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Town of Weymouth 1911
THE TUFTS LIBRARY, WEYMOUTH, MA 3 1648 00373 5536
497-
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,
1911
WEYMOUTH, MASS., GAZETTE AND TRANSCRIPT PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1912.
INDEX.
Town Officers .
5
Report of the Selectmen
9
Report of the Town Treasurer
23
Report of the Auditors
29
Report of Tufts Fund
31
Report of the Town Accountant
33
Schools
33
Street Department
48
Bridges
59 59 60
Suppression of Gypsy and Brown Tail Moths
60
Street Records Indexing
62
Surveying and Plotting Town
62
Pump at Lovell's Corner .
62 63 69
Health Department
Miscellaneous Account
State and Town Election Expenses
Superior Court Judgments
Town Offices
Town Hall Care
State and Military Aid
Soldiers' Relief .
Abatement and Remittance of Taxes
81 81 81
Memorial Day
82
Hydrants and Drinking Fountains Electric Lighting
82 82
Tufts Library
82
Fogg Library Reading Room
83 83
Interest and Discount
83 84
Notes Payable
Tax Deed Account
84
Taxes Paid to State and County
. 84
Town Officers
.
.
84
Public Parks
Preservation of Shade Trees
Fire Department
Police Department
72 72 76 79 79 80 80
Printing and Advertising
Assessors' Card Index
Town Accountant's Report - Continued.
Poor Department
88
Statement of Appropriations 97
98
Statement of Appropriations and Expenditures Trial Balance
99
Report of Overseers of the Poor
101
Report of Town Clerk
105
Report of Tax Collector for Years 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910 and 1911
173
Report of Committee on Acquiring Land Around Great Pond
174
Report of Sealer of Weights and Measures
175
Report of Burial Agent
175
Report of Assessors
176
Report of Tree Warden
178
Report of Inspector of Live Stock
178
Report of Superintendent of Moth Department
179
Report of Board of Health
180
Report of Inspector of Licensed Slaughter Houses
181
Report of Chief of Police
182
Report of Superintendent of Streets
188
Report of Survey of the Town
197
Report of Lighting Committee
200
Report of Committee on Reorganization of Fire Department and Purchase of Auto Fire Apparatus
203
Report of Fire Engineers
205
Report of Tax Collector for 1905-1906
208
Report of Trustees of Tufts Library
209
Report of Park Commissioners
236
Report of Water Commissioners
. 238
Jury List .
.
.
273
Report of School Committee.
.
.
.
·
.
.
.
TOWN OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1911-1912.
Town Clerk. JOHN A. RAYMOND. P. O. address, East Weymouth
Town Treasurer.
JOHN H. STETSON. 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 1914
FRANK H. TORREY, Clerk
Term expires 1913
WALDO TURNER Term expires 1912
JOHN F. DWYER .
Term expires 1913
WARREN T. SIMPSON
Term expires 1914
Collector of Tuxes.
WINSLOW M. TIRRELL. P. O. address, East Weymouth
Auditors. JOHN P. HUNT, WILLIAM H. PRATT, FRANK N. BLANCHARD.
Engineers of the Fire Department.
JOHN Q. HUNT, Chief. P. O. address, East Weymouth WALTER W. PRATT, Clerk. P. O. address, East Weymouth MATTHEW O'DOWD, DEFOREST A. JONES, CHARLES W. BAKER.
School Committee.
THOMAS V. NASH
Term expires 1912
JOHN F. REARDON .
.
Term expires 1-912
H. FRANKLIN PERRY ·
Term expires 1913
CLARENCE P. WHITTLE Term expires 1913
LESTER H. HORNE .
Term expires 1914
A. LILLIAN MCGREGOR . Term expires 1914
Board of Health.
DR. GEORGE E. EMERSON, Chairman Term expires 1913
JOHN S. WILLIAMS . Term expires 1912
NELSON B. GLADWIN
Term expires 1914
Superintendent of Schools.
PARKER T. PEARSON. P. O. address, East Weymouth
Park Commissioners.
LOUIS A. COOK
Term expires 1914
WILLIAM H. CLAPP
Term expires 1912
ARTHUR H. ALDEN .
Term expires 1913
Tree Warden. CHARLES L. MERRITT. Trustees of Tufts Library.
WILLIAM A. DRAKE Term expires 1914
FRANCIS M. DROWN
JOSEPH E. GARDNER
Term expires 1914 Term expires 1914
JOHN B. HOLLAND . Term expires 1912 LOUIS A. COOK Term expires 1912
WILLIAM F. HATHAWAY Term expires 1912
JAMES H. FLINT Term expires 1913
. CLARENCE P. WHITTLE . Term expires 1913
FREDERICK T. HUNT
Term expires 1913
Superintendent of Streets and Water.
IVERS M. LOWE. P. O. address, East Weymouth
Registrars of Voters.
PATRICK E. CORRIDAN Term expires 1914
BENJAMIN F. SMITH Term expires 1912
MARSHALL P. SPRAGUE Term expires 1913 JOHN A. RAYMOND, Town Clerk (ex-officio) .
Water Commissioners.
GEORGE E. BICKNELL
Term expires 1914
FRANK H. TORREY .
· Term expires 1912
DOUGLAS M. EASTON Term expires 1913 EDWARD W. HUNT, Chairman of Selectmen ( ex-officio ).
JOHN H. STETSON, Town Treasurer ( ex-officio).
Sealer of Weights and Measures.
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,
PATRICK BUTLER,
THOMAS FITZGERALD,
ARTHUR H. PRATT,
JOHN D. WALSH,
GEORGE B. BAYLEY,
GEORGE W. CONANT,
JOHN L. MAYNARD,
ELBERT FORD.
Commissioners of Ward Two Schoolhouse Sinking Fund.
HENRY A. NASH
Term expires 1914
FRANK H. TORREY . .
. Term expires 1912
WILLARD J. DUNBAR
.
. Term expires 1913
4
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, 1911, together with the annexed schedule of appropriations and the payments inade thereunder, as prepared by the Town Accountant, also the list of persons selected and proposed for jury service.
APPOINTMENTS AND WORK THEREUNDER.
As a large part of the administrative work of the town is done by appointed officers, aud the degree of success attained is de- pendent largely upon the wisdom of the appointments ; in other words, in getting the right man in the right place ; it seems appro- priate that we should review briefly the work of the principal officers appointed by this board, while referring to the several reports of these officers and boards for a detailed statement of the work performed by them.
TOWN COUNSEL .- Albert P. Worthen was reappointed as Town Counsel, to serve his eleventh year in that capacity. Not the least of the many duties devolving upon our Town Counsel of late years is that of guarding the interests of the town in regard to matters before legislative committees, and we wish especially to record our appreciation of the services of Mr. Worthen in con- nection with the passage of the act of the last legislature providing for the construction of a new bridge over Back River, with a fifty foot draw to comply with the requirements of the United States War Department, and also the act which provided for the recon- struction of the Fore River bridge, now approaching completion.
TOWN ACCOUNTANT -At a joint meeting of the Board of Select- men and the Water Board, Charles B. Cushing was reappointed to the position of accountant, to serve his tenth year in that cap- acity. His salary was made the same as for the previous years, viz., $850 to be paid by the Selectmen and $250 by the Water Board. Much extra work has devolved upon the accountant in the preparation of reports for the State Bureau of Statistics, which that Bureau is authorized to require under the provisions of Chap- ter 371, Section 6, of the Acts of 1909. This work has necessi- tated the employment of an assistant by Mr. Cushing for a con- siderable part of the time, and we have allowed him extra com- pensation therefor to the amount of $50, which was paid from
1
10
the miscellaneous account. The foregoing amount will not ad- equately pay for the work which will be involved in the prepara- tion of these reports in the year to come. To enable the account- ant to employ the assistance which will be necessary on account of this extra work we recommend that $100 be added to the amount of his salary.
SUPERINTENDENT OF STREETS .- By the joint action of the two boards before mentioned, Ivers M. Lowe was reappointed for his tenth term as Superintendent of Streets and Water, his salary of $1,700.00 to be paid as heretofore, $950.00 by the Selectmen and $750.00 by the Water Board.
For the purpose of compliance with law, Mr. Lowe was at a subsequent meeting of this board appointed Superintendent of Streets. As the Superintendent treats at considerable length in his report of the work done by his department, it would seem superfluous for us to devote space to the same matters.
The opinion seems to be somewhat prevalent that we have out- grown the time when the two positions of Superintendent of Streets and Superintendent of Water can be satisfactorily combined in one man, especially as for a considerable portion of the year either position is exacting enough to require the best efforts of one man. The combination of the two positions is practicable only by continuing a foreman in each ward, who really fills the position of a deputy superintendent. Considerable criticism has been made in the past that too much money is paid for superin- tending. Under the system which has been in vogue, this practice of employing five foremen seems unavoidable. We submit, as a matter worthy of the most careful consideration, whether the time has not arrived, when in the interests of efficiency and economic administration we should have the greater part of our street work done by one or two gangs working under the direct supervision and control of the superintendent.
POLICE. - The appointments of salaried police were as follows : Chief, Thomas Fitzgerald ; Inspector, Patrick Butler ; night patrol, George W. Nash, Arthur H. Pratt, John D. Walsh, Elbert Ford.
The number of our regular police force is not large for a town of thirteen thousand population, but when the territory which its work is necessarily spread over is considered we must acknowl- edge that it is fairly effective in the enforcement of law and the preservation of order. For details we refer to the report of the Chief.
There have been appointed during the year thirty-three special police, most of whose appointments were asked for particular purposes.
11
Any or all of these could be called on for service in case of need, and the greater part of them would probably make fairly capable officers.
A communication received from the State Board of Health in regard to the lock-up in Ward Two is in part as follows :
" The basement location, inadequate ventilation, light and sanitation make the lock-up unsuitable for use. A change in location or a new building is recommended."
It would seem that the town must consider the building of a new lock-up in this section, and we would suggest that inasmuch as a central police station is one of the problems we shall have to face before many years that it would be well to consider the necessary accommodation for the same in connection with this lock-up.
FIRE ENGINEERS .- The Board of Fire Engineers appointed for the year ending May 1, 1912, consists of Deforest A. Jones, John Q. Hunt, Charles W. Baker, Walter W. Pratt and Matthew O'Dowd. These men are all well known as having performed long, capable and enthusiastic service in the fire department, and their work as a board has been harmonious and conducted with good judgment and ability.
The engineers have repeatedly impressed upon this board that the feature of their work which gives them the most uneasiness is the uncertain and inadequate provision they are able to make in securing horses to move the apparatus to fires.
It seems certain that if our fire department is to maintain a degree of efficiency which will be at all satisfattory that we must at once make a beginning in the introduction of automobile fire trucks. The report of the committee appointed at the last Town Meeting to consider the advisability of purchasing a fire truck for Ward Two will be found in this report. We believe the com- mittee has given earnest work to the matter entrusted to it, and its recommendations are entitled to careful consideration.
REGISTRARS OF VOTERS .- The Registrars of Voters is one of the important appointive boards of town officers, whose work has not been as conspicuous as it should be, as the Board has not heretofore submitted a report for print. We think this omission should be remedied in the future. The Town Clerk is by virtue of his office a member of this Board, and the term of the other three members is for three years, the term of one expiring each year. The member whose term expired the past year was Patrick E. Corridan, and he was reappointed. The summary of the work of the registrars is as follows :
.
Registered voters . 2853
Dropped for all causes .
224
New names added
205
Total number of registered voters December 31 .
2834
12
SURVEY AND PLOTTING OF TOWN .- The survey and plotting of the Town has remained under the efficient management of Russell H. Whiting, and gratifying progress has been shown in the progress sheets of the work. At the close of this season's field work it was brought practically to the southerly line of Ward Four, and the sheets for the same are expected to be completed for the use of the Assessors the coming season.
The work of revising the sheets year by year, which is neces- sary to make them of practical value to the Assessors, consti- tutes a very considerable part of the work. This has thus far all been included in and paid for from the general appropriation, though by so doing the amount of new work is diminished in cor- responding proportion thereto.
These survey sheets are being more and more generally re- ferred to, not only by the Assessors but by the public as well.
The report of Mr. Whiting, which appears on another page, treats in detail of the work accomplished and of that remaining.
Mr. Whiting cordially invites any of our citizens who are inter- ested in the work to visit his office, where he or his assistants willl show the methods and progress of the work.
SUPERINTENDENT OF GYPSY AND BBOWN TAIL MOTH WORK .- Charles L. Merritt having been re-elected by the town as Tree Warden was also reappointed as superintendent of moth work, Mr. Merritt takes a genuine interest in the work of his depart- ment and with the knowledge and experience acquired seems well fitted for the position.
It was noticeable to all observing persons that the past season has shown our street trees more free from the ravages of insect pests than at any time since the advent of the moths and elm leaf beetles. We trust that with the facilities now available for the destruction of these pests that this freedom from their destructive work may be maintained. This, however, can only be expected by co-operation on the part of property owners in continuing the war of extermination.
The balance of the appropriation is ample for carrying on the work until April 1st.
The amount of the liabilty of the town under the law for the ensuing State year to December 1, 1912, is $3,461.62. If work in excess of the liability is required by the State Forester the amount of such excess is paid by the State.
SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. - Frank D. Sherman was reappointed Sealer of Weights and Measures.
The Sealer works under the authority of law and of the State Commissioner of Weights and Measures. His duties, perhaps, touch the personal interests of more of the inhabitants of the town than those of any other town officer.
13
All of the weights and measures by which goods are bought and sold have to be tested by him, and his faithfulness and accuracy in the performance of the duties of his office are the guarantee the purchaser has that he is receiving in quantity what he pays for.
INSPECTOR OF ANIMALS. - F. Wilbur Loud . was reappointed Inspector of Animals. He is under the authority of the Chief of the Cattle Bureau, and he must inspect all domestic animals and the premises where the same are kept when so required by the Chief. A general inspection is usually ordered once, or it may be twice a year, and inspection of particular premises as occasion may require ; especially of dairy animals which he may have reason to suppose are affected with tuberculosis, or horses with glanders.
BILLS PAYABLE.
The following notes become payable in 1912 :-
Athens schoolhouse $2,500 00
Pratt schoolhouse . 1,000 00
Fore River Bridge .
1,000 00
General town purposes . 2,000 00
All of the above are serial notes for which the Assessors are' required by law to provide without further action by the town.
STATE ROAD.
As the Board was satisfied that the remaining section of the state road on Main street could not be worked by the town with- out the sinking of a larger amount than it felt was justifiable, a waiver was sigued to the Highway Commission of the town's right to work it and this and a section in Abington were let out together at contract by the commission.
This street is now completed into Abington.
HIGHWAY APPROPRIATION.
It will be noted by the Accountant's report that the appro- priation for highway repairs is overdrawn to the amount of $253.37. It should be stated that a bill to the Gas Company for the use of the road roller which was unpaid at the close of the year and is a credit to the account will more than cover this over- draft.
WASHINGTON STREET REPAIRS.
Extensive repairs or rebuilding of Washington street, from its junction with Main street to the Hingham line, is an urgent neces- sity. This will include the widening of and rebuilding of both the bridge over Mill River and that at Whitman's Pond, which will necessitate a large outlay. The Board made application to
14
the Highway Commission for an appropriation on this street, under the provisions of Chap. 525, Acts of 1910, which provides for a certain portion of the amount received from automobile fees being expended by the Commission in repairing, improving, construct- ing or maintaining town or county highways which are or may be used as through routes or which connect one city or town with another. The Commission declined to grant our application on the ground that the town had made no appropriation for the same purpose. It seems to us advisable for an appropriation to be made by the town to be expended only on condition that the Com- mission grant a like amount.
GUIDE BOARDS.
The guide boards required by law to be maintained are for the most part in serviceable condition.
PLAYGROUNDS AND BATH HOUSES.
Having accepted the provisions of law applying to the acquir- ing of land for the purpose of playgrounds for children, we seem as a town to have forgotten the matter or to have decided that the need no longer exists. Those of us who were children forty years ago or more recall the fact that we then found plenty of open spaces which we were permitted to occupy as playgrounds. Have we not forgotten the fact that most of the places we then utilized for that purpose have been built upon or passed to uses which make them no longer available ? With a child population twice as large as it then was the places which they may use for purposes of play seem wofully inadequate. We recommend that some action, even if nothing more than the appointment of a com- mittee to consider the matter, be taken at the next annual meeting.
Another matter of hardly less importance confronts us. Our water front is being rapidly taken up and utilized for building purposes, and the large summer population, and the resident pop- ulation as well, have a right to expect that some facilities be pro- vided to enable them to enjoy the pleasures of sea bathing without tresspassing on the rights of others.
PUBLIC RECORDS.
The Revised Laws, Chapter 35, Section 18, reads as follows : " Officers and boards in charge of a State department, County Commissioners, City Councils and Selectmen shall, at the ex- pense of the Commonwealth, County, City or Town respectively, provide and maintain fire-proof rooms, safes or vaults for the safe keeping of the public records of their department, County, City or Town, other than the records in the custody of teachers of the public schools, and shall furnish such rooms only with fittings of non-combustible materials."
15
Section 22 is in part as follows : "A public officer who re- fuses or neglects to perform any duty required of him by this chapter shall, for each month of such neglect or refusal, be pun- ished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars."
Our vault fittings are of wood, and the Commissioner of Public Records has given formal notice to the Board that these must be replaced with non-combustible material. He has considerately refrained from forcing us to action until we could bring the mat- ter before the Town and obtain an appropriation therefor. We have plans from two concerns which do work of this character, and plans are expected from two other companies. We have not yet received definite proposals, but the cost will be between four and five hundred dollars.
OLD COLONY GAS COMPANY.
In the latter part of the month of January the Selectmen were visited by E. M. Farnsworth, of the firm of E. M. Farnsworth & Co., who informed the board that his company held an option on the Plymouth County Gas Company's holdings and that they proposed to take over the company and carry out the plan of furnishing gas to this and neighboring towns if they can secure a change in the condition in the permit which provides that the company shall furnish gas at $1 per 1,000 feet, making it $1.25 net, and also secure an extension of time when they shall be ready to distribute their product from July 1, 1911, to January 1, 1912.
The rating of this company for integrity and financial ability was investigated, amd it was found that they stood first-class in every respect, and were not people who would undertake an enterprise which they were not able to carry tbrough. This Board then modified the permit, conforming with the action of other interested towns, making the price at which gas shall be furnished to consumers $1.25 net per 1,000 cubic feet instead of $1, and later it was further modified by extending the time limit at which gas is to be furnished to consumers to January 1, 1912.
Under date of May 24, 1911, E. M. Farnsworth & Co. wrote as follows : " You may be interested to know that we have just taken over all the stock of the Plymouth County Gas Light and Power Company, and that Mr. Nevins and his associates have resigned as officers of the company.
We have also come to an understanding with the Gas Com- missioners and expect to begin work at once.
At the time of reorganization the name of the company was changed to the Old Colony Gas Company. From this time on work moved rapidly with the new company. Pipes were laid in most of the main streets of this and adjoining towns, and in many of the side streets. The plant in East Braintree was completed and ready to turn the gas into the mains at the time specified.
16
1
Our relations with the officers of the company have been agree- able, and we have found them ready at all times to entertain sug- gestions and to co-operate with the town authorities in maintain- ing a safe condition of the streets during the progress of their work.
We believe that gas has an important place in the domestic and business economy of the inhabitants of the town and consider its introduction the most important event to us since the advent of the street railway system. It adds one more to the many induce- ments before existing which tend to make our town a desirable and commodious place in which to live, and should have an ap- preciable influence in enhancing the value of property.
SUITS AT LAW.
The action of Thomas F. Brady against the town to recover for personal services as a fireman at the pumping station rendered Sundays and overtime from April, 1902, to July, 1905, was tried before a jury in the Superior Court at Dedham in October, result- ing in a verdict in favor of the town. A motion by the plaintiff to have the verdict set aside and a new trial granted was subse- quently argued, but overruled. The case is now disposed of.
The petition of Louis A. Cook against the town for an assess- ment of his land damages in consequence of a taking made in the widening of Pleasant Street, came to trial as the first case at the October sitting of the Superior Court at Dedham. During the course of the trial it developed that certain interests entitled to notice under the statute were technically not before the court, and the case was taken from the jury by the presiding justice and con- tinued. The case is still pending.
During the summer an application to the Attorney-General was made by Robert I. Steele for the filing of an information in equity to enjoin the Superintendent of Streets from obstructing an alleged public way across the open space near the intersection of Church and North Streets at Weymouth Heights. The obstruc- tion complained of was the setting up of edgestones or curbing across the ends of said way and along both North and Church Streets.
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