264 
each year, and the board of five trustees 
appointed for term as stated. Our financial 
affairs are thus handled : The trustees in 
conjunction with the secretary of the board 
and the general superintendent prepare an- 
nually in detailed budget for the annual 
estimate for appropriation of money re- 
quired ; this is submitted to the budget 
commissioner, who lays it before the mayor 
for his consideration with any suggestions 
he may desire to make. When it emerges 
from the mayor's office it usually shows 
scars of a duel at close quarters, pruning 
kni\ es being used as weapons, because the 
mayor, although vested with great powers 
under our present laws, is not authorized 
to create more money than the city pos- 
sesses, but perforce compelled to divide it 
between th; departments of municipal activ- 
ties. And wdiile our grant is usually below 
our estimated requirements I am pleased 
to thus puljlicly acknowledge generous 
treatment as compared with other depart- 
ments. -A. copy of this budget estimate is 
also submitted to a so-called finance com- 
mission who employ a group of investiga- 
tors who are delegated to make physical 
examination of our needs. This board has 
only recommendatory powers, however. By 
what method of reasoning they are able to 
reach the conclusion that they (not one of 
whom has had so much as one day's expe- 
rience in cemetery management or other 
similar work), are better qualified to judge 
of the actual requirements of the depart- 
ment than are we, wdio have had from ten 
to forty years' actual w'orking knowledge 
of the needs, is to say the least a trifle mys- 
tifying. 
The estimate with the mayor's revised 
figures and the recommendations of the 
finance commission is then placed before 
the city council for their consideration and 
approval, w'ho, under the law, may not in- 
crease the amount either in total or in 
separate items. Therefore, as decreasing 
or obliteration is their only possible func- 
tion, another priming hook is usually ap- 
plied. All income collected is paid to the 
cit_\- collector, who in turn pays it over to 
the city treasurer. All officers and em- 
ployees of the department who receive or 
transmit these funds are securely bonded. 
All bills are carefully audited by the audit- 
ing department before payment is author- 
ized. Periodically an accountant acting for 
the city auditor visits our offices and per- 
sonally examines, compares and checks all 
our books, accounts and records. In this 
connection I am pleased to record as a 
tribute to the efficiency and faithfulness of 
my clerical force the fact that the account- 
ant has always reported “no errors.” 
Paiment for everything, land sales, fees 
for opening graves, deposits in receiving 
tomb, construction of foundations, care of 
lots and graves, planting and placing flow- 
ers on lots, orders for renovation or im- 
provement or other work on lots or single 
graves, is payable and collected in ad- 
vance. All purchases of goods or materials 
bought for our use are made by the city pur- 
P ARK AND CEMETERY 
chasing agent, officially designated “Supt. 
of Supplies,” upon requisition issued by me, 
carbon copies of all requisitions being re- 
tained by us. Every transaction is accu- 
rately and carefully recorded, e.xamined 
and checked by bonded men sworn to faith- 
fully and impartially perform their duties. 
To illustrate the close supervision of our 
affairs ; Not long ago we received at our 
storehouse an order of paint stock. It was 
delivered late in the afternoon. The next 
morning a representative of the finance 
commission arrived in an automobile to 
examine it, asked our storekeeper when it 
arrived, if it was all there, and for what 
purpose we were to use it, and thumping 
and lifting the several containers to make 
certain they were not empty, departed 
probably to run some other supposed thief 
to earth. And yet ! and yet ! there are to- 
day in our midst some people who say, and 
1 presume many others who think without 
giving audible expression to their thought, 
that I have a “soft, easy snap of a job 
with wonderful opportunities for graft.'’ 
Well, such is life in the public service. And 
we are asked to believe that all these things 
are done for greater efficiency. Efficiency. 
ye gods, what crimes are committed in thy 
name. I have little use for that kind of 
efficiency. If you want real efficiency go to 
war-torn Europe today. There the count- 
less thousands of unmarked graves upon 
the hillsides and in the once beautiful 
peaceful valleys of torn, bleeding and dev- 
astated Belgium hear testimony to the 
greatest efficiency the world has ever 
known. All moneys received are adminis- 
tered by the city treasurer and invested by 
him. The money received from land sales 
is thus divided; one-half goes to invest- 
ment in our city bonds which are issued for 
various purposes, and the income from this 
is placed to our credit for the perpetual 
care of land sold. The other half and all 
other receipts from any source whatever 
are, under authority of a special act by our 
state legislature enacted three years ago, 
invested by the city treasurer in a general 
fund and allowed to accumulate, adding its 
interest earnings, as well as receipts from 
all other sources, until in the opinion of the 
trustees of the department and the mayor 
it shall be sufficient to produce an income 
capable of providing sufficient funds for the 
needs of the department. 
As we have unsold land in our three 
active cemeteries which will easily sell for 
three million dollars, I estimate that we 
can easily create a fund of four million 
dollars, which on our present basis should 
prove sufficient. 
Our physical organization consists of the 
general superintendent with headquarters at 
Mount Hope, responsible to the trustees, 
who is charged with the general supervi- 
sion of all the various activities of the de- 
partment, assisted by six assistant superin- 
tendents, officially designated “custodians,” 
responsible to the general superintendent, 
and on his recommendation appointed an- 
nually by the trustees; four female clerks. 
bookkeepers and stenographers, two each at 
the city office in city hall and at the office 
of Mount Hope Cemetery. These with the 
secretary to the board constitute our cleri- 
cal force, which I am sure you will agree 
is not a large one, when I tell you that we 
make more burials and make more book 
and card index entries than any other 
three protestant cemeteries in the vicinity 
of, and serving the people of Boston and its 
suburbs. 
Our engineering work is in the main 
done by the city engineers who perform 
this service for all departments. And then 
we have the usual force of workmen, la- 
borers, gardeners, mechanics, teamsters, 
etc., varying in numlier from about sixty to 
one hundred, the apex of our load as with 
all of you, being in May and June, at which 
time we carry the largest force of men. 
Of course we, as with all American munici- 
palities pay the maximum wages and work 
the minimum of hours. Our minimum 
wage, which is fixed by legislation and ac- 
tion of the city council is $3.00 per day of 
eight hours. They are also given Satur- 
day afternoons, all legal holidays, and in 
cases of permanent employees, two weeks' 
vacation annually without loss of pay. And 
the end is not yet. A short time ago a 
certain labor advocate, or rather I should 
say, anti-labor advocate said to a commit- 
tee of our state legislature in answer to a 
question as to their ultimate goal “three 
fives," a maximum of five hours per day 
and five days per week, and a minimum 
wage of five dollars per day. 
We have several incapacitated old men 
who do not and cannot do seventy-five 
cents worth of labor per day. You may 
ask why not get rid of them? We might, 
Init it is not the policy of the city of Boston 
or our own trustees to discharge from the 
service men who have been faithful for 
many years and who have become incapaci- 
tated. A pension of one-half pay is pro- 
vided: compulsory in case of twenty years 
in the city service at the age of seventy 
years, or in case of permanent disability. 
Compensation is provided by law equal to 
two-thirds average weekly pay for those 
temporarily disabled in the service. So we 
have to watch our appropriation dwindle 
away through these channels which give us 
no return in service. 
One might suppose with all this official 
supervision, together with the interests of 
labor, both as to hours, wages and vaca- 
tions carefully provided for by statute laws, 
that there would be no need to employ a 
superintendent, but somehow I seem to be 
kept fairly busy, for, with all the zeal dis- 
played in legislation, and all the energy 
shown in supervisions, one set of super- 
visors supervising other supervisors, and 
they in turn supervising and watching the 
other fellows, they have so far been unable 
to write into legal form the one element 
which you and I well know from years of 
contact experience in our work makes for 
the success of our efforts, and the satisfac- 
tion of those whom we are called upon to 
