1885-01 Annual Report of the Trustees of the Cemetery of Mount Auburn, Together with the Reports of the Treasurer and Superintendent. January, 1885.

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REPORT.

THE Trustees respectfully submit to the Proprietors their annual report for the year 1884.

The condition of the funds is satisfactory. The Permanent fund has increased by the addition of $7,936.80 to the sum of $249,- 360.41.

To the Repair fund has been added the sum of $34,075.20, and it now amounts to $417,801.41.

The General fund, consisting of cash and bills not yet collected, amounts to $34,479.40; giving assurance of sufficient means for further improvements, which are contemplated.

Among minor matters it may be noted that sixty-two new monuments have been erected, fifty-seven iron fences and five hedges removed, and 2,238 linear feet of gutters repaved. The hedges are gradually disappearing from the cemetery. Only beautiful while in their early vigor and at their prime, the severity of our winters is gradually thinning them out, and leaving gaps in their ranks which can never be satisfactorily replaced. They serve also to obstruct the open view of the grounds, and to keep lots so surrounded cleanly and in order requires constant inspection and supervision.

The green-houses are now in good order, and furnish ample supplies for summer use in the adornment of the grounds.

During the past season house No. 2 has been almost entirely rebuilt, and the sills and roofs of Nos. 4, 5, and 6 have been repaired and renewed.

Work for the improvement and development of the cemetery has been successfully prosecuted. It will be seen by the Treasurer’s report that about $5,000 has been expended in grading from Pearl to Eagle avenues, on Ivy path, and in laying out and developing the Chant and Wattriss lots, so called, lying on the westerly side of the

6 ANNUAL REPORT.

cemetery. The Chant lot has been raised on an average from three to four feet, and in some places filled up to the depth of six feet. The whole of this lot is now available for cemetery purposes. One hundred and eighty-one lots are ready for sale, most of them in very desirable situations. In the new public lot on Vesper avenue two hundred graves are ready for use. In thus preparing the Chant lot much material has been taken from the Wattriss lot, where a new avenue and paths have been commenced. At the present rate of progress, not many years will elapse before the whole of this territory will be properly graded and laid out. There is no reason to doubt that this section of the grounds will be as desirable as the Stone farm territory. The landscape lawn system, which has been so successful on the Stone farm, has been adopted by the Trustees for both the Chant and Wattriss lots.

During the past year we have been called upon to mourn the loss of one of our associates, Mr. Alanson Bigelow. The following resolutions, adopted by the Board of Trustees and transmitted to the family of the deceased, fully express their opinion of the value of his services and their respect for his memory : —

Resolved, That we desire to enter upon our records our appreciation of the work and services of our late associate, Mr. Alanson Bigelow. Always judicious, prompt, and efficient in the performance of duty, he had endeared himself to our hearts during his term of seven years’ service on our Board by his uniform courtesy of manners, and consideration for the opinions and feelings of others.

Resolved, That we deeply regret the loss we have sustained, and tender to his wife and family our respectful sympathy in their great bereavement.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented by the secretary to Mrs. Bigelow, and the family of the deceased.

The Finance Committee have experienced difficulty during the past years in making investments for the Repair fund. On one occasion they were obliged to decline a first-class mortgage in the city of Cambridge, because not allowed by Article VIII. of the By-Laws. To give them a larger discretion, it is proposed to amend the third clause of this article; and notice of this intention, it will be seen, is given in the call for the annual meeting. The clause now reads: —

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"All such sums shall collectively constitute a separate fund, called the ‘Repair Fund,’ and shall be invested in some public stock of this State or of the National Government, or in the stock of some bank or banks of this State, or in notes secured by a sufficient collateral pledge of stocks in this State, or mortgage on real estate in Boston."

And it is proposed to amend by adding after the words “invested in” the words : —

"The public debt of the United States, or in that of the State of Massachusetts, or in the debt of any of the counties, cities, or towns of this State, or in mortgages of real estate in any city in Massachusetts, or in first mortgage bonds. or debenture bonds of railroads not mortgaged, of any railroad company incorporated under the authority of this Commonwealth, which has earned and paid regular dividends for the two years next preceding such investment."

So that this clause of the amended By-Law will read : —

"All such sums shall collectively constitute a separate fund, called the 'Repair Fund,’ and shall be invested in the public debt of the United States, or in that of the State of Massachusetts, or in the debt of any of the counties, cities, or towns of this State, or in mortgages of real estate in any city in Massachusetts, or in first mortgage bonds, or debenture bonds of railroads not mortgaged, of any railroad company incorporated under the authority of this Commonwealth, which has earned and paid regular dividends for the two years next preceding such investment.”’

Your sanction to this amendment is asked for.

For the Trustees,

ISRAEL M. SPELMAN, President.

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