145 
PARK AND CCME-TERY. 
The morning session of the second day was devoted 
to the reading of papers and discussions thereon. Ap- 
pi-opriate resolutions on the death of President Mc- 
Kinley were adopted by a rising vote, and a copy of 
the resolutions ordered sent to Mrs. McKinley. l\Ir. 
C. N. Wilder, Hartford, sent a i)aper on “Progres- 
sion,” which was read by Mr. William Stone. The 
paper outlined the progress fnade by cemeteries with- 
in recent years and the influence that the improved 
conditions had exerted over communities. Much of 
the credit, he thought, was due to the progressive 
association of cemetery superintendents whose influ- 
ence had been far reaching. 
Mr. Wilder suggested that some steps should be 
taken by the association to encourage young men to 
<;ualify themselves for positions as cemetery super- 
intendents. 
‘T)Urial Parks" was ihc subject of a paper by Mr. 
Bellett Lawson, Sr., Paxtang, Pa. The park-like 
features of modern cemeteries, caused them to be 
more appropriately considered as burial parks, said 
Mr. Lawson. 
“The work of constructing a burial park, although it de- 
mands a great amount of thought and study to obtain the 
best landscape effects is the least difficult portion of the 
work. How to maintain these beautiful effects is the 
problem. The people appreciate the beauty of the grounds, 
but invariably fail to see how that beauty will be marred 
by inappropriate memorials. We must educate our patrons 
to the proper standard and show them that the rules for 
the maintenance of the cemetery are for the good of the 
whole. Monument dealers who have no artistic ideas are 
the bane of cemetery superintendents. They sow the seeds 
of discontent in the minds of lot owners in their eager- 
ness to make sales. 
Mr. C. Mb Modie, P)loomfield. O., told in an inter- 
esting paper “Why I Joined This Association,” and 
how the intercourse with its members had benefitted 
him in his work. His trials in overcoming the prac- 
tices that had been common in the conduct of the 
cemetery for three-quarters of a century were made 
easier because of the knowledge he had gained 
through the medium of the Superintendents’ Asso- 
ciation. 
"The P)Urial of the Dead” was the subject of the 
next paper read by Mr. George Van Atta, Newark. 
O. He treated the subject from the view of the 
private citizen, whose duty he considered it to be, to 
take a more rational view of the subject of death. He 
■advocated less ostentation at funerals, less expensive 
monuments, and greater consideration for the proper 
maintenance of the burial lot, which should always 
be purchased in advance of the time when it became 
necessary to have one. He urged his hearers to agi- 
tate this subject with their lot holders, that out of the 
spirit of dissatisfaction with present conditions as 
they prevailed in many places would come a desire 
for more simplicity and more dignity in the conduct 
of funerals. 
1 he subject of Sunday funerals was discussed at 
some length. It was stated that ministers and un- 
dertakers were helping in some places to create a 
sentiment against them. The opinion was expressed 
and agreed with by several that Sunday observance 
would not become general at cemeteries until an in- 
creased charge was made for burials on that day. 
Cemeteries at St. Paul, Minn., Lynn, Mass., and Day- 
ton, O., have adopted rules restricting Sunday burials 
to such cases as were considered necessary for sani- 
tary reasons. 
The following resolution was adopted : 
“It is the sense of this convention that its members 
recommend to their trustees and managers the advis- 
ability of discouraging Sunday funerals and of making 
an extra charge for services held on that day.” 
A paper on “Ancient and Modern Customs of 
Burial and How Shall We Dispose of the Dead” was 
read by A. L. Snyder, M. D., Bryan, O. Using as 
illustration of extremes of present methods of the 
placing of embalmed bodies in metallic cases and 
cremation, the one to keep the body as long as pos- 
sible and the other to reduce it at once to ashes, the 
Doctor described in an interesting manner the var- 
ious methods of different countries and ages of the 
world, and advocated “a new departure that would 
be as costly as the proud could wish or as inexpen- 
sive as the most impecunious would desire, viz., in- 
terment in a simple shroud without a case of any 
kind, unless it be of wire or wicker.” An original 
poem expressed the Doctor’s wishes concerning the 
disposition of his own body, the last verse of which 
is as follows : 
Ratlier be it cast on a foreign strand 
In the ocean deep— on desert sand; 
In a silent cave — on barren rocks — 
Than bound and sealed in an iron box. 
The “Question Box” brought out discussions on 
posts and markers. Terra cotta, cement, iron and 
granolithic had their advocates. Mr. Roy described a 
recently patented improvement on corner posts. 
Cemetery advertising called forth, the following from 
Mr. John A. Moore : “The martagers of a Brooklyn 
cemetery advertised, ‘Graves finely situated, sur- 
rounded by the beauties of nature, commanding a 
fine view of the bay, and, m short, meeting with every 
requirement of the human family. People who have 
tried them cannot be persuaded to go elsewhere.’ ’’ 
The outing for the afternoon gave the visitors a 
delightful carriage ride over Beechwood Boulevard 
to Calvary and Homewood cemeteries. From this 
boulevard, which is eighty feet wide and eleven miles 
long, magnificent views were had of the Monongahela 
River and valley and the great works that have made 
the name of Pittsburg known wherever steel is used. 
A circuitous drive around beautiful Homewood 
brought the party to an inviting spot in the woods, 
