Society of the Cincinnati's Appeal

Citations

• 154 Pa. 621
• 26 A. 647
• 1893 Pa. LEXIS 945

Syllabus

<p>Trusts — Washington monument — Society of the Cincinnati.</p> <p>Where a fund was started in 1810 to erect “ a monument in the city of Philadelphia ” to the memory of Washington, the site of the monument need not be within the corporate limits of the city of Philadelphia as they were in 1810. Soohan v. Phila., 33 Pa. 9, distinguished.</p> <p>Equity — Trusts and trustees — Powers of trustees — Washington Monument Fund — Appeal.</p> <p>At a public meeting held in 1824, at Philadelphia, a resolution was passed to erect a monument to the memory of Washington in that city.</p> <p>A committee was appointed to carry into effect the resolution. They were authorized “ to fill any vacancies that may occur in their body,” to collect subscriptions, to receive designs, select the place most suitable, and adopt prompt measures for the execution of the project. By other resolutions' it appeared that it was the expectation of the meeting and subscribers that the monument should be placed in Washington Square, and that the fund should be united with that of the Society of the Cincinnati, but nothing was made mandatory upon the committee. A fund was raised, but the committee never selected a site or turned the money over to the Society of the Cincinnati. After the death of all the members of the committee, a trust company was appointed trustee of the fund. In 1880, the Society of the Cincinnati presented a petition to the court, praying that the fund should be handed over to them. The trust company made no objection to its own discharge as trustee, and the decree was entered, awarding the fund to the Society of the Cincinnati for the erection of a monument “ upon a suitable spot in the Park of the city of Philadelphia.” The Society of flie Cincinnati subsequently changed the proposed cite to Independence Square, and the city granted its consent to the erection of the monument in that square. The Society of the Cincinnati then presented a petition, praying that the decree of 1880 s