The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-04
ROOM IN LAUREL GROVE.
CEMETERY MIGHT BE MADE TO
LAST TWENTY YEARS YET.

Committee Made Inst December
shows That the New Ground Alone
Is Capable of Answering All De-
mands for Ten Years, Not In
GLIDING the Unused Portion of the
Private Lots Nor the Considerable
Available Space Yet UnfmpFOved.
It is understood that in addition TO the
seven or eight sites for a new cemetery
which are now under consideration by
Council one or two others are likely
10 be offered al the next meeting. Act ng
Mayor Tiedeman said yesterday that the
offers of sites have been referred TO the
committe of the whole and that the men,
bers of Council Individually are expected
to familiarize themselves with the various
localities. He does not think it likely
that a special committee viii be appoint
ed Immediately to inspect the sites and re-
port to Council.
city Engineer VIM visited the Garrard
tract on the Ogeechee road and the Screw
en- tract a Bruton Hin yesterday, these
being the TWO sites first offered. These
were not the first visits the city engineer
has made to these two tracts, but having
inspected them in dry weather he was
DESTROYS OF seeing what showing they
made in wet weather. As there has been
considerable rain in the last two weeks
it is likely that the engineer found con-
siderable water in the course of his in
spection. With his usual prudence, how
ever he declined to give out any informa-
ton as to the result of his inspections.
A map made by Maj. X. A. Biandford
of the Garrard tract some Yeas ago shows
it to have an undulating or roll ng sur
face, the greatest elevation being about
1919 feet above mean nigh water and the
lowest about II feet above, the high
ground being near the Ogcechee road and
the low ground near the Savannah, Flor
ida and Western Railway The aver
age elevation appears to be about eighteen
feet. A portion of the tact is swampy
and there are number of ponds scatter
ed throughout. The tract would evidently
require considerable drainage
While the question of selecting a new
cemetery site Is under discussion
reference is made to the report of the
special committee on the condition of
Laurel Grove Cemetery. The committee
was appointed some time last fall and
made its report Dec 49, The report was
the most complete and prob bly, the fair
est summing up OF the conditions at I.au-
rel Grove that has been made since the
discussion OF the subject was begun. 1t
does not seem to shave attracted the at
tention which ii deserves, however. TIE
committee which made the report consist
ed of Aldermen Tiedeman, chairman;
Haas, Graham, Dixon ard Schwarz/ 1t
reported as follows
The spe"al committee appointed to re-
porl as to the fitness and capacity of Lau-
rel Grove Cemetery beg to submit the fol-
lowing The report of the city engineer
shows that there are six hundred new
lots in the southwest portion of which. at
least five hundred are suitable for burial
purposes now; the system of subsoil drain
age of that section has been so thoroughly
SUCCESSFUL, that graves can be dug there
to the usual depth of five or six feet with
out encountering water. These lots are
IA feet wide and Is feet long-capab'e OF
taking eight or nine graves each, so that
five hundred lots would supply four thou
sand to four thousand five hundred graves
The engineer also expresses the opinion
that another portion can be made to fur
nish about two hundred lots suitable for
burial purpose, by using the same sys EN-
of subsoi drainage that has produced such
good results in the new portion. first re-
ferred to.
The reeprt of the keeper of the cemetery
shows that the Old portion of it. exclu-
sive of the colored section, contains about
1880 lots, of which none are for sale. AS the
aNdlldDle space lot graves IN lneSe =, )JO
lots, already sold to different families your
committee is unable TO give figures with
any degree of accuracy, but it is rea SON
able to assume that each lot has sufficient
space for the immediate members of the
family owning it, so that the demand for
new lots must be mostly from families not
already supplied. The sale of new lots
averages three TO four each month and the
average number of burials is one eacn
day.
If the 500 new lots are disposed of, at
the present rate of demand for them. viz
three or four each month. it would take
125 to 100 months to sell Them, and If all
the burials hereafter are made in this
new portion which furnishes space for
4,5O0 graves, it would take, at the rate of
one burial daily, from eleven to twelve and
one-helf years to occupy it, no allowance
being made for any buriais in the old
portion now in daily use; or for any addi-
tional space which may be reclaimed
through drainage.
The committee stated that il found from
the report Of the health officer that the
death IA lie in the mel ghborhood of the Gem
etery is greater than in any other
section of the city, and that in his opinion
the cemetery was responsible, in some de-
gree, for these conditions. The larger
mortality in that section was also at
trdbuted in part by the health officer 10
the unsanitary condition of Springfield
plantation.
The opinion of the health officer that
il would be well that no more burials
should take pace in the cemetery for
sanitary reasons Is referred to as is also
his opinion that il would moi be equitable
20 prohibit the lot owners from further
use of their lots. "A personal inspection"
the committees report states, "shows that
the new portion recently drained is farther
removed from Meditation than any other
portion, being in the southwestern Sec
ton"
The committee did not make any esti-
mate in its ort of the amount of un-
usad space remaining in the private lots
o. which there are 1880 in the cemetery
I his must be We arge, however or the
414 intern ents Of whites at Laurel Grove
last year less than Is per cent. were in
the new portion A gentleman who is well
acqua nted with the cemetery said yes
terday that at the outside not over 40
per cent. Ct he y ivate lots are filed up
and large percent age of the private lots
have only a few graves each. With the