THE MODERN CEMETERY. 
127 
and we must not forget that it is the average man 
who owns most of the lots in our cemeteries. 
The average man is oftener right than, perhaps, 
we think he is; at any rate, his wishes, as he foots the 
bills, are entitled at all times to careful considera- 
tion, and when there is doubt, we should always 
give him the benefit of it. 
The greenhouse can be not only made a mater- 
ial source of revenue to the cemetery, but at the 
same time, in nearly all cases, the woyk can be 
cheapened to the lot owner. 
The greater part of the work in the greenhouse 
comes at a time when there is little to do outside, 
and in growing bedding plants, the ordinary hands 
kept for outside work can put in their spare time to 
advantage. A moderate amount of planting, in a 
somewhat formal manner, at the entrance to the 
cemetery or in connection with the buildings, 
if judiciously done, adds much to the general efiect. 
The greenhouse will supply the material at a tri- 
fling expense. 
A small greenhouse or conservatory, from which 
perfectly satisfactory results may be had, can be 
built and equipped at the present time so cheaply 
that no cemetery need be without some form of 
glass house. While a competent gardener is a val- 
uable man in any cemetery, and a necessity when 
extensive glass houses are operated, yet the lack of 
snch a man or inability to meet the expense of em- 
ploying him, need deter no one from putting up a 
small conservatory and cultivating a few of the 
commoner and easiest handled bedding and flower- 
ing plants. Any man of fair intelligence, and hav- 
ing a love for flowers, can by a little care and study 
get surprisingly good results, if the beginning is on 
a small scale. Of course he must creep before he 
can walk. 
A final and not unimportant point in favor of 
the greenhouse as a part of the cemetery equip- 
ment, is that it enables the management to exclude 
from the grounds all outside workmen except the 
monument setter. When the millenium comes, 
perhaps we can abolish him also. 
Willis N. Rudd. 
Some Rights of Officials of Cemetery Associations. 
In an action for libel, where the publication 
made the basis of the suit, falsely charged, in effect, 
that the secretary of a cemetery association had em- 
bezzled funds, it was recently held by the supreme 
court of Nebraska that the law presumed him to be 
innocent of the crime; that it presumed the publish- 
er was actuated with a malicious intent; and that 
the party suffered some damages thereby, so that 
no proof of actual injury by reason of the publica- 
tion was necessary to entitle him to recover dama- 
ges, the amount of which would, however, have to 
be determined by the jury. The trial court charg- 
ed in this case that a cemetery association, organ- 
ized under the general laws of the state, was a pri- 
vate corporation, and that the corporation, its offi- 
cers and servants, had the same and equal immuni- 
ty and protection from criticism that a private in- 
dividual possessed, and that the publisher of any 
newspaper, who published a criticism of and con- 
cerning the officers and servants of a private cor- 
poration, was responsible to the same extent for 
such criticism as though it had been published of 
and concerning a private individual. This is up- 
held by the supreme court, which further declares 
that the secretary of a cemetery association organ- 
ized under the incorporation law of Nebraska is not 
a public officer, in such a sense as to enable the 
publisher of a newspaper to claim that an article 
published concerning him, and charging him with 
embezzling the funds of such cemetery association, 
is a privileged communication, and thus compel 
such secretary, in an action for libel, to prove ex- 
press malice. 
Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, Minn. 
The Association owning Oakwood Cemetery, 
Austin, Minn., is the out-growth and successor of a 
rather peculiar combination, the old cemetery being 
partly the property of an association and partly 
that of a private individual. 
The methods by which this reorganization was 
brought about, may be of interest in other loca- 
tions where there is need of such action. 
As it seemed difficult to interest the business 
men of the place in the matter, the ladies formed a 
club, having for its objects the beautifying of the 
cemetery, and the establishment of a library jyid 
reading room; it is sufficient to say that their 
efforts have been fully successful; as one of the 
present cemetery officials put it, “the men folks 
had to take hold of it to keep peace in the family.’’ 
The old cemeteries being well filled some new 
land adjoining on the north wafs purchased, and as 
it was decided that the time had come to abandon 
the old “checker board” system which prevailed in 
the old division for the modern lawn plan, the 
designing and preparing plans for the addition was 
entrusted to Messrs. Arthur W. Hobert, Superin- 
tendent of Lakewood Cemetery, and Frank H. Nut- 
ter, Landscape Architect, both of Minneapolis, 
Minn., and the results are seen on the accompany- 
ing map. 
The tract shown comprises an area of about 
thirteen acres, situated about one mile north-west 
from the center of the city, and has a gently rolling 
surface, sloping gradually from the highway to the 
