234 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
the justice and fairness of the trial and is 
a matter in the discretion of the court. 
While there can, generally speaking, be 
no property rights in a dead body, the rela- 
tives of the deceased have a recognized 
right to dispose of the remains in a proper 
manner. A husband or wife is generally 
recognized as having the first right to care 
for the remains and select a place for 
burial. In the absence of a husband or 
wife, the next of kin has the right and also 
the duty to provide for the burial. Where 
the parties most closely connected with the 
deceased, who have the right of burial, 
select or agree to a place of burial, that is 
regarded as final, and the law will not al- 
low a removal except for some necessary 
or laudable purpose. Where the deceased 
had clearly indicated a wish as to burial, 
the courts will enforce it, even though the 
relatives oppose. 
Not only has the nearest surviving rela- 
tive the right to arrange the burial, but the 
duty also rests upon him. For failure to 
fulfill his duty he may be punished in a 
criminal action. 
Whether a man can be punished for fail- 
ing to provide a Christian burial for his 
deceased infant was the question raised in 
a recent case. A child of defendant’s hav- 
ing died, he set about to bury it. Taking 
some pieces of rough board, he made a 
rude box to serve as a coffin. Although he 
had good lumber out of which he could 
have made a better and more presentable 
box, he said that he did not propose using 
his good lumber for this purpose. This 
box was taken to a point in a woods lot 
and a grave was dug by two neighbors 
about two feet deep. Defendant brought 
the corpse from the house in a small box 
to where the grave was being dug, placed it 
upon the ground and assisted in digging 
the grave. When completed, the paper box 
with the corpse in it was placed in the 
wooden box and lowered. The grave was 
then filled to a level with the surrounding 
ground, defendant assisting in tramping the 
dirt as it was being put back into the 
grave. No services of any kind were held 
at the grave. The court held that it was 
the right of defendant to select the place 
where his child should be buried, and he 
violated no law or duty in selecting a spot 
in the woods, rather than in a cemetery. 
There is no rule of law defining how a 
corpse shall be dressed for burial, or the 
character of coffin or casket in which it 
should be inclosed, or the material out of 
which the box shall be made, or the depth ' 
of the grave; nor is it an offense not to | 
notify relatives and friends so that they 
may be present at the interment, for they 
have no legal right to be present. There is 
no law imposing upon those having in 
charge the burial of the dead any duty to 
have the interment accompanied with re- 
ligious ceremony. The court said in con- i 
elusion : “It was no doubt the extreme i 
miserly and niggardly disposition manifest- 
ed by appellant that aroused the indigna- ' 
tion of his neighbors, causing the indict- 
ment, and ultimately induced the jury to 
assess the fine against him, which they did. 
While by the facts in the record the appel- 
lant is shown to be a man utterly lacking 
in parental instincts, he has kept himself 
within the pale of the law.” 
PROGRAM FOR A. A. C. S. ST. LOUIS CONVENTION 
The complete program for the twenty- 
eighth annual convention of the Association 
of American Cemetery Superintendents to 
be held at St. Louis, October 6, 7 and 8, 
printed below, is one of the finest programs 
for educational work and discussion ever 
prepared for an A. A. C. S. meeting, and 
a good attendance and an interesting meet- 
ing is assured. 
Headquarters will be at the Planters' Ho- 
tel, and rates and other details were given 
in our last issue. 
The complete program is as follows : 
First Day — Tuesday, October 6. Morning 
Session, Planters’ Hotel, io o’Clock. 
1. Meeting called to order. 
2. Opening prayer. 
3. Address of welcome by Hon. Henry 
W. Kiel, Mayor of St. Louis, Mo. 
4. Address of the President. 
5. Report of the Secretary-Treasurer. 
6. Communications. 
7. Appointment of committees. 
8. Plalf hour with the Secretary-Treas- 
urer. 
Afternoon Session, 2 o’Clock, Planters’ 
Hotel. 
1. Paper, “Brains and Muscle Wanted,” 
by W. N. Rudd, president of Mt. Green- 
wood Cemetery, Chicago. 
2. Discussion. 
3. Paper, “Monuments and Other Me- 
morials,” by James Currie, superintendent, 
Forest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee, Wis. 
4. Discussion. 
5. Paper, “More About Mausoleums,” 
by Frank Eurich, superintendent, Wood- 
lawn Cemetery, Detroit, Mich. 
6. Discussion. 
7. Paper, “The Cemetery and the Mon- 
ument Man,” by Alex Hanton, superintend- 
ent, City Cemeteries, Barre, Vt. 
8. Discussion. 
In the evening the members will have an 
opportunity to view the procession of the 
Veiled Prophets. 
Second Day — Wednesday, Oct. 7 . Morning 
Session, 9:30 o’Clock, Planters’ Hotel. 
1. Paper, “Concrete Enclosures,” by Bel- 
lett Lawson, Jr., secretary-manager of 
Elmwood Cemetery, Chicago. 
2. Discussion. 
3. Paper, “A Few Hints on Old Fash- 
ioned Flowers,” by John Reid, superintend- 
ent of Mount Elliott and Mount Olivet 
Cemeteries, Detroit, Mich. 
4. Discussion. 
5. Paper, “Care of Lots and Monu- 
ments,” by Charles T. G. Flaherty, super- 
intendent of St. Agnes Cemetery, Albany, 
N. Y. 
6. Discussion. 
7. Nomination of officers. 
Afternoon. 
The members will assemble at the Plant- 
ers’ Hotel at 1 o’clock and take automobiles 
for principal points in the city and through 
the parks and cemeteries. 
Third Day — • Thursday , Oct. 8, Forenoon. 
Members will take cars for the Missouri 
Botanical Gardens. Officers and guides will 
be ready at the Gardens to show members 
around and explain about the various plants. 
Noon — Luncheon at the Gardens. 
Afternoon Session — 1:30 o’Clock, at the 
Gardens. 
1. Paper, “Ground Covering,” by O. C. 
Simonds, landscape gardener, Graceland 
Cemetery, Chicago. 
2. Discussion. 
3. Paper, “Calvary Cemetery : Its Fea- 
tures,” by J. J. Cunningham, superintend- j 
ent, Calvary Cemetery, Long Island City, 
New York. 
4. Paper, “Flower Displays Without 
Rain,” by William Ohlweiler, general man- 
ager of Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. 
Louis, Mo. 
5. Paper, “Pictures in a Park Cemetery,” j 
by John Noyes, landscape designer, Mis- 
souri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis. 
6. Reports of committees. 
7. Election of officers. 
8. Unfinished business. 
Adjournment. 
Officers for 1914. 
President — M. P. Brazill, Calvary Ceme- 
tery, St. Louis, Mo. 
Vice-President — Thos. Wallis, Rose Hill 
Cemetery, Chicago, 111. 
Secretary-Treasurer — Bellett Lawson, Jr., 
Elmwood Cemetery, Chicago, 111. 
1 
Executive Committee — W. H. Atkinson, 
Riverview Cemetery, Trenton, N. J. ; F. R. 
Diering, Woodlawn Cemetery, New York, 
N. Y. ; Wm. Falconer, Allegheny Cemetery, 
Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Convention Committee for the St. Louis 
Convention ■ — F. Hotchkiss, Bellefontaine 
Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo. ; J. Leuthge, New 
Pickers Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.; J. A. 
Schmiemeier, St. Matthews’ Cemetery, St. 
Louis, Mo. ; A. E. Todt, SS. Peter and Paul 
Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo. 
