tomb sections, so they handle the maintenance issue in a different way than we do.

Portugal
This is a very poor country with a huge memorialization tradition. Despite the fact that the crypts or grave sites are probably only leased for 25 to 30 years, you will find a tremendous number of personalized products, basically purchased to be in place for one generation. Every product is different; every one has a different price.

A product you will find more the farther south you go in Europe is the book.  It will generally include a poem, a story, a family tree—whatever the family chooses as part of the memorial for that individual.

Italy
Italy has some of the strongest memorialization practices; there is a passion for memorialization. Even the poorest people in Italy have a photo, name, date, lamp and vase at their grave. I have never seen a tomb without at least those products on it. Starting from there, it's all about personalization.

As an example, one includes a statement at the bottom that says, "from your loved ones." In their minds, the memorialization is a gift from their loved ones to the deceased—they are honoring the deceased.

Crypt plates were imported to Italy from the United States and have been a tremendous success.

Normally what I've seen in the United States are relatively small candles; in Italy you see larger ones. Are we sure the smaller ones are what our families want, or are we imposing our own style on our customers—and losing an opportunity to generate more revenue by offering them options?

Lessons to Learn
There are good, better and best products. For example, a vase can be die-cast (good), sand-cast (better) or lost wax (best). Do your counselors know—do you know—what the differences are between them and why they are different prices?

If you do know, are you able to explain it to families? Are you able to put the products in customers' hands and let them feel the differences as you explain the details? That's what they do in Europe. If you heard some of their monument masons talk to you about lost wax and how intricate the pieces are and how they are one of a kind, you'd think they were selling jewelry.

If every grave has a vase, a lamp, a cameo, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional revenue for the cemetery Add to that the other opportunities that may be there for a cross, a religious emblem—or a non-religious emblem—for flowers, for different size cameos at different price points, for different vases.

Stay abreast of technological changes that are constantly providing additional personalization options.

Cremation need not be a lost memorialization opportunity. Glass-front niches provide the family with additional opportunities to add personal pieces and create something that is very specific to the individual. Glass fronts also encourage higher-end products, since the urn will be seen.

I've seen a photo of a Mexican funeral home where the second floor has a room with all glass niches, filled with different urns and other items. To some of us it might look like confusion, but to the families, that's personalization. That's what they want.

Allow families to create meaningful tributes. To an extent, we've lost some of that in North America. When you walk into an American cemetery, there's some loss. Not in all cases, but in many cases, there's some loss. I've been in a small town full of immigrants where the cemetery's pretty sterile, all the graves look the same, there's no personalization.

Offer premium sections. Maybe you don't want to have extreme personalization scattered throughout your cemetery. In that case, you might want to create an area where families are allowed freedom of choice. See how it works.

During the 2005 ICFA Convention in Las Vegas, I hit a different kind of jackpot, winning a guided tour of the major cemeteries in Australia. Of the hundreds of attendees, I was blessed to have my name drawn by Anne and John Field of Axiom Business Systems for this extraordinary opportunity to visit the premier properties in their homeland.

The best time for me to take time off from my job as general manager is winter. On January 17, 2006, I left my family—two children and an understanding wife—in snowy Omaha and headed for Australia and sunny, summer weather.

After enduring the l4-hour flight from Los Angeles, I quickly adjusted to the time change and started on what I would describe as a student exchange program for an industry executive. Before embarking on the three-city, four-cemetery tour, my hosts, the Fields, gave me a chance to unwind and stretch my legs after the hours of being confined to a standard airline seat by visiting the famed Opera house and bay bridge at The Rocks at Sydney's harbor.

Macquarie Park Cemetery
www.maccem.com.au

Sightseeing over, we began our tour in Sydney at Macquarie Park Cemetery and
Crematorium, named after the first governor of the state of New Wales. Before leaving the United States, I had pulled up the cemetery's Web site, and immediately knew I had a lot to learn from these professionals. Their Web site incorporated all the ideas I had been envisioning for our own site.

Macquarie Park's Web site includes the park's history, contact information, site maps, burial locator, virtual tours, past newsletters, online brochures, funeral catering details and fee listings. What the Web site doesn't mention is the exciting monumental change—excuse the pun—and activity occurring within the park's boundaries.

While Macquarie's mission since its first burial in 1922 has been to celebrate and honor the lives of those gone before, the park has been on top of the trend toward cremation. Macquarie has opened three integrated chapels connected to a state-of-the art crematorium, capturing 20 percent of the market in 18 short months.

It was obvious they accomplished this by going to great lengths to address every detail involved in serving customers' needs. The families visiting Macquarie Park cannot help but have a superior experience without necessarily knowing why. Some of the answers lie with subtleties such as the flower theme carried throughout each facility. The names of the chapels (Magnolia, Palm and Camelia) are reflected in the flower mural on the one-way glass of the family viewing room and the LCD screens discreetly mounted both inside and outside the chapel to accommodate overflow attendance.

During my tour, both adjacent condolence lounges were filled with family members and friends who had stayed for receptions catered onsite following committal services. This was all going on while a band played the tango in one room, cremations were being conducted in one of three crematoriums hidden in the back of the complex and, outside, construction workers and cement trucks were busy pouring the foundation for two more reception halls.

Cemetery officials originally estimated the crematorium would serve 500 families during its first year. The actual number was 1,000, and the number of families served continues to grow. The cemetery built the chapels and crematorium not only to add an immediate revenue stream but also to generate funds for the perpetual care of this city cemetery long after it has reached capacity for interments.

The grounds are laid out in sections, including ones specifically for many different faiths (Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, Jewish) or ethnic groups (Chinese, Armenian). All rows are established toe to toe to save valuable inches.

It surprised me to see that all memorials, both flat and upright, are placed on a "beam." The beam is a ribbon of concrete reinforced with rebar and scored to delineate the width of each space. Speaking again of attention to detail: They even sprinkle an oxide powder over the top of the concrete during finishing to create a patina color to blend in with the lawn.

For flat marker sections, the beam is peaked, sloping down toward each grave. After an interment occurs, a bronze plaque is affixed to the concrete, and plastic vases can be purchased and glued on either side of the plaque. For monument areas, the concrete was flat for the base and the stones were placed back to back, facing their respective graves.

The beams are all about efficiency. They are put in place when the section is first developed to protect the memorials and provide efficiencies. Trimming time is significantly reduced, since there are no individual markers to trim around—just the beams. With graves arranged toe to toe, large mowers can effectively be guided down one beam and back along a facing beam.

In developing one of the newest Macquarie sections, managers faced the challenges presented by being next to a fence and underneath a power grid. These barriers were overcome with a combination of art and inspiration.

Starting at one end of the rectangular section, you stand in the middle of multiple circles of cremation space bordered with plantings, with a path leading to the other end of the section. In the middle of the first circle is a plaque describing how you will embark on a journey that follows Jesus' final hours, concluding at the other end of the section.

The path is lined with one-of-a-kind sculptures depicting each Station of the Cross, accompanied by a bronze marker narrating the scene. This path does not end with Jesus on the cross as do many. On the ground beyond the crucifixion scene lies a broken cross, sending a powerful message to any Christian visitor.

Everything about the cemetery is branded, from the six-passenger golf carts to the nametags each administrator wears. By the way, the golf carts were introduced after Macquarie had to enlarge the parking lot to accommodate the crowds it was drawing. Cemetery officials got the golf carts to provide relief for visitors who would find the longer distances too great to walk.

Operations personnel all wear lightweight, short-sleeved polo shirts made of a neon green material similar to that worn by cyclists or other athletes that provide protection from the sun while being "breathable" in the summer heat. Everyone, including funeral directors and clergy, wears brimmed hats that circle the entire head to protect them from the sun.

Macquarie also provides visitors with a state-of-the-art touch-screen location finder. Almost a piece of art itself, the stainless steel kiosk provides not only a screen with maps, but also a second screen that shows picturesque cemetery scenes. CEO Ross Davis and his staff are driving innovation and inspiration for the families they serve.

On to Adelaide
Leaving Macquarie Park, we were off to the airport on our way to Adelaide.  The city, another coastal community with a population of over 1 million, was the first to be settled by free persons. (Other Australian capital cities started as English penal colonies.) As in Palm Springs in the United States, the temperature in Adelaide is often 100 degrees or more with little humidity, and this was the case during my stay.

The valley is bordered by hills of vineyards such as Rosemont, Chapel Hill and d' Arenberg. Personal inspection of these establishments was required, followed by a walk along the seawall dotted with Norwegian pines originally planted to supply timber for sailing masts.

Sunday started with Mass at Adelaide's St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral, celebrated by Archbishop Philip Wilson. We then set off east to Handorf and toured the home and gallery of Australia's premier artist, Sir Hans Heysen. The wonderful day concluded with conversation and dinner at the ranch of Kevin Crowden, retired CEO of Enfield Memorial Park and past president of the Australian Cemeteries and Crematoria Association.

Enfield Memorial Park
Early Monday, it was back to work, with an all-day tour of Enfield Memorial Park, which performs 1,000 body burials and 1,200 cremations annually. We first passed a touch-screen directory for burial and memorial site locations. This was followed by meticulously manicured rose gardens where the individual roses were incorporated on either side of a wedge of granite as part of the memorial package. The wedges either were engraved or held bronze.

Enfield CEO Eric Heapy, along with Manager of Business Development Darren Leuders and Operations Manager Mark Ruthven, led the morning tour through all the gardens and phase one of their newly constructed mausoleum.

Three areas take your breath away. First is the Campbell Memorial Garden, which is bisected by a linear path of water leading up to a stone cremation wall. On either side of the running water are cremation memorials. On the other side of the wall, the water continues into a pond over which stands a fully enclosed glass gazebo.

The stunning aspect is the 100+ birch trees surrounding the gazebo. Cremation memorials circle the base of each birch. The feeling created is similar to the serenity you feel when walking through the birch forests of the Colorado Rockies. Pictures cannot convey the environment these cemeterians have brought to life.

Next came the Western Rose Garden, which is laid out in a semicircle. The zoysia grass is green and lush, providing a perfect background to accentuate the white, red and pink rose bushes separating each wedge marker identifying full body burial graves. While private plantings are not allowed, visitors can use shared plastic vases supplied by the cemetery to leave fresh flowers. The care of this area is reminiscent of the gardens of Hampton Court in England or the Palace of Versailles in France.

Finally, the Pavilion Garden was the most impressive for its simple brilliance and the fact that it could easily be adopted by any other cemetery wanting to incorporate trees. This section of 830 burial spaces feels like a secluded back yard due to the stone wall border. Leaving no space unused, the walls held memorial plates to identify the deceased in lawn crypts below. On either side of each wall memorial, the mason incorporated a planting urn that held a variety of greenery.

Within the confines of the walls, the area was laid out like rows of pinwheels, each with eight graves surrounding a tree. Twelve specially formed concrete pieces placed in the shape of a square lay approximately four feet from the base of the tree to hold bronze memorial plates. The formed concrete was processed to emulate sandstone.

I felt like I was walking, on a crisp fall day, through one of the many family owned apple orchards that dot the two lane road leading from Omaha to Nebraska City. I could not stop thinking how the families of the deceased are comforted here, as one could only conjure up sweet recollections in this setting.

The section tapered to an open-air gazebo with a granite pedestal, providing a quiet location for committals. At that point, I knew this trip was giving me a gift of ideas that I could share with colleagues and potentially develop for my own Catholic families in Omaha.

Centennial Park
 www.centenniaipark.org
The journey continued the next day with a tour of Centennial Park, also in Adelaide. Our host and tour guide was CEO Bryan Elliott. This cemetery planning showed the same elegance and detail as Macquarie and Enfield. Centennial is so named because it was opened in 1936, 100 years after the establishment of South Australia. The staff of 55 includes 18 gardeners, six crematorium staff, a digging crew of five, five in facilities maintenance and 16 in sales and administration.

Like the other two, Centennial is primarily a lawn beam cemetery. Each grave has a license term of 50 years that can be perpetually renewed by the family. If the family does not renew the license, the cemetery has the right to reuse the space. (See "Reclaiming burial space after the 50-year license expires" for details) One burial space can hold up to three people at three depths. The minimum depth of burial is one meter. 

To inter multiple people, you must wait a minimum of three years before you can "lift and deepen." This process involves disinterring the remains of the person in depth one or two (vaults are not used), digging to level two or three and re-interring the skeletal remains. I later found out that this practice is not universal to all of Australia. Each state or municipality has its own legislation allowing or prohibiting the practice.

The cemetery currently holds 120,000 burials, with 65,000 active licenses averaging two deceased per space.

Centennial Park opened its first crematorium in 1953 and added a complex of three chapels, gathering areas and lounges in 1986. As a side note, the first crematorium in the Southern Hemisphere was operating in 1903 in West Terrace Cemetery, only a few miles away from Centennial Park.

The largest chapel seats over 250 and can hold 1,000. Two local city governments oversee the park, which serves various denominations segmented by areas and also has two sections for veterans. Each veterans' section is marked by a large cross-monument, one called the Cross of Sacrifice, for those who died in battle, and the other the Cross of Remembrance, for those who served.

Centennial performs 1,000 burials and 3,000 cremations each year. Of those cremated, 40 percent are then interred in Centennial Park. This activity generates approximately $6.5 million in revenue, with net income after depreciation in excess of $850,000.

In the past, cremations were always handled by cemeteries, but recently funeral homes and other establishments have started offering crematory services, creating competition for the cemeteries. Therefore, all the cemeteries talked in terms of burials, cremations and memorials:
• Burials: the number of body interments in the cemetery.
• Cremations: the number of deceased handled by the cemetery's retorts.
• Memorials: the number of cremated remains interred in the cemetery.

Cemeteries now have a challenge in educating families about inurnment options. Centennial's approach is to create an area called Contemplation Court and Garden Walk, a series of niche walls bordering three fountain ponds, all covered by shade sails. The wall serves as a holding area for cremated remains when a decision has not yet been made on their final disposition.

Contemplation Court gives the family an opportunity to visit the deceased and become accustomed to the idea of having their loved one at the cemetery. The hope is that the family will be inspired to choose some form of memorialization at Centennial. 
 

Centennial Park's approach to marketing and selling focuses on branding, educating and providing customer service. Using television, radio and print media, they have spent $300,000 to bring their message to families.

When you enter the administration building, glossy pictorials of each section, along with the respective memorial samples that can be placed in that particular location, line the length of the room. In addition, a book titled "At The End Of The Road," by Robert Nicol, which tells the history of both Adelaide and Centennial cemeteries, is for sale.

Like Enfield, Centennial provides a burial location touch screen located outside the office; each month, it receives 1,200 inquiries from visitors and prints 900 maps for families needing directions.

With their first 50-year license having expired in 1988, they took out a 20-page ad costing $100,000 in October 2002 listing 8,000 names needing a license extension. They received over 10,000 inquiries in the following week.

Though the response was overwhelming, the residual effect was a massive educational exercise for the community that created ongoing traffic for license renewals and an awareness of what Centennial Park has to offer families for preserving memories.

The Necropolis
www.necropolis.com.au
The next stop was The Necropolis in Melbourne, a two-hour flight from Adelaide. The cemetery entrance is flanked by massive gray granite piers, rising two stories high and displaying the cemetery's name. The grandeur of the gate was a sign of what lay beyond.

CEO Russ Allison personally took time out of his busy day to provide an overview and tour of the cemetery, which covers 422 acres. Though The Necropolis has been its name for over 100 years, the name Springvale Cemetery and Botanical Gardens was adopted in January to better describe the property.

Reclaiming burial space after the 50-year license expires

Though cremation is the preferred method of disposition today in England, it got off to a slow—and extremely controversial—start, as recounted in part 1 of this series on cremation in the United Kingdom.

Last year marked a significant anniversary—the 120th anniversary of the first cremation in England. With over two-thirds of deaths in the United Kingdom now followed by cremation, it is a mode of disposal almost taken for granted by funeral directors. In 2004, 424,956 cremations took place at the 245 crematoria in operation.

However, the domination of cremation is comparatively recent; it was 1967 before the number of cremations exceeded the number of burials. In 1885, only three cremations took place; by 1900 a total of 444 cremations took place at the four crematoria in operation—Woking, Manchester, Glasgow and Liverpool.

In 1930, cremation was chosen in only 0.87 percent of all deaths, and by the outbreak of war nine years later, there were 56 crematoria, used in 3.85 percent of all deaths. Today, England's cremation rate of around 72 percent is among the highest in the world.

The development of cremation in this country reveals a fascinating struggle against religious prejudice, legal obstacles and entrenched social attitudes. However, its advocates were a determined group of reformers committed to introducing an alternative to earth burial.

This series of three article traces the events leading up to and immediately following the first cremation at Woking in March 1885. The first focuses on the period 1874-1885 and describes the founding of the Cremation Society and the opening of the first crematorium in England and events which assisted in clarifying the legal position; the second examines the arrangements for the first cremations; and the third discusses the disposal of the cremated remains in the early years.

Sir Henry Thompson and the Cremation Society
Although the history of cremation in this country can be traced back to the Romans, it was not until the 19th century that the idea of an alternative to burial was encouraged. Despite the development of large cemeteries outside cities, such as Kensal Green, Highgate, Nunhead and Norwood, along with others outside London, questions were raised about long term viability, maintenance and costs involved in burial.

In 1873, surgeon and polymath Sir Henry Thompson visited the Great Exhibition in Vienna, Austria, where Professor Brunetti (professor of pathological anatomy at the University of Padua) had exhibited a model of a furnace he had used to perform an incineration.

Thompson was sufficiently impressed that he wrote a seminal article on cremation in the January 1874 Contemporary Review placing the subject before the public. Titled "The treatment of the body after death," the opening phrases of the l0-page article were arrestingly romantic:

"After Death! The last faint breath had been noted, and another watched for so long, but in vain. The body lies there; pale and motionless, except only that the jaw sinks slowly but perceptibly. The pallor increases, becomes more leaden in hue, and the profound tranquil sleep of Death reigns where just now were life and movement. Here, then, begins the eternal rest. Rest! no, not for an instant."

After detailing the somewhat gruesome post-mortem changes occurring to the body and the cycle of returning elements to the earth to contribute to the creation process, Thompson then mentioned "grave-yard pollution of air and water" before discussing methods of disposal of the dead and then focusing on the solution offered by cremation.

Most controversially, Sir Henry suggested the use of bones as fertilizer, and regretted that burial wasted half a million pounds of precious bone and earth each year.  He closed by suggesting that, "no great change can be expected at present in the public opinions current ... on the subject of burial."

On January 13, 1874, a meeting of cremation supporters was held at Sir Henry's home at 35 Wimpole Street, Marylebone. Shirley Brooks proposed, seconded by the Rev. Hugh Haweis, that a declaration be prepared. It read as follows:

"We disapprove of the present custom of burying the dead, and desire to substitute some mode which shall rapidly resolve the body into its component elements by a process which cannot offend the living, and shall render the remains absolutely innocuous. Until some better method is devised, we desire to adopt that (method) usually known as cremation."

It was signed by those present. Four months later, the Cremation Society of England was founded. Among the society's council members were novelist Anthony Trollope; artist John Everett Millais; George du Maurier, novelist and grandfather of Daphne du Maurier; surgeon Thomas Spencer Wells; John Tenniel, political cartoonist of Punch and illustrator of Alice in Wonderland; Charles Voysey, dissenting cleric and founder of the Theistic Church; Shirley Brooks, onetime editor of Punch; Ernest Hart, editor of the British Medical Journal; Rose Mary Crawshay, anti-vivisectionist and women's rights campaigner; and businessman Frederick Lehmann. The annual subscription was set at one guinea; payment of a few guineas brought a life membership in the society. William Eassie became the honorary secretary, and Frederick Lehmann was appointed as honorary treasurer.

At the meeting on January 14, 1875, the council members agreed to investigate suitable cremation furnaces and their adaptability for the needs of the Cremation Society. They also established a fund to build a crematorium and to appoint trustees to take responsibility for the land.

At the same time, they were anxious to ascertain whether cremation was legal. The Transactions of the Cremation Society (1877, pp. 45-47) gives an account of the progress:

"Dr. Tristram and Mr. Meadows White were invited to consider the question ..... They were, moreover, on the whole, favorable to the view of those who advocate cremation, and such as to warrant the council in concluding that the performance of the process was perfectly legal, provided that it involved no consequence which would be construed by anyone as a nuisance."

In 1875, the directors of the Great Northern Cemetery at New Southgate in north London offered land and the use of chapels and other accommodation for a crematorium.  However, the bishop of Rochester, within whose jurisdiction the cemetery was located, forbade the building of a crematorium on consecrated land.

The society, forced to look elsewhere, turned to Woking, the location of the London Necropolis Co.'s vast cemetery at Brookwood. In May 1878, the society members purchased a one-acre piece of land off Hermitage Road, and by December, they had commissioned an Italian professor, Paulo Gorini, to oversee the building of a cremator he designed.

Much controversy followed, as the local residents, led by the vicar of St. John's, Woking, in whose parish the crematorium was located, mounted a campaign to prevent cremations from taking place. Following a deputation by the residents to the Home Secretary, the society was forced to pledge not to cremate any bodies until the legal status of cremation had been clarified.
 
Sir Henry Thompson and the society were disappointed, and six years would elapse before the cremator was finally used. During this time, four events would prove crucial to the society being able to use the cremator.

The wait: 1879-1885
The first event occurred in August 1880, when council member Sir Thomas Spencer Wells gave a paper titled "Remarks on Cremation or Burial" during the section on public health at the annual meeting of the British Medical Association at Cambridge. Spencer Wells concluded his paper by presenting association members with a statement to sign if they supported cremation.

In part a transcript of the Cremation Society Declaration signed in January 1874; the statement included a key addition in calling for a strict system of documentation to ensure that the cause of death would be ascertained before a body could be cremated. Spencer Wells obtained many signatures while at Cambridge and passed them on to Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt.

The second event was the cremations at Manston in Dorset in 1882 and 1883.

Capt. Thomas Hanham's wife, who died in 1876, and his mother, Lady Hanham, who died in 1877, both had expressed the desire to be cremated, and Capt. Hanham was determined to carry out their requests. He had their bodies encased in strong elm coffins with lead linings and then placed in a mausoleum erected at Manston House.

Capt. Hanham had contacted the Cremation Society with a view to having both cremated at Woking, but the society was still awaiting a legal determination. Therefore, Capt. Hanham had his own cremator constructed in a brick building at the rear of Manston House. Lady Hanham was cremated on October 8, 1882, and his wife, the following evening. Following the captain's death in November 1883, a full Masonic funeral ritual was held prior to his cremation at Manston. Significantly, the Home Office took no action in all three cases.

The third event had no connection to the Cremation Society. Its outcome, however, would have great impact as the Cremation Society sought to clarify cremation's legal status.

William Price was a Welsh doctor born in 1800 who embraced Druidic traditions. He wore a white tunic and green trousers, braided his long hair and wore a fox-skin headdress-the emblem of a healer. Price had a reputation for somewhat unorthodox practices. He considered surgery a last resort and believed that doctors should be paid according to the well-being of their patients.

In 1884, Price's 5-month-old son, Jesu Grist, died. Price was against earth burial, so he took the body, wrapped in white linen, to the top of the nearby Caerlan Fields (Llantrisant), placed it in half a barrel of paraffin oil and set it alight.

L.M. Martin takes up the story in "A Welsh Heretic" (Historical Bulletin 12, 1947, p. 12): "People returning from chapel were astonished to see the fire and rushed to the spot. The partly consumed body was snatched from the burning pile and the crowd threatened to mob Price. The arrival of the police prevented this, and Price was placed under arrest. In due course an inquest was held and the jury found that the death had been due to natural causes, not foul play as rumored. The police applied to the coroner for permission to bury the child, but Price strongly objected."

Price was tried at the Cardiff assizes on February 12, 1884, before Sir James Fitzjames Stephen. Martin writes that Price was indicted "for attempting to burn the body of his child, instead of burying it; and a second indictment charged him with attempting to burn the body with intent to prevent the holding of an inquest upon it." Mr. Justice Stephen concluded:

"After full consideration, I am of opinion that a person who burns instead of burying a dead body does not commit a criminal act, unless he does it in such a manner as to amount to a public nuisance at common law. ... A common nuisance is an act which obstructs or causes inconvenience or damages to the public in the exercise of rights common to all Her Majesty's subjects.

''To burn a dead body in such a place and such a manner as to annoy persons passing along public roads or other places where they have a right to go is beyond all doubt a nuisance, as nothing more offensive both to sight and to smell can be imagined.

''The depositions in this case do not state very distinctly the nature and situation of the place where this act was done, but if you think upon inquiry that there is evidence of its having been done in such a situation and manner as to be offensive to any considerable number of persons, you should find a true bill."

In March, Price finally succeeded in cremating his son's body. Though the cremation took place at 7 a.m., a vast crowd at Llantrisant witnessed the act. After his death in 1893, William Price was cremated at Caerlan Fields on January 31.

The final important event occurred in April 1884, when Dr. Charles Cameron, the member of Parliament for Glasgow City, introduced a bill in parliament to legalize the cremation. The debate was made before Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt, who was known to oppose cremation.

On the afternoon of April 30, Charles Cameron rose in the House of Commons to read for the second time the Disposal of the Dead (Regulations) Bill. He outlined the need for an alternative mode of disposal, discussed the decision in the Price case and addressed the issue of the concealment of crime via cremation. Dr. Farquharson and Sir Lyon Playfair supported the motion. During the proceedings, a unique event occurred in the House, as the April 1884 Hansard reported: "Here the hon. Member [Dr. Farquharson] produced, and held up for the inspection of the House, a small bottle filled with a white powder, which, he explained, were the ashes ... of a cow cremated some time before." The reaction of the House is not recorded.

The Home Secretary's opinion was clearly influential; the vote was 149-79 against the bill.

Undeterred by the lack of a law addressing the cremation issue and encouraged by the decision in the Price case, the Cremation Society decided to go ahead and offer cremation. In January 1885, The Times carried the following announcement:

"CREMATION.-Arrangements are now completed for the use of the CREMATORIUM of the CREMATION SOCIETY of ENGLAND. Particulars can be obtained from Wm. Eassie, Esq., C.E. the Hon. Secretary, 11, Argyle -Street, London. W."

By the end of March 1885, the Cremation Society had conducted its first cremation at Woking.

When cremation began in England, no one scattered the remains.
Columbaria were available for urns, and cemeteries accepted burials, many marked by miniature gravestones.

The first cremations in this country presented the families of those cremated with the issue of final disposition of the remains. There were two alternatives: retention in a columbarium and earth burial. Though the former was offered by the Cremation Society of England at Woking crematorium, burial was the option most favored. Based on research from cremation and burial registers, funeral directors' records and published accounts of funerals in the years 1885-1900, this article explores some of the issues apparent from this challenge to a culture more familiar with burial of a body in a coffin.

Retention in the columbarium
Both before and after the first cremation in 1885, cremation literature had given much consideration to both the earth burial and columbarium options for the remains.

The cremationists noted that the Romans practiced cremation-though they stressed that the modem process was more scientific and technically sophisticated-and stored remains in a columbarium.  The word columbarium is from the Latin word meaning dove, and refers to the compartments in a dovecote that resemble the niches of a columbarium.

The contents of columbaria also inspired the design of urns, though such receptacles had long been a feature of classical architecture; many examples can be found on London buildings. It was not long before the funeral business, which was providing wooden caskets, also began to supply urns.

At Woking, Edward Clarke's design for the crematorium hall included 27 niches below the east window (see illustration above) for either temporary or permanent placement of remains. If the latter, the niche could be enclosed with an inscribed stone tablet. In subsequent years, a new columbarium was built which was twice enlarged. For placement in perpetuity in a niche, the society charged £12 for the top two rows of niches and £10 for lower ones.

With cremation increasing, albeit slowly, columbaria appeared in London cemeteries. In 1891-1892, one was opened as part of the monumental chambers in the General Cemetery at Kensal Green, and in 1893 The London Cemetery Co. opened a columbarium within the New Catacombs at Highgate Cemetery and also at its sister location, Nunhead. At Brookwood, it was 1910 before an unused mausoleum was converted into a columbarium. Following his death in April 1904, the ashes of Sir Henry Thompson were placed in Golders Green's West Columbarium, which had opened in 1902.

Earth burial
Remains from some cremations were buried, sometimes in a cemetery attached to the crematorium. The Duke of Bedford's crematory at Woking had a small cemetery adjacent to the entrance. The burial of remains in the ground (or urn sepulture) had been advanced by William Robinson, gardener and member of Council of the Society, writing in 1880 in "God's Acre Beautiful, or the Cemeteries of the Future." Robinson had clearly been impressed by the tombs of the Romans and Greeks.

James Stephens Curl, in "The Historical Problems of Designing Crematoria," wrote: "Money otherwise wasted on elaborate funerals could be spent on beautiful urns and tombs set in an Arcadian landscape. While trees and shrubs would create glades within the cemetery, the perimeter of the grounds could have arcaded columbaria to resemble the cloistered cemeteries of Italy."

The society's engineer and first honorary secretary, William Eassie, rather wildly estimated that the "acre of land on which the Woking Crematory stands should accommodate, with proper management, 1,000,000 urns, or more than a year's mortality of the whole of the United Kingdom."

In 1888, the society recorded the first burial of cremated remains on its land, but it is unclear exactly where. The Cremation Society Council minutes in March 1890 recorded that the decision "that a piece of ground belonging to the society at St. John's be set aside for the interment of ashes and that the sum of £1 be charged for each interment."

The first burial in the Cremation Society's cemetery was for Robert Faulkner, cremated on June 10, 1890. This is noted in the registers as Plot 1. The site was initially popular, and over the next 20 years, hundreds of interments took place.

In the cemetery, there are many traditional monuments—all in miniature. Included are the broken column, the cross, the Celtic cross, the obelisk; tablets raised above the ground, an enclosed chest and two memorials with a swastika emblem.

However, by the early part of the 20th century, the society appeared to consider the burial of cremated remains in the cemetery inappropriate. "The Transactions of the Cremation Society" for 1924 states that: 'In the last two decades of the 19th century, the early cremationists could not entirely break away from the idea of burial. Plots of land were therefore set aside for interment of urns, each one being marked by a miniature gravestone and thus perpetuating the effect of a small cemetery. That fortunately has now practically ceased, but St. John's Crematorium, Woking ... has such a ground, curiously unsightly, but still an interesting relic of a transitional period."

Burials also took place away from the crematorium. By the end of 1886, 13 cremations had taken place at Woking, and all remains were removed from the area. Where earth burials took place, they did so either in a proprietary cemetery or Anglican churchyard.

After the fourth cremation, "the ashes were gathered up and placed in an urn, which was taken away in charge of a relative or friend." After the eighth, the remains "were handed to the sons of the deceased, who were present at the ceremony," and later interred at Nunhead Cemetery. Clearly, the Cremation Society wanted the next of kin or executor—termed the "Applicant for Cremation" according to the 1902 Cremation Act—to be responsible for the decision.

Probably the first division of the cremated remains occurred after the cremation of Madame Blavarsky, founder of the Theosophical movement, whose remains were divided in three and sent to Europe, America and India.

The remains of Osmond De Beauvior Priaulx, cremated in January 1891, were transported back to Guernsey and placed in an urn behind a grille in the Priaulx Library in St. Peter Port. Those of Charles Wyndham Rodolph Kerr, cremated in February 1894, were buried in the floor at St. Saviour's Church Pimlico, following a ruling from the chancellor of the Diocese of London.

Analyzing the burials
Several interesting observations can be made about the disposition of cremated remains in these early years:

1. There appeared to be no problem with burying the remains in consecrated ground, including churchyards, despite the Church of England's uneasy attitude toward cremation.

It seems ironic that the formerly anti-cremation vicar of St. John's Church Woking, in whose parish the crematorium is situated, permitted cremated remains to be buried in his churchyard. The church burial registers show that 22 caskets of such remains were buried in the churchyard between January 1890 and January 1896, when 730 cremations were carried out, and that none of those interred were St. John's parishioners.

The rights of burial are for those living and dying in the parish, but can also be extended to others at the discretion of the incumbent vicar. Unlike in some churchyards, the fact of cremation was noted in the burial register; the notation "after cremation" appears with each entry before the full name.

2. In some cases, the fact that the deceased had been cremated was noted on the memorial. At Brookwood Cemetery, this fact was not recorded on the memorials for the first three caskets of cremated remains interred. But the memorial for Isabella Knight, who was cremated and buried on February 14, 1891, did include that information. At least one memorial (for Sir William John Moore, who died on September 9, 1896) includes the phrase, "cremated at Woking."

3. It appears that cremated remains were buried without delay. In 1886, the remains of the 11th and 13th persons cremated were buried the same day at Hastings and Highgate, respectively. Following the cremation of Alfred Allason at 1 p.m., April 25, 1890, his remains were buried at Brookwood the next morning. The cremation of Percy William Thomas on September 22, 1894, at 2 p.m. must have been carried out with astonishing rapidity, as the remains were buried at Brookwood at 4 p.m.

It seems that the deceased's relatives often waited for the remains while the cremation was taking place. According to the February 1898 "Undertaker's Journal," "With the actual process of cremation the undertaker has nothing whatever to do, but whilst it is in progress, his hands are fairly full. At St. John's it is customary for the mourners to adjourn for lunch, arrangements for which may be made with Mr. Wood at the Albion Hotel." The rationale behind following the cremation with lunch and then burial is easy to see: It saved the family the expense of a second trip to Woking.

4. Being an undertaker who owned a cemetery made handling cremation more profitable. The proprietors of the London Necropolis Co., which had a cemetery at Brookwood, were also undertakers who in the early 1890s formed a relationship with the Cremation Society to carry out cremations. The society offered the company a significant discount on cremation fees in return for providing an all charges-included funeral.

The coffined body was brought to the company's private railway station at Waterloo and transported to the cemetery, where it was then conveyed to the crematorium along with the mourners. The remains could then be buried in private graves in the cemetery, with a memorial specifically designed to accommodate caskets such as the glass-sided chest pictured at left.

Out of the 35 cremations arranged by the London Necropolis Co. in 1892, 14 caskets of remains went to Brookwood; two years later, 21 caskets of remains from 51 cremations went to Brookwood. This was clearly a convenient and profitable arrangement for the company and gave the firm an incentive to promote cremation.

The company could convey the mourners and coffin by train to the cemetery, where the family could walk around the cemetery while the cremation took place. The family could then attend the burial before getting back on the train to go home.
 
The winds of change
By the end of the 19th century, four crematoria had opened. However, neither Manchester, Liverpool nor Glasgow had followed Woking's example of providing a burial ground for the remains, although a columbarium was included in the overall scheme for each facility.

As additional crematoria opened in the 20th century, particularly during the interwar years, and then as cremation increased, the problem of limited columbaria capacity became apparent.

Furthermore, the cremationists had shifted from promoting cremation as a hygiene issue to a cost issue, and following cremation with burial in a grave or inurnment in a columbarium would only add to expenditures. A newfound place and mode of disposition emerged: The scattering of ashes in gardens of remembrance.

The author thanks Woking Crematorium General Manager Kathy Reynolds, the Cremation Society Archive at Durham University and John Clarke for help in preparation of the original paper on which this is based.

Previous to 1830 the Cemeteries of note in the Three Kingdoms were few and interments were generally made in the burial grounds attached to Churches--save where interments took place in vaults beneath sacred edifices or places of Divine worship.

A considerable number of the larger Cemeteries of Great Britain are founded and worked on joint stock principles and in some districts much divergence of opinion seems to exist regarding the system. The highest rate of dividend stated to have been paid by anyone of them was 6 percent and in many cases the rate of dividend or interest paid was as low as 2 percent.

It is stated with respect to those founded and worked on joint stock principles, that there is not, that earnest desire and inclination for embellishment and improvement as there must be in the case of cemeteries established, not for the purpose of earning money for dividend paying, but with the object of supplying a public want and requirement.

There are some fairly large cemeteries, such as the Anfield Park, Liverpool, which have been established by Parishes. They originated in this way: A limited number of rate-payers of a fixed area, termed a parish, convene a meeting, pursuant to the provisions of an Act of Parliament (it may be under the Public Burial Grounds Acts, or the Public Health Act) and they resolve that it is expedient and necessary to provide a Cemetery for the parish or district. There are then certain formulae to be gone through and complied with such as an application to the Secretary of State for his sanction, etc. This having been obtained, the promoters next apply, subject to the sanction of the Treasury, to the Board of Public Works, Loan Commissioners, or other Public Department, for a loan on the security of the rates repayable by annual installments over a number of years, until the total is extinguished, of the amount estimated that will be required to purchase land for the Cemetery, including the enclosing and laying out of the grounds, drainage, and constructing one, two, or three churches, as the case may be, for the persons of different religious denominations who may be expected and are intended to make use of the Burial Grounds.

In the case of cemeteries established under these circumstances, any surplus revenue accruing, after providing a sinking fund for the purpose of extinguishing the sum borrowed, is applied towards the reduction of the rates of the parish or district and for the extension, if required, of the grounds. The governing body is composed of about nine gentlemen elected periodically by the rate-payers and the persons elected must also be rate-payers. They meet about once a week and their meetings, as a rule, are open to the public, at which reporters for the press attend.

It is required by law in England that a new burial ground, under the Burial Act, shall be divided into consecrated and unconsecrated parts. The object of this law being enacted was manifestly to prevent, if possible, the recurrence of what serious friction and religious party feeling which had on many occasions taken place in Great Britain at the burial of Dissenters and Nonconformists in cemeteries over which the dignitaries of the Church of England had control, by reason of the conditions to be observed and complied with, in the event of the religious service of the Church not being accepted or required at the interment. From time to time, with the approval of the Secretary of State, there are issued in England by the inspector under the Burial Acts, suggestions or instructions for Burial Boards providing and managing burial grounds and making arrangements for interments. These suggestions embody much that is useful regarding the site for a cemetery, the drainage and laying out of the grounds, the construction of paths and roadways, fencing and planting, size of the graves to be allotted, depth of graves, the reopening of graves, burials in vaults, the type of the intended memorials or tombs, conveyance of the dead to the burial ground, the construction of reception houses for the dead and the erection of mortuary churches in which to hold religious service.

While much may be advanced in commendation of cemeteries provided under the provisions of the different Public Burial Grounds Acts, and due acknowledgment rendered for the interesting and useful suggestions issued from the office of the Secretary of State, still the action of the governing body and executive officers of institutions so founded is in some respects much hampered. They are obliged to have every by-law, rule and regulation submitted to the Secretary of State for his sanction and his approval thereto obtained, before they can be put in force. For example, the governing body cannot fix or settle a scale of charges or fees and payments, nor make any alteration therein, without having first obtained the approval of the Secretary of State, who requires evidence to he furnished to him that the proposed by-laws, rules and regulations and the proposed scale of fees, etc., had been published in the prescribed manner, to afford an opportunity for objections being made thereto. Further, copies of same have to be affixed to the doors of all churches and chapels in the district for not less than three weeks before application is made for approval.

There are also in England, under Public Acts of Parliament, fees payable (apart from the Burial Board fees) to the incumbent, the clerk and the sexton of the parish in which the person deceased died, but singularly these fees may not be and as a fact are not, included in the scale of fees required to be published.

It is of much importance in the control and management of Burial Grounds for the Governing Body to have their own Special Act of Parliament, conferring special powers and privileges and affording them freedom of action to draw up a code of rules and regulations in pursuance of the provisions embodied in the Act and empowering them to inaugurate from time to time, as circumstances may demand and necessitate, a system of improvements, for the benefit of the institution, without hindrance or interference from any department.

With regard to Cemeteries established in England and Ireland, in the former by parishes and in the latter by poor law guardians, the practice has been that when the revenue derived from the Cemetery is not sufficient to defray the expenses, the deficiency is made good by striking or imposing a special rate on the parish or district for which the burial ground was founded.

The powers heretofore exercised in England under various Public Burial Grounds Acts by what are termed Vestries and Parish Councils and Urban Councils, in founding Cemeteries, have become partly merged and embodied in the Local Government Act of 1894; and similarly the powers exercised heretofore under Public Burial Grounds Acts by Urban Councils and Boards of Poor Law Guardians in Ireland have become merged in the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898.

A considerable divergence of opinion seems to exist in England and elsewhere regarding the size of grave space. In regulations prepared, printed and circulated by the Home Office for burial grounds provided under certain specified acts of Parliament, it is laid down that each grave space for the burial of a person above 12 years shall be at least 9 feet by 4 feet (that is to say 36 square feet) and those for burial of children under 12 years of age shall be 6 feet by 3 feet, or, if preferred, half the measurement of the adult space, namely 4½ feet by 2 feet; but in a large number of Cemeteries in Great Britain the space allotted for graves is just half of those specified. It is stated that in some Austrian Cemeteries the grave space for adults is equal to 90 square feet; at Wurtemburg it is stated that it is above 54 square feet; at Munich and Stuttgart it is said to be 32 square feet, though in many cases they are much less.

In some Cemeteries, particularly near London, graves for common interment are excavated to 25 feet. The practice has been necessitated by the scarcity and high price of land and the desire to economize space.

It can be inferred from this that owing to the limited area of Cemeteries in the Three Kingdoms, there is not much room left for embellishment or display in the way of planting and giving a park like appearance to the grounds, a feature so well calculated to please and call for the grateful appreciation of the public.

The number of Interments made annually in the Cemeteries of note of Great Britain range from about 400 to close on 6,000. Some cemeteries have a practice of contracting with a person for supplying workmen to excavate new graves; re-open graves; and execute other work in the grounds. There is a fixed charge or payment determined for each kind of work and those who have adopted the system speak of is as satisfactory. On the other hand a large number of Cemeteries decline to adopt the system, they holding that it is far more advantageous for the satisfactory working of the Cemetery and care of the grounds, to have the employees directly under the control and management of the Cemetery Authorities in Ireland, where the staff are employed by and under the absolute control and disposal of the Superintendent.

From a return made to the order of the London County Council and circulated under date 30th July 1895 and prepared by Mrs. Holmes, it appears that the burial grounds which exist in the County and City of London are 362 in number. Of these it is stated 41 are Church Yards and Cemeteries still in use; a few being burial grounds in which Interments only occasionally take place either in graves already dug or under the regulation of the Home Secretary. The other 312 are described as disused Burial Grounds, which were closed by order in Council many years previous, and 90 of which are laid out for Public Recreation Grounds, under the disused Burial Grounds Acts. The area or extent of those burial grounds varies from 1-3 acre to 69 acres.

The other Cemeteries in Ireland, besides Glasnevin, of any considerable extent and note are "Mount Jerome" and "Dean's Grange" all in the vicinity of Dublin. Belfast: The one established there by the Corporation, and the other "The Milltown Roman Catholic." Cork: "St. Finbar's", under the corporation and the one established there by the late Father Matthew, of Temperance Fame, which is under the Fathers of the Capuchin Order. Limerick: "St. Laurence Cemetery."
 
There is no Cemetery in the Three Kingdoms in which such a large number of Interments take place as Glasnevin--the number of burials in the year there being, on an average, 7,000.
 
From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 19th Annual Convention
Held at Washington, DC
September 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1905

The men present today represent two of the oldest practices known to mankind—burial and cremation. Those of you who are especially interested in the history of your craft can find many remarkable examples of both methods. I need not recount them to you. The pyramids, Taj Mahal, cave burial—all these have their own connotation.

Cremation has been traced to the early Aryans, from whom all white men have descended. And, probably, most of you know that the word "Aryan" means "the race that moves onward and upward."

The speaker has looked up the history of cremation and found evidence from the earliest periods. Ancient India cremated. Many early Indian tribes, the earliest Scandinavians, Huns, Greeks, Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Lombards and Israelites. Saul, the first king of Israel, together with his three sons was cremated after the battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, 990 BC: "All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh and burnt them there." And the beloved Buddha was cremated, his ashes divided into 7 parts and 7 sacred temples erected in as many different widely separated locations.

The first cremation of the white race in the United States, of which we find record, is that of Colonel William Henry Laurens, member of George Washington's staff, who was cremated in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1792, in accordance with his wishes. Two weeks later, another member of George Washington's staff died, and was likewise cremated upon a burial pyre in a beautiful garden.

So far as we can discover, the first crematory was built by Dr. Julius Lemoyne in Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1876. The first person cremated in this crematorium was Baron LePalm, in the same year. (Dr. Lemoyne had built this crematorium for the cremation of his own body—he was so strongly averse to burial.) The popular disapproval of this innovation was so active that police reserves were called out in New York City to allow the departure of the body. The furnace was the old fashioned coke, preheated type, 24 hours to heat, 2 hours to cremate and another 24 hours to cool. A tablet in memory of this beginning of the modern cremation movement has been placed on this little brick crematory by the Cremation Association of America by Dr. Hugo Erichsen, its founder.

The public crematorium movement was really started by the sons of Dr. Corey of Buffalo, New York. Dr. Corey, somewhere about the early eighties, died in Europe and was cremated in an Italian crematorium. His sons, upon return to Buffalo, decided to organize the Buffalo Crematorium for public use. They brought the Italian workmen and materials from Europe and installed a wood alcohol, gas producing and burning retort, which was used intermittently with gas supply to date. Of the various systems of cremation more later.
Perhaps, you will be interested in a few brief statistics of the cremation movement in this and other countries. In Scandinavia, there were 2,757 cremations in 1927 and in 1928 there were 3,207. Germany, much better organized had 48,369 cremations in 1928 and a total of 437,591 cremations since 1892. Czech Slovakia has swung into the cremation movement since the war and with the modest beginning of 83 cremations in 1918 they have recorded 4,090 in 1928. It is very interesting to note that the number of cremations by religion are kept over there, 50% of the cremations were Roman Catholic and 8% Protestant. Mussolini has disapproved of cremation in Italy, although there are 2 score crematories, you know that anything of which Mussolini disapproves dies of anemia.

Now in the United States, as you will see by the report, of the statistical committee of the Cremation Association, the growth of cremation has been constant. The four-year period, ending in 1928, shows 101,467. Partial report.

Now, as to methods used. The earliest crematoriums all followed one general method. With coal or coke or wood, they heated a chamber to incandescence, then introduced the body, either in casket or on a slab, and reduced it to its mineral elements by radiant heat. The principle exterior evidences of this system were a very high stack, lots of smoke, delivery of tons or cords of fuel. The interior evidences were the sound of shoveling, the roar of burning and blowers and the white-heated furnace. One had to be a 100% cremationist in those days to face all of these horrors.

With the discovery of crude oil for industrial purposes, some one proposed the possibility of cremation by oil fire. With tremendous heat available at short notice, this permitted the cremation of bodies which were placed in an unheated furnace. The earliest furnaces for this purpose were, I think, those originated by the superintendent of Cypress Lawn Cemetery, San Francisco—Mr. Davidson. He got up a tremendous pressure of either steam or air and fired oil flame directly upon the body. Yes, it would cremate the body, but with most unpleasant circumstances. This system was carried to the Hawaiian Islands, to Sacramento, Seattle and other places. And, speaking from the standpoint of one who is devoted to the cause of cremation, I am compelled to say that it had nothing to recommend it, except economy. The same high stack was required and there was more smoke, more noise and worse yet, pieces of cloth from the casket and clothing floated lightly out of the smoke stack and spread over the landscape.

I am not sure who started the gas cremation, but I think this was Frank Gibson, who used artificial gas, firing on the body directly and carrying the fumes and smoke to a separate chamber to be further consumed. The gas had the virtue of making less noise and less smoke, but the fuel cost, even with the most modern apparatus, runs from $2.50 to $8 per case. The roar is still there.

Electrical cremation was tried by surrounding the casket chamber inside with resistance metal. Mechanical difficulties developed and this was abandoned 15 years ago, only to be tried again in southern California, and again abandoned by one new plant, because of its cost, the duration of the process, the smoke and odor from incomplete combustion.

I have studied this whole situation many years and have decided that the ideal system would be somewhat as follows:—there should be no stack or at best, a very low one, there should be no noise, the furnace should not be preheated, the casket and body should be placed in the furnace without dismantling of any sort. There should be no smoke and no firing directly on the body. All this has been accomplished as you will see in California—at Fresno, San Bernardino, Oakland, Long Beach.

So much for methods. Any paragraph of this could be expended into an hour's discussion. In the early days of cremation, the sanitary appeal was made. The protection for water supplies, the evidence of decomposition either in the ground or in mausoleums. These emphases have been almost wholly abandoned. The cremationists are following the modern trend and the accent is now on the aesthetic element. If you will study the records of the different crematoriums, you will find that it is those which are beautiful, which minister to a sense of peace, which are making the greatest gains.

And right here, let me speak about your own craft as cemetery men, a little while,—so far as I have investigated the matter, there has been no propaganda in favor of earth burial. Cemeteries have not made advance to meet the competition of the modern crematorium and mausoleum. The average cemetery office is a dull place with musty records and old fashioned procedure, whereas the average mausoleum or crematorium has become the place of light, cheer and beauty.

I want you cemetery men to realize that the real competition is not between the cemetery, crematorium and mausoleum—the real competition is for the consumer's dollar, between the mortuary craft and the other crafts. Americans, particularly, have surplus money to spend for luxuries, so called and the real problem of the 3 phases of our mortuary craft is to so elevate in the minds of the public the appreciation of the memorials, that they will establish beautiful places of memory. The time has gone by, when the cemetery men should depreciate the value of what the crematory man has to offer and the converse. To put it in the language of the theatre—the people really decide on the following typical formula: "Shall we have a burial lot, a new Buick, or a baby?" What form of happiness shall we invest in?

To survive in the modern competition where the genius of the artist, and the artisan and engineer, the architect, the real estate salesman is manifested in a million tempting ways, the mortuary craft must do likewise, for after all, the most prosperous craft will be that which makes the most compelling appeal. Ugliness is on the way out, drudgery is obsolete and a new era of beauty in all things has come.

Let any man here go home to his work and ask himself this question, looking it fairly in the face:—"Is my place early Victorian, or earlier than that? Do people come to me only when they have to, or do they love to come, because of what I have to offer in ministry?" Just as the old grocery with its spilled sugar and salt, its dripping kerosene can its barrel of vinegar, has gone out, just so the musty cemetery vault, the dull and dank chapel, the ancient office and the ancient attitude are a thing of the past.

Contrary to the general opinion, the gross and net returns for each cremation case are greater than for every burial. This result is only attained, however; by having everything modern in crematorium, columbarium and urn displays. You will also be interested in knowing that in some eastern cemeteries, notably Mt. Auburn in Boston, organized in 1839, there are more cremations than burials.

I know that every man here wants to be a master in his work and maybe, in these few moments left me, I can give some suggestions of what we can do. First of all, it is proper to say that a first class cemetery or crematorium man has an opportunity to express his finest quality of mind and heart. He must be more things to more people than he perhaps realizes. In forestry, horticulture, civil engineering, architecture, accounting, human contacting and in those fine, high spiritual qualities of leadership which lift his craft above the crowd, the cemetery man has a life time task. Cemeteries, mausoleums, columbarium should be full of the meanings of joy, of "beginning again"; of symbols of faith, of transforming by renewing of mind. Tall or thin, dark or light, Jewish, Christian, foreign or native, you yourself can stand above the crowd by developing your attribute of service to a higher degree; join American aristocracy of service.

But I think that if one would search for a single phrase in which one could concentrate all qualities and all capacities needed, it would be that—that the mortuary craft should be regarded as a ministry, in its highest and most noble sense. This, then, means that whether you operate a nonprofit or commercial institution, the ministry of beauty shall enter in every possible appeal—in the sound of music, of falling water and of songs of birds; in beauty of form, whether of landscaping or architecture, arrangement of road or path, in shape of urn; in spire and tower, in light. In the ministry of finance, wherein devoted men would endow and perpetuate these abodes of memory and in the ministry of love through service of personal understanding and sympathy.

May I, in closing, outline to you the ideal crematorium and columbarium? In outward appearance—of charming dignity, and preferably, church-like buildings (with no stack nor exterior evidence of cremation, either of sound or odor visible) in which one would love to enter, the chapel bright with the cheer of not only its form, but also its color, the song of birds, the music of beautiful organs. A Memorial columbarium should have no dark corners in it. Indoor gardens will lift it from the common place; the niches themselves should be very substantial, the urns well selected as to form and inscription, the walls adorned with messages of cheer from the Scriptures and poets; sunshine should enter, fountains add their note, and where possible, gardens should open to the outdoors. Our own California Crematorium, in Oakland, has huge glass and steel rolling skylights, which roll back allowing the sun and fresh air to enter.

But all this is just material. In addition, there should be a staff of conscientious, high-minded employees, who are devoted to the establishment and maintenance of a beautiful memorial.

Of course, behind all this, there shall be records accurately kept, funds administered with integrity, and a devotion to the things of the spirit.

And now, curiously, I shall place my text last, and it is this—taken from Cicero:—Memory is the treasurer and guardian of all things." For of our dead it has been said"

They have but put off their shoes,
Softly to walk by day within our thoughts,
To tread, at night,
Our dreamed paths of sleep.

They are not dead who live in hearts they leave behind,
In those whom they have blest they live again,
And shall have eternal life. And grow each day more beautiful as time declares their good,
Forgets the rest and proves their immortality.

Therefore I have fulfilled my appointment to speak of cremation and crematories by saying that cremation and niche interment now called inurnment, is one of three ways to memorialize the dead and foster in lives and hearts of men and women, memories which are the treasures and guardian of all things.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Convention
Los Angeles, CA
September 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1929

The subject "Creation of a Modern Park Cemetery" would necessitate a theoretical discourse—the "Creation of Forest Lawn" is an actual experience from which you may acquire some practical benefit.

My first glimpse of Forest Lawn Cemetery showed it to be a little country cemetery, of ten acres developed, forty-five undeveloped; with no buildings, no improvements, with the exception of a grove of olive trees and a few scattering headstones. Such a picture most of you have seen many times. Forest Lawn's other assets were a total of 1400 interments, and yearly gross sales of $28,000.

Today, twelve years after we took charge, Forest Lawn Cemetery is Forest Lawn Memorial Park—Park it is, because the visitor rarely recognizes that he is entering into a so-called "cemetery". Forest Lawn now comprises over 200 acres, with a total of 28,464 interments, sales amounting to more than one million dollars per year, and total assets aggregating ten million dollars. It averages 300 interments per month, and 81 weddings per month. Our payroll of yesterday showed an organization of 406 employees, including an Architectural Department of 12 Architects and an Engineering force of like number.

Today it possesses many buildings of historical and architectural charm that house some of the world's greatest art treasures, and last year more than 525,000 visitors passed through her gates. Forest Lawn is not only a safe depository for our beloved dead, but also a place for the living to visit and sacredly enjoy. The manner in which these results have been arrived at are briefly as follows:

My first move twelve years ago when I awoke to find myself in charge of Forest Lawn Cemetery, was to personally visit the great interment places of the world. I talked to Superintendents, Grave Diggers, Presidents, and Undertakers. I wanted to find out why a African-American whistled when he went through a cemetery; I wanted to find out why most of the interment spots in the United States were places to be shunned—looked upon as civic liabilities where they should have been civic assets. I wanted to find out why even the most beautiful cemeteries were visited by people mainly from a sense of duty; why most of them were so ugly, and why they didn't have architects and landscape engineers connected with them. I wanted to find out if the cemeteries were wrong or if it was the people. And then when I had finished with the cemeteries, I visited public parks, glimpsed their lovely vistas, watched their fountains at play, admired their beautiful statuary and studied their architectural buildings. I strolled through museums and galleries of art; I questioned people who had traveled in the art centers of the Old World—and then I came home. I had found my answer.

BUILDER’S CREED

I have always found if I put my thoughts into writing the very act seems to clarify my mind and enables me to approach a problem in a logical manner. And so, on New Year's Day, 1917 I sat down and wrote what I termed "The Builder's Creed", and if I were called upon today to give you my recipe for the "Creation of a Modern Park Cemetery", the best I could do would be to hand you this Creed:

"I believe in a happy Eternal Life. I believe that those of us left behind should be glad in the certain belief that those gone before have entered into that happier life. I believe, most of all, in a Christ that smiles and loves you and me. I therefore know the cemeteries of today are wrong because they depict an end, not a beginning. They have consequently become unsightly stone yards, full of inartistic symbols and depressing customs, places that do nothing for humanity save a practical act and that not well.

"I therefore prayerfully resolve on this New Year's Day, 1917, that, I shall endeavor to build Forest Lawn as different as unlike other cemeteries as sunshine is unlike darkness, as Eternal Life is unlike Death. I shall try to build at Forest Lawn a great Park, devoid of misshapen monuments and other customary signs of earthly death, but filled with towering trees, sweeping lawns, splashing fountains, singing birds, beautiful statuary, cheerful flowers, noble memorial architecture, with interiors full of light and color, and redolent of the world's best history and romances. I believe these things educate and uplift a community.

"Forest Lawn shall become a place where lovers new and old shall love to stroll and watch the sunset's glow, planning for the future or reminiscing of the past; a place where artists study and sketch; where school teachers bring happy children to see the things they read of in books; where little churches invite, triumphant in the knowledge that from their pulpits only words of love can be spoken, where memorialization of loved ones in sculptured marble and pictorial glass shall be encouraged but controlled by acknowledged artists; a place where the sorrowing will be soothed and strengthened because it will be God's Garden. A place that shall be protected by an immense Perpetual Care Fund, the principal of which can never be expended—only the income there from used to care for and perpetuate this Garden of Memory. This is the Builder's Dream; this is the Builder's Creed."

That Creed has never been changed from that day to this and at Forest Lawn it has been not only our aesthetic guide but it has been the practical, every day rule upon which all our development and operation has been based.

Let me tell you of a few of the milestones that we passed in our endeavor to carry out this Creed.

Our financial set-up included two corporations—one, a corporation which owned the land and was the usual form of Business Corporation with stockholders who invested their money with the hopes of making profit. The other corporation, called Forest Lawn Cemetery Association, was a mutual association with no stockholders, comprised of lot owners and so constituted that any profits it might make must be expended back upon the cemetery and could not be distributed for the benefit of any individual. The Land Company made a contract with the Association to sell the Association its land and the purchase price was determined by a fifty-fifty division of whatever amount the Association should receive from the public for its lots. The Association thus purchased from the Land Company real estate as it would have purchased it from any other corporation or landowner. The Association then took these lands and manufactured them into a cemetery product.

Financing, efficiency and organization have always been the subjects that we at Forest Lawn give the most Attention. We know if the finances and sales are not forthcoming, the plans that we hold so dear to our hearts cannot be carried out. Forest Lawn had no money; therefore we next turned our attention to a Sales Force.

The Sales Force was divided into two groups: A salaried force for selling our products for immediate use to the purchaser who had a death in his family; the other group sold our product before need and their remuneration was based entirely on commission.

This "Before Need” was the first organization west of the Mississippi to sell cemetery lands in this manner—a method that had been tried in but two other places in the world before. Sales forces are needed, but they can be either a great blessing or a great abomination. I could talk to you for hours on our experience with sales forces, but time does not permit. In passing, let me urge this one word of caution out of our experience. That Sales Force is wrong whose whole theory of salesmanship is based upon price, money, buy cheap today and make a profit tomorrow. The best and highest type of salesmen in this business never mention these subjects—he deals only with the moral factors involved, such as insurance, duty, protection to the family, approaching the matter in the same light as one draws his will.
 
We next laid plans for development. We immediately saw the wisdom of merging together all forms of burial—namely, cremation, mausoleum, and cemetery under one management and one ownership. This, I believe, was the first time this had been done in the United States. The amalgamation of three overheads meant not only financial efficiency but again gave to the purchaser a great service. A family could disagree upon the various forms of burial each one desired and yet in Forest Lawn we offered to them the prospect of finally being gathered together in one spot.

"Beauty" was the yardstick by which we measured equally the physical development of our grounds and buildings the requests of the purchaser that something special be done on his lot or his crypt, or the Engineer's and Architect's plans and specifications. We realized that Forest Lawn must be developed as a whole. No longer must the individual be allowed to do anything in regard to his interment space.

I adopted three slogans:
1.    We shall depict LIFE, not Death.
2.    A safe depository for our beloved dead and also a place for the living to sacredly enjoy.
3.    Spend one dollar in construction today to save one cent in future care tomorrow.

We also changed the method of computing Perpetual Care in terms of a percentage of the purchase price, to that method of setting so much aside per square foot of land area to be taken care of regardless of purchase price received.

Our next step was to revise the rules, regulations and restrictions. Here we encountered the greatest obstacle of all. Precedent is one of the hardest things there is to combat in the human mind. The older we grow the less do we like changes; the more we like to do as was done before. The public looks with suspicion upon radical changes in interment places.

We had early determined that it was monuments that had turned cemeteries into stone yards. I could find nothing beautiful in ninety nine percent of the so-called "monuments" placed in the cemeteries of America. They rendered a Park plan impossible. We first offered the purchaser a ten percent discount if he would accept a deed without a monumental privilege extending above the surface of the lawn. I then called together the prominent monument dealers and reasoned with them. I suggested that in the main they were creating objects of ugliness. I requested that they cooperate with me in endeavoring to create only memorials of beauty. I left that meeting discouraged because it seemed to me there was not one of them on speaking terms with "beauty." A year later, Forest Lawn took the bull by the horns and forever eradicated the so-called "monument." Then they took me to the Grand Jury. "Restraint of trade" was the charge. Have you ever walked into the Grand Jury room as a possible defendant? I explained and the Jury laughed away my fears.

Then we underwent that experience, awful to any cemetery man, viz., of seeing would be purchaser turn and leave Forest Lawn without purchasing, because they could not have a monument. It took nerve to "Stand by the guns" in those days—particularly when we were sailing an unchartered sea. I held firm, however, in the belief that the Five Dollar gold piece was obscured by the Silver Dollar close to our eye and too, one must be true to one's Creed. Soon the tide turned. The public began to see the picture we were striving to create and today, the only requests we have for monuments are when the purchaser desires to spend sufficient money to create a real work of art.

Through the years we gradually affected other reforms. I list a few of them:

We banned artificial flowers.

Nothing in front of or on mausoleum crypts except those bronze vases and crypt memorials designed by and furnished by the Association.

(I wonder why it is that people always go to their attic when they desire to take something to a cemetery or a mausoleum I have seen mausoleum shelves that look like a bottle factory on a spree.)

No memorial decoration whatsoever placed without the approval of the Association.

The Association does all planting.

Markers at graves restricted to bronze only—more lasting and more artistic; lawnmowers do not chip.

No coping or any form of enclosure allowed to mark the lines of any lot or grave.

Memorials in mausoleum either bronze or Carrara marble—other metals and Alabaster prohibited.

No cut-in letters permitted on crypts except in first unit of mausoleum.

All burials in Forest Lawn must be made in concrete boxes, the reason being that wood boxes cave in, leaving an unsightly greensward and add appreciably to care.

We pictured LIFE, not Death. We carefully eradicated the old familiar signs of death. We substituted the winged-doves, swimming ducks, singing birds, splashing fountains—everything symbolical of LIFE. We eradicated even the trees that lose their leaves in the winter time suggesting death. And thus restriction upon restriction we piled up but always that restriction was based upon the good of all, even though it hurt the individual, and always based upon the best professional artistic judgment we could get.

Our first building was inspired by the Architect's visit to that little church at Stoke Poges where the poet Gray wrote his immortal "Elegy, written in a Country Churchyard." In keeping with our resolution to depict LIFE and not Death, we added, adjacent to the pews, conservatories filled with flowers and singing birds. Over the chancel we wrote this inscription: "A New Commandment I give unto you, that ye' love one another." This church was properly dedicated with all due solemnity and ceremony and then, like any other church it was thrown open for sermons, funerals, weddings, christenings, etc. We called this church "The Little Church of the Flowers" and it has become so popular that today we are just finishing another, to be dedicated as the "Wee Kirk o' the Heather." It is an exact reconstruction of Annie Laurie's church at Glencairn, Scotland, which lies in ruins.

Our Mausoleum has been built in units, conforming to a general plan. We estimate the general building will take about fifteen years more to complete, at a total cost of approximately Twenty-five Millions of Dollars. Four units have been completed and sold. The fifth is now under construction and will contain the great Memorial Court of Honor wherein "The Last Supper" window will be placed. These units have been built as sales progressed. Gross sales in the Mausoleum, to date, have amounted to approximately three millions of dollars. Here again we planned to eradicate gloom and depression substituting cheer, bright colors, depicting galleries of art rather than halls of death, always bearing in mind our slogan of "A safe depository for our beloved dead, but also a place for the living to sacredly enjoy." I touch the physical description only briefly because I understand you are later to visit Forest Lawn.

I shall never forget my first purchase of statuary. It was Edith Parson's "Duck Baby," made famous by Robinson's poem at the San Francisco Fair. I suggested to the Board that they authorize me to make this purchase. I immediately saw that the appropriation would not pass the Boards, so I adjourned the meeting without putting the matter to a vote. A week later I purchased the statue on my own authority as General Manager. A short time ago we placed in Forest Lawn the great "Mystery of Life" statue, comprising some twenty two life size figures, the site of which occupies 3,576 square feet, at a cost of approximately sixty-seven thousand dollars. That appropriation passed the Board without a dissenting vote and many expressions of enthusiastic approval. Such was the difference between the old attitude and the new. The same men, the same Board but with a different view point.

In 1923 I started by biennial trips to Europe, with the intention of studying at close range the art and architecture of those places acknowledged by the world, without debate, to be "beautiful." Every other year I have gone abroad, bringing back to Forest Lawn bigger and better things as my experience became qualified and Forest Lawn's progress became more assured. I could talk to you for hours telling you of antique furniture, old tapestries, the sword of Charles the First, Michelangelo's "Moses", "The Last Supper", in art glass, Fanfani's "Mother Love," Canova's "Three Graces" adinfinitum.

If you desire, go see these things for yourself. Be sure to tell my boys to give you a Guide Book, (we finally had to issue one, explaining approximately 165 works of art—educational, inspiring, and replete with the world's best historical romances. Who ever heard of a cemetery having a Guide Book? Who ever heard of a cemetery that, during the month of June, had to close its book of wedding reservations at 165 because there were no more hours left? I hear someone say—"Weddings are good advertising". If you stop there you miss the very point I am trying to illustrate. It means that the attitude of people is changing towards our interment places. Instinctive in every human heart is a desire and a reaching out for the beautiful things of life. Give the public "beauty" and it will respond a hundred fold.

We already have museum rooms at Forest Lawn. I hope the day will come when we shall have a Forest Lawn Academy of Fine Arts, free to the worthy youth of the Pacific Coast. I hope to persuade sufficient people in this Southland to provide in their wills endowments, whereby the Honor man in the graduating class in this institution or arts may be given three years abroad, with expenses paid. An ambitious program, yes, but I believe basically correct and no more difficult of accomplishment than the ones we laid in 1917, a great many of which have come to pass.

Ladies and gentlemen—this brings me to my last topic—the Memorial Idea. All the figures and facts that I have heretofore quoted have been made with the hope of convincing you that the statements I shall now make are not merely theoretical assumptions but facts born of hard experiences in the interment field. I fancy I see u smile come over the faces of the Californians in this audience, because they have heard me speak on the Memorial Idea before. I am sorry, because I fear they will be bored, for I shall say nothing new—I shall not even attempt a newness because the more familiar I can make this subject to them and to you the more surely can I drive home the intense conviction that I have.

The memorial instinct is one of the oldest and greatest in man. It is this instinct that, moving in practical ways, has created the great art and architectural triumphs of the ages. Few people realize that it was the memorial idea that gave to the world the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, which is acknowledged to be the most beautiful building in the world. Westminster Abbey, the Partheon, the Castel Saint Angelo and practically all of the enduring works of architecture and art that succeeding generations have journeyed around the world to see and admire.

Mr. Will Durant, author of that book "The Mansions of Philosophy" which is being so generally read just now, pays a remarkable tribute to the influence which the memorialization idea has played in art and architecture. He says:

"Architecture began with tombs that housed the dead; the most ancient architectural monuments in the world—the Pyramids—are tombs. Churches began as shrines to the dead and places for worshipping them. Gradually the burial place was taken out into the neighboring ground, but still, in Westminster Abbey, the graves of great ancestors are within the church. From these beginnings came the proud temples raised by the Greeks to Pallas, Athene, and the other gods; and from similar beginnings came those fairest works ever reared by man, the Gothic cathedrals, whose altars, like those early tombs, harbor the relics of the holy dead."

All of our history books, our literature and much of our daily living, is derived from the efforts of the past ages to leave a record of themselves in memorials. Everything passes except that generated by this Memorial Idea. Its spiritual significance defends it against encroachments of a material age, and the cemetery, mausoleum, or crematory that plans such development upon this foundation can rest assured that coming generations will approve. If you hold strongly to the spiritual thought which inspires it, if you but carry the message by the dignity of form and proportion, the refinement of color and detail, by the beauty of the whole, present generations will reward you and future generations admire and preserve.

Do not fall into the error of believing that the average cemetery official can create beauty. I seriously doubt if there is a man in this room capable of truly evidencing the Memorial Idea in form and color. If any of you have that capacity then you have combined in you the qualities of a great architect, a great artist, a great landscape engineer and a great sculptor, because these attainments are needed. You will find that in the long run it will be cheaper to hire those men acknowledged to be "Great" in these lines and to whom God, at birth, gave the power to create beautiful things.

If you plan artistically correct in the beginning you will find that in the end you save money. Look at Paris with its Champs Elysees and intersecting streets, planned by a great architect long before the automobile came into existence. Correct planning meant broad avenues which automatically took care of automobile congestion, whereas today we, in our cities, are spending millions to change these narrow streets.

The financial welfare of every man in this room is dependent upon the elevation of the Memorial Idea, to encourage it is obvious—to degrade it is suicide, and yet that very thing we do every day.

THE CEMETERY MAN, who allows an ugly thing placed or developed within the confines of his grounds, or by word of mouth divests if of its spiritual significance, is helping to destroy the Memorial Idea.

THE MAUSOLEUM BUILDER, who allows any material or form of design to go into his building except that acknowledged by the technical world to be the most lasting and the most beautiful, writes his own epitaph.

THE CREMATION MAN who stops with the ashes (incinerated remains) in his hands, and fails to insist that his client create a memorial for those remains, evidenced by an urn and a niche, or solemn committal to a grave or mausoleum, will, in time, like Samson, pull the house down upon us and himself. God hasten the day when the crematories will take their stand and say "No more incineration without the creation of a memorial—we define the word 'cremation' as including incineration, inurnment and permanent deposition—the three actions are inseparable and indivisible."

THE UNDERTAKER who impresses his clients with the feeling that his portion of attending to the death is the most important, that he is, to all practical purposes the end of the transaction (where the Memorial Idea demands that he be but the entrance door to the Memorial Temple), that Undertaker is the greatest fool of all. His is the greatest opportunity because his clients are in a plastic state, ready to be tuned to the highest call of the Memorial Idea, or molded with a commercial, materialistic, get-it-over form of thought, which results in nothing of lasting benefit to society of his family.

How long—how long will the Interment Association endure the degradation of the Memorial Idea by certain low caliber Funeral Directors? I know of many Funeral Directors who are high class, intelligent, sympathetic and in tune with the Memorial Idea, but I am informed that there are many others whose efforts tend to lower the ethical standards so strived at by the Association of Funeral Directors.

God forbid that I shall be compelled to enter the undertaking business, but I solemnly prophecy this: That the Memorial Park of tomorrow will demand sweeping reforms on the part of the undertaking craft or Memorial Parks will build and develop undertaking establishments of their own. I prophecy, because the end is obvious—it is economically correct. In any other business these consolidations would .have been effected long ago. Service to the public of the future will demand an undertaking establishment in every cemetery—in every mausoleum—in every crematory, where the sorrowing purchaser may go and transact all of his interment preparations at one time with one concern and one individual, in a place where he, his family and friends at the time of the funeral may park their automobiles in grounds where roads provide ample parking area and amidst surroundings of beauty and quiet which soothe and comfort their sorrow. The public of the future will demand that this consolidation be effected to save them the high cost of burying. Then, and not till then, will the Memorial Idea be in position to be brought to its highest fruition.

Let you and me resolve to go back to our various institutions and "play the game", resolved to stand staunch and true to the Memorial Idea; resolved that when we are distracted by the barrage of requests from unthinking owners to allow this or that improvement to their interment space, to stand fast and "play the game."

I have known a few business men who consistently have fought a victorious fight, but I think most of us, with all our good intentions fall back boot by boot until at last, for some reason, we stiffen and hold our own. Hold fast to this Memorial Idea—it will make you free spiritually and financially.

Cemeteries can never be separated from religion. Yesterday, religion was puritanical—it spoke in the terms of the Ten Commandments—in terms of sacrifice—in terms of Calvary.  Today, religion is gladsome, radiant—it speaks in the terms of the Beatitudes—of joyousness and the Smiling Christ. And so, as the cemeteries of yesterday evidenced the religion of yesterday, so must the successful Memorial Park of tomorrow, evidence the religion of today. Cemeteries are the physical expression of the religious spirit of their time.

My belief is that the Interment organization that demonstrates its right to exist, must prepare to serve the living by not only giving them a safe depository for their beloved dead, but a place that will be spiritually uplifting, physically beautiful, its personnel filled with a sincere desire to serve its fellowman. Such a place will truly express the Memorial Idea. Such is the true conception for the "Creation of a Modern Park Cemetery".

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Convention
Los Angeles, CA
September 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1929

This subject, as assigned me, I would like to divide, first, taking up the Public Vault, or Receiving Tomb. To this subject, I have given a considerable amount of thought and attention, and for years I have condemned the free use made of it. By this, I mean the making of such a vault, the receptacle for such a large percent of the bodies, that should at the first be buried. Of course I will admit that when such a vault is properly built, cared for and used only in cases of actual need it becomes, what it was designed for.

But what I do wish to condemn is, the fact, that in so many cemeteries, they seem to think it the most convenient place at all times, and also have an idea that in placing a body there, it is less work, less expensive etc.

Now to these arguments I do not agree, as when I first took charge of the ground I now represent, I made this a matter of especial attention, and I had the obstacle of opening ground in frosty weather, the breaking up of the lots and all the other similar objections. But it gives me pleasure at this time to be able to state, that now the time has come when almost everyone wishes to bury their friends, at once, thereby making a final disposition.

So that even if it should cost a trifle more at the time of opening the grave (supposing the ground to be frozen) in the long run the expense is no more, since, if there are many bodies placed in the Tomb, the removal there from must be made early in the spring time, and as that is the busiest season in all cemeteries the time spent in such work would be valuable.

And we also hear quoted, the fact that it breaks up the ground to dig during the winter months. But by the Board of Health regulation, those dying from contagious diseases such as scarlet fever, diphtheria and others must be at once buried and no Superintendent would dare to do otherwise.

Well, now, if we can dig the ground for those dying of one kind of disease, why can’t we dig for all. And I have known of several of the Public Vaults being so crowded that the racks were filled and in some cases the bodies piled one on the other. Perhaps you may have been invited at some time to inspect some such vault, if so; possibly you have a faint remembrance the repulsive sight, the odor, etc. So what I wish to bring out/at this time is that to work at such a place must be most unhealthful, and of course it must be done by those in our employ, now it does not seem right to compel workmen to do such tasks as we ourselves would positively refuse to do, and let us Superintendents exercise our influence for the working out some good plan.  It seems to me that in no one way can we better do this than in a renovation of our Receiving Vaults.

We pass on now to the second half of the subject, Private Vaults:  I speak from personal experience as I think hardly anyone present can have a larger number of private vaults, for the size of ground than we have where I am located.

We have some 75 in use at the present time; most of them built 40 and 50 years ago, under the old fashioned oven or cellar style.

The Oven style being built in the side of a bank, where there is from 2½ to 3 ft. of standing room on the side and the rest arched over, with a stone front and marble door 2 ft. 4 in. wide and 3½ ft. high. The Cellar Tomb is 4 ft. underground and then usually a slab raised and steps going down from that to the bottom of the Tomb, making some 6 or 7 ft. deeper. In almost all of those built in this style, the bodies are placed one on top of the other, being no racks whatever.

I think you can imagine what a task we have before us when notified to open and have ready for use one of these Private Vaults. And when I say that all such Tombs or Vaults should be hermetically sealed, I think you will agree with me.

In regard to those of modern build, after the catacomb style, these I should say are very good as far as cleanliness goes, but I should prefer that the cemetery under my charge should have no vaults of any kind. They are, and always will be a source of expense and require much care. Let us then instead of so carefully preserving such a mass of corruption rather fulfill the divine law: Earth to earth, Ashes to ashes, and Dust to dust.

And in closing I would recommend that this Association appoint a committee to devise ways and means, whereby they can bring before the different State Boards of Health, the advisability of closing all vaults except such as are built of the catacomb style.

I have some photographs of the interior of some of these vaults I have mentioned which I shall be happy to have the gentlemen see.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 7th Annual Convention
Minneapolis, MN
August 22, 23 and 24, 1893

The removal of bodies is a subject of vital interest to all cemetery managers. While I do not desire to speak of how to do it, as this has been talked over sufficiently before, and varies with the location of the cemetery, I like to consider the subject from a philosophical standpoint.

It seems to me and doubtless the same observation has been made by others, that removing bodies is at times a part of fashion and style or a craze. Like a contagious disease it makes the rounds among people and they are never satisfied until they have moved their departed from place to place in the cemetery. And not satisfied with this, they even move bodies from city to city. At times when the removal craze is at its height it is nothing uncommon for a body to be moved two or three times in a comparatively short time. Again this fashion dies out almost entirely only to awaken again in a few years and make worse ravages than before.

How to account for it? I have tried by conversing with people to get at the real foundation of this craze, but failed to see anything but people's thoughtlessness. Try to talk it out of their minds.

Suppose you bring the skull and a few bones to the new grave, fill it in again and build a mound over it, should a person of sound mind imagine for one minute, that the body now lies in a new grave and rests peacefully forever? In few years more the skull and the bones are gone too, and then what? Would you try and move nothing, if another removal is ordered. I have heard that such practice has been done, to satisfy the wants of cranky people. How right was Shakespeare when he declared all mortals fools!

I claim and I hope that the AACS will sustain me in my opinion, that it is far better and more reasonable in every respect to let long buried bodies alone than engage in the ugly and horrible job of removing them.

But there is one more question to be touched in connection with this subject. Sometimes old cemeteries are closed up for various reasons in order to be transformed into a public park. A good many graves cannot be recognized for want of proper management in days gone by; others have been buried so long that absolutely no trace of the remains can be found. Still they must all be moved to new grounds. So called time honored custom and alleged piety command it. Besides it costs money, but it must be done!

Is it justifiable?

I say it is not! It is more beautiful, more humane and sensible and it must be more pious, to leave those bodies where they are. Collect their names and place them all on one picturesque monument in the remodeled cemetery, the new park, plow over their graves and let the dead continue their sleep under a lovely green turf and under a pleasing landscape. Their memory is not forgotten by those who care; their names will be remembered, if remembering they deserve. Their ashes will arise into blooming flowers, into beautiful trees giving delight and inviting shade to living generations, who will in turn go through the same transformation. So it goes on forever. The park ought to be the final termination of any cemetery, for who cares 300 years from now as to who is buried here or there. To see the proof of this, you will only have to go back to old Europe or our Eastern States and see if any body cares for or recognizes a grave made only 100 years ago.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 7th Annual Convention
Minneapolis, MN
August 22, 23 and 24, 1893

The records of the American Cemetery Superintendents for the past 34 years contain many papers and addresses embracing every known topic relating to cemetery matters. It would be difficult to point out one single phase of our work which has not been taken up and thoroughly covered in writing. It is interesting, however, to note that very little has been said concerning disinterments. To write a comprehensive article on this subject would require much time and study. The following is a brief review of my own personal experience in this line of work.

One of the most common sights in any cemetery that attracts the attention of the public is the disinterring of the remains of a body which has been in the ground for some time. The sentiment of the people in regard to disturbing the repose of the dead varies much. While very many persons are unalterably opposed to disinterments because of religious or sentimental reasons others claim that the removal of the remains in a proper way to a more suitable location, while in a sense it may violate their sepulcher, wound the feelings of their kindred and disturb the memorials erected by them, under the circumstances becomes entirely proper (even as a matter of sentiment).

There are a number of reasons why so many removals are requested. At the time of death there are many people who have the remains interred in a single grave and later on purchase a lot and request us to disinter the body and remove it to the newly acquired location. Others may possess a lot insufficient for their needs and in time it may become necessary to acquire more ground or purchase a larger lot in some other part of the cemetery, or in another cemetery, to which eventually the remains will be moved. Still others are removed to be buried near their ancestors in other towns or other lands. This is especially true of the Chinese, all of whom desire to be buried near the graves of their ancestors. Such disinterments are conducted according to a venerable Chinese custom as embodied in the Book of Rites, written by the sage Confucious. A representative of the Chinese burial society, after disinterring the remains, scrapes the bones, washes and scrubs them thoroughly with soap and water after which they are placed in zinc boxes for shipment to China.

In disinterring bodies, the difficulties encountered are many. Where the body is placed in a concrete or steel case or in a metallic casket, disinterring without coming in contact with the remains is comparatively easy. However, where a casket is made of wood and other soft materials is placed in a wooden rough box, disinterring without exposing or injuring the remains is exceedingly difficult, especially so in cases where the body has been in the ground nine or ten years. Quite often the casket is only glued together, and when exposed to the air after a lapse of time in the ground will crumble to pieces when handled and brought to the surface. Some of these graves emit noxious gases when broken into for the purpose of disinterring, causing inconvenience among the men performing this gruesome task. In disinterring bodies where nothing but the bones remain, it is quite impossible to be sure whether all have been recovered. No doubt there are some who in life may have been crippled, or who may have by accident suffered the loss of a limb or some other bodily injury.

Let me mention the case of Mr. W., known to several of our members as a most unusual case. In August, 1914, application was made for the burial, upon his father's lot, of the left leg of this man, in the space which would have ordinarily been his future grave. The burial was made and in March, 1915, application was received for the burial of the right leg of Mr. W., to rest beside the one first buried. Again a burial was made; but as yet the body of Mr. W. has not gone to join his departed members. I am quite sure that the issuance of three different burial permits, at different times, and for but the one body (as it will be in this case) is most unusual. But this is a matter of interments-not disinterments and therefore but incidental to my subject.

Another case which might be listed as one of the unusual experiences of my “twenty-one years in the graveyard” was the burial made in one of our local cemeteries of the leg of Mr. B. A few days after the burial, members of Mr. B's family made application to have the leg disinterred. The reason given was that Mr. B. could not rest because his buried leg was causing him pain and he was sure that it was being tortured by the pressure of the earth. As a matter of fact, the leg had been buried directly in contact with the earth; when disinterred and re-buried in a box, Mr. B. was no longer troubled with the pain. I have often wondered how Mr. B. knew there was pressure on that buried leg. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".

The present day epidemic (so to speak) of reputed spiritualistic phenomena reminds me of another unusual experience. Some time ago Mrs. B., a spiritualist came to me and asked where a certain Dr. T. was buried in Woodland Cemetery. I asked her if she could state approximately when he was buried. She replied that she had no knowledge of the year, but she had attended a spiritualist meeting the previous Sunday and Dr. T. had come to her and asked to have his grave mounded, as there was quite a depression in it. I summoned our yard superintendent and had him take Mrs. B. to the grave and see the condition of the same. They both returned to the office saying there was quite a depression. Mrs. B. paid the necessary amount charged for this work and the following day we mounded and sodded the grave as ordered. Several days after the work had been completed a Mrs. H., who claimed to be the owner of the lot where Dr. T. was buried, came into the office very much excited claiming some one had been buried on her lot, as there was a new mound on the lot. In looking up this complaint we discovered the new mound was the mound of Dr. T. which Mrs. B., the spiritualist had ordered made. I explained to Mrs. H. that the records showed Dr. T. had been interred there in 1855 and that she had apparently purchased the lot from a former owner, who sold the same, leaving Dr. T's remains on the lot. Mrs. H. objected very strenuously to the new mound and claimed nothing had been said about the remains on the lot at the time of purchase, and she was positive that no one was interred there. I suggested that if she would deposit the amount required to disinter, furnish a small box and re-inter in potter's field, the work could be done at once and proposed that in the event we found no remains, the money would be refunded. Mrs. H. agreed to this and we proceeded to disinter Dr. T. We found the remains, disinterred them and re-interred them in potter's field. About a week after this work had been completed, Mrs. B. came to the office very much excited and said Dr. T. had appealed to her at the Sunday night meeting saying his body had been disturbed. We explained all that had occurred and Mrs. B. went away, only to return a few days later saying the members had collected money to remove Dr. T. from the potter's field to a single grave. Again Dr. T. was disinterred and placed in a single grave. The following Sunday he appealed to Mrs. B. again saying he was not resting comfortably, that he wanted his bones placed in a larger box and laid out straight. I suggested to Mrs. B. that this would be impossible and I was sure Dr. T. was only nervous and excited on account of being disinterred twice, and he would settle down in due time and be quiet. Evidently this was the case as we have not heard from Mrs. B. since.

Bodies placed in iron, lead or other metallic caskets may be preserved for long periods and the form and features may be recognized after a considerable interval. You may remember that Hamlet when accosting the gravedigger (Hamlet, Act 5) asks him how long the body will lie in earth ere it rot; and the gravedigger's answer was that "a body should last you some eight or nine years". It is, I believe, the evidence of sextons in the present day that if a body be buried at a considerable depth, it takes eight or nine years for it to disappear. I believe the rate of disappearance depends very largely on the depth at which a body is buried. In this country bodies are almost always buried in caskets and at a considerable depth, but if a body: not enclosed in a casket, is buried in the upper layers of the earth which are full of microbes and burrowing insects it disintegrates very quickly, say in twelve months or so. In the state of Ohio it is illegal to bury a corpse at a depth of less than four feet.

The most favorable soil for decomposition is a moist, porous loam, moldy or impregnated with animal or vegetable matter. The most favorable soil for the preservation of the body is sand gravel or clay, in which moisture is deficient and the desiccation of the body is rapid. In such soil, in a deep grave, and in a hermetically sealed leaden casket, the body may long remain in remarkably good preservation. Most remarkable is the preservation of bodies buried in peat-bogs, from which they have been recovered in an excellent state after a lapse of many years.

There is no doubt whatever that the cause of death greatly influences the rapidity of decomposition. Decomposition is apt to be exceedingly quick after some of the infective fevers, including acute pneumonia. The presence of certain poisons in the body which act as antiseptics retard putrefactive changes. Instances of this sort have been seen after death from arsenic, carbolic acid and some other mineral poisons.

The bodily weight of a man is two-thirds water. We know that for decomposition to set in, a certain amount of water is necessary i.e., a certain amount of fluidity and moistness of the tissues. When death takes place in a perfectly dry atmosphere, decomposition properly so-called does not set in, and the body dries up and mummifies. True mummification consists in the rapid evaporation of the water constituents of the body. This change is favored by very high temperatures with great dryness of the atmosphere, and by atmospheric draught. In this state the soft parts are retained and the features; though distorted, are preserved and present a rusty brown color. Indeed it is highly probable that in Egypt the practice of making mummies was simply going in the direction that nature was going; a person dying in the waterless regions of Egypt could only be mummified, and the people took up the natural process and converted it into art.

It has been found that clothing resists change longer than the body. Materials composed of vegetable fibers decay first, next in order are the textile fabrics from the animal kingdom, while silk and leather are the last to be destroyed.

Considering the conditions surrounding the body, disease of which the person died, the temperature, the dryness of the air, and so forth, you will readily conceive that it is difficult to say in advance of actual disinterment what the conditions of a buried body may be. Sometimes decomposition is very rapid; sometimes it is very much delayed.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Convention held at Detroit, Michigan
September 13, 14 and 15, 1921

In the words of the poet William Cullen Bryant – “All that tread the globe are but a handful to the tribes that slumber in its bosom".

Our Dominion Astronomer, Dr. Otto Klotz, some years ago favored us with a short, but very original mathematical contribution, to show that if the world goes on increasing its population at the rate obtaining during the past century, it will within measureable time be overcrowded to extinction!

THE DELUGE: The deluge is of course the legendary funeral of note. Many painters have tried to depict it. The painting by Wouters shown you on the screen was being exhibited through Belgium in 1907, an unsuspected premonition of the national fate in 1914.

PREHISTORIC: The skulls and the bones, the burial caves and barrows, the Megaliths and Kurgans of prehistory are our data on the evolution of man.
The burial customs of the tribes give the key to the trend of human ascension, the skulls furnishing the anthropologists with the cephalic index, the proportion of width to length, that they wrangle so much about and what a mixing of races on the foughten fields of Europe.
Our time does not allow for a complete and detailed display of this one of the most interesting studies into which there has been so much painstaking and learned research. Henry Fairfield Osborn, Beddoe, Dennis, Madison Grant, Frazer, Grant Allen and many others are beacons that lead far afield in diverse directions to gather the threads of this very tangled skein. The few typical examples discussed and shown upon the screen may help us in analysis of our present problem and aid toward a synthetic solution.

SYMBOLISM: Longfellow tells us that- "Dust thou art, to dust returneth; Was not written of the soul."
We commemorate the soul, the living soul, not the clay that has crumbled; there is imposed upon us to express its idealism with understanding and with art.
Flinders Petrie writing on the character of Egyptian Art, holds that "The truest analysis of art, that of Tolstoy, results in defining it as a means of communicating emotion."
The question still seems an open one as to whether inhumation or cremation be the more ancient method of disposing of the dead; i.e., relatively among historic races. There is the theory of Rhode that the custom of burying the dead is of Indo-Aryan origin with the view of separating the body from the soul more rapidly, to give the latter its liberty the sooner.

BURIAL CUSTOMS: It appears at the time of Christ nearly all important races burned their dead except the Jews, which would account for their opposite custom of burial coming down through Christianity and western civilization to us.
Religious controversies which have raged around this subject are apart from our theme, it is largely a matter of sentiment. There is nothing as conservative as the dead-unless it be the near dead!
As our laws stand, one cannot be cremated unless expressly so stated in one's will-the living are given no discretion in a matter to which the departed have rarely given any thought.
Cremation seems to be slowly gaining recognition by its inherent attributes-the war has emphasized its physical advantages-and art can better express emotions in allegorical symbols.
What should be symbolized are the ideals that men have lived for-that the individual may have practiced-that the time proclaims.

ARCHITECTURE: Let us now turn to architecture described by Staham as "a great world wide art in which the human race has endeavored to realize in material form its aspirations after abstract sublimity.
What conclusions may be drawn as to reason and type; what best fitted to express our modern ideal of death?
And before reviewing this historic pageant may I urge upon you to seek and to favor the guidance of artists-architects and sculptors in the designing of monuments and to resist the trend of commercialism, art that is today well nigh overwhelming the living and the dead.
In one of my reports on the development of Hamilton (1917) there is reiterated my strong conviction that Commercialized Art is to Aesthetics, as Commercialized Vice is to Ethics--a defilement.

GENIE GUARDING SECRETS OF THE TOMB IN LUXEMBOURG GALLERIES
Rene de Saint-Marceaux, Sc.

HISTORIC TOMBS: Egypt from her prehistory, 8000 to 5500 BC has left us burials of figures crouched in square boxlike receptacles which evolved into the Mastabas and the Pyramid tombs of the ancient Empire and that prevailed for about two thousand years.
The Middle Empire which ran for about another thirteen centuries was the age of the Rock Cut Tombs which in turn brings us to the beginning of the New Empire about 1700 BC, the age of Temples which lasted to 340 BC.

The Egyptians believed that the conservation of the body after death was essential for its ultimate reunion with the soul-therefore, mummies.

The stepped pyramids of Sakkars with its five steps about two hundred feet of height is the oldest dating about 4000 BC.

The great pyramid built about 3700 BC by King Cheops (Khufu) in the Gizeh group was an astronomical observatory during his life and his tomb after death-it is the largest of some 70 pyramids in Egypt and covers 13½ acres, and is 451 feet or more high.

Computations run that from 100,000 to 350,000 men were employed for twenty years in building it-a government job, but magnificently done!

From its summit there is a view of the Lybian desert where the ancient tombs have been shrouded by the ever shifting sands.

The Mastabas or built tombs at Gizeh date from about 3900 BC. The Rock Cut Tombs begin about 3000 BC, the most important subsequently being those of Beni-Hassan.

With the beginning of the New Empire we get the Mausoleum of Queen Hatshepsu (about 1517 BC) known as the temple of Deir-el-Bahri on the opposite shore of the Nile from Karnac. It is some 900 years later than the Beni-Hasson caves.

The Egyptians continued building tombs without further evolution of ideas; they had their "Book of the Dead". A very interesting romance, "Uarda" by George Ebers, the great Egyptologist, describes the burial customs and the Necropolis of Thebes about fourteen centuries BC.

The Babylonian laws of Hammurabi, over twenty-two centuries BC, the oldest code known, contain minute instructions regarding the care of the irrigation canals-the penalty for their neglect being greater than that for beating one's wife. But Babylon has left us no tombs; all their structures being of clay, have crumbled and only a few titles reward the searchers in the palace mounds. Similarly with the annals of the Kings of Assyria.

China, likewise, whose accepted history, if a bit mythical, goes back according to W. G. Old and others, to 2943 BC-the approximate date of the Deluge-has few tombs to tells its early standing.

There, apparently almost everyone with a few dynastic exceptions has been buried in the back garden and China is one vast cemetery the sacredness of which in the worship of its ancestors has made it very difficult to introduce civilization by the desecrating railway!

Their temples were halls for ancestors worship. To God they erected their altars in the open.

Greek art has left us the record of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (350 BC) in Asia Minor, the excavated remains of which are now in the British Museum. It is from these that comes the famous slab representing the extermination of the Amazons by the Greeks.

The Greeks being a highly cultured people usually raised memorials to abstract ideals-not to house the mortal remains like the monument of Lysicrates at Athens.

Italy is a land of many tombs. Each city of ancient Etruria had its Necropolis, a thousand years and more BC, the finds from which fill museums and help to trace the genesis of Roman art and customs.

The distinguishing Etruscan feature was the podium and tumulus and also the more usual subterranean vaults.

An interesting feature of the later are the funerary urns which at a certain period were often in the form of miniature huts indicative of the architecture of the day. It is from this source that we gather that the Etruscans began to change from round to square dwellings about the seventh century BC.

The Romans, on the other hand, built their tombs above ground the greatest of which was the Mole of Hadrian; now since the Middle Ages, the fortress Castle of St. Angelo.

The Street of the Tombs at Athens was copied on a colossal scale in the Appian Way outside the St. Sebastian Gate and where the great round bastion-like tomb of Cecelia Matella still stands sentinel over so many others in complete ruins. Both the Hadrian and Matella tombs show Etruscan influence in form.

The Christian Catacombs are a subject by themselves, the outcome of necessitous circumstances and not of display.

The Temple Tomb of Diocletian at Spalato on the Dalmatian coast, early fourth century, shows the incoming influence of Eastern thought on Western architecture and which with the rise of Christianity to power, evolved to custom of burial crypts and monuments in Mediaeval Cathedrals; enduring to our day.

The tomb of the Popes in Saint Peters; from the Renaissance are the most magnificent examples of their kind.

Westminster Abbey, the shrine of England's Great, and the Pantheon for those of France and Napoleon's tomb are also outstanding examples of this custom.

Nor must one forget a Campo Santo at Genoa.

In passing it may be noted that the Parsee towers and the Burning Ghats of India are not classed as tombs.

India claims, however, the culmination, in the seventeenth century, of woman in India.

HAMILTON

Now I am encouraged to submit the theories I hold in their application to the city of Hamilton, where my reports on railway reorganization, on highways and on general development, have already been so kindly and so sympathetically received-and where they are beginning to be carried out.

The magnificent high level entrance to Hamilton with its beautiful cemetery aligning the route to the west appeals to me greatly as a possible revival of the street of the Tombs in Athens and of the atmosphere that hallowed the majesty of the Appian Way-where there was no shrinking from death by the myriads who passed cheerfully into its shadow.

It should, however, manifest the highest symbolism and the purest art in the tombs and shafts that hedge the way-and it were better they stood for the collective ideals of social units.

Such splendid tombs should not vie with each other in size nor in ostentation, but solely in dignity and simple beauty. Those who have been privileged to know Stoughton Holborn's "Need for Art in Life" will realize the vision.

There appears today in our cemeteries too great an assumption, an obsession of invidious personality, as Veblen might say.

As an example of Symbolism: in the suggested Mountain Stadium as shown, my thought was that as a War Memorial it would express the sacrifice of the dead for the living-for the continuity of the race.

Further, the suggestion includes a composition symbolic of the struggle of man in the quest of freedom in evolution on the Altar of Human Sacrifice.

Thus in the center of the great traffic circle facing the Terminal, a tall Obelisk would be centered on a pyramidal series of massive concentric and circular altar stones, the whole resting in the center of a large fountain pool.

At the foot of the Obelisk figures symbolizing the fecundity of the Earth would be backed against the base of the shaft. Around these on the upper degree of the altar, groups of men of the stone Age struggling by instinct; descending, a degree of men of the Metal Age struggling for
survival and again a degree lower the sword and the javelin battling for conquest; and again down a degree further ahorse and afoot champions of the Cross and the Crescent down finally to the broader ledge on the Altar of Time, where, amidst all the panoply and horrors of modern war, the Conflagration of our own flesh and blood is incense supreme in retribution for all ignorance and in merit of ultimate freedom.

The blood of conflict mingling with the springs that fertilize the earth overflows from age to age into the oblivion in the sea of Time, into the ether of Eternity, through which this planet wanders beyond our realms of consciousness.

Reverting to a comprehensive Necropolis for Hamilton.

Let it be something splendid, real, like the Castel d'Asso Valley of Tombs-and sufficient for ages-such is the mountain top, rim and the southerly sloping talus on the northerly side of this valley, where the Guelph road climbs over its heights.

My professional usefulness as an engineer and a town planner lies perhaps mainly in regional and city planning for the living, yet is not without grave concern in the disposition of the Necropolis where we all of the League of Nations will eventually find passive transition.

May I trust that these views of an outside observer have proved of sympathetic interest and stimulation.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Convention held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
September 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1920

No phase of human activity has stronger traditions than the burial of the dead. In all ages man has attempted to give expression to his belief in the immortality of the soul. Almost the only records we possess of many races are the tombs which they erected. It is to be hoped that our own present age will never come to be judged by the records it will leave of burial in its great cities.

Idealism in Cemetery Design.-The first principle in cemetery design is the creation of that unmistakable atmosphere which we associate with the burial of the dead. There is a modern tendency to avoid a funereal aspect in cemeteries as though a cemetery was after all something to be ashamed of which ought to be disgusted as something else. Cemetery design as a fine art seeks to give expression to the purpose for which the design is created. In other words, the cemetery must look like a cemetery, not like a public pleasure park or recreation ground. This can only be accomplished by a study of the traditions which, throughout innumerable centuries, have produced certain well marked associations which we recognize as the atmosphere surrounding burial. An obvious example to prove this point may be drawn from architecture. No architect or designer who is unacquainted with the traditions of ecclesiastical architecture can build a church which is going to look like a church. He may succeed in meeting all the schedule of requirements laid down for his guidance as to seating capacity, choir space and altar, but the result is likely to prove much more like a moving picture theatre or physics lecture hall than a church. The reason for this is that, as a result of thousands of years of religious faith definite associations in architecture have grown up which we instinctively connect with public worship. When we go to church we are disappointed if the outside of the building looks like a barn and the inside like the Strand theatre.

What are the associations which have grown up around the burial place for the dead? They are seclusion, repose, solemnity and mystery.

Seclusion.-The modern cemetery is seldom secluded. Too often the roar of traffic on the great thoroughfare, where it is usually located, is only too audible.

Repose. - Having finally succumbed in the whirlpool of modern business life, the soul is everlastingly denied that repose for which it has been craving and is left in contemplation of the traffic problem of our great cities.

Solemnity.-Solemnity is accomplished by means of masses of granite balancing upon one corner.

Mystery.-There is nothing mysterious about our cemeteries. They constitute a permanent monument to the vanity, cynicism and materialism of our age.

In the United States reaction against the indecencies of the modern civic cemetery with its harvest of dragons’ teeth and its glorification of atrocities has led to extremes in which the whole purpose of the cemetery must be disguised as though death itself were the crime and complete obliteration of its evidence of the object.

Some years ago I received a call to visit a small cemetery and make suggestions for re-planning on more modern lines. What I found was a cemetery which approached more nearly to my ideal in cemetery planning than any modern burial ground which I have ever seen in any country. I felt instinctively upon entering that I was in the presence of the work of a student of great intellect and vivid imagination. My clients informed me that the cemetery was originally designed by a much traveled Jesuit father, since deceased. The rectangular site, of perhaps 30 acres, occupied the whole of a high tableland from which all views of the surrounding town were completely shut off by a double belt of Scotch and Austrian Pine, forty feet high. The plan simplicity itself took the form of a great cross which cut the property into four quarters. The lines of the cross were marked by straight wide alleys of level grass with a well designed monument at the crossing. Bounding the alleys on either side was a tall cedar hedge, in front of which were spaced out pyramidal cedars 25 feet high. The four blocks were subdivided into lots with simple head stones and served by a road way passing through each. Those fortunate enough to be buried here enjoy an atmosphere of seclusion repose, solemnity and mystery.

Requirements of the Modern Civic Cemetery.-The site: While twenty-five years is an extremely long period in the life of cities, it is an extremely short period in the life of a cemetery, if one may use the word life in connection with a burial ground. During the past twenty-five years the principles of transportation in our cities have undergone a complete revolution resulting in the spread of population over vast areas which would have been impossible under previous methods. A site chosen twenty-five years ago on account of its seclusion may now be the centre of the utmost congestion. The time has not yet arrived when definite limits will be set to the growth of cities although signs are evident that such action will eventually have to be taken.

The search for a site for a cemetery, therefore, will be guided by geographical and topographical conditions more than by judgment as to future civic development. A site partially or even entirely surrounded by water, for instance, will promise seclusion for an unlimited period. In mountainous and hilly districts sites can often be found which will insure seclusion for the cemetery on every side but one.

Accessibility.-In order to be accessible the cemetery need not necessarily be located on a great thoroughfare or any road which seems likely to develop, as such. A good road open to traffic at all times of the year is a necessity, but the possibility of an entrance some few hundred yards away from the thoroughfare rather than immediately upon it, is no disadvantage. Street car service within short walking distance of the cemetery should be provided or the probability of the provision at a later date considered. From two to four miles from the district which the cemetery is expected to serve is not too great a distance.

Seclusion.-Seclusion is by far the most important feature in my opinion when choosing a site. Natural topographical features, such as the crest of a hill or an expanse of water, are more to be relied upon than belts of trees either existing or proposed. Few of our native trees thrive well in the densely populated districts of our cities and it is doubtful if any trees can be counted upon to provide seclusion of such permanence as is demanded by a cemetery.

Aspect.-A site sloping toward the southeast and heavily protected toward the west, northwest and north is the ideal which should be sought. There are days in spring and fall when attendance at a funeral is sufficient to strain the affection of the most trusted friend. As our cold weather comes almost invariably from the north to the .west, protection from that quarter is essential. I have seen properties only a few hundred yards apart where the transformation from bleak winter into glorious summer is accomplished solely by means of a plantation of evergreens on the northwest. The convenience and comfort of the public, the associations surrounding a resting place for the dead and the operations connected with a cemetery in winter time demand adequate shelter from strong cold winds.

Natural and Topographical Features.-A hilly or undulating site is usually more attractive than a level site. Level sites are inclined to become extremely monotonous unless great skill is used in the layout and planning. It is most important that the whole of the Property should not be seen at one time as quite apart from the unsightliness of a forest of monuments, a piece of property invariably gives the impression. of much smaller size when the whole of it is seen at once than when broken up into a number of spaces varying in interest with well screened boundary lines. A property may be broken up in two ways, either by topographical irregularities or by masses of planting existing or proposed. While a site should not necessarily be condemned on account of being level a sharply undulating property will us usually possess greater possibilities for interest and beauty than one devoid of natural features. Existing trees on a property are of course a priceless asset, but much would depend on their character and disposition. If the property is likely to be fairly well preserved from city smoke for a long period a growth of cedars would be invaluable. Cedars, owing to their character and shape, will help more than any other native tree to produce the atmosphere of mystery which should be the keynote of a cemetery. Being evergreen they will also maintain the character at all times of the year. White pine and Norway spruce, although evergreens, are not to be counted upon to any great extent. The former invariably dies out upon the approach of the city while the latter is a short lived tree at the best of times and becomes extremely ragged and unsightly when old. A heavy growth of deciduous timber over the whole of the property may be rather a disadvantage than otherwise. While theoretically, the exact amount of clearing desired ought to be possible it is usually found in practice that great difficulty is experienced in having trees removed and the result may be less satisfactory than building up plantations where needed upon a bare site. In city cemeteries natural streams of water are an asset if obtainable, but can seldom be counted upon for very long, as the development of the city will usually eventually cut off the supply.

Soil and Drainage.-Every cemetery superintendent will agree upon the importance of soil and drainage when choosing a site for the cemetery. Owing to the depth at which graves have to be dug the water table must be kept down below six feet from the surface at all times of the year. The depth at which drainage operations have to be executed. may be an item of very great expense if large areas have to be dealt with. A deep, well drained sandy loam is the ideal soil for cemetery sites. Heavy clay should be avoided. Rock close to the surface would of course condemn any site.

The Layout.-Having chosen the site the next problem is its development. The scheme of development will be based upon certain information which must be on hand before a start can be made. An accurate topographical survey must be prepared of the whole with contours varying from one to five foot intervals according to the extent of the property and the differences in elevation to be encountered. Full information should be provided as to boundaries, location and character as well as the nature of the property beyond them. All trees and shrubs should be located their caliper spread and variety being marked clearly upon the plan. Armed with this information the designer may sit down and think out his problem.

When designing for any utilitarian purpose certain arbitrary limits and requirements are always laid down for the guidance of the designer. The designer of a dinner fork, for instance, knows that he is required to invent some type of instrument to be used for transferring pieces of roast beef from the plate to the mouth by means of the hand as a carrying medium. His first business is not to conceive something beautiful, but to sit down and discover the limits and requirements within which his design must take form. His summing up of the situation will probably be somewhat as follows: In the first place, he finds that his instrument must be suitable for picking up off the plate easily and gracefully a piece of meat. In the second place, he sets limits to the size of the piece of meat with which he has to deal. Thirdly, his instrument must be easily grasped in the fingers. Then again the meat must not be so firmly grasped by the instrument that it cannot be easily removed in the mouth. He knows that the fork must be easy to clean. It must be strong enough for the purpose but not so unnecessarily strong as to be clumsy. In solving all these problems he has already made long strides toward introducing an object of beauty, an object which expresses the purpose for which it is intended.

In exactly the same way the cemetery designer will sit down and think out the utilitarian purposes which his design is intended to serve and the limits within which this problem is to be solved. The requirements in this case are as follows:
1. The provision of suitable sites for graves, keeping in mind economy of land.
2. The provision of access to those graves.
3. The creation of a setting, or atmosphere, for the graves in keeping with the traditions of burial.

Instead of commencing by locating individual graves, he will turn his attention first of all to the question of access to the property as a whole. This involves the question of an entrance or entrances. In this connection the general direction of traffic to and from the centre of population which the cemetery is expected to serve will be considered. In a general way, the most convenient spot on the boundary of the property will be chosen but the right choice of an entrance is most important. In addition to being convenient for people approaching the cemetery, the entrance should also provide possibilities of concentration from and distribution to the various parts of the cemetery. Assuming that the cemetery does not front upon the main thoroughfare the entrance should be so placed, if possible, as to be visible from the thoroughfare, so possibly at the end of a connecting street. In order to make it more imposing the entrance should be at a slight elevation.

Having located the entrance, the distribution of roadways and the location of definite areas to be set aside for graves will be considered in conjunction with the cemetery office and chapel. For two reasons the bottoms of alleys are unsuited for graves. In the first place, they are apt to be wet, no matter how well drained artificially, and in the second place, the bottom of a valley filled with monuments is much more likely to destroy the restfulness of the cemetery than high ground similarly treated where the monument can be partially screened. In a general way, it may be said that the roadways should be kept to the graves on the high land. Distances between roadways are determined largely by the distance the pall bearers may be expected to carry. As this distance should not exceed two hundred feet it follows that the property should be intersected by roadways not more than 400 feet apart in cases where the intervening space is given over to graves. Traffic distribution must be carefully studied. It is quite obvious that circulation of traffic is preferable to blind alleys provided with turning spaces, although some of these latter will be inevitable on certain properties where the grades do not permit of circulation.

In a general way, three widths of roadways will be used in cemeteries. The one-way road of nine feet; the two-way road of eighteen feet and the three-way road of twenty-four feet. The one-way road, circulating and returning, may be expected to serve an area of from 15 to 20 acres. The two-way road will serve one or more of such areas. Three-way road will be used near the entrance and central parts of large cemeteries where much concentration of traffic is to be expected. Time will not permit us to deal further with the details of roadway layout and construction.

Focal Points and Controlling Features.-Something more is required of the cemetery designer than an engineering solution of a roadway scheme at the best grades and curves. The plan must represent something more than an aimless maze of curving roads. Focal points and controlling features are absolutely essential to the well thought-out plan, even in the smallest cemetery. The symbolism of burial demands a certain degree of formality, dignity and stateliness and although it is only seldom desirable to have formality embrace the whole of the design some areas must always be given a formal setting. Architectural features of merit; such as chapel, office and larger private monuments, which ought to enrich all cemeteries, form an admirable opportunity for the designer to provide controlling sites in his plan for just such features. In larger cemeteries one central distributing point, formal in treatment, comprising the chapel and some monuments, will form a controlling feature of the plan. A number of secondary focal points should also be provided at various points in the plan. A roadway may, for instance, be diverted to the right or left at the approach to a steep grade forming an admirable site for one of the larger monuments.

Graves and Monuments.-Until complete control is obtained by the designer over the monuments permitted, the ideal cemetery will never take form. Fifty years ago some simplicity and restfulness in the village church yard and cemetery were possible. This was, partly due to the fact that in most cases the funds available did not permit of anything more than simple headstones and partly to the fact that the traditions of burial were held in greater respect.

Some cemeteries in the United States have succeeded in the control of monuments almost to the point of abolition. Abolition, although infinitely better than individual license, is not the ideal. Monuments can and should be beautiful. They should be an aid to the designer instead of a hindrance and a priceless asset to the dignity and beauty of the cemetery. What is needed is control, both of lots and of monuments, by the cemetery designer. He it is who ought to decide the character of the memorial which is to be permitted on each grave. They will vary from flat stones level with the turf to the simple head stones or sarcophagus, while special lots will be set aside for larger monuments.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Convention held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
September 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1920

Cemetery, from a Greek word meaning to sleep-literally, a sleeping place, was the name originally applied to the Roman underground burying places or catacombs. The early Christians also used the term for the places set apart for their dead and we learn from the fathers of the church that here, in the dawn of Christianity, were held the assemblies of the Christians.

These places were not connected with churches, interment in churchyards being unknown until later times. The term cemetery has, therefore, been appropriately applied in modern days to the burial grounds which have been substituted for the overcrowded churchyards.

Among the most picturesque cemeteries of the world are those of the Turks and it is possibly from them that the first idea of the cemetery, as we know it today with its shade trees and walks, was obtained.

In the Turkish burying grounds a cypress is usually planted beside each grave and so the cemetery becomes, in time, almost a forest where, by day, the doves are on the wing or perching on the trees. Here, too, are always to be seen Turkish women, pale shadows, praying beside the narrow graves. In Armenian cemeteries the tombstones depict the manner of the death of whoever is buried below, and on these extremely weird monuments one may see representations of men being decapitated or hanging on the gallows.

Of the cemeteries still in use in Southern Europe the catacombs of Sicily are the most curious. There is one near Palermo where in the subterranean corridors some 2,000 corpses are ranged in niches in the wall. The chief cemetery of France is the famous Pere la Chaise, in Paris. It obtains its name from the celebrated Confessor of Louis XIV to whom as rector of the Jesuits of Paris, it once belonged. It has an area of 200 acres and here are monuments to the great dead of modern France - soldiers, poets, painters and scientists. On two occasions this cemetery and the heights nearby have been the scene of battle. In 1814 the Russians stormed the heights during the attack on Paris. In 1871 the Communists made their last stand among the tombs of Pere la Chaise and there 900 of them fell. In 1874, as a consequence of the crowded state of the cemeteries of Paris, a great new burying place, two square miles in extent, was laid out some 16 miles north of the city with which it is connected by railway. In France every city and town is required by law to provide a burial ground beyond its barriers, properly laid out and situated if possible on rising ground.

In England from 1840 to 1855 attention was repeatedly called by the press and in Parliament to the condition of the London churchyards. The vaults under the floors of the churches and the small spaces of open ground surrounding them were literally crammed with coffins and were in consequence a direct menace to health. In all the other large towns the evil was prevalent in a greater or less degree, but in London, on account of the vast population and the consequent mortality, it was more forcibly brought to public attention. After several measures of partial relief the churchyards were closed by Act of Parliament in 1855 and the cemeteries, which now occupy large areas, became the burying places of London.

Several had already been established by private enterprise, Kensal Green, for example, dates from 1832, but the Act of 1855 marks the date of the general development of cemeteries in Great Britain.

Many of the churchyards of rural England are places of quiet and solemn beauty, of contemplative peace; in one such God's Acre was written Grey's majestic Elegy.

Beneath those rugged elms that yew tree's shade
Where heaves the turf in many a moldering heap
Each in his narrow cell forever laid
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep

Wolfe, the mighty soldier who scaled the heights of Abraham, found inspiration and solace in this poem. You will recollect that as he began his great adventure to storm the frowning cliffs he quietly recited the lines:

The boast of heraldy the pomp of power
And all that beauty all that wealth e'er gave
Awaits alike the inevitable hour
The paths of glory lead but to the grave

In June last I visited several of these English churchyards. Among others, one at Coniston in the Lake District, a churchyard of soft rains and sunshine, of green grass and white flowers, with the grey old church standing sentinel over all, and nearby the quiet sunlit waters of Coniston Lake. Here among the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleeps one of the mighty dead-John Ruskin, the apostle of beauty. Here, too, as all over England, are the pathetic graves of boys who died in England of wounds or of exposure or sickness contracted on foreign service.

The moral of Ruskin's teaching that a living art requires truth, nature, purity and earnestness has now become the axiom of all aesthetic work and judgment. If we all in our respective works would but abide by his teaching a fairer and more beautiful world would be at hand.

On this continent the cemeteries have developed in two ways, from the old time forlorn burying ground with its shapeless, ill-kept roads, grassless mounds and jumble of badly designed monuments, these latter often of slate, first to the beauty spots of today, such as may be found in many Canadian cities and towns; secondly, to the carefully tended, but artificial and monotonous cemeteries, on that ground of vegetation and cheerless to behold. Our aim should be to make our cemeteries in Canada places meet for the dead dowered with all the beauty art and thought can give.

To turn now to the question of the location of the cemetery, we can be guided in this by certain general considerations. A cemetery not laid out as a park is naturally considered a detriment to a residential district. A recent case in Toronto illustrates that even tombstones on a lawn may be seriously objected to and I will read the report of it from the Ottawa Citizen of August 8th:

"Tombstones are all right in the right place, but next door to a doctor they have their drawbacks.” This was the substance of a judgment issued this afternoon by Magistrate Ellis in refusing to fine Joseph Steiner, charged with offering tombstones for sale in a restricted area.
The city solicitor's department produced a photograph showing at least six tombstones on the front lawn of Steiner's home, but so many people thought that someone was buried there that he put up more stones. A doctor and a next-door neighbor to the defendant told the court that the tombstones had caused a tremendous amount of trouble and expense to the district.
“It has brought an onerous state of affairs upon the professional men of the district” stated the neighbor.
“We have to sleep with one eye upon this, gentlemen and it is a serious handicap to professional life. It is no pleasant reminder for people of sixty or seventy years of age to see this group of stones on the front lawn.”

Magistrate Ellis ordered the stones removed.

A cemetery site should be selected sufficiently far from the city to free it from this reproach, at the same time it must be easily reached by good roads and by systems of transport. We must consider the site in its general relation to the city and especially to the more thickly populated parts and take note also of the trend of growth of the cities population. A cemetery should be an improvement to a district, it should not occupy land that by the presence of railway facilities is likely to develop into an industrial or warehouse district nor should it abut on a water front if the latter is in the line of commercial development. This would be an economic waste from an industrial point of view as well as the wrong place for a cemetery.

The extent of ground required by a cemetery may seriously complicate the future street system of a city. I understand that the Hamilton Cemetery, although beautifully situated, occupies a strategic position on the narrow neck of land which provides the high level access to the city from the north. It is much to be desired that in choosing a new location for the extension of the cemetery area in Hamilton, consideration will be given to the desirability of fitting it in as part of the comprehensive plan of the city. The cemetery must be planned to interfere as little as possible with existing thoroughfares or with those that may later be required. Gently rolling land should, if possible, be selected. This is mowed easily; drained and naturally affords better opportunities for artistic treatment than flat land. The soil should be suitable for plant growth, be well drained and easily excavated.

All these points are elementary so far as the members of this Association are concerned. It is nevertheless true that they are frequently lost sight of where sites are purchased. Less important local considerations are allowed to prevail in the selection of land for the public purposes. When the site has been selected the first need is for a correct topographical plan showing all the natural features, the grades and the existing trees. The more accurate and complete this plan is the better will our work of planning be. In the plans for new developments in our cities in the plans for parks the "gridiron" system has been discarded. The same is true of the newer cemeteries. Here we have pleasantly curving roads following the contours of the ground, these roads being no wider than is necessary for traffic.

As in a park there will be main roads and secondary roads. They should all, however, be designed in the nature of private drives and not as public thoroughfares. Part of the cemetery should be laid out as a permanent lawn not used for burial purposes, a wide sweeping lawn shaded by trees and with perennial flowers and vines; the whole effect indeed of the cemetery should be park-like and to this end unceasing care is necessary. At the entrance and for a limited distance a formal treatment may be adopted, but beyond this the sylvan atmosphere should predominate.

This short paper would not be complete without a reference to monuments. Now, it is a question if ornate monuments have not frequently been erected because it was the custom. If in parts of the cemetery the tribute to the dead consisted of a small tablet of stone or bronze beautifully designed and laid almost flush with the grave would this not be better than the jumble of monuments we so often see and would not the whole appearance of the cemetery be thereby improved. In parts of the cemetery where headstones may be desired there might be a certain formality to give them scale and to provide an adequate setting. The monuments to public men also offer an opportunity for a somewhat formal treatment.

In the old churchyards, unused as burying places, for a century or more the headstones have harmonized with nature's background. The proximity of the church saves them from complete inconsequence and lends to them, indeed, something of its graciousness and charm. Our cemeteries, however, generally lack buildings of any size; to correct this could we not build a wide cloistered court, adding thereby dignity to the too often isolated chapel? On the walls of this court inscriptions and tablets could be placed. Might not such a cloister, filled with flowers be a worthy remembrance of those soldiers of the neighborhood who fell in battle that our lives and walks and quiet ways should be unmolested?

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 34th Annual Convention held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
September 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1920

From time immemorial respect for the dead has been one of the dominant virtues of the higher types of civilized people. In the earliest pages of history we read the beautiful story of the purchase of the cave of Machpelah by the patriarch, Abraham and the dedication thereof as a family burial place, where he deposited the loved form of Sarah his long time helpmate and sharer of his weal and woe, and where later on his own remains were tenderly laid away by his sons; Isaac and Ishmael.

During recent years this respect has been shown more and more strongly in the establishment and maintenance of the modern cemetery, where those dearly loved in life may be laid away for their long rest in a quiet, well cared for place, where the mourning relatives and friends may visit the graves of their departed, feeling safe in the assurance, that come what may, the beauty and sanctity of the spot will be preserved for all time.

Frequently the desire to show respect for the dead leads people to expend large sums of money in providing elaborate caskets and other funeral trappings, numerous carriages, and expensive floral pieces, and perhaps their feelings are relieved by such expenditure; all this is but transitory, the funeral cortege comes and goes, the casket is consigned to the grave soon to molder and decay, and the flowers fade and are removed from sight. Next a fine monument is erected and a marker placed at the grave, and the friends feel that they have done all that mortal man could do to perpetuate the memory of and show respect for the departed. But in the majority of cases the most important item of all has not been considered at all, i.e. the provisions for perpetual care of lot, monuments, etc.

Does the corporation controlling the cemetery in which the burial was made provide a fund for this purpose? Or is it controlled by a close corporation, or individual owner, whose only aim is to declare large dividends, and when the land is all sold abandon the grounds? Private ownership of cemeteries is not conducive to the best results as to permanency, and if permitted at all, should be under strict laws, and in what better way can our legislators show respect and reverence for the dead than by enacting such laws as will require the establishment of a permanent care fund in every cemetery.

In our own city we have two deplorable illustrations of the old style, go-as-you-please cemeteries that were run for revenue only until they were squeezed dry, since which time they have been abandoned entirely and have become the scenes of vandalism which beggar description. Similar cases will be found in nearly every city in the country and in many of the smaller towns and villages. It is a pleasure to note, however, that the people are awakening to a realizing sense of the condition of things and in many places are endeavoring to reclaim the abandoned burial plots.

In respect to the dead, and justice to their descendants, provision should be made which will in the future preclude any possibility of a repetition of the above mentioned conditions. It should be required of the lot owner that all work of a permanent nature placed in a cemetery be constructed in the most durable manner possible, and no improvements of a perishable nature permitted. Granite and marble monuments and markers set upon solid foundations, and metal vases should be about the extent of artificial adornments permitted.

But the matter of paramount consideration is the permanent care fund. How or when this shall be provided is not so important, if it be made certain that by the time the land is all sold and the business of the cemetery has ceased to be profitable, that then an income will be available, sufficient to keep the property in good condition. There are different plans of providing for the permanent care fund. One is to set aside a certain percentage of the receipts from the sale of lots, another to set aside a certain fixed sum per square foot of land sold. Either plan is good and can be readily and comfortably adopted by a cemetery well established, with a large income, but in case of a young cemetery where the income is yet small, there is a great temptation to put off the day when a portion of the income shall be set aside for permanent care and to use all the income for other purposes.

This, no doubt, is mainly the reason why so many cemeteries are still without proper provision for the future.

The writer has a plan in mind which he would like to have discussed, namely: to set aside a portion of the ground of the cemetery the proceeds from the sale of which constitute a permanent care fund. Suppose, for instance, one-fifth of the cemetery in quantity and quality to be set aside, why would not this secure the same result as to set aside one fifth of the cash proceeds of lot sales? It may be urged as an objection that the management would sell the four-fifths and let the remainder go to the last. This could not result in damage to the fund, as the last one-fifth would in all probability bring larger prices than the portion sold earlier. The beauty of this plan is that it makes it easy to do the right thing. Not every cemetery can spare a portion of its cash income, but there are none than cannot, even in the beginning dedicate for this purpose a portion of its ground. There should be immediate legislation in all states, requiring provision to be made for permanent care of all cemeteries, old and new, and if the option were given of setting aside ground ill stead of money it would meet with little or no opposition. Another important advantage of this plan would be in applying it to cemeteries which had disposed of a large proportion of' their lands, say two-thirds or three fourths. It would be impossible to reach the money received from sold lands, but the one-fifth of the land would still be available and could be subjected to an arrangement of this kind. .

In closing I would say that while to our society is due most of the credit for the improved condition of cemeteries throughout the country, there still remains much to do, and we must continue the work so well begun till we have effected still greater reforms.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the16th Annual Convention
Held at Boston, MA
August 19, 20, 21 and 22, 1902

During my studies in preparation of the following paper I have been pro¬foundly impressed with the difference between the burial customs of the Orient and the Occident; on the one side superstition and a disregard for the human habitation from whence the soul has fled; on the other side loving re¬membrance and propriety that tend to assuage grief, and soften the asperities of sepulture. And I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to Miss Jessie A. Ackerman, whose vivid descriptions of Oriental customs, contained in her book of fascinating interest have been drawn upon freely in preparation of my paper.

A Japanese Funeral
The ordinary individual is destined to attract attention at least twice, and often thrice, before he forever disappears from the active scenes of this world. The most important event of life, one's birth, calls forth less interest than the two events which follow. When the announcement goes forth, "Unto us a son is born," or "a daughter is given" the fact is quietly recorded and usu¬ally forgotten by all beyond the sound of the voice of the newcomer. But when a wedding is on the boards, interest deepens, and crowds gather to see "what the bride's dress is like." When the wedding is over and finally, the lengthened or shortened thread of life is broken, the funeral is the attraction and many who never spoke a kindly word of the dead bring forth their gar¬lands fair to deck the coffin, or to wilt and fade upon the grave; and in the dying of their fragrance and beauty they carry with them, perhaps, the last thought of the one gone before.

In studying the customs of the people of the world, it is funerals only that I will here touch upon. As the customs vary so greatly, it would be im¬possible to describe them all; it is therefore necessary to confine myself to the extent of my own observations.

Soon after landing in the city of Yokohama, Japan, I was told that a wealthy and noted native had died and his funeral would take place the fol¬lowing Sunday in one of the great temples; it was an easy matter to find the place of the obsequies by following the crowds. After a long walk we reached the avenue that led to the shrine. The roads to the right and to the left were thronged with some fifty thousand people. The short avenue in front of the temple was kept clear for the funeral procession. As a special favor I was allowed to walk down the avenue; otherwise I should have been unable to reach the temple. The whole street was lined with floral decorations, in which the Japanese greatly excel. Large trees planted in tubs were placed a few feet on each side and extended from the beginning of the avenue to the very temple door. Many kinds of flowers were arranged in the branches of these trees to give them the appearance of blooming shrubs. We were es¬corted up the walk by two native policemen; reaching the temple we found a heavy rope stretched across the great steps to keep the crowds back. The policemen explained that we were strangers and anxious to go into the service and the guards kindly allowed us to enter.

The temple was constructed after the manner of the architecture of that, country, with an open front. The usual lack of order and solemnity pre¬vailed; for nowhere in the east can be found decorum at worship, funerals, weddings or other functions which we regard as sacred and carryon with more or less system. At one side stood the coffin, which was in the form of a miniature temple, resting on a bier. This small temple was made of some kind of white spruce, beautifully carved, but without polish or finish. The pointed eaves extended over the sides and beneath them were small carved windows, draped with white lace curtains and lined with pale blue. The whole "casket" had more or less carved open work upon it. Near the coffin stood a band of musicians dressed in foreign uniform. They wore dark blue trousers, red coats, and played on foreign instruments. On the other side of the room stood the relatives and intimate friends, distributing pre¬sents; this is a general custom among the wealthy or upper classes. The pre¬sents usually consist of sweets made from rice, flour and sugar and fashioned after the lotus blossom and leaf. In the center of the room sat numbers of priests clothed in black gauze, reading or chanting a sort of dirge from their sacred book, the music of the baud almost drowning the monotony of their voices.

When the funeral procession formed, I had no idea who the mourners were, for none were weeping or wailing or clad in any kind of mourning garb; all were chatting away, each seeming to express an opinion as to how the pro¬ceedings should be carried on. The coolies, bearing the coffin, were dressed in white garments with a white, drooping head covering. The place of burial was some distance off and numbers of these coolies formed relays to relieve each other at stated Intervals. Those, not in service at the moment preceded the remains and behind came the pall bearers. Numbers of ordinary cool¬ies bore the trees and tubs, taking them; as they passed, from the sides of the streets, and with them a great throng moved on to the burial ground, where the remains were interred in the most simple way.

Queer Ways if Showing Grief in China
I witnessed a Chinese funeral in the streets of Victoria, on the Island of Hong Kong. A strange noise attracted my attention, and looking in the direction whence it came I saw a large moving crowd. I retreated from the street to the steps of a native shop, and there awaited the advancing throng, which proved to be a Chinese funeral. A long procession, made up of strange ¬looking people, was headed by small boys carrying wooden signs, or banners. These were inscribed with those fiendish hieroglyphics, with innumerable horns and hoofs that give one the impression that the language is of a warmer climate than that of China. These banners were carried far above the heads of the bearers, and the inscriptions were supposed to recount the virtues of the dead. Following the mourners, wailers filed in line, for this was the funeral of a well-to-do-person. Numbers were hired to wail and cry; ten or a dozen were dressed in white, with cone-shaped covers made of white calico on their heads; these covers drooped far over the face, completely concealing the features. The mourners formed in procession, single file, headed by one who continually tooted a tin horn. This personage was followed by one who lent support to the chief mourner. As they marched they swayed their bodies to and fro, and howled, and moaned, and sobbed; the one who made the most noise was accounted the best mourner, and probably received the largest amount for his services. Behind the mourners the pall-bearers slowly marched, as if trying to keep step with the loud wails. The coffin was large, arid looked heavy. It was flat on the bottom, oval at the sides, with a curved lid, and a heavy piece extending upward from one end, which marked the head, for it was the same width all the way down. Large ropes were bound about it and the ends were made fast to a piece of bamboo, which was placed over the should¬ers of the men, leaving the coffin to wabble about as they marched along.

The thought of a bier has never occurred to these people, for it is not in the nature of a Chinaman to devise labor-saving methods. Behind the coffin followed bearers of sweets and meats to be placed on the grave of the departed and consumed at his leisure. A pyramid-shaped tier of shelves were laden with food of all kinds, including a whole roast pig, fowls, ducks, and many savory bits seldom tasted in the life of an ordinary Chinaman. The running and hurrying of some parts of the procession as they occasionally be¬came detached from the other by reason of the large crowds; the endless din of the noise they called "music" mingled with the sound of wailing voices, made a scene of confusion not easily described and never to be forgotten.

The selection of a place of burial is the chief concern of the relatives, for much of the future state of happiness depends upon where the bones of the departed rest. Frequently days elapse before an auspicious spot-away from the range of the wind which blows "bad luck”, -can be settled on. When a "safe" spot has been found, the coffin is placed on the ground and a mound of earth thrown over it; this often reaches the height of six feet. The place is forever sacred, and must on no account be disturbed. Frequently the graves are marked by cutting the slope from one side of the mound and building in some kind of masonry. At certain times of the year paper money is burned before the grave, for the benefit of the dead. This, however, can¬not be said to be the usual custom of disposing of the dead, for in each of the forty-two provinces the natives have their several superstitions and forms.

In one of the northern cities I saw a funeral among the lower classes. The coffin was carried in the manner described, but there was no procession be¬yond the relatives, and no extra mourners. The coffin had passed before my attention was arrested by a number of weeping persons riding on wheel-bar¬rows. I called a coolie and followed up the procession of six wheelbarrows, on which were seated nine weeping women and three men. It never dawned upon me that it might be a funeral, and the thought of being wheeled to a funeral in one of those unsightly conveyances overcame the solemnity that the occasion demanded. The mourners were chiefly women and being of the poorer class, could not afford the expense of white garments for mourning apparel; so their grief was indicated by a strip of white muslin bound about the head, with the ends dangling down. The grief they failed to express by way of garb was made up in noise, as they threw themselves from side to side with many hairbreadth escapes from landing in the road.

In a town somewhat inland I met with a greater surprise than that af¬forded by the wheel-barrow procession. It was in a small village. In one small house the woman invited me in. As I sat perched upon a saw-horse, a common seat among the poor; I saw a very rude coffin against the wall on the opposite side of the room. When the crowds of men and women pushed in several seated themselves upon the coffin, and almost sat upon each other as they tried to make room for one more. The thought came to me that prob¬ably they had purchased it at "a bargain." It was the custom in those parts whenever the husband or the wife died, to embalm the remains and keep the coffin in the house until the death of the other and finally bury them together. The husband of this family had been dead seven years, and the cof¬fin had been in the house all the time.

The most shocking thing in China, to a person from the West, is the sight of great numbers of the unburied dead in some of the fields. This is es¬pecially the case in the vicinity of Shanghai. Such a state of affairs must be very much against the laws of health. Driving along one of the chief boule¬vards just out of the city, I noticed scores of coffins of all sites unburied and upon inquiry found that there were several reasons for this unusual sight. Many people die whose relatives are too poor to purchase a grave; in such a case no provision is made for burial by the authorities, but the dead are em¬balmed and the coffin placed in the open field. In other places, large tracts of land have been given for the burial of the dead; these have become overcrowded and the coffins have been taken out and set against the mounds and left there.

I was told that cremation was the usual custom of disposing of the dead in some parts of the empire, but in no place did I see it practiced.

Disposal of the Dead in Siam and India
The sights of China prepared me for anything I might see in other parts; therefore I was not shocked when I reached Siam and learned that the poor of that country, when dead, were thrown to the vultures. A large place in one of the temple grounds is set aside as the spot to which the common dead are brought. In company with a lady I drove to one of these grounds. We had reached the grounds a little early, but the time was profitably spent in conversation with a most intelligent native, who spoke English very well. He conducted us over the grounds and through the temple, explaining everything of interest. Soon a messenger came to us to say that a Chinese had dropped dead in the gambling-house over the way and would soon be brought in. On his person money enough was found to pay for the wood and his remains were to be cremated. As we walked toward the gateway we saw several men carrying a rough pine box covered with a red blanket; this was placed on one side in a sheltered spot, and the men began preparations for cremation. The red blanket was removed, and we saw that the friendless man had been packed away with his few effects, all of which were to be consigned to the fire. The cover was replaced and box, blanket and all were lifted upon the pile. A match was touched to the wood, the pyre was wrapped in clouds of smoke, and long tongues of flame soon reduced all to a small pile of ashes.

Meantime some of the dead Siamese had been brought in, having been carried through the streets in an entirely nude condition on a rough plank borne on the shoulders of the natives. To prevent the remains from falling into the streets, runners had been kept beside the plank to replace a limb or arm upon the board as it was jolted from its resting-place by the motion of the bearers. Beside the spot reserved for burning the dead was a small square, fenced off by a solid brick wall some four feet high. Within this a still smaller space was marked off by a row of bricks, and in the second enclosure the dead were disposed of. Perched on the fence and on the eaves of the temple sat a row of solemn-faced vultures, waiting for their prey. The bearers advanced to the gate and tossed the re¬mains into the little square. In an instant every vulture had scented the dead and swooped down to the spot. In thirty-five minutes every bone was picked bare and no trace of flesh remained.

Only the lower classes and criminals are disposed of in this way. Special arrangements are made for the cremation of the dead of the royal household. The ceremony is more like some festive occasion than one of sadness. Large buildings are erected at great cost and all the people are given up wholly to the ceremonies. When the body has been reduced to ashes, a gol¬den vase, in the form of the king's decoration on his umbrella, is brought in and the sacred dust deposited in the vessel which is placed in one of the rooms of the palace beside other vases containing similar relics of the dead.

In the vast country of India the dead are disposed of according to the re¬ligious beliefs that prevail in different parts of the country. The Brahmins burn their dead in public places. The Mohammedans bury them and place a heavy, flat, stone over the grave. And the Parsees, the most intelligent of all the people of Asia and I should say, the most highly educated, build great towers, within which the dead are placed, to be devoured by the ever present vulture.

One of the most beautiful spots along the coast, without the city of Bom¬bay, is the site of the Parsee "Towers of Silence”. A very high stone wall surrounds the entire grounds, which include some acres; the whole is laid out like a beautiful and extensive park and well toward the center stand the three towers. Just why they are called towers would be hard to say, for they are more like unroofed round houses. They are about forty-five feet high, and perhaps the same in diameter built of brick and plastered over with gray cement. Near the top, at one side, are two iron doors, which are always locked when there is not a funeral taking place. About ten feet from the top, on the inside, fastened to the wall a few feet apart and extending in a slight incline toward the center, is an iron grating, upon which the remains are placed. The bars meet within two feet at the center. Each iron bar is curved toward the center, forming a small channel, down which all moisture from the body is carried. The bottom is very deep and extends some hundreds of feet into the earth. The oldest tower has been in use for two hun¬dred and fifty years. These grounds are the home of the vultures and as they are huddled one against the other it is easy to mistake them for the parapet of the towers.

By securing a pass from the authorities the grounds may be visited at stated hours. So we started along the beach in the direction of the "Towers of Silence." Ascending the steps we were confronted by a sign printed in the English language, which warned us not to be found on the grounds after a certain hour. In response to a ring of the bell the porter opened the gate; our passes were examined, and we walked into the corridor, where a minia¬ture tower was explained by this chatty individual. We passed into the grounds. The time passed faster than I had thought; indeed I was so inter¬ested in this little woman's explanation that I took no note of time, and when the funeral hour came around we found that we were locked III the grounds. The ringing of the bell and a knock at the gate reminded me that a funeral procession was about to enter. I did not know what the penalty might be for this intrusion, which on my part was quite unintentional, but I resolved to "stand ground" and face it out. I stepped toward the porter with as much of a smile as the solemnity of the occasion warranted and in penitent tones ex¬pressed my deep regret at having transgressed the law, but suggested that, as I was already in forbidden grounds, it would be much better to remain; and placing a coin in his hand, I seated myself where I could command a full view of the procession.

Those who attended the funeral drove up in carriages, but the remains were brought through the streets on a bamboo litter, the poles resting on the shoulders of two front and rear bearers, and the sides on those of four march¬ing between the front and rear men. As they reached the steps, the bearers of the dead headed the procession. They wore long, white dresses that fell from their neck to the ground, and were girded at the waist with a sash of the same material. The fingers of each hand were bound about with white gauze, and a mitten of the same goods was pulled over the hands. This was to prevent any possible contact with the unclothed dead, for the remains were only covered with a sheet. The relatives and mourners, some ten in all, fol¬lowed two abreast, without any demonstration of any kind; a coolie brought up the rear, leading a little yellow dog by a string. This strange procession moved slowly toward the tower. The iron doors on the side had been opened and a ladder placed before it. Up this the priest made his way, and the re¬mains were handed to him, that he might place them upon the grating; this done, the little yellow dog, which protested loudly, was also handed up and placed in the tower for a few moments. The sheet was removed, the dog handed down, the descent of the priest was accomplished, the pall-bearers drew from their fingers the wrappings, and the iron doors were shut. At this particular time there chanced to be no vultures on that tower, but they had settled in numbers on the others nearby. During the entire ceremony they "perched and sat, nothing more" not even a feather moving; but the moment they heard the click of the iron door it served as a signal to call them to ac¬tion. They rose, as if on one wing, and settled in the interior of the tower. We remained seated for about half an hour and saw the birds return to their perch, knowing that every atom of flesh had been devoured and the bones had fallen from the grating to the bottom, some two hundred feet below.

When the dog is placed in the tower with the remains, his movements are watched by the priest. Should he go over and kiss the face of the dead, it signifies a happy and eternal repose; but failing to do this, the news is reported to the family of the departed one and his name is never again spoken within the household.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 10th Annual Convention
Held at St. Louis, MO
September 15, 16 and 17, 1896

As a layman; speaking to those whose professional employment consists in providing and maintaining beautiful resting places for our beloved dead, I have chosen to speak to you by way of encouraging a more cheerful and rational view of death itself. If we can succeed in looking upon death as a friend, as Daniel French has so beautifully portrayed in his memorial tablet to the young artist Milmore, now set in bronze in Forest Hill cemetery, near Boston, and will generally admit that death is not inherently an evil, but next to life itself the greatest earthly blessing, then we might hope to maintain towards it a more cheerful and reasonable bearing. And this is the thesis I hate assigned myself in this paper.

To appreciate the changed attitude of the world in this matter, and es¬pecially with reference to burial places, we should note at least, three periods of the world's history in this respect.
The oldest form of worship was that of deceased ancestors whose spirits were supposed to forever haunt the ancient hearth-stone and tomb, which were always near together. The maintenance of a perpetual fire on the one, and the proper attention and care of the other kept the descendants rooted to, the home of their fathers, and gave to these resting places of the dead a sacredness and inviolableness which has always characterized these spots in all nations, and in diminishing degrees even to the present day.

Following this came the doctrine of the physical resurrection of the dead to an endless life, which was thought to have been the original attribute of the race, and which was lost through the sins of our first parents, which doctrine still finds adherents amongst the less educated and less thoughtful classes, and at one time pervaded all Christendom. This doctrine added, if possible, to the sacredness of the body from which all life had departed, and made its perpetual preservation a thing altogether to be desired and a filial duty which was fulfilled as far as possible. This necessitated a place of repose, pending this wonderful awakening, which should be sacredly preserved in undisturbed entirety from age to age until the resurrection morn, when Gabriel's trumpet should sound and these innumerable graves should render up their long cher¬ished and un-violated dead.

The present scientific age has dispelled both of these doctrines as tender illusions, for which the wish had been father to the thought. We have now ceased to regard the remains of our deceased friends as having any particular significance except as reminders of their living counterparts, and hence the preserving care of, and superstitious regard for these perishing, lifeless organ¬isms, which formerly was a sacred duty, has now become merely a traditional and an entirely irrational custom. It is to be hoped the day is not far distant when cremation, the only rational disposition of the lifeless body, will be uni¬versally adopted in all civilized communities.

Another beneficent result of the more general prevalence of scientific knowledge is that the laws of this present world are coming to be better un¬derstood and accepted as wise and good. It was no meaningless or flippant remark of Margaret Fuller's when she said, "I accept the universe." For ages it has been considered the righteous thing to reject this visible, objective universe as a miserable failure, a vale of tears, a kind of way station where we are forced to tarry for a time in painful preparation for an endless existence in some other world, in which perpetual happiness and joy, or endless woe and torment were supposed to be prepared for all comers.

Now I do not care, as a scientific man, to commit myself for or against any theory of a future life, for the truth or falsity of which I have no suffi¬cient evidence to enable me to formulate an opinion, but the absence of any decided views on this subject does not trouble me in the least, as I once supposed it would. What I cannot know I cannot be accountable for, and hence I choose to shape my course, and would wish all others to do the same, in ac¬cordance with the knowable things of this world rather than the unknowable, feeling satisfied that whatever the future has in store "no evil can happen to a good man in life or in death."

Assuming, therefore, that we may look upon death as a product of natural causes, the same as any other natural phenomenon, and that these causes are found in the fixed, and as we believe the beneficent, laws of the universe, let us examine into it as we would into any other aspect of the workings of na¬ture's laws, to see whether or not it is the hideous monster it is commonly represented.

First we must remember that we must view it as a whole, and not simply in its exceptional or most painful examples. Like any other law, if the con¬ditions of its operation are complied with it must of necessity operate, whe¬ther its action is beneficent or injurious. So with fire, which was regarded by the ancient Greeks as the greatest gift of the gods to man, and yet it may be his most destructive enemy. In fact every law of nature, of which man has learned, may work evil as well as good if its operating conditions are ignored, and yet we call them all wise and beneficent, and thereby we accept the universe, with death included, as a good and wholesome world, when properly understood.

Probably the great argument in favor of death as a law of the universe is that hereby only can the race make progress. With the ancient belief in a golden age when man was perfect and immortal, no improvement was possi¬ble and hence death was not a necessary condition, but with the newer and now prevalent view of the evolution of the human species, progress can only come with infinitesimal gains from generation to generation and all our sup¬eriority to our less progressive "poor relations" lies in this evolution through innumerable births and deaths.

Prof. Fiske finds a very strong support in this doctrine of the "ascent of man" in the long period of infancy of the human species. How much this de¬veloping period of childhood is fostered and stimulated by the fear of the death of the child on the part of the parent, he does not indicate, but if death did not exist we can all see how much this developing care of parents would be relaxed, and how the race might at once begin to degenerate. If death is then an essential condition of human progress, it must be pronounced good and not evil, and it is therefore a friend and not an enemy of mankind.

The subjective effect of this law on the individuals also most wholesome, when it is not regarded as evidence of divine wrath or displeasure or of an incomprehensible caprice. Remove it from the category of special provi¬dences, and it can be calmly viewed as the working out of the effects of nat¬ural causes. It must be regarded at times, however, as an unfortunate, sad, and pitiful result of the operation of a most beneficent law. These are the cases of "untimely death" to overcome which but stimulates the race, and which are rapidly being eliminated with the progress of science and the spread of its teachings. Even here death must still be regarded as the unex¬pected visit of a friend, and not as the stealthy stroke of an enemy. If we would all conscientiously contemplate the friendliness of death, not viewing it with fear and trembling as the great arch enemy of mankind, and as meanly stealing upon us as a thief in the night, but as coming quietly and in the most friendly and helpful way, leading us into the great unknown from which we have nothing to fear if we are not afraid to live, then we would not only welcome it when it comes to us, but we would regard the vanishing from mor¬tal sight of our friends with a greater resignation and comfort. As a friend goes to a far country to live, as a loved daughter marries and leaves the home of her parents, as a child goes from its home to be educated, so should the bearing away of our loved ones by death be regarded.

Yes, in some respects we may say this last journey has its consolations which the others lack. We all admit there are many things more to be dreaded than death, and so long as we live some of these may possibly come to us, but when our dear ones are once confided to the care of this last friend, we are certain no further harm can come to them.

It is one of the unaccountable facts that while death has always been so feared and dreaded by the well, it seems to be always welcomed by the dying. The friendship for this unseen visitor then manifests itself, on the part of the passing spirit, and why then should we not also call Death our Friend? Surely, in a very true sense, those departed souls are nearer to us after this vanishing from outward sight than when clothed in flesh and blood. Proxi¬mity of body is no proof of commingling spirits. When the outward body has passed away then we feel that we can possess our friend entire and our spiritual communion with the ideal and real friend is perfect and continuous, and nothing can now occur to break this perpetual bond and shaping influence.

The ever-present knowledge that death will come to us sooner or later is probably the greatest of all stimulants to noble endeavor. Were we certain of a continuous existence here we would always be inclined to delay action and await the development of events. As it is, we feel that no time must be lost or wasted-that the present is all that we are sure of, and that every pas¬sing moment must be consciously utilized to help complete the work of a life known to be short and which may end at any moment. We are thus changed from indifferent drones to working members of the human hive, with the result that our own and future generations will receive some good thing or some added pleasure as a result of our having lived at all.

We also thus develop our own personality, and if an immortal existence awaits us when the friend of all mankind calls upon us, we will be certain to receive in some form a further reward for our faithful services here. The blessings of death are therefore constant and perpetual, both here and here¬after, and if occasionally a few times in every life we are thereby stricken down by grief, and a sense of loneliness and loss almost overcomes us, we should be reasonable and remember all the benefits we and the world derive from this same Friend, who will one day call in turn for us.

Although it often seems as though lives were cut short in the midst of their allotted tasks, leaving them uncompleted, yet often the real benefit of a life comes only after it has ceased to exist. Then it is that the character wrought out in life is distilled into a spiritual influence which may accompany, pervade, and shape a thousand lives, as could not have been done by the em¬bodied soul. If a feeling of incompleteness accompanies this influence, a thousand minds are stimulated to carryon what one had begun, and so the works grows and spreads by the death of its originator, as Christianity itself did when its founder was called away before his work had scarcely begun.

Then why should an air of gloom, of mourning, of somber sadness per¬vade everything connected with death and the grave? Surely the dead are not honored in this despairing inaction. We honor them most by cheerfully lending a hand to complete the work they had begun, and to fill the void their departure had left in our midst. In this way we too may worship our ancestors, and to a much greater profit than in caring for their tombs and in ministering to the supposed wants of their departed spirits. Other losses are not to be repaired by mourning over them, then why should this be any ex¬ception to our common rule of conduct? There is but one answer to this question. It has become so fixed and universal a custom to do so that we should be considered heartless to abstain. To be strictly honest, one must admit, I think that this is the case. No customs are so hard to change as those relating to death and burial. In these respects we are still in the bar¬barous stage. In these affairs, most pre-eminently matters of the heart, of private or individual concern, we act as though we took council only of public opinion and had no personal interest in the subject. We either affect a sad¬ness and grief we do not feel, or we coarsely parade before the gaping crowd our crushed and bleeding heart-strings. In other matters of the heart we maintain our privacy intact from our nearest and dearest friends as modesty and delicacy, and a due regard for our own self-respect require, but in all matters relating to death in the family, the conduct of funerals, and our mourning habits, we are bound absolutely to a series of customs at once irra¬tional, barbarous and oppressive.

But, you may say, why should we be told again of these things which we all know and have long deprecated? I don't know that I can give you a good reason, and probably I should apologize to you for bewailing before you a state of things you would all gladly join with me or anyone else in correcting. Perhaps it is because I have felt that you as a class of men, charged with car¬ing for our places of the dead, may possibly do a little to impress upon the public in an unconscious way perhaps, the feeling that death is a friend and not an enemy.

I believe, however, you are all trying to do this. I am sure it is not with your approbation or advice that our cemeteries look so much like charnel houses. You surely do not favor bedecking them with broken shafts, ghastly marbles, and weeping willows. On the other hand, I am sure you are doing all you can to banish these from our "Cities of the Dead," as they are now very properly called and to bring in the place of these emblems of sorrow the brightest of flowers and the most cheerful foliage; the most beautiful and in¬spiring trees and the most restful and inviting landscapes; and in place of iron fences and stone vaults give us glassy waters and shady walks. Give nature a chance to cheer and sooth the disconsolate and wounded hearts which venture here to be again near the remains of their loved ones instead of wounding and crushing them anew with skulls and cross-bones, lifeless mar¬bles and ghastly sepulchers.

What I wish to see, therefore, in all matters pertaining to the final de¬parture of the visible forms of our friends from this world is a general recog¬nition of the following facts:

1. That all people should try to add to our common happiness, improve¬ment and good cheer, feeling sure that the more we succeed in bringing heavenly happiness into this world the more likely we are to find a happy heaven in the next.
2. That death is the great friend and benefactor of the race.
3. That it comes only in accordance with the working out of wise and beneficent laws, and never as a special judgment; or by accident or through blind caprice.
4. That it should be received and respected as a friend and not reviled and hated as the insidious skulking foe of all mankind.
5. That all matters connected with death and burial should receive a more private, and therefore a more natural and cheerful treatment.
6. That the minds of those who mourn should be turned to the future rather than to the past, since looking backward, except to range a course forward is always profitless.
7. That the lifeless bodies once inhabited by our friends should be re¬duced to their earthly elements in the most rapid and harmless manner pos¬sible.
8. That if these material remains are preserved in the bosom of Mother Earth, it be in spots unobtrusively marked in beautiful parks, where earth and sky, flower and foliage, lawn and lake, birds and butterflies shall each and all bring healing and joy to the crushed and bleeding hearts which will resort thither as a thirsty traveler to rippling waters.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 10th Annual Convention
Held at St. Louis, MO
September 15, 16 and 17, 1896

Since the earliest history of man, the mystery we know as death has been an event in the life of the individual held in reverence and awe. Even in the most savage tribes of which we have knowledge, the burial of the dead has been surrounded by many customs peculiar to the particular belief or religion of the tribe. From time immemorial, therefore, the cemetery has been a community institution of the utmost importance.

It is interesting to examine briefly the history of burial practices, not¬ing the various changes which took place out of which has evolved our modern cemetery of today. In fact, it is necessary that such an examina¬tion be made if we are to judge the modern cemetery and its relation to the public as a community institution.

During the known history of mankind, there have been three great epochs or periods of burial practices prior to our modern times, and we may now consider ourselves to be in the fourth period.

The first epoch was the era before the invention of writing - the era of hieroglyphics. The chief source of information regarding this period has come from excavations and from the colossal structures still standing as monuments of those times. The masses of the people were ignorant and dominated by the despotic rule of the priests and kings. Millions upon millions of man-hours of labor were spent in building the great temples, palaces and tombs of that day. Examples of this era are the pyramids at Memphis and the sepulchers’ at Thebes, with their tunnels boring deep into the bowels of the mountain through solid rock, in some instances for as much as two miles.

In the second epoch, the world had advanced in intelligence, and was that period after the invention of writing but before the art of printing was discovered. The tombs of this period were far less magnificent than those of the first era, but the priests and kings still maintained their sway over the minds of the people. In this age it was customary to burn the relics of the dead and to deposit the ashes in urns. This period dated from the beginning of Greek culture to the fall of the Roman Empire.

The third epoch was that of Christianity, where knowledge and cul¬tivation had spread among the common people through the equalizing influence of the new religion. It was then also that the people began to feel the influence of tender sentiments connected with the dead, which are most observable in highly civilized people. In this period, the highest honor that could be paid the individual was to accord him burial within the church; and, since there was not room for all within the church, the churchyard cemetery was born. In this age, great expense was still lavished on the tombs of kings, princes and nobles, but in a less marked degree.

The fourth epoch is that in which we are now living, is that of the rural or park like cemetery and is comparatively recent date. It has been developed more fully in the United States than anywhere else. More stress has been placed on attaining quiet restfulness in the cemetery, as expressed by the beauties of nature and art. The masses of the people have become vastly more educated, and in our own country the traditional barrier between rich and poor, between highborn and common people, has been largely erased. It is this fact, perhaps more than any other, which has made possible public acceptance of non-monument cemeteries. It is also this fact that convinces us that the non-monument cemetery fills a public need, and is here to stay. How far the trend toward the non¬-monumental idea will go is a very controversial question. Only the pass¬age of time will provide us with the answer. Sufficient for our purpose at this time is to state only that the public demands should be served, whether monument or non-monument, and particularly in those communities of a size to need but one cemetery, a combination of monument and non-¬monument sections would seem most desirable.

We have thus briefly traced the evolution of burial practices, out of which has come our modern cemeteries of today. We have seen the pyra¬mids of the Pharaohs transformed into the well designed monument or marker of today through the great leveling agency of education. More recently, we have watched the development of the idea that the cemetery should serve not only a utilitarian purpose as a depository for the mortal remains of the deceased, but that the cemetery should serve the living as well as the dead; that it should not be a cold; dank, dreary, forbidding place, but a place of light, of beauty, of warmth and sunshine which will teach us Nature's lessons and strengthen our faith in a life beyond the grave.

What then are some of the factors which determine whether or not our cemetery is functioning as a community institution of the highest order?

PHYSICAL FORM AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE CEMETERY

We shall consider first the cemetery itself - its physical form and administration. Of first importance is the matter of proper planning. St. Gaudens, the famous sculptor said, "There is nothing that needs proper supervision and planning more than the modern cemetery, for there is nothing that suffers more from vulgarity, ignorance and pretentiousness on the one side, and grasping unscrupulousness on the other". We are all familiar with and know instances of cemeteries which find themselves hemmed in on every side by undesirable - that is, undesirable from the cemetery viewpoint - industrial development; cemeteries that are in the way of necessary street widening or other public improvement. Fortunate¬ly, an abundance of good highways and the automobile have permitted cemeteries to locate far from the centers of dense population, thus mini¬mizing the dangers of future encroachment. When planning the new cemetery or new sections in an established cemetery, too often the local architect or engineer is given the job - to keep the work at home is the excuse - when he has no qualifications whatever for the task, although he probably is perfectly competent in his own line of work. To transform farm and woodlands into a beautiful cemetery, to take every advantage of the topography of the chosen site, demands skill, creative ability and resourcefulness of the first order. This is an age of specialization and many able architects who specialize in cemetery design are now available. So why not employ specialists for the task of planning our cemetery?
Our cemetery should be a beauty spot. The beauties of nature, of art and architecture exert tremendous power in easing sorrow. Let us make our cemetery a profusion of beauty, where the families and friends of deceased loved ones will come again and again to assuage their grief in the healing powers of nature and art.

The importance of good landscaping in the creation of lasting beauty cannot be overemphasized, and unless cost of maintenance and replace¬ment are no governing factors, the landscaping materials should consist in the main of native trees and shrubs. The development of points of interest is essential, and may take the form of statuary, art glass, dis¬tinctive architecture, rock gardens, sunken gardens, formal gardens, lakes, ponds, pools, streams, fountains, specialization in particular species of flowering shrubs or particular varieties of flowers. Quiet nooks screened by shrubbery for rest and meditation are always appreciated by the ceme¬tery visitor. That these points of interest need not be elaborate or expen¬sive to be effective was most forcefully brought home to me this summer in my own cemetery.

We have a mirror pool in front of our mausoleum. Each spring we have been stocking this pool with large size gold fish which we obtain for a nominal sum from commercial fishermen who net them in Lake Erie. This year, for some unknown reason, the fish we placed in the pool were diseased and all died within a few days, and were not replaced. During the summer we have had dozens of inquiries as to why there are no fish in the pool. You may be sure that hereafter there will always be fish in the pool. Many of the old established cemeteries have some of the points of interest mentioned, or lend themselves admirably to the establishment of several without excessive expense; and of course the removal of grave mounds, curbing, lot fences and the widening of drives where possible will do much to further beautify the established cemetery.

Proper rules and regulations should be adopted by our modern ceme¬tery and after adoption, strictly enforced. While enforcement of the rules is no easy task for cemetery employees, tactfulness and patience will win in the end. We should also not forget that the passage of time and chang¬ing conditions will require periodic changes in our rules and regulations; that out of date rules may sometimes be worse than no rules.

The proper upkeep of our modern cemetery is due to the Perpetual Care Fund and the perpetual care system is the result of putting our cemetery on a paying basis. A modern accounting system and a complete set of records is a necessity if we are to be provided with up to date infor¬mation as to which of our operations show profits and which show losses. A readily accessible, accurate list of lot owners and of interments should be revised daily. In this connection, the historical record of interments is being used by more and more progressive cemeteries. In generations to come, such a record will be of priceless value to the community that has it available. For the long established cemetery, the difficulties encountered in reconstructing authentic lists of lot owners and interments are obviously great, but truly remarkable results have been achieved by those cemeteries willing to give time and honest effort to the task.

PERPETUAL CARE

Perhaps no phase of cemetery operation has been so much abused as has the Perpetual Care Fund. Only a small percentage of the cemeteries in this country claim to have a care fund; and only a very small percent¬age of those who claim to have such a fund, really do have one. Many have had one; many have one, with but few or no assets in it. Some mort¬gages went sour; some bonds defaulted; the secretary - a trusted local banker - speculated, lost the fund and was not bonded; the principal of the fund was used for operations; in anyone of a hundred different ways the fund has been dissipated. The need for a permanent care fund is apparent. Proper maintenance of our cemetery must eventually depend upon the income from it. So let us establish an honest-to-goodness Per¬petual Care Fund. Let us set up an irrevocable trust; let responsibility for its management be divided between the cemetery trustees, a corporate trustee and representatives chosen by the lot owners. Let us set up accurate accounting methods and send a monthly check to the trustee of the fund. For if we do not do these things of our own volition, sometime, in the not too far distant future, someone outside the cemetery business is going to force us to do so. Much has been said during the past few years about outside interests trying to tell us how to run the cemetery business. Most assuredly, outside interests will run our cemetery for us if we do not ourselves operate it for the public benefit. So let us have a real Perpetual Care Fund, and see that it is administered in strict accordance with the best trust practice.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Our modern cemetery's relationships with the public are many and varied. Of primary importance in public relations are the employees of our cemetery. To the visitor within our gates, the employee is our repre¬sentative, and our cemetery is judged by its employees. It naturally follows that our employees should be quiet, intelligent, tactful and understanding.

It may seem superfluous to mention that a complete, well kept grave service is necessary to our modern cemetery. The need for complete, neat grave-side equipment and clean, attentive employees is essential. Music during the interment service is coming to be an accepted, integral part of the service. In my own experience with music covering more than four years use, there has been only one instance when it was requested that music not be used for the committal service. And in this lone instance, the lady who was responsible afterward told me she was sorry it had not been used. The truth of the matter, she explained to me, was that prior to the burial of her loved one, she had never heard music at a committal service and thought it would intensify her sorrow. But after she had heard the chimes and organ during a burial service, her mind had been changed completely. The service of' the cemetery to the family of the deceased should not end with the burial, but should be a continuing service. Those cemeteries following the practice of making personal follow-up calls to the family after each interment have been well rewarded by increased good will, by the establishing of closer relations with the family, as well as showing increased sales directly attributable to such calls.

The relations of our cemetery with the public must be upon the high¬est plane. The profit motive must be entirely subordinated to the obliga¬tion our cemetery owes to the community. The management must have the interests of the public at heart if our cemetery is to be a community institution in the truest sense. It would seem that the description of St. Gaudens’ concerning the suffering of cemeteries from "vulgarity, ignor¬ance and pretentiousness on the one side, and grasping unscrupulousness on the other", would fit many who have been in the cemetery business in the past few years. Our profession has no place for the unscrupulous pro¬moter who flits from place to place, and whose only interest is in the amount of money he can make. Happily, the number of such unethical promoters is rapidly decreasing, and his total extinction is not far distant.

Our public relations through the medium of ethical advertising can be most beneficial, both to our cemetery and to the community. Everyone is agreed that before need buying of cemetery lots is advantageous to both seller and purchaser. Consistent, persistent advertising has done much ¬will do much more - to increase before need sales.

The quality of our service will depend much on the degree of our co-operation with allied services, such as the funeral directors, the vault manufacturers, the florists and the memorial craftsmen. If we work in complete harmony with these allied interests, our service to the public is bound to be improved.

And finally, our relationship with our competitors should be friendly and cooperative. Let us not permit competitive methods of the cut-throat variety to be the cause of our rendering the public an inferior service.

SPECIAL FEATURES

The development of special features and services is a proper function of our modern cemetery. Easter Sunrise Services, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, Armistice Day and Christmas Day services have been highly success¬ful when properly handled. In my own experience, I can say without hesitation or qualification that the Easter Sunrise Service has been the finest thing my cemetery has ever attempted. It has created immeasurable good will for the cemetery, and given us publicity which is literally priceless; although I wish to emphasize that the favorable publicity has been a by-product of the Sunrise Service, and was in no sense our motive when inaugurating it. The taint of commercialism will utterly destroy the value of any special day service, for the public as well as for the cemetery. Many cemeteries are veritable Edens for the student of nature and bird life. Such study we can encourage by labeling trees and shrubs with the common and botanical names, and by the erection of bird houses and feeding racks. Flower shows and exhibits are always successful and highly appreciated by the public. Amateur photographic contests will encourage an, enjoy¬able hobby and will furnish our cemetery with many valuable pictures.

CONCLUSION

If you asked a dozen people what a certain cemetery in their com¬munity meant to them, the chances are you would get a dozen different answers. To some it would mean a hallowed place where loved ones lie sleeping, to others a place where the annual Memorial Day Services are held each year. To some it would mean a quiet place for the study of nature, and to still others it would bring to mind a riot of brilliant fall colors.

But back of all these should lie the concept of our cemetery as a good citizen of our community, with a good citizen's responsibility and attitude, and that concept should be for our cemetery a matter of fundamental policy. In short, we should seek through all our activities to be good citizens of the community - and of the country - in which we live, for it is upon the progress of the whole people and all their communities that the future welfare of each of us depends, association, corporation and individual citizen alike.

In this necessarily cursory discourse on the cemetery as a community institution, there has been time to present only a bare outline of what our modern cemetery should be, but it is hoped that there has been created in each of us an incentive for all of us to work out in our own cemetery for the benefit of our community, the thought of Robert Browning when he said,

"The common problem, - yours, mine, every ones'¬
Is not to fancy what were fair in life
Provided it could be; but, finding first
What may be then find how to make it fair
Up to our dreams"

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 1940