PRACTICES WHICH MUST BE ABOLISHED.
Some usages which seem to be sanctioned by long practice, but not by any remarkable amount of good judgment, ought to be discountenanced and done away with, simply upon the ground that these acts conflict directly with all sanitary laws, and to a great extent endanger the lives of the persons who may be present. Still, these repeated transgressions upon the common precautionary measures against contagion are not the result of a desire to do wrong, neither do they always arise from sheer ignorance, but they are almost always caused by an utter disregard of even the simplest prudence.
For instance, how often, where a child has succumbed to the attack of some infectious disease, like scarlet fever, diphtheria, etc., how often will parents, regardless of the contagious character of the disease, insist upon kissing the pallid lips of the corpse, and, moreover, invite other children to follow the same dangerous practice.
And again, another prolific source of disease lies in the fact that funeral services will be conducted in a close, warm, ill ventilated room, crowded with a sympathizing audience, in close proximity to a corpse emitting foul and infectious effluvia, and inhaling these into the system. It is true that these same noxious gases may not always be detected by the smell, as the floral ornamentations, the crowded state of the room, etc., all tend to disguise any unpleasant odors; but the germ of contagion is still there and actively at work.
It is a fact, patent and undeniable, that carelessness in the keeping and disposing of bodies is an act of guilty neglect, and the sooner the community be made acquainted with the danger attending such practices as those above spoken of, the better it will be for the enforcement of those sanitary measures which are necessary in every well regulated city or town.
We have already spoken of dangers to be encountered in the handling of bodies, but the subject is of so much importance to undertakers, and concerns the profession so closely, that it may not be amiss here to renew our former cautions, also to add a few more suggestions, so as to modify the danger thereof, even if it cannot be completely eradicated.