521 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
Michigan held that a bequest in the 
will of Noah Tyler reading as fol- 
lows, was void as creating a trust 
under the statute of perpetuities: 
‘‘I give and bequeath the sum of One Hun- 
dred Dollars to the Trustees of the Square 
Lake Cemetery in the Town of Orion, Oak- 
land County and State of Michigan, as a 
perpetual fund to be kept at interest by said 
trustees and the interest used to take care 
of the graves on my lot in said cemetery and 
keep the said lot in order.” 
. In passing on the Square Lake 
cemetery association case, the court 
expressed surprise that an heir should 
see fit to contest that clause of the 
will which aimed to provide that the 
grave of the deceased should always 
be kept green. A bill which has since 
been introduced in the Legislature 
proposes to extend to all legitimate 
cemetery associations the right to 
receive funds in perpetuity for that 
purpose, which would do away with 
the difficulty in the Square Lake case. 
This is a point that had not before 
been raised. There is a state law 
against perpetuities, however, from 
which cemetery associations in gen- 
eral are not exempt, although a few 
have received attention by special 
legislation, among them Saginaw. 
That the matter has not come up be- 
fore is indication of the unanimity of 
the acquiescence in the justice of such 
a plan, for heirs have not seen fit or- 
dinarily to contest such provisions. 
Now that it has been shown, how- 
ever, that cemetery associations have 
not the right to receive such bequests 
the proposed act of the legislature is 
promptly and naturally introduced. 
If any exemption is to be made to' 
the law against perpetuities it would 
seem that it should be in such cases 
as this. There is a natural human 
desire to assure perpetual care of the 
graves of those who are near to us. 
A perpetual fund to assure this is the 
method that naturally suggests it- 
self and that is the simplest way . to 
attain the end sought. The right to 
receive funds for this purpose, prop- 
erly safeguarded, should rest with ev- 
ery properly constituted cemetery as- 
sociation. 
In Minnesota, Senate Bill No. 505, 
introduced by Senator Moonan, is 
aimed to give townships the right to 
■create a permanent fund for the care 
of cemeteries. The bill provides that 
the supervisors of any township may 
require that any portion of the price 
of a lot may constitute a permanent 
fund and be deposited as provided in 
the act, and the interest be paid an- 
nually to the trustees of the ceme- 
tery to be expended in caring for and 
beautifying the lot. The fact that 
such a bill has been introduced is an 
indication that there is a growing de- 
mand for improvement. The ceme- 
tery people of Minnesota should use 
every influence with their Senators 
and Representatives to get the bill 
passed. It has already passed the 
Senate and is on “General Orders” 
in the House, which means that is is 
likely to pass. 
In Iowa, a measure has been in- 
troduced to provide that boards of 
directors of cemetery asociations or 
town- or county officials where the 
cemetery is under public management 
may levy an annual tax of 3^4 mills 
on each square foot of lot for its care, 
where such fund has not been provid- 
ed for by perpetual care. The bill is 
a fair measure and is aimed to enable 
cemeteries to allow the sale of lots 
of non-residents or persons who have 
left the country or whose wherea- 
bouts are unknown. The bill has 
been introduced in the house by Rep- 
resentative D. E. Kulp of Palo Alto 
County as House Bill No. 357, and in 
the Senate by Senator L. E. Francis 
as Senate Bill No. 315. In the House 
the measure has been reported un- 
favorably from the Committee on 
Ways and Means. Representative 
Kulp writes us that it is very difficult 
to interest the Legislature in a meas- 
ure of this character, which shows 
the necessity of every citizen of Iowa 
interested in the better care of ceme- 
teries impressing his Representative 
Calcium Chloride as a Weed Killer 
I notice in your “I Want to Know” col- 
umn of last month an inquiry from a 
correspondent signed EL H. If your 
correspondent is a cemetery superin- 
tendent it is evident he did not attend 
the last convention of the Association 
of American Cemetery Superintendents. 
At this convention the use of chloride 
of calcium was thoroughly discussed 
and its merits as a weed killer and dust 
layer were brought out. This is a strik- 
ing illustration of the value of the con- 
ventions of our association. Those cem- 
etery superintendents who are now 
members but did not attend the meet- 
ing get the benefit of this discussion 
from the printed report now in press. 
Presuming your correspondent is not 
a member of the association, and for his 
information I will state that chloride of 
calcium is a chemical by-product and is 
and Senator with the value and ne- 
cessity of this legislation and of keep- 
ing it before each successive legisla- 
ture, if it is not passed by the present 
body. 
The New Hampshire Legislature 
has just passed a very simple, plainly 
worded act that seems to provide 
definitely for the matter of perpetual 
care, providing, of course, there are 
no constitutional stumbling blocks in 
the shape of laws against perpetuities 
such as the one referred to above in 
the state of Michigan. The New 
Hampshire law reads in full as fol- 
lows; 
AN ACT 
To Allow Executors and Administrators to 
pay over Money for the Perpetual Care of 
Cemetery Lots. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 
Representatives in General Court convened: 
Section 1. Executors and administrators 
may pay, upon the order of the Judge of 
Probate, to cemetery corporations or to cit- 
ies or towns having burial places therein, a 
reasonable sum of money for the perpetual 
care of the lot in which the body of their 
intestate is buried, and the monuments 
thereon. The Judge of Probate shall deter- 
mine, after notice to all parties in interest, 
to whom the same shall be paid and the 
amount thereof, if any, and such sum shall 
be , allowed in the accounts of such executor, 
and administrator. 
Sect. 2. This act shall take effect on its 
passage. 
(Approved February 25, 1911.) 
In the way of minor legislation, a 
bill is now before the Judiciary com- 
mittee of the Minnesota legislature 
to permit private cemeteries to own 
100 acres of land exempt from taxa- 
tion instead of eighty as at present, 
for sale by several firms. The mate- 
rial comes in metal drums of 375 lbs. 
each and costs about $17.00 per ton. It 
is in granulated form and should be 
placed on the road in dry form as soon 
as the drums are opened. If it is to be 
used on a road as a weed killer only, 
less material is required than where it 
is to be used as a dust layer. As soon 
as the chloride is exposed to the air it 
begins to draw moisture and dissolve, 
and after one night’s dew it is not dis- 
cernible except that the road appears as 
if recently sprinkled. 
As to how far the material will go 
will depend on how thick it is applied. 
In some instances it is as low as 3 
cents per square yard applied, while in 
others it will go as high as 8 cents. It 
can be applied at any time during the 
spring or summer. 
Bellett Lawson, Jr., 
Sec. Assn, of American Cemetery Supts. 
River Grove, 111. 
ASKED and ANSWERED 
An exchange of experience on practical matters by our readers. You 
are invited to contribute questions and answers to this department. 
