38 
PARK AND 
The trustees of Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford, Mass., 
have passed a vote and issued notice of same to the lot-own- 
ers to the effect that all charges for the annual care of lots 
not under perpetual care will be made according to the size 
of lots and at the rate of one cent per square foot. 
♦ ♦ * 
Of the cemetery funds of the city of Manchester, N. H., 
there are invested $74,000, and this fund is in charge of the 
city treasurer, who acts under the instructions of the trustees 
of the city cemeteries. Under the laws of the state the trus- 
tees of the cemetery funds are restricted in their investments 
of money in their custody to United States, or state, county, 
city or town securities within the New England States. 
* * 
Among the recent improvements in Oak Ridge Cemetery, 
Springfield, 111 ., are: new residence for custodian, $2,800; barn, 
$950; gate keeper’s lodge, $1,350; superintendent’s office with 
chapel accessories, $2,350; tool house, cement walks, etc., 
$1,450. The total amount of expenditures for the year was 
$19,415.24. Including 467 burials last year the total in the 
cemetery is 13,787. 
» ♦ * 
An interesting question is being agitated in relation to 
Greenwood cemetery, Newcastle, Pa.,- — that of the responsi- 
bility for the care of the cemetery after the lots and land are 
all disposed of. This cemetery is some 50 years old, and ac- 
cording to reports has been a source of great profit to the 
association, but now that there is no more revenue from sales, 
the officials of the association now propose to turn the prop- 
erty over to the lot-owners in order to provide for its care 
and maintenance, matters which have not secured the atten- 
tion that should have been accorded them. A meeting of 
lot owners has been held and strong resolutions have been 
passed. A large committee has been appointed with sub- 
committees to investigate all the affairs and conditions of the 
cemetery management, and) with orders to report results im- 
mediately. The lot-owners seem never to have seen a finan- 
cial report, although the charter prescribed certain avenues 
for the disposition of the income derived from the sales of 
lots. etc. There are a number of cemeteries in the country 
in which same conditions are developing. 
* * * 
After spending some $27,000 in improving and beautifying 
Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, the Spring Grove Cemetery 
trustees have been confronted with an aggressive effort on 
the part of a street railway line to lay tracks thereon. The 
cemetery trustees oppose such an invasion and filed a protest 
with the county commissioners. 
* * * 
At the annual meeting of Oak Hill Cemetery, Newbury- 
port. Mass., the treasurer reported the funds of the associa- 
tion amounted to $54,500.67, of which $42,844.67 is in savings 
bank deposits. In care of lots left by the owners at sundry 
times the fund is $11,540.84. A most gratifying report w,as 
that the removal of iron fences still continues, and but few 
now remain on the ground. 
* * 
By a decision of Judge Parker, Lexington, Ky., the prop- 
erty of the Lexington Cemetery corporation is not subject to 
taxation. This also applies to a fund, amounting to several 
thousand dollars, accumulated from the business. The case 
was on appeal from the County Court wherein the Cem- 
etery had been sued for state taxes. 
CEMETERY. 
A new cemetery comprising 190 acres located three-quar- 
ters of a mile east of the city limits, has been acquired for 
Schenectady, N. Y. It will be known as Park View Cem- 
etery, and papers of incorporation have been filed by the Park 
View Cemetery Association, which is an outgrowth of the re- 
organization of the Hillcrest Cemetery Company. 
* * * 
The annual meeting of the Island Cemetery, Newport, il. 
I., was held last month. The total receipts for the year 
amounted to $17,058.02, which included $2,165 from sale of 
lots, and $5,510.61 for labor on lots. The disbursements in- 
cluded $1,550 for salaries, $4,692.07 forlabor, and $1,431.74 for 
materials. Considerable improvement work was carried out 
during the year, and a number of new lots were placed under 
the care of the corporation. 
* * * 
The New York syndicate is having considerable trouble in 
consummating its project to establish a large cemetery near 
Oak Tree, N. J. A number of public meetings have been held 
and tffe County Board of Health and Freeholders committees 
have been participating in the matter. The magnitude of 
the scheme is thought to trespass upon the state law which is 
prohibitory to the establishment of so large a cemetery, and 
it is considered possible that the promoters will have to divide 
the property into three parcels under different names to come 
within the law. These will be known as the Cedar Heights, 
the Woodland Pleights and the Oak Tree Cemeteries. 
♦ ♦ * 
A bill which has been introduced into the Pennsylvania 
legislature, Harrisburg, Pa., prohibits the building of houses 
on any ground that has ever been used for burial purposes, 
and restricts its use to park purposes. This has caused 
considerable opposition from, those who have acquired or are 
negotiating for land which was formerly owned by cemetery 
associations. The bill was instigated by the City Parks As- 
sociation of Philadelphia, and its application, like many meas- 
ures instituted for local purposes, may be too far reaching in 
its final status. 
41 # * 
In the city of Little Falls, N. Y., the cemeteries and parks 
are under the care of the Board of Public Works, and for 
maintenance the cemetery lots are assessed $1.50 per lot; the 
total assessment amounted to- $1,034.29, of which $605.38 was 
paid. This does not seem to curtail delinquency altogether, 
for there was an amount of $1,872.58 unpaid taxes on January 
I, 1901. In relation however to the system requiring all pay- 
ments to be made in advance, either for interments or work 
performed on lots, now embodied in the city ordinance re- 
lating to the cemetery, has, according to the annual report, 
proved its desirability. 
* * * 
A very interesting annual report is that of the Board of 
Cemetery Commissioners of Cambridge, Mass. The amount 
appropriated by the city council for the cemetery was $18,000, 
and the actual expenditures were $17,924.19. The receipts for 
the year were, however, only $16,155.07, which included burial 
and tomb fees, $4,897.50; care of lots, $2,379.10; sale of lots 
and graves, $5,581.30; foundations, etc., $1,223.46. There was 
a falling off in the receipts for care of lots amounting to $600, 
which the board deplores as indicating a possibly declining 
interest among lot owners in the preservation of the good 
appearance, a prevailing characteristic of the cemetery. The 
board uses this as a text for a plea for perpetual care, suggest- 
ing that by the investment of a moderate sum, the lot owner 
can be relieved of further personal attention. Twenty-five 
lots were added to the number now under perpetual care, 
making a total of 371, and the fund amounts to $49,161.55. 
