PARK AND CEMETERY 
418 
Perpetual Care in American Cemeteries. 
(Continued.) 
Beg'un in the May Issue. 
Greenla'Tvn Cemetery, Columbus, 0. 
This perpetual care fund, as it is called, is a problem to 
me; it is to far-reaching for us to undertake in Green Lawn 
at this time. 
Fifty per cent of the general fund should be applied to 
the general care of the whole, and all the interest of the in- 
dividual fund to the contributing lot. 
We have no portion of the cemetery sold under perpetual 
care, so that we have the 50 per cent for the general care of 
the whole cemetery, and it all looks the same. 
We have seven trustees ; three are elected one year and 
four the next, and so on alternately for terms of two years. 
As to form of contract, we advocate and encourage the 
endowment fund and are having very good success at one 
dollar per square foot. Form of bequest or endowment; 
I give or bequeath to the Trustees of Green Lawn Ceme- 
tery, in Colum.bus, Franklin County, Ohio, the sum of 
dollars ($ ), to be, invested by them with other funds 
given for like purposes and the proportionate part of the in- 
come thereof to be applied to the care of my lot in said ceme- 
tery, which includes cutting the grass, watering when neces- 
sary, also keeping up all shrinkage. 
For determining the amount of deposit required from in- 
dividual lot holders for perpetual care of their lots, we have 
•only the endowment fund at (one dollar per sq. ft.). This 
price does not guarantee any stone work. As yet we accept 
no deposits for the care of mausoleums and monuments. The 
•more we think and talk of this problem the farther we get 
away from it. 
We guarantee no stipulated amount of interest. 
It is not right or proper to guarantee in perpetuity any- 
thing artificial and very little that is natural. But I find 
that nearly all cemetery associations are doing this very thing. 
John C. Stephens, Supt. 
CreetiHvood Cemetery, ’Brooklyn, N, Y. 
What percentage of lot sales is it advisable to set aside 
for perpetual care? None. The fund for perpetual care 
should be separate. 
General care, including cutting grass occasionally, etc., is 
given to lots not in our perpetual care or in care of a gar- 
dener. 
Elect board of trustees by vote of lot owners when a new 
cemetery is organized, afterwards fill vacancies by vote of 
trustees to avoid “grabbing” control by lot owners’ proxies. 
Form of contract would depend upon the object and meth- 
ods of management. 
The amount required for the perpetual care of a lot, vault, 
■etc., is determined by an examination of same, and at pres- 
ent we allow 4 per centum on the amount deposited, but do 
not agree to give any particular per centum for the future. 
The amounts deposited for mausoleums, monuments, etc., 
vary from $250.00 to $10,000, and while we sometimes accept 
a less sum than the minimum when left by wdll, we simply 
agree to do the be'st possible with the income. 
It is not proper to guarantee something in perpetuity, but 
as a matter of fact this corporation is willing to pay for 
•errors of judgment, especially where mausoleums, etc., are 
■concerned. 
Eugene Cushman, Supt. 
Elmlam^n Cemetery, Buffalo, N. Y. 
Not less than ten per cent should be set aside for perpetual 
care. This is based on selling ground at 50 cents or more 
per square foot. 
We are not in favor of making any separate care. We be- 
lieve the whole cemetery should be cared for equally and that 
the grass should be cut once a week if necessary on all lots. 
In organizing trustees have as few committees as possible. 
An executive committee composed of two or more members 
to act as a Governing board between regular meetings in our 
experience is far better than numerous committees for finance, 
etc. 
Our association makes no contract excepting that it says in 
the deed that it will forever maintain lot in good order of 
repair. 
Not over 4 per cent can be allowed on perpetual care funds. 
It is not proper to guarantee something in perpetuity ex- 
cept in a general way. Bellett Lawson, Jr., Supt. 
Forest Home Cemetery, Mtrtnaukee. 
As large a percentage as possible should be set aside for 
the perpetual care of the whole cemetery. The entire amount 
should be applied to the general care of the cemetry. In- 
dividual lots should be especially provided for. 
The contract should contain no agreements that will bind 
trustees to conditions that in years to come cannot be equit- 
ably fulfilled. 
For individual deposits figure the annual amount expended 
at the present time, and the amount of principal required to 
earn such amount at the present rates of interest, and then 
about double such amount of principal. 
Concerning monuments we only agree to do as much as 
can be wdth the interest received. 
One should guarantee to expend the amount of interest 
only at prevailing prices at the time. W. S. Pirie, Sec. 
cMarion Cemetery, Marion, 0, 
We set apart two-fifths for endowment, as a trust, the in- 
come of which only can be used. 
We set apart 10 per cent of all sales for care of cemetery 
as a whole. 
When a portion of the cemetery has been sold without spe- 
cial care contract, we care for the whole cemetery and collect 
what we can from owners of lots not endowed. 
We have three trustees — elect one each year for term of 
three years.^ 
We have the contract in the deed and give a certificate to 
those whose lots are not already endowed. Now we only 
sell lots endowed. 
We got this by keeping the time for two years and adding 
SO per cent to it. We found that ten cents per foot was suf- 
ficient to do it well. 
We estimate at 5 per cent on perpetual care funds. 
Our endowment is perpetual. For some years we have only 
sold with the endowment and sell at 25 cents per foot, 15 for 
the ground and 10 for endowment. Some say you can’t run 
a cemetery on these terms. We have only the one price, 
and should any think it bannot, please tell them to come 
and see us. P. O. Sharpless, Trustee. 
A Correction. 
Mr. Frank Enrich of Detroit writes as follows to correct 
our report of his remarks in the discussion of cremation at 
the Washington convention : “What I said was : Of the six- 
teen incinerated remains brought to Woodlawn several were 
placed in private tombs, several encased in copper boxes 
were placed in foundations and bases of monuments and 
others interred in the usual manner. The report infers that 
we have a crematory, which as yet is not the case.” 
