Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-14
MAKE BURIAL
PLACE A PARK
CITIZENS WANT A NEW
BREATHING SPOT
INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS
FAVOR THE PLAN
No Longer Used, the Place Is Rapidly
Falling Into Decay and Be-
coming an Unslshtty
Spot

Formal application will be made TO
the CITY council within a few weeks,
asking that the city acquire the Ola
burial ground near the high school, Tor
park purposes The plan under when
this may be accomplished has aTeauy
assumed tangible form, and has peen
laid before Mayor Harper, who is said
10 have given it his approval. Several
of the councilmen also have been APP
preached on the matter, and each OF
them is reported to favor the project.
The city already owns a considerable
interest in the property. other owners
include the Volunteer Firemen, the Red
Men and the odd Fellows, in addition
to a few private owners These organl-
cations it is said. will agree to relln-
auish their titles, provided the city Will
purchase ground in some other cemetery
and defray the cost of removing bodies
from one location to the other.
The cost will be inconsiderable. There
are about 300 bodies in the old burial
ground and they can be removed ana re-
buried for practically $3.50. This was the
sum paid when the old Masonic cemetery
was turned over to the city, and the 3Oo
bodies in 1t were removed to the new
Masonic cemetery at East First and Ev-
ergreen streets,
Erwin Dingle, state horticultural COM
missioner is at the head of the move
ment which has as it's object the trans
formation of the old burial ground into
a city park. Within the past fortnight he
has talked to quite a number and has
succeeded in interesting practically all OF
them in the plan.
81 have found absolutely no opposition
OF the plan" he said yesterday. There
are five acres in the old cemetery. L
don't know how long it has been since
new grave has been made there, but am
confident no bodies have been buried there
within the past fifteen years at least.
There is no caretaker, and the place is
dilapidated weeds growing over the
graves, headstones crumbling away, and
neglect evident everywhere.
1.-THE place is so close to the high school
grounds that pupils have fallen into the
habit of taking lunches into the burial
ground and sitting on the graves to eat
them. OF course, as conditions are there,
this can do no harm; but should think
the influence would be bad. Certainly 1t
Is not calculated to increase the pupils
respect for the dead.
"In addition to talking to the mayor
and to a number of the councilmen, all OF
whom received my suggestion favorably,
have laid the matter before the chamber
of commerce and before the school board.
The chamber has referred it to COM
mittee. The school board probably will
take action of some sort at its next meet
ing.
'I had intended to lay the matter FORM
ally before the council next Monday, but
was advised to delay until next month,
as the council is now busy sitting as a
board of equalization.
by August 1 shall have a petition
ready for presentation, asking that the
chanuge be made. and containing the
names of 1000 property owners. This
number could be increased largely with
out difficulty, but 1 believe 1000 will be
enough.
There may be a few individual owners
of plots in the old burial ground who will
demand something for their holdings but
so far as I have been able to discover
this number will be very small"