USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1916 > Part 1
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STABLIS
CITY 1872. STRENGTI
GIVES
CITY OF SOMERVILLE
MASSACHUSETTS
ANNUAL REPORTS
1916
With Mayor's Inaugural Address Delivered January 1, 1917
GIVES
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SOMERVILLE
FREED
FOUNDED 1842.
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1872.
MUNICIPAL
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42. ESTABLISI
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A CITY STRENGTH
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SOMERVILLE JOURNAL PRINT
1917
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
DELIVERED BY
Mayor Zebedee E. Cliff
MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 1917
Gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen :-
We are beginning a new municipal year on New Year's Day, the first time that it has been a legal holiday in Massa- chusetts. It is my earnest hope that this new year may bring, not only to you and the people of Somerville, but to the whole world, peace, prosperity, happiness, and a return to normal con- ditions.
The voters approved of the city government of last year. This was shown by the recent election, when a large majority of us were reelected without opposition. Let us do our best to merit this approval.
The two branches of last year worked in harmony on the many matters before them, and I feel confident that the same will be true of the present year. We have before us, however, much harder problems to solve than have been presented for many years. Prices are abnormal and economy is absolutely necessary. The high cost of living has struck our country and has struck it hard. It is felt everywhere,-in our homes, in our institutions, in our governments. It is being investigated by national and state commissions. You cannot pick up a news- paper without reading of it,-it is so generally talked that many of the newswriters do not bother to write it in full, but refer to it as H. C. L. These initials sound like those of some fraternal organization, but they have a far, far different mean- ing in every way. Such organizations are limited in member- ship. To the H. C. L. we all belong. H. C. L.,-High Cost of Living,-we are all elected whether we like it or not. Try as we may to avoid it, we suffer the privations it forces upon us. Everything is high in cost, and the larger the corporation the more need for caution and economy.
4.
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Lumber, copper, pipe, cement, and the many other mate- rials and supplies the city uses have increased in cost far above the ordinary. Consider cement alone. The city uses quantities of it in the construction of streets, sidewalks and buildings,-during the past year over 11,000 barrels. In 1915 cement was a dollar a barrel; today it is a dollar and a half ; an increase in cost to the city of over $5,000 in this one item alone. Other materials and supplies have all gone the same way, and if we carry on our city, we must pay the cost.
I cannot at this time see any possibility of a reduced tax rate the present year, and if this high cost of living continues. it must undoubtedly be increased.
The tax rate was reduced last year, but the credit should be given where it belongs,-to the economy in state manage- ment.
The legislature last year enacted a new law for the as- sessment of an income tax, and its effect upon cities and towns cannot be foreseen. It had many opponents, but it is generally regarded as a remedy for many evils in the former method of personal tax assessment. 'The new income tax will be col- lected by the state and distributed to the cities and towns. We are assured of having an amount equal to the amount derived in 1915 as income from intangible property, but it is not prob- able that the amount of personal valuation will show the in- crease of former years.
Men who have given careful study to this phase of the taxation question are confident that the new law will result in a fairer apportionment of personal taxes, but we have no means of knowing just how this law is going to affect our own city.
A statement of our finances will be printed in full as a part of this address. I will simply say at this time that all our bills are paid and we have a balance in the treasury of $75,000, and we shall need every cent of this the coming year to help meet increased fixed charges.
Schools.
To my mind, we have been more progressive in educa- tional matters in 1916 than in any other previous year in the history of Somerville, The city has been divided into four
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
junior high school districts. In the easterly and northerly dis- tricts the buildings are already in use and in the westerly the building is under construction. In the southerly, land has been acquired and I should be inclined to recommend the beginning of this fourth unit at the present time were it not for the un- reasonable high cost of materials.
It is the ultimate purpose to provide accommodations, in each of the four districts, for all pupils of the seventh and eighth grades in the elementary schools and all first year high school pupils. This will relieve crowded conditions in ele- mentary schools all over the city to such an extent that ample accommodations should be ready for all future needs. I believe that this comprehensive plan of 1916 is one that will prove most satisfactory when it is fully under way, and that future city governments will recognize this and carry it forward from year to year as the needs arise.
An addition to the boys' industrial school is now under construction and a considerable portion of the work is being done by the pupils of the school. as part of their industrial training. It is expected that the city will be reimbursed by the commonwealth for a certain amount of the cost of this addition.
We all feel proud of the excellent showing made by our athletic teams under the new management and their success shows the presence of good athletic material in our schools. I do not believe that we have enough physical training for our pupils. It should not be confined almost wholly to those boys who are members of, or are trying to make, the various teams. In some manner the advantage of this training should be ex- tended to all the pupils in our city. I believe that the work of the playgrounds and physical direction of our schools should all be under the same head, as the work of one leads up to the work of the other and the foundation could thus be laid for the proper physical training of our children throughout their entire school life. j
Libraries.
Early in December there was installed in the Central Library a beautiful bronze tablet in memory of Sam Walter Foss. It is a particularly fitting tribute to one who did so much for the library's success and it was made possible by
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
use of part of the fund of the late Martha R. Hunt, whose liberality to the library was noteworthy.
The offer of the Carnegie Corporation of New York of $18,000 for the erection of a branch library in East Somer- ville has been accepted and land purchased for a site. Plans were prepared and estimates received, but none were suffi- ciently low. The high cost of materials will necessitate a con- siderable number of changes in the plans to permit the con- struction within the amount available.
When the Union Square branch is extended to the addi- tional quarters now available in the building, its service and usefulness will be greatly increased.
Buildings.
During the summer automatic sprinkler systems were installed in three more of the city buildings, the City Home, the Cummings and the Burns schoolhouses. I believe there is nothing we can do that will better assure safety from fire in school buildings not of fireproof construction than to con- tinue the installation of these systems and I recommend a liberal appropriation for this purpose the current year.
New assembly halls, each with a seating capacity of 200, have been constructed in the Brown and Burns schoolhouses, and are greatly appreciated by the principals and the parents of children attending these schools.
Two matters particularly relating to the building de- partment will come before the next General Court and should be carefully considered by your honorable board. One is the bill relating to fire protection in schools and if enacted will necessitate the appropriation of a large amount to enable us to meet its requirements. The other relates to construction, alteration and maintenance of buildings and contemplates the taking from cities and towns control of all local building operations.
Early in the year information was received from the owners of the land which the city was then using for a bathing beach that our occupancy was liable to be terminated at short notice. Being unable to make any agreement with them for permanent occupancy, negotiations were com- menced with the Metropolitan Park Commission which re- sulted in our being granted a location, for a period of ninety-
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
nine years, on the easterly side of the Fellsway, near the Wellington bridge.
A building is now practically completed with seventy- two dressing-rooms and one hundred and seventy-two lock- ers. The building is up-to-date in every particular and all modern devices for a building of this kind will be installed. We are thus assured the city will have its own public bathing facilities for many years to come.
Streets.
Our main thoroughfares and public squares have been reconstructed to a considerable extent and new construction work has been confined to these as far as possible. In some cases the work is still uncompleted and not wholly satisfac- tory, but at the earliest possible date these streets will be put in proper condition. In every instance where the work was by contract, provision has been made to assure the comple- tion of the work in accordance with the terms and specifica- tions, and final payments will not be made until the work is wholly satisfactory in every detail. It is my opinion that the best interests of the city demand that all its main thorough- fares be in good condition and I recommend that during this year all uncompleted portions be completed.
In pursuance of a resolve passed last year a report is to be made to the incoming legislature as to the advisability of constructing a state highway across Somerville, from Broad- way park to the Cambridge line at or near Columbia street.
Some agreement should be reached with the City of Cambridge for the construction of a large storm overflow drain at the East Cambridge line, to extend from Somerville avenue, to relieve the flooding of streets and cellars in that section in times of severe storm.
The new Alewife Brook parkway, connecting Powder House boulevard in Somerville with Massachusetts avenue in Cambridge, has been completed and opened for travel and has already relieved traffic congestion. The Metropolitan Park Commission has taken over the care and control of that portion of Powder House boulevard extending from the new parkway northerly to the Medford and Arlington lines, relieving the city of the cost of maintenance.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
Sanitary Department.
One of the recommendations in my inaugural address of two years ago, and which I again urged last year, was the taking from the street department the control of the collec- tion of ashes and offal. Early in the year this matter was considered by the Board of Aldermen and the change made by ordinance. This work is now carried on under the super- vision of an official who devotes his entire time to the duties of the department, and the change has proven most satis- factory. The ratio of increase in the expense for this year has been thirty-three per cent. less than that of former years.
The superintendent informs me that the dump on Mystic avenue, the only one within the city limits, can be used for only a short time. Some provision should be made in the near future for the disposal of ashes and refuse.
Fire Insurance Rates.
Only a few years ago the fire department was manned by a force of whom sixty per cent. were callmen. Fire ap- paratus was of the old type and horse-drawn. Building restrictions in regard to tenement houses were lax and no particular requirements were made as to fire-resisting roofs.
Today our fire force is nearly all permanent men and the equipment is up-to-date and over sixty per cent. motor- drawn. Our building ordinances have been revised to re- quire double the space between certain types of buildings, and in all cases, except in minor repairs, non-combustible roofing materials must be used.
The new fireproof building for housing the electrical de- partment has been completed and a system second to none in the country installed. In addition to all this, the strict rules and regulations of the Metropolitan Fire Prevention Commissioner still further safeguard our community.
Notwithstanding all that has been done to lessen the fire danger as I have just stated, and the further extension of high pressure water mains in our most hazardous districts, the insurance underwriters have recently greatly increased our rates.
In the report of the National Board of Fire Underwriters on the city of Somerville, which was issued in June of last year, are a number of recommendations, and every effort is
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
being made to comply therewith that the present rates may be decreased to our former rating. To carry out all the recommendations is an absolute impossibility with the pres- ent high costs, but an attempt should be made to do so as far as we are able. I still believe, as I expressed to the board in my first inaugural, in the establishment of fire districts where the danger from fire seems greatest, and I earnestly hope that your honorable board will give this matter serious consideration.
Charities.
I regret that the people of Somerville, who are as a rule so liberal in responding to appeals for help, have not ac- corded to our oldest and most prominent charitable organiza- tion the necessary support to enable it to continue its ac- tivities. For over twenty years it has carried on a grand work and it is greatly to be regretted that lack of finances obliges it to curtail its usefulness.
Our Saviour said : "Ye have the poor always with you," and these words of truth are more forcibly impressed upon us today than ever before. In every large city countless men and women are giving their time and money for the re- lief of the millions of families made destitute by the awful war abroad. Their work is a noble one and deserves our sup- port, but the pitiful needs in foreign lands should not blind us to the wants of those at home. Our sufferings are not so acute nor the demands for relief so great, but our duty of providing for them should not be forgotten.
The city's expense for relief of those outside the City Home has increased the past year over $6,000 and with the high cost of living there is no prospect of any decrease at present. While the cost of maintenance of all departments has greatly increased during the past ten years, that of the poor department has been greater than in any other, nearly 158 per cent.
Health.
Early in July an epidemic of infantile paralysis brought terror to many of the families in this section of our country, and medical science was unable to combat it. Somerville had forty-eight cases, of which nine were fatal. Acceding to the entreaties of many parents, the school committee postponed
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
opening the schools until the epidemic had to a large degree abated.
Our ordinary cases of contagion, scarlet fever and diph- theria, we are thankful to say, have been much less prevalent than usual. At two different times during the year there have been no such cases in quarantine in the city, except at the contagious hospital, and at one time the hospital had no such cases whatever.
It is a pleasure to commend the valuable service of the veteran agent, Caleb A. Page, who retired last fall after twenty-eight years faithful service in this department.
Department Heads.
The custom has been continued of holding occasional meetings in the mayor's office of all heads of departments. The free discussion, at these meetings, of work contemplated and in progress has, in no slight manner, resulted in a con- tinuation of harmony between the various executive branches of our government and a mutual desire to help one another in their work.
It is a pleasure to commend these various officials for their loyalty to duty.
Somerville Hospital.
This splendid institution continues a credit to its manage- ment, and the great good it is doing is recognized more and more each year as its work is known. It is a pleasure to recommend an appropriation for the current year of the same amount of seven thousand dollars as was appropriated last year. I believe the money is wisely expended and that the city receives much more than this amount of service in return for its appropriation.
Patriotism.
When in the year 1861 President Lincoln asked for troops to preserve the Union, Somerville loyally answered that call. Again, in 1898, when President Mckinley issued his call, Somerville's loyalty was again evidenced. And when last June President Wilson deemed it necessary to send troops to protect our Mexican border, our boys, with the same loyal devotion to their country's needs, came bravely for- ward. The mere fact that they were not obliged to battle
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
with an enemy detracts in no wise from that spirit that in '61 and '98 prompted them to lay down their all for their coun- try, and they deserve all the credit heaped upon them. Many of those who went away left behind them families without means of support and I want again at this time to thank the people of our city for their readiness and willingness in giv- ing these families the relief that was necessary. I visited the boys of Companies M and K in camp at Framingham be- fore their departure and found many of them full of worry about the folks at home. I told them at that time they could be assured that their friends in Somerville would look after them and that they could go away with the certainty that none would be left in want, and my confidence was more than justified by the response to the call for funds. As I have stated before, this was not in any sense a matter of charity but was only furnishing to the families of those who were ready to fight your battles and mine the support and care that were rightfully theirs. As it was not possible under the law to appropriate public funds for this purpose, a committee was formed and donations solicited. The response was liberal, and under the direction of the committee the funds were so wisely disbursed that to my knowledge no soldier's family in our city was in want at any time. A special session of the Legislature authorized the making of appropriations for this purpose, and on the same day the act was signed by the Governor our Board of Aldermen passed an order making a special appropriation so that the work might continue with- out interruption.
We are particularly thankful that every man returned home safe and sound. Their return was welcomed with a splendid parade and the people turned out in masses to give them an enthusiastic welcome.
I pray that never again may we have the sorrowful duty of sending forth the young manhood of our city to the dan- gers of war and battle, but if such a time should come upon us we are proud to know that the same spirit of patriotism will be shown.
Intoxicating Liquors.
The voters at the last election emphasized more strongly than ever before their sentiment upon the liquor question.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
Though the total vote was smaller than usual, the per- centage of "No" votes was the largest in our history,-over seventy-nine per cent. of the total cast.
There is no question that the policy of the Board of Aldermen in refusing all sixth class licenses meets with the approval of a great majority of our citizens. I believe ex- treme care should be used in acting upon all applications for the so-called pony express licenses.
Community Christmas.
Somerville's first Community Christmas, held one week ago, was most successful and the committee having charge of the arrangements well merits the praise and congratula- tion it received. The exercises around the tree were wit- nessed by a large number, estimated at nearly 15,000. After the singing of carols by a chorus, the singers divided into groups, singing before hospitals, institutions, and the homes of shut-ins.
The general interest manifested in the affair all over the city shows a community spirit that is most pleasing to all of us. Anything that will break away the barriers of class prejudice and racial difference makes for the good of our city, and it was a particularly fitting time, when all the Chris- tian world was celebrating the birth of Him who knows no such prejudice or difference, for so magnificent a demonstra- tion of good will to all. May this spirit continue, not only at Christmastide, but throughout all time.
Gentlemen of the Board :-
In closing, I want, once more, to urge upon you the necessity of bearing in mind the effect upon our finances of present-day costs. We must keep up our various depart- ments, our schools, our departments of public works, our departments of public safety, and all the other branches of our municipal government. It is our duty to see that they are maintained properly and that their standard is not lowered. But it is an absolute necessity that we exercise the strictest economy in our appropriations during these times of high prices and see to it that the city receives its full value for money expended. I regret exceedingly the probability of an increase in the tax rate the present year and shall do all
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
in my power, as I feel assured you will do, to make the addi- tional burden upon our taxpayers as light as possible.
My office is open to all of you at all times and it will be a pleasure to consult with you upon all matters of city busi- ness. We both realize that the powers of the legislative and executive branches are intentionally separated by the char- ter, but it is very certain that there was no intention in this charter to have the affairs of the city conducted without the co-operation of these branches, and I feel confident that the same hearty spirit of co-operation will prevail throughout the coming year as has existed throughout the one that has closed.
Gentlemen, I wish you a most successful and happy new year.
Financial Statement, December 31, 1916.
FUNDED DEBT.
The total funded debt of the city January 1, 1916, was $1,650,500. This debt was increased during the year $291,000. Maturities paid amounted to $212,500, making the funded debt January 1, 1917, $1,729,000, an increase of $78,500.
The debt January 1, 1916, was classified as follows :-
City Loan
$845,500 00
Municipal Loan
67,000 00
Sewer Loan 292,000 00
Public Building Loan 140,000 00
Highway Loan
207,000 00
Lowell Street Bridge Loan
34,000 00
Total inside limit
$1,585,500 00
Sewer Loan .
$30,000 00
Metropolitan Park Assessment Loan 14,000 00
Water Loan 21,000 00
Total outside limit
$65,000 00
Total Funded Debt . $1,650,500 00
Appropriations increasing the debt were made as fol- lows :-
Sewers Construction
$18,000 00
Highways Construction, New Streets . 11,000 00
Amount carried forward
$29,000 00
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
Amount brought forward
$29,000 00
Highways Construction, Permanent Pave-
ment
93,000 00
Highways Construction, Macadam Pave- ment
32,000 00
Sidewalks Construction
14,000 00
New School Building, Holland Street
94,500 00
Bell School, Additional Land
3,500 00
Boys' Industrial School Addition
10,000 00
Land East Somerville Branch Library
4,500 00
Field House, Somerville Field .
3,000 00
Park Building, Lincoln Park Addition 2,000 00
New Bathhouse, Mystic River .
5,500 00
$291,000 00
The debt was reduced by maturities as follows :-
City Loan
$131,500 00
Municipal Loan
10,000 00
Sewer Loan 17,000 00
Highway Loan
36,000 00
Public Building Loan
8,000 00
Bridge Loan
1,000 00
Total inside limit $203,500 00
Sewer Loan .
$3,000 00
Metropolitan Park Assessment Loan
1,000 00
Water Loan
5,000 00
Total outside limit
$9,000 00
Total reduction
$212,500 00
The funded debt of the city January 1, 1917, is classified as follows :-
City Loan
$714,000 00
Municipal Loan
57,000 00
Sewer Loan 293,000 00
Public Building Loan
255,000 00
Highway Loan
321,000 00
Lowell Street Bridge Loan
33,000 00
Total within limit $1,673,000 00
Sewer Loan .
$27,000 00
Amount carried forward
$27,000 00
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
Amount brought forward $27,000 00
Metropolitan Park Assessment Loan 13,000 00
Water Loan
16,000 00
Total outside limit 56,000 00
Total Funded Debt . $1,729,000 00
TAXES.
The total amount of taxable property as of April 1, 1916, not including non-resident bank shares, was $79,304,329. The tax rate was fixed at $21.40 per $1,000 valuation.
Real Estate $69,972,100 00
Personal Estate
9,267,600 00
Resident Bank Shares
64,629 00
Total valuation $79,304,329 00
At $21.40 per $1,000
$1,697,112 64
Polls, 25,077 at $2 . 50,154 00
1
$1,747,266 64
Special Assessments :
Street Sprinkling
$36,282 85
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