1882 Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings Vo 1 022

9

FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.

A Lively Meeting of Trustees
Expected Today.

Some of the Lot Owners Think the
Present Board Has Made Itself Into
a Close Corporation- John S. Dam-
rell a Candidate for Mr. Charles M.
Clapp's Position.

Today, at 11 A. M., at Union Hall, No. 18
Boylston street, the annual meeting of the
proprietors of the Forest Hills cemetery will
be held, for the purpose of electing a trustee
in place of one whose term has expired; to
consider the expediency of petitioning the
Legislature to increase the number of trustees
from seven to 12 with the term of service
limited to six years; and also to act upon the
resignation of Hon. Samuel C. Cobb, one of
the trustees. The meeting is likely to be one
of much moment and fruitful in surprises.
For some few weeks past there have been
mutterings in the air of a controversy, which
has almost reached fever heat, between two
distinct elements in the board. The trustee
whose term of office expires is Mr. Charles M.
Clapp. He is a determined candidate
for re-election. Another candidate for the
vacancy is Mr. John S. Damrell, inspector
of buildings. While personally holding the
warmest respect and friendship for each
other, they and their friends are engaged in
a spirited contest for the capture of the
coveted office. So much has been said as to
the contention going on in the corporation
that the HERALD was led to make a few in-
quiries, to ascertain, if possible, its extent.
Several gentlemen were seen, but it was
with difficulty that they could be in-
duced to break the seal of secrecy. One
gentleman, who is in a position to know about
how matters stand, and who was prevailed
upon to talk a little only on the condition that
the HERALD would withhold his name, said:
"Yes, there is quite a little controversy in
progress among the proprietors of Forest
Hills cemetery. A number of lot owners ex-
press a good deal of dissatisfaction at the
present board of management, claiming,
among other things, that the board is becom-
ing altogether too close a corporation, and
that a great many lot owners have no repre-
sentation at all therein. This is one of the
reasons why it is desirous that the board of
Trustees Should be Increased
from seven menbers to 12, so that a more
general representation of the proprietors
may be secured. Another thing that has ex-
cited the ire of the dissenting party is the
action of the board of trustees in securing the
appended amendment, Jan. 31, 1888, to the
charter of the corporation:

"Sec. 1. The trustees of the proprietors of
the Forest Hills cemetery shall annually
choose one of their number to be president,
who shall also be president of the corpora-
tion, and shall annually choose the treasurer
and secretary of said corporation, either
from their own number or at large. Said
trustees shall nil any vacancy or vacancies
that may occur in said board of trustees, the
person or persons so elected to fill such
vacancy or vacancies to hold office only from
the time of election by said trustees to the
next annual meeting of the proprietors of the
corporation.

"Sec. 2. Said trustees shall make such by-
laws, not inconsistent with the laws of this
commonwealth, as may be necessary or use-
ful in conducting and controlling the affairs
of said corporation.

"Sec. 3. All acts or portions of acts incon-
sistent with or contrary to the provisions of
this act are herby repealed.

"Sec. 4. This act shall take effect upon its
passage.

"It was claimed at first by the opponents of
the board that the latter acted illegally in
pushing this amendment through the Legisla-
ture, inasmuch as it was one of the privileges
of the lot owners as a whole to assist in
petitioning the Legislature for such an
amendment. By the adoption of this amend-
ment, it is argued, the board develops all the
more strongly into an exceedingly close body,
since it has the exclusive right and power
to choose the treasurer and the secretary of
the corporation, without the slightest appeal
to the proprietors as a whole. In a general
way this covers the ground which the ob-
jectors of the present board of management
take in their opposition to the latter.
Now, on the other hand, the present
body of trustees, in the first place acted un-
der legal advice in counsel in submitting the
petition to the Legislature for an amendment
to the charter, so that there was no illegality
in that respect. Due notice was given in the
daily papers of the petition for an amend-
ment, and when the legislative committee in
charge of such matters opened the hearing on
the granting of the same there was but one
person present to address the committee in
favor of the petition, and not one remonstrant

to oppose it. as a natural sequence, even
though it is the purpose of the Legislature to
broaden rather than to narrow corporations
and the duties of their trustees, the commit-
tee unanimously granted the request for the
amendment. The argument used was that
the board of trustees, having such a large
amount of property, approximating in value
$500,000, under their control for which

They Were Directly Responsible.
it was no more than perfectly natural that the
trustees should feel absolutely sure that the
powers invested in a treasurer would fall into
the hands of a man who would be unques-
tioned as to integrity, ability and thorough
competency. As they were responsible for
the property, the trustees felt they should
have as treasurer a man in whom they had
the sublimest confidence, as any breach of
faith in the latter official would have to be
borne by the board. That is why, some
months ago, after the death of the former
treasurer, Mr. George Lewis, who occupied
the position for years, the trustees submitted
the petition to amend the charter. Subse-
quent to the death of Mr. Lewis the trustees
appointed Mr. E. B. Reynolds treasurer pro
tem, and on adoption of the amendment
Mr. Reynolds was regularly elected.

"You see the passage of the amendment
precluded the possibility of any lot owner
from exerting himself among the proprietors
of the cemetery to procure proxies in behalf
of the election of that lot owner to the
treasurership. To one of the proprietors
this was a disappointing measure. He was a
candidate for the vacant treasury chair, but
he did not possess the support of the board
of trustees, as he had at meetings of late
years been outspokenly opposed to the
board and its methods of conducting the
affairs of the corporation. At last year's
meeting the opposition to the board de
veloped into proportions of a more substan-
tial nature than was observed at previous
meetings. A few months ago this opposition
began to bear fruit in the way of solicitation
of proxies by the dissenters for Mr. John S.
Damrell's election as trustee, in place of Mr.
Charles M. Clapp. A couple of weeks ago,
friends of Mr. Clapp discovered this state of
affairs, and they began at once

To Put in Solid Work
to counteract whatever effect the labors of
the opposition may have on Mr. Clapp's can-
didacy for re-election. There has been a
strong canvass made in Mr. Clapp's behalf,
and his adherents are quick to assert that his
re election is undoubted. Still, the faction
supporting Mr. Damrell have had the advan-
tage of the labors of weeks, while Mr. Clapp's
friends have only put in a few days."

The resignation of Hon. Samuel C. Cobb as
a member of the board is of very recent date,
not longer than 10 days ago, and it is as-
cribed to the uneasiness and criticism ex-
pressed against the trustees. He is quoted as
having voiced himself as being "utterly dis-
gusted with the whole business," and as
saying that if it were not that he
had a large amount of money invested in the
cemetery and a monument erected he would
withdraw entirely from the corporation and
identify his interests with Mt. Auburn ceme-
tery. An effort was made to see Mr. Cobb,
but he was confined to his residence, No. 235
Boylston street, by illness, and, by the advice
of his physician, refuses to see callers. It is
likely that an election of two trustees may
occur at today's meeting. If Mr. Cobb's resig-
nation should be accepted, there certainly
will be two chosen.
Mch 25. 89.

FOREST HILLS CEMETERY.

Annual Meeting of the Proprie-
tors This Morning.

Report of the Trustees--Financial Con-
dition--Claims That the Last Amend-
ments to the Charter Were Obtained
in an Irregular and Unusual Manner
--Directors Elected.

The annual meeting of the proprietors of
Forest Hills cemetery was held at Union Hall,
Boylston street, at 11 A. M. today, and was
very fully attended. President Joseph W.
Balch called the meeting to order the
said he was unaccustomed to preside
over such a large body, and asked that he be
allowed to name Hon. Alexander H. Rice
to preside. This request was concurred
in, and Mr. Rice took the
chair. After the reading of the records,
which were approved, Mr. Boyd moved that
the secretary of the meeting be sworn, and
Mr. Faunce moved that Mr. Potter be chosen
secretary of the meeting, he already being
secretary of the corporation, and to simplify
matters this motion was put and carried.

Mr. Frank Boyd then moved that the vote
he offered at the last annual meeting, and
which was laid on the table then, for the ap-
pointment of a committee to inquire as to
how the trustees came to apply to the Legis-
lature of 1888 for an amendment to the
charter of the corporation be taken from the
table, but this was lost, 58 to 68.

Mr. George O. Carpenter then moved that
the annual report of the trustees, which was
submitted in print and sent to the proprietors
be accepted, and this was carried.

The report showed the cemetery to be in
good condition, and substantial im-
provements have been made dur-
ing the year past. A large number
of beautiful monuments have been
erected, and foundations for others have been
laid. The average number of men employed
last year was 63, and the perpetual care
fund was increased $21,755, making
it now $394,878, while the gen-
eral fund increased $13,650, making it
now $122,421. There are about 185 acres of
cemetery grounds about one-third being used
for burial purposes, the remaining two-thirds
being occupied for lakes, avenues, paths, etc.
In 1888 there were 710 interments, making
the total number interred 22,215, and the sale
of lots 3956.

The treasurer reports that with $19,947
on hand at the commencement of last year,
the receipts have been $227,155, and the dis-
bursements $217,301, leaving $9853 bal-
ance.

Mr. Clement K. Fay, the counsel for the
opposition to the present management of the
corporation, said that the vote just taken was
a refusal to give the objectors a hearing.
This he thought was un-American, and he
hoped the matter would be thrown open for
discussion and acted upon. He had a motion to
offer, when it was in order, that a committee
of five should be appointed to represent the
corporation before the Legislature, and to
report at least one week before an adjourned
or annual meeting. He thought that the last
amendment to the charter obtained from the
Legislature was obtained in an irregular and
unusual manner.

Then a lot of motions were presented, and
many members of the corporation made
speeches, after which it was voted to proceed
with

The Regular Order of Business
The report was accepted. Maj. George O.
Carpenter moved that a committee of four
be appointed to receive, sort and
count the votes for trustee for a term of
seven years, in place of Charles M. Clapp,
whose term of office expired, which was
the next business in order. The motion was
carried, and the following committee was ap-
pointed: G. O. Carpenter, P. B. Smith, C. M.
Seaver and E. E. Ingraham. The balloting
was then proceeded with. While it was going
on, Mr. Francis Boyd asked the privilege of
making a personal explanation. He was given
unanimous consent to proceed. He said that
in the report for 1888 he found the
record of an act amending the charter of the
corporation that had passed the Legislature,
and of which he and several other proprietors
had never heard before. He found that no-
tice of the intention to ask for the legisla-
tion was published in the Boston Post, a
paper in which the advertisements of the cor-
poration had never appeared before. He
thought the matter was carried through in an
underhanded manner, that the advertisement
was placed where it was so that the
proprietors should not see it, and
in order that the trustees might
have their own way without the interference
of the proprietors, by whom they were never
authorized to take such action. In the Legis-
lature the matter was referred to the commit-
tee on mercantile affairs. It might as well
have been referred to the committee on fish-
eries. It should have gone to the judici-
ary committee. He charged that the
whole thing was a conspiracy, and said that
the proprietors had just voted for one of the
conspirators for trustee for seven years.
They had the votes, but they had not seen the
end of the matter yet. He said that a cir-
cular sent out to solicit votes for
the re-election of Mr. Clapp as trustee
belonged in the same category as the pre-
vious action of the supporters of the present
board of management, and that Hon. S. C.
Cobb had resigned from the board of trustees
because he was disgusted with their action
and preferred to withdraw rather than stay
and fight them.

Mr. Boyd then reverted to the manner in
which the legislation of which he complained
had been passed through the Legislature,
and he declared that the usual notice to in-
terested parties had not been issued
by the committee to which the mat-
ter was referred. The proprietors used
to have the right to elect their
own treasurer and secretary. If the trustees
had openly asked the proprietors for authority
to select these officers, he would not have
objected, but he did object to being robbed
of his rights in the way they had been taken
away from him. He wanted to appoint a com-
mittee to take all the points at issue into con-
sideration, to codify the laws and reach a re-
sult that

Would Satisfy All Parties.
He did not believe, from what he saw at the
meeting, that this could be done; "but, mark
me." he said, "the end is not yet." He said
that the trustees had been sworn to conduct
the business of the corporation according to
law, and they had not done so, thus rendering
themselves liable.

Mr. Boyd was asked by Mr. George A.
Jones if, at the time that Treasurer Lewis
died, he was not a candidate for the treas-
urership. He replied, in substance, that he
thought of becoming a candidate, but the
bonds were so large that he gave up the idea.

Hon. William Gaston arose and said that no
member of the board of trustees was respon-
sible for the legislation complained of, but
that he was personally responsible, be-
cause he thought it was for the
best interests of the corporation.
He advised the trustees to petition for
legislation similar to that of the
Mt. Auburn Corporation, giving the
trustees power to appoint the secre-
tary and treasurer, because, until
the present quarrel arose, it had been almost
impossible to get a quorum of the proprie-
tors present at the meeting to trans-
act business. The legislation was
asked for in the way laid down
by the laws of the state, and there was no
fraud or conspiracy in connection with the
matter. He would not make any threats, but
he was satisfied that he had friends present
who had confidence enough in him to believe
that what he said was true. He thought that
Mr. Cobb had retired from the board of
trustees, not on account of any trouble in the
board, but because he did not care to take
part in our annual quarrel at the corpora-
tion's meetings. Ex-Gov. Gaston was loudly
applauded as he took his seat.

Mr. Clement K. Fay said he was glad to
have so clear a statement from ex-Gov. Gas-
ton. He had not intended in anything he had
said to reflect on any individual member of
the board of trustees, but he thought that the
trustees should consult the proprietors be-
fore taking any action so important as that
under discussion. He therefore offered the
resolution which he had spoken of before. It
read as follows:

Resolved, that a committee of five be ap-
pointed to consider the expediency of amend-
ing or repealing any laws relating to the cor-
poration, for the purpose of simplifying
the same and more clearly defining
the respective duties and powers of the trus-
tees and proprietors of the corporation, said
committee to be allowed its reasonable ex-
penses and to report in print to the proprie-
tors one week at least before an adjourned or
special meeting.

Ex-Gov. Gaston could not see why this reso-
lution should be adopted unless new legisla-
tion was to be asked for. If a repeal of the
present act was to be sought, then the com-
mittee might be useful, but unless such action
was to be taken, he could see nothing for the
committee to do. He hoped those present
would take action to end the quarrels that
had occurred at the recent meetings of the
corporation.

Several proprietors made speeches, in
which they said that there had been

No Intention to Reflect
on any individual trustee. Then a motion be
Mr. Clement K. Fay that a recess be taken
until 3 o'clock was lost. The chairman, as
soon as this matter was settled, read the let-
ter of resignation of Hon. S. C. Cobb from
the board of trustees. Hon. John J. May,
moved that Mr. Cobb be requested to with-
draw his resignation, and the motion was
carried unanimously. The announcement of
the result was received with loud applause,
and Mr. May was appointed a committee of
one to notify Mr. Cobb of the action taken by
the meeting.

The committee on balloting sent in word
that it would be ready to report in half an
hour. While waiting for the committee, Mr.
Francis Boyd arose and said he had been told
that, in the heat of argument, he had made
statements that were construed to be threats
to carry the matter in dispute into court for a
legal settlement. He did not intend to say
anything of the kind, and if he used words
that might be so understood, he withdrew
them.

The committee on balloting reported that
the whole number of votes cast for trustee
was 1273. Of these, Charles M. Clapp re-
ceived 721, John S. Damrell 541, George S.
Bullard 3, and 5 were blank, and Charles M.
Clapp was declared elected.

The article in the call of the meeting to in-
crease the membership of the board of trus-
tees to 12, and to limit their term of service to
six years, was next taken up, and, on motion
of Mr. Charles B. Fox, it was voted to lay it
on the table. Then Mr. Fay again presented
his resolution that a committee of five be ap-
pointed to consider what changes, if
any, should be made in the
laws governing the corporation, and it
was adopted by a vote of 42 to 29. Mr. Fay
moved that the matter of increasing the mem-
bership of the board of trustees and limiting
their term be taken from the table and re-
ferred to this committee, and this was also
carried by a vote of 41 to 34. It was voted
that this committee be appointed by the chair,
that the chairman of the meeting be the chair-
man of the committee, and that the commit-
tee have power to fill vacancies in its mem-
bership.

Mr. May reported that Mr. Cobb had con-
sented to withdraw his resignation from the
board of trustees. This announcement was
loudly applauded and then, at 1:35 o'clock,
after passing a vote of thanks to ex-Gov.
Rice for the able and impartial manner with
which he had presided, the meeting ad-
journed.