ordinances forbidding their further use. In a few instances, burials were made beneath churches in the older cities, but this objectionable practice has almost entirely ceased, and at the present time, larger cemeteries have been established at considerable distances from the densely settled portions of large cities. These are carefully laid out and enclosed, and in many instances, the sculptor's art has contributed much to their adornment. The annual custom of visiting and decorating the graves of dead soldiers of the wars, in all parts of the United States, has undoubtedly contributed toward making cemeteries more attractive and beautiful.

So far as concerns the question of public health, very decided progress has been made in the United States. Laws relating to the transportation of the dead have been enacted, requiring special care in the case of transportation of those who have died of infectious disease. Laws have also been enacted providing for the licensing of undertakers and embalmers, and ordinances to prevent the holding of public funerals in case of deaths from certain infectious diseases, and forbidding intramural burials.

The average annual intramural interments per acre, in 18901, were as follows for the principal cities. They varied very greatly from a maximum of 43.4 per acre in Jersey city to 0.97 in Dayton, Ohio.

Embalming. Within the past 10 years, through the zeal of undertakers and others having charge of funeral rights, the practice of embalming the dead has spread in the United States with greater rapidity than is demanded by the people. In not a few instances has it seriously interfered with the action of justice, in determining the cause of death in cases of violence, and in some states laws have been enacted providing for the restriction of the practice.

In the United States, as elsewhere, the false pride and sentiment which too often attends the burial of the dead, leads to the impoverishment of families, and large sums are expended in the burial of those who in their lifetime lacked the necessities of life.

Cremation. Within the past 20 years the custom of cremating the bodies of the dead has obtained a considerable foothold in the United States, and several crematories have been built in different parts of the country.

The first crematory was built by Dr Julius T. Le Moyne at Washington, Pa., in 1876, and was used for the disposal of his own remains. From that time to the present much has been written in America in relation to this safe and rational method of disposal. No more establishments for incineration were erected till 1884, but from 1884 to the present time 26 crematories have been established. In some instances, laws have been enacted favoring the practice and placing it under proper restrictions.

That the public sentiment in favor of incineration is steadily increasing, is shown by the rapidly augmenting number of bodies submitted to this method of disposal.

The following list furnished by Mr Louis Lange of New York city shows the rapid progress which has been made in the establishment of crematories in the United States, and in the number of persons whose remains have been incinerated in these since their introduction in 1876.

In the 8 years 1876-1883, only 25 bodies had been disposed of in this manner, and all of these were treated in the

crematory built by Dr Le Moyne at Washington, Pa. From that time the annual number increased to 1699 in 1898, with a total of 8885 in all, up to the close of 1898, and by the date of opening of the Paris exposition of 1900, the number will probably have reached about 10,000.

DIAGRAM SHOWING THE

NUMBER OF CREMATIONS PER ANNUM

IN THE UNITED STATES

187683 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

Year

State

e of N. Y.

36

Legal provision has been made in some states, providing special means for carrying out the laws in regard to death certificates, in regard to bodies presented for incineration, and providing that in case of death by violence, the body shall not be embalmed before it is seen by an official medical officer (medical examiner or coroner).

RAILWAY HYGIENE

The rapid development of the different railway systems in the United States in the last half century1 has made it imperative that measures should be taken to protect the patrons of these roads from the dangers incident to public travel. One of the chief difficulties which hinders the progress of this important branch of public hygiene, consists in the fact that the long, through lines of travel extending across the continent, pass across very many different states, each one of which is, in a measure, a law unto itself, and it is no easy matter to secure uniformity of legislation on this subject among the different states. At the present time, almost the only legislation on this subject is that which exists in a few states in relation to the transportation of dead bodies, and specially regarding the bodies of those who have died of infectious diseases. Yet, it is a matter of certainty that a living, breathing human being, sick with an infectious disease, is a far greater danger to persons in his immediate proximity, than the body of one who has died of the same disease, and is enclosed in a coffin. This coffin is also carried in a baggage or freight car, apart from the passengers, and is almost invariably enclosed in an outer box when prepared for transportation. It therefore follows, that legislation intended for the protection of the traveler from the sick and living is of far

1) The mileage of the railways of the United States, in 1898, was 185,371, or 6.28 linear miles of railway for each 100 square miles of territory, and 25.6 miles for each 10,000 of the population.

The number of passengers carried 1 mile, in 1898, was 13,379,930,004, and the total number of passengers carried was 501,066,681. (Report of interstate commerce commission, 1898.)

Further information in regard to the railway suburban travel may be found in appendix 4.