Published in May 1904 in the Philadelphia Inquire out of Philadelphia PA
SEEK DESPOILERS OF BURIAL LOTS
MOUNT MORIAH
AUTHORITIES
WATCHING FOR
VANDALS
WHO STEAL FLOWERS
SAY LOT HOLDER WAS
CAUGHT IN
ACT OF TRANSFERRING
PLANT.
REWARD OFFERED FOR
ARRESTS
The despoliation of burial lots at Mount Moriah Cemetery
by vandals, who ruthlessly steal flowers and even entire plants and bushes
which have been placed on or near graves by relatives or friends of the
deceased, has assumed such serious proportions that George Connell, superintendent
of the cemetery, has been compelled to employ special policemen and watchmen
and to adopt rigorous measures in the hope of detecting the thieves.
His efforts were rewarded two weeks ago when Matthew
Coats, a special policeman employed by him, caught a man in the act of stealing
flowers from a grave. The man proved to be a lot holder, to Mr. Connell’s
surprise, and his arrest has led the superintendent to believe that many lot
holders in the cemetery, whether maliciously or to save money, have been guilty
of transferring flowers and plants from other lots to their own.
The man arrested two weeks ago was arraigned before
Magistrate Stratton and heavily fined. Mr.
Connell declared yesterday that the next person caught despoiling burial
lots would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law instead of escaping with
a mere fine. He said the penalty for such an offense, under the charter granted
to the Mount Moriah Cemetery Association was imprisonment for a term of not
less than six months nor more than four years.
Have Offered
Reward
“The next person,” Mr. Connell continued, “we catch
stealing flowers or otherwise despoiling burial lots or graves in Mount Moriah
will go to jail. We have offered a reward of $25 for the arrest and conviction
of any person who shall willfully remove, destroy, cut or break any tree,
shrub, plant or memorial of any kind within our cemetery. We do not even allow
lot holders to remove flowers or plants from their own lots without having
first secured permission from us. I have men detailed throughout the cemetery
all the time on the lookout for flower thieves, but it is no easy matter to
keep a watchful eye over the entire cemetery continuously.
“You will realize this, I am sure, when I tell you that
we have 365 acres, of rolling land to look after, part within the city limits
and the rest extending into Delaware County. We have 45,000 lot holders, and there
is hardly a clear day that we do not have at least five thousand visitors. On a
nice Sunday it is no uncommon thing for 25,000 persons to visit the cemetery.
You can imagine the task of keeping an eye on such a large number of persons.
Strangers are about to sneak in despite our efforts to the contrary. We are
receiving complaints continually form lot holders, all to the effect that flowers
and plants have been stolen form their lots and the graves of their departed
dear ones trampled upon and otherwise injured.
Thinks Plants Are
Transferred
“The same conditions doubtless prevail in cemeteries
throughout the city and vicinity. It is almost impossible to altogether prevent
it, but we are doing everything within our power to break up the systematic
preying upon the burial lots of our cemetery. I do not think that the flowers
and plants that are stolen are removed from the cemetery. I think the guilty
ones are lot holders, who, whether from spite or to save themselves expense,
pilfer flowers from the graves of others and adorn those of members of their
own families with their spoils. This may seem preposterous, but I have good
grounds for believing it to be true, and I am working along these lines in hope
of catching the guilty ones.
