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23
The next objection against Cremation is that of Cost. One hears
that cremation is a rich man's luxury. You will be surprised to hear
that except in the case of pit burial which is, of course, the cheapest,
Cremation is cheaper than burial.
Let me give you an illustration of how the cost works out in actual
practice—the comparative costs.
A man dies in London. Burial is proposed. A lair costs £8.
The cost of everything including burial charges and undertaker's
charges is from £30 to £35. That is a fair statement of the cost:
I have had it checked. If a monument be put up at this private grave,
an additional £10 is required. There is maintenance of the grave
and tombstone erected, as well.
In the case of Cremation, there is no reason why the undertaker's
charges for funeral incidentals should differ materially whether a body
is buried or cremated. The same hearse, carriages and men are employed.
The Crematorium in London is more accessible than many
cemeteries. The coffin is the same, except that an expensive hard
wood coffin is undesirable, while a lead coffin or an outer case is unnecessary.
The undertaker's services are the same in either case,
while from the undertaker's point of view there should be more profit
with the simpler coffin for cremation than with an expensive coffin for
burial, but, putting his account at £20, we have to add the cremation
fee £6 6s., clergyman's fee 10/6, medical certificate £1 1s., and a
niche in the Columbarium £6 6s. Total £34 3s. 6d. This represents
a saving of £5 or more on the cost of burial as stated above. It must
also be remembered that a niche in the Columbarium constitutes a
permanent memorial free of all liability for maintenance.
Now in about 50 per cent. of cases cremated at Golder's Green, the
deceased has left instructions that the ashes are to be dispersed in the
Garden of Rest, which latter is maintained as a permanent and natural
Memorial. Where the ashes are so dispersed instead of being placed
in an urn in a niche of the Columbarium, the £6 6s. is saved, and a
charge of £1 1s. for the dispersal of the ashes is substituted. This
gives a maximum total of £28 17s. 6d. The undertakers base their
charges for cremation for the middle classes to whom cremation is now
available, and in the London area they have fixed a minimum rate of
£15 for a cremation funeral, all in, which confirms my figures given
above with a good margin for incidentals.