St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-09-11
Big City Cemeteries.

New York at one time was perfect
nursery of graveyards, and we now
have i'll the city-limits Il score of little
cemeteries, where hundreds and thou
sands of decaying bodies remain.
There are two things to be considered,
respect for the memory of the dead,
and care for the health of the living. |
was looking i'll st. Paul's churchyard n
few days ago, plot of ground worth
millions of dollars, Immediately OppO-
site the building of the New York Her
aid, and | saw Il large number of grave
stones piled up one above the other.
Nobody knows where they belong, and
nobody cares. 1t is against the law for
any ybody to be buried within the limits
of the city of New York, and a fine of
$500 is put upon the person who breaks
that law; nevertheless there are hun
dreds of people who intend to be buried
within the limits of the city of New
York, in Trinity churchyard, in st.
Paul's churchyard, or in St. Marks
| churchyard. To be sure, they are
members of our erich, old families" 4"
but is Il member of rich, old family
worth any more to me, or God, than
the member of poor, young family 7
Why, it is within a very short time
that the rector of the church himself,
Morgan Dix, broke the law of the city
and the rule of his church by burying
his father in Trinity churchyard, and
there, where the shrill shrek of the
locomotive whistles over his head, and
the ceaseless roar of Wall street grOans
like an oceans wall but few feet from
him, and the continuous rumble OF
Broadway's carts and omnibuses makes
II perpetual medley about the rectors
dead, that eminent man repOses. Some
years ago this law was passed, and
since then cemeteries have been built
up adjacent to the city, but already
the growth of the metropolis and oI
its neighbOring cities has been such
that even these are enveloped and are
part and parcel of the living economy
of the time. Calvary cemetery, | saw
in some paper few days ago, has Ovel
half million dead bodies under it.
soil, and some of the cOffins are so neal
the surface that one can easily puncl
them with the ferrule of his cane.
: Greenwood cemetery, one of th'
most charming spots on the face of thu
earth, is the home of hundreds of thou
sands of dead, and is a most embaT
rassing block in the highway of travel
tIaversing, as it does, six or eight o
the chief avenues of Brooklyn. Al
ready the vandal hand of politics ha
reached out to take hold of it; alread,
! schemers are plotting to drive thes'
Z avenues straight through the cemetery
E Nothing. under heavens but the timel,
warning of one of New York's grea
t dailies, the Herald, prevented, som
!. years ago, gang of Kings count.
4 politicians from getting hold of th
| management of this great city of til
5 dead, and fund, which at that tim
b was very nearly 81 ,000,000 A schem
V has been perfected which looked t
e the introduction of gang of nOtC
e rious men as trustees of the cemeter
v at the next election. Had they gon
e in they would have controlled the pat
o ronage-think of the patronage of
: graveyard-Of the cemetery, whic
e like that of the navy yard, immediate
II ly preceding an election can be, an
e some say is, increased to several thOu
Ii sand men. IL would also have pl
II into the hands of these men an accun
.r .ulated fund of between SSo0,00O an
, 81 ,00O, 600. A friend of the eemeter.
ID although he was better friend to hin
= of the men, who, to say the least, h;
's not lost any money in managing th
r great property, and i'll attending to tl
Il details of it's purchases and sales, 5
81 cured the introduction of a bill; al