The report of Secretary-Treasurer Bel- 
lett Lawson, Jr., showed a substantial 
fund in the treasury and a membership of 
approximately two hundred and fifty. Five 
members died during the past year, viz. : 
C. B. Jefferson, Philadelphia, Pa. ; H. J. 
Kieckhefer, Milwaukee, Wis. ; Alex. Mc- 
Kerichar, Washington, D. C. ; R. D. 
Fletcher, Titusville, Pa., and F. B. Sercu, 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
The secretary reported having earned 
out the instructions of the Buffalo conven- 
tion in regard to the gold badges bearing 
the monogram of the A. A. C. S. and he is 
now prepared to fill orders for them either 
in the form of buttons or pins. The price 
is $1.15, postpaid. It is suggested that the 
badge will make a very appropriate Christ- 
mas present for members not already pro- 
vided with a suitable badge of the associa- 
tion. 
F. H. Rutherford, superintendent of Ham- 
ilton Cemetery, Hamilton, Ont., and presi- 
dent of the Canadian Cemetery Superin- 
tendents’ Association, brought warm greet- 
ings from that loyal daughter of the A. A. 
C. S. 
The afternoon session was devoted large- 
ly to three papers, which with the dis- 
cussions that followed each gave ample 
opportunity to discuss the subject of mon- 
uments, etc., from every angle : “Monu- 
ments and Other Memorials,” by James 
Currie, Milwaukee, Wis. ; “More About 
Mausoleums,” by Frank Eurich, Detroit, 
Mich., and “The Cemetery and the Monu- 
ment Man,” by Alex. Hanton, superintend- 
ent of City Cemeteries, Barre, Vt. A mo- 
tion to have Mr. Currie’s paper printed in 
pamphlet form, to distribute among lot 
owners, was referred to the Executive 
Committee. In response to the question, 
“How to reach the lot holder with infor- 
mation regarding monumental material and 
design,” Mr. Currie replied : “Monumental 
dealers are advised that the rules of the 
cemetery require that designs and monu- 
ments must be submitted to the cemetery 
both for the protection of the cemetery as 
well as the lot holders. Mr. Currie’s ad- 
dress is printed in full on another page 
and Mr. Hanton’s follows herewith: 
The Cemetery and the Monument Man. 
By Alex. Hanton. 
For years the cemetery superintendent has de- 
voted his time and energy chiefly to details of 
landscape, but recently there has been an 
awakening to the fact that other matters of equal 
or paramount importance should engage his atten- 
tion. While not wishing to minimize the im- 
portance of artistic landscape, I am of the opin- 
on that the cemetery officials should encourage the 
erection of better and more artistic memorials. 
My suggestion for carrying out this idea •would 
he to encourage and foster a spirit of co-opera- 
tion between the cemetery superintendent and the 
manufacturer. In my home city — the largest 
monumental granite center in the world — there is 
at the present time an attempt being made to 
encourage the demand for high-grade artistic me- 
morials. It is the duty of the cemetery super- 
intendent to support the manufacturer in his at- 
tempt to create a demand for quality and art. 
No cemetery, however beautifully laid out, can 
be really beautiful if it contains unsightly mon- 
uments. 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
To my mind, the first thing to be decided upon 
is the material. A memorial erected to the mem- 
ory of loved ones, to be handed down to posterity, 
should be built of the finest material it is possi- 
ble to procure. The spirit of pure commercial- 
ism is sadly evident in the memorial business, 
with the result that our cemeteries are filled 
with unsightly things called monuments, built of 
material that is wholly unfit for monumental pur- 
poses. It is not enough that the memorial be ar- 
tistic in design: it must be built of material 
that has the qualities requisite to insure its with- 
standing the ravages of time. The average per- 
son is not familiar with the different granites 
that are being produced, but is generally in need 
of disinterested intelligent advice in the selection 
of his memorial. Cheap material may look good 
for a while, but when erected in our cemeteries 
and exposed to climatic conditions, it soon be- 
comes an eyesore and wholly unworthy to be 
classed or designated as a memorial. The dealer 
who sold it may be out of business, the pur- 
chaser may be dead and gone, but that un- 
sightly monument, purchased with the best of 
intentions, remains in our cemeteries as a mock- 
ery, to be pointed out by community mausoleum 
promoters as an argument in favor of their 
scheme of burial and to convince the intending 
purchaser of a memorial of the fallacy of the 
monument business. Is there not an excellent op- 
portunity here for the cemetery superintendent to 
step in and help the uninformed purchaser, while 
at the same time he will be performing a duty 
which he owes to his cemetery and posterity? 
This may be taking a too radical position, but 
you will agree with me, I am sure, that the qual- 
ity of the material with which a memorial is 
built is the foundation upon which we must 
build if we succeed in our endeavor to reach per- 
fection in cemetery art. 
I do not think it prudent at this time to take 
radical action to aotnallv prohibit the use 
of certain material, but it seems to me that 
we should exert our influence, whenever possible, 
to accomplish desired results. There are some 
people who maintain that the ideal cemetery 
should not contain a monument of any kind — that 
the modem landscape cemetery is much to be 
preferred. However, it is a fact that this idea 
is not accepted by the large majority of lot own- 
ers, and we must face the situation as it exists. 
The very idea of a so-called modern landscape 
cemetery had its inception from the fact that our 
cemeteries contain a large percentage of inar- 
tistic and poorly finished monuments. This fact 
alone will not result in the entire elimination of 
monuments from our cemeteries, but rather it will 
result in an ever-increasing effect on the part of 
those interested in the monument business to 
promote the sale of artistic and well finished 
memorials. With this fact established, we must 
admit that by our failure to co-operate with the 
manufacturer to promote this campaign we are 
practically encouraging the old idea that any- 
thing set upon a grave is a monument and will 
sometime be severely criticised for our failure to 
exert whatever influence we may possess. 
With the quality of the material for our monu- 
ment assured, the next step is to select the de- 
sign. Much has been said and written on this 
phase of the subject, and it is apparent that mon- 
umental architecture is being considered seriously 
by progressive producers- of memorials. The old 
idea of simply striving to have something differ- 
ent than the other fellow is being augmented by 
a desire to have the memorial show the designer’s 
art and the skill of the artisan. It is often no 
easy task to convince a prospective purchaser 
that the particular design which he has selected 
is not really artistic and he often resents what 
he considers outside interference. He particularly 
is suspicious of suggestions from the dealer or 
manufacturer, fearing that they are selfishly in- 
terested. Here, then, is another opportunity for 
the cemetery superintendents to exert a powerful 
influence for good by co-operating with the man- 
ufacturer and dealer. His suggestions are more 
often considered as coming from an impartial 
source. The retail dealer in too many cases is 
inclined to be influenced by a desire simply to 
sell whatever he can make the most money on, 
but by the co-operation of the cemetery superin- 
tendents and the manufacturer this situation can 
be materially remedied. 
I do not wish to burden you with a lengthy 
discussion on this subject, but I would like to 
impress upon you the importance of co-operation 
in order that present unsatisfactory conditions 
267 
may be improved. The erection of a monument 
is no longer an experiment. We should profit by 
the mistakes of the past. We are no longer igno- 
rant of the requisites of a satisfactory memorial. 
Why should we not more strongly than ever be- 
fore use this knowledge to influence and educate 
prospective purchasers of memorials, even though 
we may have to make enemies. The truth will 
hurt no one. If we knew that a certain material 
is wholly unfit for monumental purposes, why 
should we not be free to condemn it? We are not 
rendering a full account of our stewardship if we 
fail to exert our influence and report true con- 
ditions to inquiring purchasers. May the day be 
not far distant when only the finest material, the 
most artistic designs and quality of workmanship, 
will be used in the building of a memorial. Then, 
and only then, may we expect to find an ideal 
cemetery. 
Mr. Eurich’s address will be printed in a 
later issue of Park and Cemetery. 
W. N. Rudd, president of Mount Green- 
wood Cemetery, Chicago, who was to have 
delivered an address at this session, was- 
detained at home by sickness. 
The daylight hours of the second day 
were devoted largely to sightseeing. Through 
the courtesy of the local funeral directors 
twenty-nine autos, five and seven passen- 
ger cars, all well filled, made up a proces- 
sion that attracted no little attention as it 
wended its way through the principal busi- 
ness and residential streets of the city and 
over the beautiful park and boulevard sys- 
tem and into Bellefontaine and Calvary 
cemeteries. The grounds of these ceme- 
teries, which are separated by a city street, 
cover a combined area of approximately 
845 acres, only partially improved. Hand- 
some specimens of native trees abound and 
distant views of the surrounding country 
may be had from points of vantage. The 
program did not provide for the usual tour 
of inspection of the grounds on foot, 
hence only a brief stop was made in Cal- 
vary, where the group picture illustrated 
herewith was taken. A revolving camera 
was used for this purpose, which will ex- 
plain why certain members appear at each 
end of the picture. They exercised their 
agility to accomplish it, much to the 
amusement of onlookers. Calvary Cemetery 
sustained its reputation of being one of 
the best kept Catholic cemeteries in the 
Llnited States. 
Light refreshments were served under 
the Anheuser Busch en route, and when the 
hotel was reached the guests had been given 
a comprehensive view of the city and its 
environs in a ride of approximately fifty 
miles. 
At the evening session Bellett Lawson, 
Jr., read a paper showing the advantages 
of “Concrete Inclosures” for cemetery 
grounds and describing in detail how three 
styles of fencing could be made by that 
method. This will be printed in a future 
issue. 
John Reid, Detroit, Mich., asked for 
more time in which to finish his paper on 
“A Few Hints on Old-Fashioned Flow- 
ers.” The paper will be printed in the 
usual report of the convention. It will 
appeal for a wider use of our beautiful 
native perennials and shrubs. 
