Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 127, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 June 1918 — Must Bring Body to Port. [ARTICLE]

Must Bring Body to Port.

The first litigation over burial at sea has been decided, according to Case and Comment. The decision holds that a steamship company which embalms the body of a passenger who dies on a voyage toward his home country Is bound to transport the body to port and deliver it to those entitled to its possession for burial, and is liable in damages in case it buries the body at sea. The court said: “At the time of the burial at sea the body could have been carried to port without injurious effect. Had the steamship been passing through the harbor of New York and approaching its dock, it could scarcely be said that the defendant would be justified in casting the body into the water, from whence, it could not be reclaimed, thereby depriving the next kin of the solace of giving the body a decent burial.”