PARK AND C EM ETER Y. 
624 
•fill such vacancy or vacancies; and that 
thereafter the county judge of the county 
In which said cemetery association is io- 
cated shali aiways appoint some suitable 
person or persons as trustees: Provided, 
however, that in making such appoint- 
ments the said county judge siiali so ex- 
ercise his power that at least two-thirds 
(2-3) of said trustees shall be selected 
from suitable persons residing witliin fif- 
teen (15) miles of said cemetery, or some 
part thereof, and the other appointees 
may be suitable persons interested in said 
cemetery association through family in- 
terments or otherwise who are citizens 
of the State of Illinois. 
Senate Bill No. 437 in House. A 
Bill for an Act to amend an Act 
■entitled, “An Act in relation to the 
conveyance, use and preservation of 
burial lots in cemeteries,” approved 
April 21, 1899, in force July 1, 1899, 
by adding thereto a new section to be 
known as Section 2. Amended as fol- 
lows: 
Sec. 2. That every such company or as- 
sociation incorporated for cemetery pur- 
poses under any general or special law of 
the State of Illinois may receive, by gift, 
dev'ise, bequest, or otherwise, moneys or 
real or personal property, or the income 
or avails of such moneys or property, in 
trust, in perpetuity for the perpetual and 
permanent improvement, maintenance, or- 
namentation, repair, care and preservation 
of any burial lot or grave, vault, tomb, 
or other such structures, in any cemetery 
owned or controlled by such cemetery 
company or association, upon such terms 
and in such manner as may be provided 
by the terms of such gift, devise, bequest, 
or other conveyance of such moneys or 
property in trust and assented to by such 
company or association, and subject to 
the rules and regulations of such com- 
pany or association, and every such com- 
pany or association owning or controlling 
any such cemetery may make contracts 
with the owner or owners or legal repre- 
sentatives of any lot, grave, vault, tomb, 
■or other such structure in such cemetery, 
for the perpetual and permanent improve- 
ment, maintenance, ornamentation, care, 
preservation and repair of any such lot, 
grave, vault, tomb, or other such struc- 
ture in such cemetery owned or controlled 
by such cemetery or association. 
The Pine Grove Cemetery, Milford, 
Mass., Tax Case 
The following is the finding of the 
County Commission in the matter 
of the petition of the Pine Grove 
Cemetery proprietors on the abate- 
ment of the 1910 tax on certain prop- 
erty: 
‘‘Upon the petition of the proprietors of 
the Pine Grove cemetery of Milford, lo- 
cated in the town of Milford, in the coun- 
ty of Worcester and the commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, filed with the clerk on the 
fifth day of January, A. D. 1911, and 
thence by due adjournment and continu- 
ance pending till the present time for the 
abatement of the taxes assessed for the 
year, A. D. 1910, by the assessors of said 
town of Milford, upon certain personal 
property held by them, said petition set- 
ting forth; 
“That the date of tax bill rendered for 
the taxes assessed on its said property 
was August, 1910, and that within six 
months after the said date of its tax bill 
it duly applied to the assessors of said 
town for the abatement thereof. That the 
petitioner subsequently filed, as required 
by law, with said board of assessors, and 
at its request, a list of its real and per- 
sonal property and estate which was sub- 
ject to taxation, but without waiving any 
of its rights to an aliatement and exemp- 
tion then claimed, and said list -was ac- 
cepted by said board of assessors and said 
‘ooard found that there was reasonable e.x- 
cuse for the delay in filing said list and 
that there was good cause for said delay. 
“That on December 22, 1910, the peti- 
tioner received notice from said board of 
assessors of their decision and refused to 
abate said tax as requested by the peti- 
tioners. That the petitioner, being ag- 
grieved by said refusal of the said board 
of assessors to abate said tax, within 30 
days from receiving said notice appeals 
from said order and finding, and prays 
that said tax be abated for reason that 
said personal property is not by law tax- 
able but is exempt from taxation and for 
other reasons. 
“After due notice to said town of Mil- 
ford, at the hearing before said com- 
missioners came said petitioner, by 
Considerable damage has been done 
to the St. Vincent De Paul cemetery 
in Larksville, Pa., by the “caving in” 
«f the surface over the Gaylord coal 
mine. Numbers of graves have been 
disturbed and practically annihilated, 
and it is expected that the distur- 
bances will not cease until all the un- 
supported crust sinks into the mine. 
A plan to make a memorial park of 
old Huron Cemetery, Kansas City. 
Kans., as a means of avoiding trou- 
ble growing out of the occupation 
of the cemetery by the Conley sis- 
ters who claim ownership by treaty 
with the Wyandottes, is being agitat- 
ed. The plan suggested is to give the 
new Young Women’s Christian As- 
sociation the part of the cemetery 
that fronts on Seventh Street, d’liere 
are no graves in this part. The idea 
is to replace the wall on Minnesota 
Avenue with an ornamental terrace 
and build walks about the cemetery 
and a monument in the center. This 
plan would not necessitate the re- 
moval of the bodies. 
The town of Sterling, Mass,, has 
not appropriated money for the care 
of its cemeteries for many years and 
the cemetery committees have been 
using the interest of funds left for 
the perpetual care of certain lots for 
Wendell M'illiams, Esq., its attorney, 
and the said town of Milford b.v John C. 
Lynch, Esq., its attorney and were heard, 
— it is considered and adjudged by saiil 
commissionei'S that said petition ought to 
be granted. 
“And said county commissioners find 
that while the list required to be brought 
in to the assessors was not brought 
in within the time specified, there 
was good cause for delay in bringing in 
said list of their estate as required by law, 
and further that the proprietors of the 
Pine Grove cemetery of Milford is, as a 
matter of law and as a matter of fact, a 
charitable corporation and as such is ex- 
empt fi'om taxation. (Acts 1909, Chap. 490, 
Part 1, Sec. 5, Clause 3.) 
“And thereupon the county commission- 
ers order and decree that said tax as- 
sessed for the year A. D. 1910, by the said 
assessors of the town of Milford upon the 
personal estate of said petitioner, be abat- 
ed in full and hereby make abatement of 
said tax on said personal estate in full. 
(Acts 1909, Chapter 490, Sec. 76, Part 1.) 
By agreement of counsel and by order of 
this board, no costs are to be taxed or al- 
lowed to said petitioner or to said town 
of Milford.” 
Since the above decision was filed the 
Town of Milford has appealed the case to 
the Massachusetts Supreme Court. 
the care of the whole cemetery. The 
cemetery committee is at last wak- 
ing up to a doubt whether it has the 
legal right to use the interest of these 
funds for general care. And it is 
quite time it did. 
Extensive improvements are under 
way in Forest Hills Cemetery, Chat- 
tanooga, Tenn., among them the open- 
ing of three new drives, the recon- 
struction and repair of the old drives 
the opening of two new burial sec- 
tions, a radical reconstruction of the 
lily ponds, a large increase of plants 
and shrubbery in the Cemetery. In 
addition the Cemetery is preparing 
to take over the building of concrete 
vaults for use in the Cemetery; and 
two main sewers across the Cemetery 
are to be built entirely under ground 
and of the best possible concrete con- 
struction. The enlargement and im- 
provement of the Lodge is also to be 
undertaken. 
The Oneida, N. Y., cemeterj^ bill has 
become law. The bill provides for 
the taking by the city of the old ceme- 
tery east of the Elizabeth street 
school. It is a disgrace to the local- 
ity, being covered with thick under- 
brush. The few bodies, headstones 
nci monuments that remain will be 
(Continiied on page 626 ) 
CmETERY NOTES 
r- ' 
i 
itj 
