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Show Objection to osematiov. Probably the main objection to craaaa-tlon craaaa-tlon haa hitherto been religious. Yet we 1 believe that there are today many olecgy-men olecgy-men mho consider this-method to be not contrary to divine taw. but prefera.Me to. burial, save the Journal of the American Medlcsl Aseoclallon. Indeed. In tha light of the beautiful Pauline statement, read In Christian services, that "there la a natural body and there la a spiritual rtody.- TT 1a dlfflitll to find lit jie utailes) anything conrrarv to Chrlatlan precept. It ia th natural body which material aa-ture aa-ture must aspirate and return into elements, ele-ments, whether thla he done by the alow process of decomposition In tha grave, or ny me mure rapMi rumDuiin u mv m neral pyre, in verv truth human living. In lta physical aspects is. from th cradle to the grave, a continuous process of combustion; cremation, at Ita end. Is only the same proceee concentrated within a few minute of time. But one other objection to cremation remains Ihst of the facility which It la assumed to afford eliminate for the concealment con-cealment of the meana employed for murder. mur-der. While the theoretical existence of such a danger must be admitted, practl-callv. practl-callv. under proper precautlona. it 1 probahlv almost inflnlteelmal. or at leaat negligible. In every suspicious case (however (how-ever slightly sol the coroner or the equivalent equi-valent leaal officer can require an au-topev, au-topev, wilh the removal of par's or the whole of organe and their preservation for examination. In the event of alleged poisoning. If these measurea seem Inadequate, Inade-quate, additional safeguards could be established. es-tablished. For example. It might be provided pro-vided that, aa In England, no one might be cremated until two Independent death certtfti-etea have been made by medical men. In th event of doubt, necropsy should tie provided for and viscera would. If neceeeary. be preserved, postmortem examination should be prescribed as a routine procedure In certain Instances, as In the casea of persons dying In publtc Institutions and those dying under the custodv of others than their natural guard lana. While there are no conclusive objections objec-tions to cremation, there are positive reasona agalnet burial. Cremation affords af-fords a clean and rapid dlstntegraUon, while burial is a slow procees. most rs- S urn ant to any Imagination that would well on it. and Inspiring much ocoaslon-less ocoaslon-less fear of death. Burial la also dan- ferous to the living, emphatically ao when he death haa been by reason of a contagion con-tagion and especially in graveyarde adjacent ad-jacent to human habitations- For sparsely settled regions thla consideration Is not so powerful; but under modern living condition when so large a pro-nortlon pro-nortlon of humanity live In dfle. wnen ao many rural districts beoome suburban, which In their turn almost aa rapidly be- come urban the cleaner, more wholeeopxe JaZ and more esthetic method of cremation should obtain. The possibility of co-tsgion co-tsgion becomes thus more and more necessary nec-essary to consider, aa districts beoome congealed to a degree surely unprecedented unprece-dented In human history. Many varle-tlea varle-tlea of pathogenic bacteria, transferred by the dead to their grave, multiply Inconceivably In-conceivably In the earth. How great a danger la thla to the living whoee dwellings dwell-ings are near thoae grmvea. our spreading civilisation rmthhwely claims (or Its economic purpoaea patches of land hitherto eacred to the dead, tto sentiment hers! Is It In consonance with tbe religious sense to sse huge factories and tenementa towering above and evar-ahadowlng evar-ahadowlng little eemeterlee, whoss dwell- -sre are of other and forgotten centuries t Does It conform with the reverent rood to eee workmen, while excavating for the foundations of mercantile building, dig up churchyard slims and toes sway th hones of long forgotten deadt Thus there I not only a hygienic, hut also aa economla objection to burlaX It would be useless to inqulr her s to the propriety pro-priety of the Utter; we may but reeor that it axlate and la Inaurmountable. The acreage In and about large clUee now devoted de-voted to cemeteries la enormous; th earth now sanctified will certainly tol time be desecrated. The crematory la taws the only eolutlon. |