St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-08-26
ON GRAVE SUBJECTS.
AMERICAN CEMETERY SUPERiNTENB-
ENTS IN THE SANITY CITY.
TALK ABOUT THEIR TRADE.

dition of Our Local Burial
Places = Suggestions Whereby
They May Be Tmproved-The
Next Convention to BE HeIdsa
Philadelphia.
The delegates to the American Gene
terry association. which has been in ses-
sion at Minneapolis during the week,
visited St Paul yesterday as the guests
of the local members. in,
After drive around the city and
through Oakland cemetery the assoela-
ton met at the Aberdeen for dinner,
after which final meeting was held,
which was called to order by the presi-
dent. William Salway, who introduced
Charles Nichols, Mr.. Nichols said: M
Whats in name? Well. MIR. Presi-
dent, and ladies and gentlemen of the
association. there is great deal III it.
The good old Quaker who saw dog in
the street, said: Pm not harm thee,
but Pll give thee a bad name,' and
thereupOn he shouted Mad dog!' and
another fellow shot him.. This instance
showed to what bad name led with the
dog, and by inference it might lead,
with human. and by no circuitouS
route, into the hands of the cemetery
superintendent. But there is proverb,
"A good name is rather to be chosen
than great riches, and loving favor than
silver and gold The father of this
association has such name. He did
not choose 1t. however, any more than
[. 1t was chosen for each of us. Then
he has the loving favor. which is better
than silver. for it is as good as
gold. 1t required temerity for me to
come into this presence, and be an
nounced by this name, by which 1 was
chriStened, and expect to establish a
personal identity that would rebound to
my personal credit; for everything good
would naturally be credited to Father
Nichols, from whom you are always ex-
pecting good things, and my introduce
ton here only serves TO furnish the op-
portunity to shoulder off on me any
breaks or criticism upon the Nichols
tribe. In the yernacular of the athletic
field, he will be scored all the hts
and | will get scored all the goose
eggs For the sake of an individuality
! will be content to be known here as
Charles Ii.
ut has been my fortune to have held
the position of trustee in Oakland ceGe-
terry at st. Paul for very nearly quar-
ter of century. 1t has been labor of
love, and not one of pecuniary compen-
SatiOn. OF all trusts, there are none
more sacred; and none but those who
are impressed with the sacrednesS and
responsibility of this trust are wholly
fitted Tor truSteeship. No greater re-
sponSlbility rests upon the trustees than
the selection and retention OF the right
man for superintendent. L say reten-
ton adyiSedly; his hands should be
strengthened and his pride aroused
to do the best work of which he
is capable. And whether he be noted
for communlcatiyeneS or receptivIty;
whether he eXudeS information OF alb
serbs it. ne should be sent to the annual
meetings of your association and his
expenses paid. Keep on, gentlemen,'
with your work. Contact with one an.
other will brighten old and develop new
ideas. The superintendent who. does
not learn enough at each meeting to
pay for his time and expenses must
either be the yeritabte wise man from
the East OF a very duh scholar. The
| fullaess of fruition for each of YOU
should be that at every meeting you
grow i'll grace and III the knowledge OF
cemetery work" ~
Mr.. Mccarthy was called upon and
| said:
MIR. Chairman, Ladies and Gentle
men: 1t was eXpected-at least | ex-
pected-that was to make a report of
| our visit to Oakland cemetery through
| the medium of our paper, the Modern
| Cemetery and, of course, it is a little
| embarrassing to be called upon to make
| a report on such snort notice. ArtemuS
| Ward. you know, always insisted that
| his pianist should know good deal
| about music, because he lived on the
| same side of the street with Mozart, and
| just because L happen to be a poor
| superintendent of q cemetery / am sup
posed to criticiSe the cemeteries, though
the fact is. gentlemen, it is pretty dill.
cult to- criticise the cemeteries of
| st. Paul or Minneapolis: they are
| too nice = too handsome = for crit
| icism; there is no dilapidation or
neglect, no headStOneS tumbling down,
| right and left, as we have in the East;
| in fact it is difficult TO critcise any
| thing in these cemeteries. had strange
ideas when l started West; thought /
! would see Indians and wilderness
| laughter; but how previously were we
| surprised to find the beautiful drives
| and The beautiful country; and ladies
and gentlemen, if we visit these West
ern cities few more years, we shall be
oyer-educated and the result will be
| that we shall go home and want to have
| our salaries raised; we cannot keep I'D
| that is how | feel, and l think YOU all
feel that way; but happy and fortunate
| is the community that has such
citizens and such gentlemen as
have addressed you here before
me, whose tastes and whose
time, without any compensation, have
been given to these questions. Now,
gentlemen, we are supposed to criticiSe
these cemeteries; they are perfection
what they have left undone, as l under
stand it, is for want OF means, so per-
haps it is unfair to criticise them on
that score, as we are often in the same
predicament ourselves. although / be.
lieve it would be economy Tor these
cemeteries to do things III the very best
manner. The first cost may be little
more, but the saving in the end is very
great. Take, far instance, the avenues.
[ think it would be good econ
omy to pave these avenues, and
would save them great ex.
pense in the future. This L under
Stand from Mr.. Hobert is their inten.
ton; but perhaps 1t is we'll that they
have waited, because when they dc
commence they will have the very best
aud it is something to have the best
pavementS and the best system OF
| sewerage. Everything else is perfec
ton; everything elegant except these
avenues and the hedges. There is one
other thing with which were are al
afflt ted in our modern cemeteries. That
lis too many avenues. The waste OF
ground is unnecessary; it is too great &
cost to the cemeteries, and a great ex-
pense TO keep them up.
In conclusion, gentlemen, this has
been the happiest, the most instructive
of any of our conventions. We are
grateful for the hospitality and the
kindness shown US. and we must ever
have a grateful remembrance of the ex