The San Francisco call., 1896-01-16

| visors come in and control us in any way
/ Every dollar received for land sold to lot
owners has been spent on the cemetery
| first for the land itself, then for beautlfy
| ing the grounds. [ have been over twenty
| years president of Laurel Hull Cemetery
and never received a cent for my work as
an officer. The cemetery is for the benehl
OF the people of San Francisco. After thirty
or forty years we have paid for all the land
and now every dollar received goes &c
beautifying the grounds.
1--WE have had this same trouble every
few years for some time. A man named
Noble, who did not make a success as
stockbroker, or som ething like tnat, buys
tract of land down somewhere in San
Mateo County and opens a cemetery.
These people who own this burial place
are not like us-their cemetery is not a
rural cemetery so if they should make a
failure OF this enterprise, or should all die
off, what would become of their private
burial ground? That's question I'd ike
to see answered. The place would become
a bowling wilderness. Let the people
look into the law of the State of California
on this matter and see for themselves
what it means.
an order to build up their grounds,
these San Mateo private cemetery people
have got up this opposition to cemeteries
In San Francisco, which IS without the
least particle of truth in the various asser-
tions made.
THE City and County of San Francisco
sold to the Laurel Hill Cemetery Associa-
ton this Identical property for SIS. coo,
which sum was paid to the City by US.
The City decided the land to the cemetery
for all time as rural cemetery under
the State law. Now certain schemlng
men who have cemeteries in San Mateo
County get up a false impression here and
employ the Board of Supervisors who
act as eight to four to prohibit the selling
of land in the cemeteries of this City and
county; and this board, acting as eight o
four, Is now attempting to pass a law TO
bring that about. And this the board
does as the City Fathers of San Francisco
after the Supervisors years ago sold US the
same land for q cemetery for all time.
docs San Francisco wish that to go
down to posterity as the honesty OF the
men now in Office IN San Francisco? And
for the simple purpose of enabling stock
spectators in an outside cemetery TO
make money?
If that is SO, I look upon all my work
for the benefit of the people OF San Fran
cisco as gone for naught, and submit to
tie dictates OF the people OF this City"
docs your association propose TO defend
itself legallY?'
"To that question l shall answer: The
cemeteries being not owned for any OBJ
lects of profit, but for the people of San
Francisco at large who choose to take lots
for the burial of their beloved dead in the
local cemeteries, [ do not propose to spend
money to fight it if the City and County
of San Francisco will sanction their Super
visors' act to destroy the very deeds which
were given by the City for the benefit of
the people, and for which the City was
paid an enormous price. We shall not
step in and place ourselves i'll the position
to spend individual money to prevent the
6lGOrnFp the tGtV bnlIRuincy
we have done our duty. That means, if
the City of San Francisco wishes TO ruin
the name of the City OF San Francisco let
the people themselves ruin it,
Zone time there was charter submit
ted to the City that called out our opposi-
ton. L remarked to one of its supporters:
"I'll beat that.
How p they asked me.
4 III vote the dead | replied.
But you wouldn't do what is already
too freely done by the politicians in San
Francisco? they answered.
Well, shall vote them all the same
| said. For every person buried out there
IN those cemeteries there are at least three
votes in San Francisco, and they will vote
as | call upon them
And what was the result? The charter
was defeated Az to l. We may have 10 do
the same thing now against some of those
designing politicians and their friends.
a-AiN tISAS oAC ILO4C LAldl LLIGc fOlGS nova
days for every dear one lying out there in
the cemeteries.
81 will speak now for Laurel Hill Gene
terry. We have spent hundreds of thou
sands on it and it has become as a beautf-
full park. Suppose it were closed. 1t
would be neglected; it would be of no use
on earth for anything else. Nobody would
buy 1t or parts of it, and there are lots
there that no money could buy; for bv
right under the law of California these
same lots belong to the owners for all
time"