USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1910 > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15
TOWN OF WEYMOUTH 1910
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
TOWN OF WEYMOUTH
CONTAINING THE REPORTS OF THE
SELECTMEN, TOWN TREASURER TOWN ACCOUNTANT, TOWN CLERK, ASSESSORS, AND OTHER OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31,
1910.
WEYMOUTH, MASS., GAZETTE AND TRANSCRIPT PUBLISHING CO., 1911.
INDEX.
Town Officers .
5
Report of the Selectmen
7
Jury List
16
Report of the Town Treasurer
23
Report of the Auditors
29
Report of Tufts Fund
31 33
Report of the Town Accountant
Schools
33
Street Department
Bridges
48 59 60
Public Parks
Preservation of Shade Trees
60
Suppression of Gypsy and Brown Tail Moths .
61
Street Watering and Oiling
62 63 63 64
Pump at Lovell's Corner
64 69
Miscellaneous Account
73
State and Town Election Expenses
76
Superior Court Judgments
79
Town Offices
79
Town Hall-Care .
79
. State and Military Aid
80
Soldiers' Relief
80
Abatement and Remittance of Taxes
81
Printing and Advertising .
81
Memorial Day
81
Hydrants and Drinking Fountains
81
Electric Lighting
81
Tufts Library
82
Fogg Library Reading Room
Assessors' Card Index
82 82 83
Interest and Discount
83
Tax Deed Account
83
Taxes Paid to State and County
84
Town Officers
84
Police Department
Health Department
72
Street Records Indexing
Surveying and Plotting Town
Fire Department
Notes Payable
Town Accountant's Report - Continued.
Poor Department
88
Statement of Appropriations
96
Statement of Appropriations aud Expenditures Trial Balance
98
Report of Overseers of the Poor
100
Report of Town Clerk
103
Report of Chief of Fire Engineers
163
Report of Lighting Committee 166
Report of Sealer of Weights aud Measures
169
Report of Tree Warden
170
Report of Superintendent of Moth Department
171
Report of Inspector of Live Stock 172
Report of Burial Agent
Report of Park Commissioners
172. 173
Repor, of Superintendent of Streets
176
Report of Chief of Police
182
Report of Survey of the Town
188
Report of Tax Collector for Years 1907, 1908, 1909 and 1910
191
Report of Assessors
192
Report of Trustees of Tufts Library
195
Report of Board of Health
215
Report of Water Commissioners
221
Report of School Committee.
97
TOWN OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1910-1911.
JOHN A. RAYMOND.
Town Clerk. P. O. address, East Weymouth
JOHN H. STETSON.
Town Treasurer. P. O. address, South Weymouth Selectmen and Overseers of the Poor.
EDWARD W. HUNT, Chairman. P. O. address, Weymouth
BRADFORD HAWES, Clerk. P. O. address, East Weymouth
GEORGE L. NEWTON, WILLARD J. DUNBAR, A. FRANCIS BARNES.
Assessors.
GILMAN B. LOUD, Chairman
Term expires 1911
GEORGE C. TORREY, Clerk
66
1911
WALDO TURNER
66
66 1912
JOHN F. DWYER
66 66 1913
FRANK H. TORREY
66
66 1913
Collector of Taxes.
WINSLOW M. TIRRELL.
P. O. address, East Weymouth
Auditors.
JOHN P. HUNT, WILLIAM H. PRATT, FRANK N. BLANCHARD.
Engineers of the Fire Department.
J. RUPERT WALSH, Chief. P. O. address, Weymouth WALTER W. PRATT, Clerk. P. O. address, East Weymouth
MATTHEW O'DOWD, DEFOREST A. JONES.
School Committee.
EUGENE M. CARTER
Term expires 1911
FRANK H. TORREY
66
1911
THOMAS V. NASH
66 1912
JOHN F. REARDON
66
66 1912
H. FRANKLIN PERRY
66
66 1913
CLARENCE P. WHITTLE
66
6 1913
Board of Health.
DR. GEORGE E. EMERSON, Chairman JOHN S. WILLIAMS
. Term expires 1913
1912
NELSON B. GLADWIN
66
66 1911
.
.
.
·
.
.
.
LOUIS A. COOK WILLIAM H. CLAPP ARTHUR H. ALDEN
Park Commissioners.
Term expires 1911 .
66
66 1912
66 1913
Tree Warden. CHARLES L. MERRITT. Trustees of Tufts Library.
FRANCIS M. DROWN
. Term expires 1911
HERBERT A. NEWTON
1911
JOSEPH E. GARDNER
66
66 1911
JOHN B. HOLLAND
66
66 1912.
LOUIS A. COOK
60 1912
WILLIAM F. HATHAWAY
66
66
1912
JAMES H. FLINT
66 1913
CLARENCE P. WHITTLE
66
66 1913
FREDERICK T. HUNT
Superintendent of Streets and Water.
P. O. address, East Weymouth IVERS M. LOWE.
Registrars of Voters.
PATRICK E. CORRIDAN
Term expires 1911 .
BENJAMIN F. SMITH
1912.
MARSHALL P. SPRAGUE
66 1913
JOHN A. RAYMOND, Town Clerk (ex-officio).
Water Commissioners.
GEORGE E. BICKNELL
Term expires 1911
FRANK H. TORREY
1912
DOUGLAS M. EASTON
66 1913.
EDWARD W. HUNT, Chairman of Selectmen (ex-officio).
JOHN H. STETSON, Town Treasurer (ex-officio) .
Sealer of Weights and Measure's.
FRANK D. SHERMAN. P. O. address, Weymouth Burial Agent for Indigent Soldiers. WALDO TURNER. P. O. address, East Weymouth
Chief of Police.
THOMAS FITZGERALD. P. O. address, Weymouth
Constables.
ISAAC H. WALKER, GEORGE W. NASH,
NATHANIEL B. PEARE, THOMAS FITZGERALD,
ARTHUR H. PRATT, JOHN D. WALSH,
GEORGE B. BAYLEY, MICHAEL ALLEN,
JOHN L. MAYNARD, GEORGE W. CONANT.
Commissioners of Ward 2 Schoolhouse Sinking Fund. HENRY A. NASH FRANK H. TORREY
-
Term expires 1911
66
1912
WILLARD J. DUNBAR
·
.
66
66 1913
.
.
.
.
.
66
1913
.
.
REPORT OF SELECTMEN.
To the Inhabitants of the Town of Weymouth :
The undersigned, Selectmen of the Town of Weymouth, hereby submit their report for the year ending December 31, 1910, to- gether with the annexed schedule of appropriations and the pay- ments made thereunder, as prepared and submitted by the Town Accountant.
APPOINTMENTS.
Albert P. Worthen was reappointed as Town Counsel, to serve his tenth year in that capacity, and only those who have been ac- quainted with the work he has had to perform during the last year can appreciate how valuable his services to the Town have been.
The reapportionment of the assessments to be made upon the cities and towns of the Metropolitan Park District for the ensu- ing five years came this year, and also the apportionment of the cost of the Charles River dam. No time or pains was spared by Mr. Worthen in guarding the interests of the Town in the making of these apportionments, and while it seems inevitable that we must pay for Metropolitan Park purposes out of proportion to the benefits received by us, his faithful services resulted in as moder- ate an assessment on our Town for the above purposes as we had any reason to expect.
At a joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the Water Board, held on March 15, Charles B. Cushing was reappointed to the position of Accountant, to serve his ninth term in that posi- tion. His salary was fixed at $1,100, of which $850 was to be paid by the Selectmen and $250 by the Water Board.
At the same meeting Ivers M. Lowe was also reappointed for his ninth term as Superintendent of Streets and Water, his salary of $1,700 to be paid as heretofore, $950 by the Selectmen and $750 by the Water Board.
8
For the purpose of compliance with law Mr. Lowe was subse- quently appointed by this board as Superintendent of Streets.
Section 1 of Chapter 624 of the Acts of 1910 provides as fol- lows : "Any Town, at a Town meeting lawfully called for the purpose, may authorize the Selectmen to appoint a Town Ac- countant, and he shall perform all the duties and possess all the powers of Town Auditors as defined in Sections 79 and 80 of Chapter 25 of the Revised Laws and Chapter 322 of the Acts of the year 1904. In Towns authorizing the appointment of a Town Accountant as aforesaid the office of Town Auditor may, if the Town so vote, be abolished."
As the appointment of an Accountant seems now almost indis- pensable, it seems advisable it be made under the provisions of the foregoing act. In the making of all of our appointments we have endeavored to be guided solely by what we considered to be for the best interests of the Town, and, other things being equal, we have considered that past meritorious service should commend the one having · performed it in preference to a person who is un- tried in the line of work to be performed under the appointment.
POLICE.
The same appointments were made in the police department as for the preceding year, with Thomas Fitzgerald as chief, and with the exception of a change made in the night patrol in South Weymouth, the organization of the department has remained un- changed through the year and it has done good and effective ser- vice. In saying this we would by no means be understood as intimating that there is not a chance for improvement. The po- lice themselves would, we think, be the last to make this claim.
We have prepared and introduced a code of rules and regula- tions which has, we think, been instrumental in bettering the ser- vice or the department.
This code of rules is, in its essential features, similar to those in use in neighboring towns and cities, and is carefullly compiled to meet our needs. Soon after the last annual meeting we were waited on by a committee from the police, asking that a raise in their pay be made to correspond to that voted by the town to laborers on the highway and in the water department.
Though we acknowledged the merit of the claim we did not at
9
first see the way of complying with the request as the appropri- ation would not cover the added cost.
It was at length agreed that the increase of twenty-five cents a day should be made, on condition, that if this resulted in the" appropriation becoming exhausted before the next annual meet- ing, the members of the force were to continue the service, but the bills were to remain unpaid until the town should make pro- vision therefor.
For details of the work of the department we refer to the report of the Chief.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The same appointments were made for Fire Engineers as for the preceding year, and we believe the efficiency of the depart- ment has been maintained fully up to its previous standard, and that officers and men are faithful and zealous in the performance of their duties. Much of the work of the past year has been in, the suppression of brush fires, which, during the dry time of the summer and fall, were of unusual frequency and called for much hard labor.
We refer to the report of the Engineers, and commend the recommendations made therein to the earnest and careful con- sideration of the citizens of the town.
HIGHWAYS AND SNOW.
While the Board has maintained a general supervision over the highway work we have, to a great extent, left the Superintendent unhampered in the carrying out of the details thereof, information in regard to which will be found in his report.
All things considered, we found the streets in as good condi- tion when the winter set in as could be expected. With a given appropriation we can hardly look for the same results with a short day and increased price for labor as under former con- dtions.
STREET WATERING AND OILING.
We have, under the street watering act, made an increased use of asphalt oils as a dust preventive and road preservative. In doing this we have been to a good deal of pains to learn what is the best preparation and the best methods of apply- ing the same. Having done this we are only able to say that there appears to be no best preparation for all classes and con- ditions of roads.
10
Two things seem to be pretty well determined. First, that no. street oil can show its best possibility unless the road bed to. which it is applied is fairly well crowned; and secondiy, that the work is unsatisfactory unless the street is first put in good even condition and cleaned of loose material.
We have used two kinds of oil in approximately equal quanti -. ties, one containing forty and the other sixty per cent. of asphalt, and look with a good deal of interest to see the respective con- ditions of the roads to which these were applied, when the ground settles in the spring.
If use is to be made of road oils to any considerable extent the coming season, we recommend that the town provide in the general taxation for a larger proportion of the cost than hereto- fore, for the reason that the oil acts as a preservative and to a considerable extent obviates the necessity of outlay for repairs upon the streets so treated. We think it no more than fair to the abuttors on streets oiled that the town should pay one-half the cost.
STATE HIGHWAY.
We hoped to have shown the completion of Main Street as a state highway the present season, but in this we were disap- pointed. A contract was presented to us by the Highway Com -. mission, but it being in some respects unsatisfactory, we asked a. hearing for the consideration of the objectionable features.
This hearing was granted and the Commissioners said they would have their engineer go over the road and ascertain if the- conditions were such as to justify them in modifying the prices written in the contract.
If this was done it was not until so late in the season as to be. of no service for the purpose of securing a change in the terms of the contract, and the street remains the same as at the time of the last annual report.
GUIDE BOARDS.
The guide boards, required by law to be maintained, are in fairly good condition.
STREET RAILWAY PERMIT.
Under date of May 2, 1910, upon petition of the Old Colony Street Railway Company, a permit was granted said company to,
11
act as common carriers. This permit was practically the same as that issued by the Board of the previous year, including a twenty-year limit.
The permit was not accepted by the company. A hearing was had before the Railroad Commission, but without result, as the commissioners are evidently averse to the approval of an express permit with a time limit.
We have caused a bill to be introduced into the present legis- lature for the purpose of securing an act authorizing cities and towns to grant such permits, with the time limit.
Early in December the Street Railway Company made a change in their time table by which the service on the Braintree and Rock- land line was reduced through the greater part of the day to one car an hour each way. We are endeavoring, in connection with the Board of Trade, to have this service restored, and a petition is before the Railroad Commission, action upon which is still pending.
BILLS PAYABLE.
The Town at its last annual meeting, to provide for the pay- ment of a note of $7,500, voted to raise by taxation $1,500, and for the remaining $6,000 to issue notes for borrowing the same, the first of these' notes to become payable in 1912. The First National Bank of Boston, acting on the opinion of its legal coun- sel that the first note of a series must become payable the year following the issue of the same, declined to authenticate the notes, and advised remedying the vote by another Town meeting. Such a meeting was held early in December, and a motion prepared to meet the objection to the first was presented to the meeting. Amendments were offered, and as finally passed the vote con- tained the same defect as the original one and nothing was done under it.
As the payment of the original note created an overdraft of $6,000 and a corresponding deficiency in the treasury, it will be necessary to provide means to make good this deficiency.
The following notes become payable the current year :
Athens Schoolhouse $2,500 00
Pratt Schoolhouse .
·
1,000 00
Fore River Bridge . . ·
1,000 00
Wharf Street
2,000 00
-
12
With the exception of the last named, no action by the Town is called for, as the Assessors are required by law, when a Town has voted to provide for the payment of a debt by annual propor- tionate payments, to assess the same without further vote until such debt is extinguished. [Revised Laws, Chap. 27, Sect. 13.]
TOWN SURVEY.
The Town survey is progressing favorably under the supervision of Russell H. Whiting. His report will show the progress of the work thus far. It is expected that it will take three years more to complete the survey and plotting.
GAS.
In relation to the permit granted June 1, 1909, to the Ply- mouth County Gas, Light & Power Co., concerning which the re- port of the Selectmen for that year stated, " It is probable that the work will be started as soon as the condition of the ground will permit in the coming spring," we have to say: That the company failed to secure the necessary financial backing, and be- yond securing a site for their plant in East Braintree and doing some preliminary work little progress appears to have been made. As this goes to press we are informed that a Boston concern of undoubted ability and integrity proposes to take over the com- pany and hasten the work to completion.
GYPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS.
The Town having elected a tree warden outside of this board, it seemed to us advisable to place the moth work also in his hands, and Charles L. Merritt was accordingly appointed Superintendent of this work. Mr. Merritt at first labored under the disadvan- tage of having the business to learn, but he proved an apt scholar, and with the assistance and advice of District Superintendent Bates, who has ever been ready to help him, he now has the work well in hand. We refer to the report of the Superintendent for information in regard to details.
METROPOLITAN PARKS APPORTIONMENT.
The statutes relative to the metropolitan parks require that in every fifth year there shall be an apportionment, by a commission appointed for the purpose, among the cities and towns of the metropolitan parks district, of the amount to be paid each year to
13
meet the necessary expenses of the board of metropolitan park commissioners ; the interest and sinking fund requirements ; the care, maintenance, and operation of the parks, reservations, and other works acquired, cared for and controlled by said board as provided by law.
The metropolitan parks district was established in 1893 and comprises thirty-nine different cities and towns. The first ap- portionment was in 1895, the second in 1900, and the third in 1905.
Upon proper proceedings instituted by the metropolitan park commissioners, the Supreme Judicial Court, on April 26th last, appointed Ernest H. Vaughan of Worcester, Charles G. Bancroft of Natick and Frederick S. Hall of Taunton, as a commission for the 1910 apportionment.
No special rule has been adopted by any two of the prior com- missions and various schemes as to the manner in which, and the basis on which, the apportionment should be made have been severally urged, before all the commissions, by different muni- cipalities according as the same were favorable to this or that . municipality if adopted.
The commission of 1895 made an award which was the result of combining percentages based upon population and valuation, with computations of special benefits determined by them to have been received by the several municipalities. This award was con- firmed by the court but never became operative, by reason of Section 4, Chapter 55, Acts of 1896.
In the apportionment of 1900 the Commissioners rejected population and special park betterments and adopted valuation as the basis of their determination, made allowances for local contributions to parks, and modified the result by taking into consideration the wealth of the different municipalities dividing them into three classes : 1 .- Those whose valuation was less than $1,000 per capita; 2 .- Those in which it was between $1,000 and $2,000; 3 .- Those of $2,000 or over and deducted 25% of the amount which would otherwise have fallen upon the muni- cipalities in class 1 and added it to those in class 3.
This apportionment was in force for the five year period fol- lowing 1900.
The commissioners on apportionment in 1905 based their award solely upon valuation, making the assessment unlform
14
throughout the district, treating it as a unit. This was confirmed by the Court and has been in force the past five years.
Of the different rules adopted by the various preceding com- missions, that of valuation is the most favorable to Weymouth, and at the recent hearings before the last commission it was urged on behalf of the town, that valuation as a basis should be adhered to but that discrimination should be made in favor of a town so remotely located from the parks and reservations thus far established in the district.
Weymouth asked, (a) that the principle of making valuation the basis adopted by the last commission should be followed, and (b) that only a certain portion of the entire expense be assessed uniformly throughout the district and the remaining portion of such expense be assessed (as an additional assessment) on such cities and towns as the commissioners find are specially benefitted.
This contention was taken into consideration by the commis- sioners and in their award Weymouth and a few other towns were excluded from being required to contribute to more than 60% of the aggregate sum necessary to be raised each year.
CHARLES RIVER DAM AND BASIN.
The construction of a dam across the Charles River between the cities of Boston and Cambridge, the removal of the existing Craigie Bridge, so called, between said cities, the construction of a highway and park upon the dam, the furnishing of a lock in said dam and of drawbridges, wasteways, etc., dredging in the Charles River and canals leading therefrom, and the strengthen- ing of abutting walls, the construction of marginal conduits, the building of an embankment on the Boston shore and certain other works were anthorized by Chapter 465 of the Acts of 1903 and amendments thereof.
The different works to be performed under the Charles River Dam and Basin Acts have been completed and they now occupy a central location in the Metropolitan Parks system.
It was the duty of the commissioners on this year's metropoli- tan parks apportionment to apportion the cost ($3,992,552.71) which was paid by the Commonwealth in the first instance.
In doing so the statute required them to ascertain the cost of the removal of the old Craigie Bridge and the construction of a suitable bridge in place thereof; and this sum when ascertained
15
was to be paid equally by the cities of Boston and Cambridge.
It is obvious that it was in the interest of the towns and cities other than Boston and Cambridge to have the cost of a suitable bridge fixed at as high a figure as such a bridge would properly cost.
As no such bridge was ever built (the dam serving as a high- way) it was necessary to offer estimates of expert engineers.
After deducting the amount of these two items and the cost of the embankment, it was provided that the "remainder shall be considered aud treated as a part of the cost of construction of the Metropolitan Parks System " and to be apportioned accordingly.
It was vigorously urged in behalf of Boston and most of the municipalities north of Boston that the "remainder " should not be apportioned separately or independently of the costs of the parks system, but should be apportioned uniformly over the whole district.
On the other hand, Weymouth and the municipalities south of Boston contended that this " remainder " was capable of a fur- ther sub-division, and that justice and equity required the Com- missioners to consider and make allowances for the special bene- fits to Boston and Cambridge resulting from the various features of the work.
Engineering experts were employed to analyze the " remain- der " and determine the amounts expended on particular parts of the great work and explain the local benefits conferred by the construction of same.
The Commissioners adopted the view most favorable to Wey- mouth and the municipalities associated with it in the controversy, and as a result made finding and award substantially as follows :
Cost of removal of Craigie Bridge and construction of a suita- ble bridge, $1,200,000; one-half to Boston, one-half to Cam- bridge.
Boston Embankment, $847,636.43 to Boston.
Broad and Lachmere Canals, $170,528, fifty per cent. to Cam- bridge.
Boston Marginal Conduit, $642,579.99, one-sixth to Boston.
Cambridge Marginal Conduit, $101,909.28, one-sixth to Cam- bridge.
The balance then remaining was apportioned to the Cities aud Towns in the Metropolitan Parks District in proportion to valuation.
16
SUITS AT LAW.
No suit was brought against the Town during the year 1910.
The Town's exceptions in the Sarah F. Page case were consid- ered by the full bench of the Supreme Court and overruled. The verdict has been paid.
The action of Robert C. Steele to recover $500 for damages to his automobile, claimed to have been caused by the alleged defect in Commercial Street, was tried in the court at Quincy, resulting in a finding for the plaintiff of $87.84. The case has been ap- pealed.
This and the suit of Thomas F. Brady for extra services and the petition for land damages by Louis A. Cook were the only ac- tions pending against the Town on December 31, 1910.
JURY LIST.
The following named persons are proposed for jury service :-
NAME AND OCCUPATION. STREET.
Alexanderson, Hans M., boatbuilder, 64 Bridge
Ashton, Joseph C., conductor, 51 Grove
Bailey, Bernard C., skiver, 644 Broad
Bailey, Charles T., watchman, 204 Front
Bailey, Fred L., ice dealer,
4 Pond
Baker, Charles W., expressman,
139 Washington
Baker, Winfield B., shoeworker,
9 Curtis ave.
Barlow, Robert, painter,
135 East
Bates, Abbott C., trader,
45 Charles
Bates, John A., operator,
375 Pond
Bates, Leavitt W., salesman
150 Middle
Bates, Nathan G., cemetery supt.,
36 Elm
Belcher, Percy W., grocer,
4 Hollis
Benson, George A., salesman,
Tower ave.
Bernhardt, Walter, stone mason,
39 Hollis
Bicknell, George E., manufacturer,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.