1858-03-01 Trustee Committee Report on the Benj. F. Wyeth Memorial, 2021.004.064

The majority of Committee to whom the communication made by Mr. B. F. Wyeth to the Proprietors of Mount Auburn & by them referred to the present Board of Trustees, was referred, have considered the subject and report; -

The principal matter of the complaint of Mr Wyeth is, that in March 1857 he was discharged from the office of Gatekeeper & Superintendants' Clerk, without any reasons being assigned for his removal; thus treating him in an arbitrary unjust & illiberal manner, & depriving him of the right which every American should boast of - that of trial, by a Jury of his countrymen. Of this last Mr. Wyeth has certainly not been deprived, for if he has sustained any wrong upon which a Jury can be entitled to pass, it was not in the power of the Trustees to prevent him from vindicating it.

It is to be obsered that Mr. Wyeth does not ask to be restored to the place from which he says he was arbitrarily & unjustly removed; but he demands a hearing of the charges against him.

It might be sufficient for the present Board of Trustees, to close the consideration of this subject, by stating, that the act complained of was done by a former board , whose

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decision was final; & that it would not be suitable for us to review & pass upon their conduct; But as most of the individuals who composed that Board are members of the present Board by recent reelection, the Com^ee think it proper to give their views on the whole matter, as if the Trustees were legally, as they are substantially, the same body of men by whom (as Mr. Wyeth complaines) he was wronged.

Your Committee deny that any wrong, properly so called, has been done to Mr. Wyeth. It is true that our predecessors thought fit in March 1857, not to continue him in the employment of the Corporation; but they did not remove or turn him out of office; they simply declined to renew an engagement with him; - And they lawfully exercised the authority conferred on them by the Charter "in the general management, superintendance & care of the property expendituires business & prudential concerns of the Corporation" - by employing anoather person.

The reasons which influenced the mind of each member of the late Board in coming to the conclusion that the good of Mount Auburn would be promoted by the course they took in not further employing Mr. Wyeth as Gatekeeper & Clerk, cannot be & are not known to the Com^ee

Probably they were various: some being operated upon by one reason or more & some by other & different reasons.

No servant of the Corporation has a vested right to his office (any more than the Trustees themseles) for any longer time than the Contract with them entitles them to it. In no view of the facts sdid the Contract with Mr. Wyeth extend beyond February or March 1857 if so long as that.

It is quie clear to the Com^ee that there was no stipulation with him to employ him for any specified period of time.

In the early days of the Institution, the Superintendent kept his accounts without the aid of a Clerk; & the gate was opened by a laborer at $15 per month & his board. This duty was performed by a faithful Irishman named Shane. He became infirm & a man named Hyde was employed at $30 a month, without board. In December 1853, on the death of Hyude, Mr. Wyeth was employed to be Gatekeeper. In March 1854, the duties of Gatekeep[er were more specifically defined than they had been, & the salary was fixed at $400 per annum payable quarterly, & Mr. Wyeth was continued in this employment; At the same time (March 1854) the new office of Superintendent's Clerk was created

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at a salary of $250 a year payable quarterly. The duties of this place were prescribed, & Mr. Wyeth was employed to perform them;

In June 1855 it was voted that Mr. Wyeth be retained as the Gatekeeper & Superintendent's Clerk, until the further action of the Board of Trustees. The relations of Mr. Wyeth to the Corporation continued without alteration, till March 1857, when the present Gatekeeper & Clerk was appointed to succed him.

Mr. Wyeth appears to have supposed that the Trustees were not authorized to dispense with his services unless for sufficient cause to be shown by them; - and he claimed a hearing. It is obvious that a hearing would be fruitless unless witnesses could be produced & examined under oath; The Trustees have no power to summon witnesses; and if they came before them voluntarily,the Trustees have no authority to administer on oath to them.

The Board of Trustees of 1857 on the report of a Comm^ee, to whom Mr. Wyeths complaint was referred decided that with a view to the good of Mount Auburn they had appointed another person to be the Gatekeeper & that no further measures were by them deemed necessary. This report was accepted by 7 votes out of [9?]

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members present, 2 only^beingabsent. From this action of the Trustees, Mr. Wyeth has appealed to the Holders of Lots. - With these views as to the rights of the Your Commitee after due deliberation ^{Trustees & of Mr Wyeth} tion are of opinion that the conduct of their predecessors in regard to Mr. Wyeth was not illiberal unjust or arbitrary; & that if he had a right to a hearing before any other person could be appointed Gatekeeper, every other servant of the Trustees has an equal right to the same privilege. For the reasons before stated, the Committee decline to inquire whether any or what allegations were made against Mr Wyeth.

Your Committee are further of opinion that the Charter does not allow an appeal to the Lot Holders from the action of the Trustees, on matters relating to the management, superintendance & care of the property, expenditures, business & prudential concerns of the Corporation .

Charles P. Curtis James Cheever