The San Francisco call., 1896-02-16
How the Cemeteries of This City
Are Selling Burial
Lots.
RECORDED AFTER MANY YEARS
The Richmond District Association
Will Inquire Into Those Trans
actions.

Inc hlcnmond District people, after
winning the antl-cemetery fight before the
Board OF Supervisors, are vigilantly guard
ing their victory, and it is not without rea-
son that they are remaining awake.
Notwithstanding the recent ordinance
passed by the board and signed by the
Mayor, interments still go on in the CITY
graveyards at the average rate OF fourteen
day. During the last four days seven
teen bodies were buried in the Odd Eel
lows Cemetery, two in the Masonic, six in
Laurel Hill and eighteen in the City Gem
etery. One body came from Sausalito and
one from Vallejo, showing that not only
are the residents of San Francisco contrib
utIng to the mass of bodies that will one
day have to be removed. but the surround
ing bay towns are called upon to contrib.
ute to the generally undesirable burial
places.
Shortly after the passage of the ordi-
nance 1t was reported that the cemetery
people would get around the clause for
bidding the further sale of lots for burial
purposes by giving away the ground and
charging good round sum for the dig
ging of the grave. But looking closely
in to the new law it was found that it pro-
vided for all such little emergencies, and
SO they cast about for another road out of
the woods.
Whether they found it is no: known,
but in the last few days the sales
Of five burial lots have been recorded.
The prohibiting ordinance was recorded
February 4, 1885, and all graveyard lot
deeds OF later date would be void, but
the cemetery companies have provided for
that and some of those deeds are hoary
with age.
In the Masonic Cemetery, lot 6 of sec
ton II was sold to S. Hammersmith for
1891. 1t is dated May 80, 1877, and was
recorded February IL, 1896.
! In Odd Fellows Cemetery lot 35, avenue
plat section, was sold to w. Munder for
! 5000. 1t is dated September II, 1893, and
was recorded February IA, 1896.
In Laurel Hill Cemetery lot ll61 was sold
to Isaac Swan for $50. 1t is dated Decem-
Der 15, 1869, and was recorded February 10,
1896. Lot 1852 was sold to Sarah E. Wright
for $96. 1t is dated July IA, 1890, and re-
sold to George E. Decker for 5000. 1t is
dated November 6, 1895. ana was recorded
! February 10, 1896.
| All of these deeds are recorded subse-
quent to the recording of the ordinance,
| but the ancient dates are supposed to save
| them.
"But they are blundering," said At
torney Charles Hubbs of the Richmond
District Protective Association yesterday,
"because the Supreme Court has affirmed
| the decision that recorded instrument of
subsequent date has priority over an un-
recorded instrument OF prior date. This
| is the law. and even If those lots were pur-
chased at those early dates the fact that
they were not recorded till the recording
| of an opposing Instrumental law-makes
them void. Why, the burial lot deeds
which those people are paying their
money for are not worth the paper they
are written on.
/ "Do they think law may be gotten
around so easily as that? If all the ceme-
| terry associations have to do is date their
deeds back prior to February A. 1S96-the
recording date of the law-why, all this
noise over the enactment of the ordinance
is useless, for the cemeteries can GO on
and sell lots through all eternity.
But tell you man can't validate
lawless act simply by changing few fig
ures. The ordinance said that no more
lots within the City limits should be sold
or in any way disposed of for burial pur-
poses, and it meant just that. But it is
amusing how they go at it. Look at that
| Laurel Hill deed to Isaac Swan dated De-
cember Is, 1862 From 1869 to 1886 is a
quarter of a century-a long time for
paper to go unrecorded. Mr.. Swan was
rather careless regarding his valuable
| papers. Even Mr.. Hammersmith, in the
May 30, 1877 let that instrument lie in
the dust of nineteen years before he
thought of recording it.
"But the cemetery corporations are lay
ing up trouble for themselves, for not only
are they selling lots under deeds of anti
quated and invalidated dates, but if there
is any Juggling with those dates they will
be exposed. Suits may be brought against
each person buying lot, and he will be
| forced to swear as to when the lot transac-
ton took place Then the cemetery people
| will be compelled to produce their sale
recordsin court, so l fancy the truth will
come out. You may say that the Rich
mond district folks, after having won so
much, are not going to sit down and let
this. thing make OF no effect their past
work.
| There is another thing we have in
view. The Italian Benevolent Society's
Cemetery, near the City Cemetery, can be
removed without any difficulty. The reso-
luton which gave them the ground pro-
vided that iu case of the removal Of the
cemeteries or the prohibition OF inter.
responsible for any Improvements made in
the lots, the use OF which is hereby
granted.
I'VE have still another scheme in hand
for the development of Richmond, and
some day we will have that locality bios
soming as the rose. We are going to me-
moralize our representatives in Congress
to have the City cemeteries removed and
the ground laid out in a Government park
with driveways lawns and an ornamental
lookout station on or near Point Lobos
1t could be made a beautiful spot fronting
the bay, the Golden Gate and the great
Pacific. These things will all come when
the grayeyards are gone and the quick,
not the dead inhabit San Francisco