USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1877 > Part 1
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THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE
CITY OF SOMERVILLE
CAT,
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from
Federally funded with LSTA funds through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
http://archive.org/details/annualreportofci1877some
STACK 206077 Ref.352 569- 1877
ADDRESS OF MAYOR BELKNAP.
GENTLEMEN OF THE CITY COUNCIL : -
In obedience to the expressed wish of the people, we are con- vened for the purpose of receiving, in due form. from their hands, important trusts to be held during the year, with varied and diffi- cult duties to perform, which affect the present and future prosper- ity of our young and growing city. The responsibilities which we are about to assume are of such magnitude that their acceptance by us carries with the act the strongest obligations to be faithful, honest, and untiring in our efforts to advance the interests of the city and promote the happiness of its people.
Our fellow-citizens have given us assurance of their esteem and confidence by generously committing to our care these vital inter- ests, and have conferred upon us the honor and distinction which attach to the several positions to which we have been elected.
During the past year the city has been exempt from contagious disease, from destructive conflagrations, and peace has been within her borders ; for all these blessings we have reason to render unto Him, "who doeth all things well," our sincere and heartfelt praise.
The inhabitants have borne the general depression which has settled upon the nation with courage, patience, and resignation, which shows that they still retain the elements of success, and their ability to recover their former prosperity whenever an opportunity offers, and to keep pace in the future with other municipalities in all that is essential to the successful conduct of her government.
Custom makes it my duty to give you a brief statement of the present condition of the several departments of the city govern- ment, leaving to those in charge of them the work of furnishing such statistical information as you may require, from time to time,
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to enable you to gain a more full and comprehensive knowledge of the affairs you are called upon to administer.
The first, and perhaps the most important subject that claims your attention is the financial condition of the city, which may be stated as follows : --
On the 1st of January, 1876, the funded debt was $1,571,854, the temporary loan, $295,000 ; making an aggregate indebtedness of $1,866,584. Of the funded debt, $171,000, drawing interest at six and one half and seven per cent, matured in 1876. This portion of the debt has been provided for by paying a sidewalk bond of $10,000 by taxation, and by renewing $161,000 at five and one half per cent, for the term of nine to twenty-nine years, according to the nature of the loan.
During the year 1877, there will come due $175,000 of the funded debt, which has carried interest at six and one half to seven per cent. Of this amount $165,000 has been anticipated in 1876, by a loan placed at five per cent on a term of eighteen and a half years. These bonds were sold at a handsome premium, which is conclusive evidence that the financial condition of this city is regarded by capi- talists as entirely sound.
Until the maturity of that portion of the debt which falls due this year, the $165,000 takes the form of funded debt, and makes this loan now stand $1,771,854, to which add temporary loan of $110,000, and you have an aggregate of $1,881,854 for the first of January, 1877.
To meet this there are uncollected taxes for 1873,
1874, and 1875, amounting to about. $69,000 00
Taxes for 1876, amounting to about 187,630 40
Highway betterment assessments, of about 59,461 65
Sidewalk assessments, of about 2,865 92
Real estate liens, of about 8,976 67
Broadway Park assessments, of about
46,256 36
$374,191 00
This amount deducted from the aggregate loan leaves $1,507,663 to be provided for in the distant future by taxation, unless some of the public property can be disposed of to meet a portion of this amount. The assessments for public improvements are subject to
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such abatements as may be made, from time to time, by the Board of Aldermen or by the Courts.
Sufficient money ought to be collected from assessments, between now and the maturity of the $165,000, to meet this payment. If not, that portion not provided for by collections will again take the form of temporary loan, until money is received from these assests.
A sidewalk bond of $10,000 comes due this year, which has not been anticipated, and which ought to be paid by taxation.
A loan of $10,000 for the extension of the Water Works has been negotiated at five and one half per cent, on a term of twenty- nine years ; also, one of $35,000 for the construction of the trunk sewer to West Somerville, on a term of twenty years at five per cent.
Agreeably to the provisions of the law regulating municipal indebtedness, a Board of Sinking Fund Commissioners has been elected, consisting of Nathan Tufts, John A. Hughes, and Samuel A. Carlton, and they have organized in form.
The first assessment for the sinking fund was made in 1876, amounting to $45,130, which is in charge of the commissioners, and is in the form of an unnegotiable bond with coupons attached.
The resignation of Samuel A. Carlton as one of the commis- sioners has been accepted, and Henry F. Woods has been elected to fill the vacancy.
The city of Somerville will not have to appear in the money mar- ket as a borrower for permanent loan for two years, unless some new improvements are entered upon on a scale so extended as to exceed the utmost limit of taxation. With a careful and judicious management of the sinking funds, such as may reasonably be expected, judging from the character of the men selected for this important trust, the funded debt, the payment of which must be provided for under the law to regulate and limit municipal indebted- ness by annual contributions, raised by taxation to the credit of the sinking fund, will be provided for as it matures.
By negotiating loans to the amount of $326,000 at five and five and one half per cent, which have drawn six and one half and seven per cent, an item of interest will be saved amounting to about $6,500 annually.
The assessors have reduced the valuation some four and three. fourths millions, which is about as much as it will bear at present.
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Radical changes are as unhealthy as stolid conservatism in the conduct of municipal affairs ; both should be studiously avoided. Dating back a year, there is a noticeable but not very marked improvement in general business. If this condition of things con- tinues, a stand may be made and successfully maintained at the present valuation.
The rate per cent may be materially reduced this year, unless new enterprises requiring large outlays are urged by the people. The estimates for the current year are made up in the month of March; these are based upon the requirements for running expenses, and the improvements asked for. The current expenses are a known and nearly a fixed quantity, which cannot be mate- rially changed ; the improvements are in the hands of the people, and the cost of them may be increased or lessened at their pleasure.
Complaint is frequently made that property is not valued at its selling price. When the market for real estate is steady and uni- form, values may be estimated with a tolerable degree of accuracy ; but when it is as irregular as it has been the past year, no one can tell at what price property will sell, especially landed property.
By request of the assessors the appointment of a Joint Stand- ing Committee from the City Council to confer with them on all matters relating to taxes is recommended.
SCHOOLS.
The number of pupils in all the schools in December, 3,974, number of schools 79, of teachers 88. Salaries of lady teachers in the Primary and Grammar schools : first year, $375 ; second, $475 ; third, $575 ; fourth and subsequent years, $650. It will be seen that the salaries are made to conform to the experience which the appointee brings to the position.
The schools are all in a very satisfactory condition ; while it will not be claimed that they are superior to those in other cities, they are not inferior.
The question how best to educate the young, is one that has engaged the attention of wise men in all ages, and at this late day is as far from a satisfactory solution as it was centuries ago. It is a question of vast importance, especially in a free country where the permanence of its institutions depends upon the virtue and intelligence of the people. Educated men view this subject from an intellectual, and business men from a more practical, standpoint.
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Both parties think themselves right in their views. The young child is taken by the schools and led on, step by step, through the long labyrinth of studies until he is fitted to enter any of the various institutions of learning in the country. So far it entirely meets the wants of a class of pupils who intend to enter profes- sional life.
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Of the pupils in the schools less than one in a hundred graduates from the High School annually. Taking a business view of this subject, it would seem as if some plan might be adopted by which the others may be brought up to a point nearer that attained by the graduates.
If a two years' course of study can be introduced into the High School to embrace those studies which are useful in the general management of business, and which are calculated to develop the youthful mind for that occupation, many of the young men who intend to become merchants and who desire to stand at the head of their profession may conclude to pursue this course. And I submit that a young man taking such a course for two years, then spending the two remaining years, that are now spent in the High School, under the tuition of a thorough and successful business man, would, at the expiration of the four years, be further advanced in his calling and better prepared to meet the responsibilities of life than if he had pursued the present four years' English course of study.
Pupils enter this school at a very critical period, when they are forming character for life. They establish a bad precedent when they leave before the prescribed course of study is completed. In entering upon a work, every one ought to have some definite object in view, and then labor for its accomplishment, and not leave nor forsake it until the end is attained. Success strengthens, emboldens, and encourages one to attempt greater and more important under- takings ; while failure enfeebles, enervates, and discourages. It were better to attempt half, and succeed, than attempt all and fail, or fall out by the wayside. The School Board is respectfully asked to consider this subject.
There has been a great increase in the expenditure for school books for pupils whose parents neglect to furnish them. In some instances, owners of real estate to a considerable amount have allowed the city to provide their children with books. This incli- nation to throw upon the city burdens which ought to be borne by
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individuals deserves a rebuke which can be most effectually admin- istered through the medium of public opinion. By this means a check may be put upon the abuse of a generous statute made for the relief of the unfortunate.
If additional school accommodations are required this year, the plan, so successful last year, of renting a portion or the whole of some building already erected in the locality where the school is to be organized may be continued without detriment to the school interest.
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Is the only department in the city that has not required an appro- priation. Through the skilful management of its trustees, the interest in its welfare has been kept up, and its patronage has stead- ily increased, as appears by the following : Number of books taken out this year, 46,855 ; last, 43,498 ; increase over last year, 3,457. Number of books in the library, 5,752.
For the amount of money expended there is probably no other way in which so much general information can be imparted to all classes of citizens as through this medium. Salutary reading instructs the reader, and elevates him socially, morally, and intellectually. It is better for a town or city to furnish books to employ the leisure of its youthful and adult population than to allow them to live in idle- ness and ignorance, and finally form vicious habits that can only be restrained by the enforcement of penal laws.
HIGHWAYS.
The streets of the city are acknowledged, by many of those who have an opportunity of knowing their condition, to be in the best order that they have been in at any time in the history of the town or city government. They are still susceptible of improvement in many instances ; and inasmuch as there are no streets unfinished, or laid out and the work not begun, there will be but little to be done until the opening of spring, when repairs may be made as soon as the frost is out of the ground and the ways settled.
While the present dulness continues, new streets will not be likely to be asked for, and the attention of the committee may be turned to improving those already accepted, to laying crossings where they will accommodate travel, and to paving gutters where there
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are quick runs of water that wash the streets and fill the catch basins with sand and gravel.
In the hurry, during the time when great improvements were in progress, streets were finished, but not all properly bounded. Boundary posts ought to be set on all the streets after the lines are run out, so as to prevent disputes in future, when land is more val- uable. On macadamized streets the coarse, broken macadam is worked up through the top-dressing by constant wear; these small stones lying upon the surface are a great annoyance to travel, and a fruitful source of injury to the streets. The quicker these are removed after they come to the surface, the better for all interested.
In view of the constant attention which the main thoroughfares require, would it not be well to place on them a few faithful, com- petent men, whose duty shall be to go over a given portion every day, and make the needed repairs as soon as the surface of the street shows weakness ; also, to keep the crossings clear of dust or mud, as the case may be, and to pick off the small stones as fast as they appear upon the surface ?
In some of the streets where there are sewers, there is a lack of catch-basins to take off the water; these should be located with reference to the necessity for them, leaving the committee in charge to determine the place for their construction.
The street bridges over the Lowell and Fitchburg Railroad are not in a satisfactory condition. They ought to be made to conform to the lines of the several streets of which they form a part.
The president of the Lowell Railroad has given assurance that the bridges over that road shall be changed when the city is ready to make the necessary street improvements.
The Fitchburg Railroad seems willing enough to receive favors, but has none to give in return.
If you are asked to lay out and grade new streets, no action ought to be taken that will bind the city to grant the request, until all the abutters have given the city a release from all land or grade damages on account of such laying out and grading.
SEWERS.
The extension of the Beacon Street trunk sewer to Davis Square has been contracted for with William Sullivan, of Lawrence, Mass. It was to have been finished on the 1st of December, but the work,
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which at first progressed in a satisfactory manner, began to slow in November, and but little has been accomplished in December.
The quality of the work, so far, is good ; and it is believed that the back pay is sufficient to defray the expense of finishing the sewer in any event.
The people living in the section of the city where the work is delayed are to be commended for their patience under the great inconvenience to which they have been subjected.
Other small sewers have been constructed where they were most needed, as will appear in the engineer's report, which will be made with the annual report of the several departments.
The Beacon and Elm Street sewer ought to be extended to the culvert on Holland Street, and have an overflow provided at this point, so that the capacity of the sewer may be tested. Lateral sewers will be needed in some of the streets in West Somerville, to enable the people in that section to realize the benefits to be derived from the construction of the trunk sewer.
By an Act of the legislature, General Laws for 1875, Chap. 191, the cities of Cambridge and Somerville are required to estend their main sewer, constructed under the provisions of Chap. 304, of the Acts of 1873, into the deep-water channel of Charles River, the extension to be made within two years after the passage of the Act, which was approved May 8, 1875. This matter will claim early attention.
The Superintendent of Sewers has performed the duties of his position in a prompt and efficient manner. Inasmuch as the small sewers are mostly built by contract, and in view of the fact that the labor of the Engineer's department will be less than in former years, the interest of the city may be best served by uniting the two offices, provided the present Engineer is reappointed and confirmed.
STREET LIGHTS.
The safety and convenience of the public require the streets to be properly lighted. Under the present system, lamp-posts are not always set where they are most needed, but where people are will- ing to pay for them, and where it is deemed expedient for the city to maintain a light. The system has given general satisfaction, and is, perhaps, as good as can be devised at present.
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Twenty posts have been erected this year ; nineteen gas, and one oil or naphtha. Charlestown District has 135 lights, Cambridge, 137 lights, oil lamps, 20. Total in the city, 312.
STATE AID AND SOLDIERS' RELIEF.
The soldiers who so nobly fought against the Rebellion are still with us and remind us of that terrible struggle by their scars, wounds, and disability, all of which appeal strongly to our sym- pathy, our patriotism, and our love of justice. These men and their families, with the families of those who have gone to their reward, have been made comfortable by the committee in charge of the fund appropriated for that purpose. Their numbers are small, their wants are few, and no excuse should ever be offered in extenuation for neglecting their claims.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The Fire Department is in good condition, and is well conducted by its faithful and competent chief, whose ever-watchful care often anticipates, and thereby averts or prevents disaster. The assist- ants and the members of the several companies have always been found ready to respond promptly when an alarm has been sounded. The despatch which, on several occasions, has characterized their movements in the direction of a fire is truly surprising, and meets the most sanguine expectations of eye-witnesses.
The buildings, carriages, horses, and apparatus are in a satisfac- tory condition. As at present advised, the wants of this depart- ment for the current year are confined to the running expenses.
The necessity of having the hydrants placed in charge of the Chief of the Fire Department, instead of being in the care of the Superintendent of the Water Works, is respectfully suggested. The firemen use them, and should be made responsible for their condi- tion, so that, in case of fire, they shall always be ready for immediate service.
The duty of examining buildings in process of erection, to see if they are properly constructed and secured against fire, devolves upon the chief of this department. It is an important trust, that takes a good deal of time, for which no compensation has been provided. Would recommend that his salary be eight hundred
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dollars per annum instead of six, as it now is. The losses by fire in 1876, $13,390. Insurance, $26,100.
POLICE.
The police force remains the same as it has been for two years past. It consists of a Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, and twenty-four patrolmen. Great care has been exercised in the selection of these men for appointment, that they shall, in the lan- guage of the ordinances, be " of good moral character, of temper- ate and industrious habits, of respectful and orderly manners, and prompt and faithful in the discharge of duties." Officers who do not meet these requirements are liable to removal by the Mayor and Aldermen.
THE POOR DEPARTMENT.
The expenses of the Poor Department have exceeded the appro- priation. Great pains has been taken to look up the claims of applicants, but it is very difficult to determine their merits with accuracy. There is so much deception practised that one hardly knows what is right, or whom to believe.
There are a great many State paupers here, very poor, who are still unwilling to accept the provisions made for them by the State, and who have no legal claims upon the city, but whose claims for help appeal very touchingly to the better feelings, and strongly incline one to the side of humanity.
In sickness, the State provides for them where they are until they can be removed. In health they must, so far as the State is con- cerned, take care of themselves, or go to Tewksbury.
The State laws seem to recognize the constitutionality of pauper- ism in families, and to have been framed for the purpose of coun- teracting this tendency by separating the members, and placing them under the stimulating influences of more energetic persons, that shall lift them above their station.
The city poor are provided for at their several homes, which, in many cases, are poor enough. The propriety of building an alms- house has been discussed by the Board. It has its advantages and disadvantages. It would enable the city to make the sick and fee- ble more comfortable, and those in health would have before them the alternative of providing for themselves or of going there to receive aid. Perhaps the latter class would be stimulated to greater
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exertion under the operation of this plan. The great objection urged against it is the expense.
Another plan, and the one most in favor with the overseers, is to have a storehouse, and deliver goods from it on orders, the same as if they were drawn on the stores ; this would necessitate the appoint- ment of a storekeeper If no other plan is adopted by the City Council, the present system must be continued.
Obtaining aid from the city has become an occupation with some families, which they pursue with a persistency that would gain them a living if exercised in some higher calling. These families are so numerous that they form their own social circle, and some of them seem satisfied with their situation. The city cannot furnish contin- ual employment for these people without financial embarrassment. In view of the importance of this subject, and the numerous diffi- culties that surround it, the appointment of a Joint Standing Com- mittee from the City Council is recommended to confer with the overseers in matters pertaining to this department.
PUBLIC PROPERTY.
The public buildings are all in good repair. The cost of keep- ing them in a satisfactory condition has exceeded the estimates, but all the expenditures seemed necessary at the time the outlay was made.
The Broadway Park has been finished and opened to the public. Some manifestations of rowdyism have appeared on these grounds ; and for the greater security of all who may wish to visit this place of resort, the man in charge of the grounds should be invested with police authority, that he may, at all times, preserve order, and give ample protection to visitors.
Surveys have been made and a plan drawn for the laying out of the grounds on Central Hill ; should this plan be adopted by the City Council, future grading may be done as the earth is wanted for city use, and such removals may be made with reference to the levels indicated on the working plan By this method, the work will be done so gradually and inexpensively as not to add to the burdens of the government.
An addition to the public property has been made by the surren- der of a piece of land belonging to the estate of Charles Tufts, known as the "Pit Holes," situated on Oliver Street, containing
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65,000 feet, more or less. This land was filled by the city in 1874, under the provisions of the Acts of 1872, Chap. 299; and under the provisions of the same Act, has been surrendered to the city by the trustee of the estate. The price agreed upon is twelve cents a foot, and no pay for filling, which makes the land cost about seven- teen cents a foot. The grade of this land is thirteen feet above mean low water, and is some five feet or more below the grade of Oliver Street. It may be filled by depositing on it the coal ashes collected in the vicinity until the grade shall be made suitable for the street.
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