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TOWN OF WEYMOUTH
1914
THE TUFTS LIBRARY, WEYMOUTH, MA 3 1648 00373 5569
1
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
1914
WEYMOUTH, MASS, GAZETTE AND TRANSCRIPT PUBLISHING COMPANY .
1915
INDEX,
-
Town Officers
5
Report of the Selectmen .
9
Report of the Town Treasurer
23
Report of the Auditors
29
Report of the Town Accountant
33
Schools
33
Street Department
49
Bridges
61
Public Parks
Preservation of Shade Trees
Suppression of Gypsy and Brown Tail Moths .
65 65 65
Fire Department ·
66
Police Department
Health Department ·
Miscellaneous Account
Superior Court Judgements
79
State, Town and Primary Election Expenses
82 85
Town Hall Care
.
86 86
Soldiers' Relief .
Printing and Advertising
Electric Lighting
Tufts Library
Fogg Library Reading Room
Memorial Day
Memorial Park Avenue
Abatement and Remittance of Taxes
Interest and Discount
Notes Payable
Taxes Paid to State and County
Tax Deed Account
90
Town Officers
90
Poor Department
92
Statement of Appropriations and Expenditures
. 100
Trial Balance
. 102
.
.
61 62 63
Street Records Indexing
Street Watering and Oiling
Surveying and Plotting Town
74 78 79
Town Offices
87 87 87 87
87 87 88 88 89 89 89
State and Military Aid
Report of Town Clerk
103
Jury List .
191
Report of Overseers of the Poor
197
Report of Superintendent of Town Home
200
Report of Survey of the Town
201
Report of Superintendent of Streets.
205
Report of Chief of Police
209
Report of Superintendent of Moth Work
215
Report of Tree Warden
216
Report of Burial Agent
216
Report of Fire Warden
217
Report of Sealers of Weights and Measures
217
Report of Tax Collector for Years 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914
218
Report of Registrars of Voters
219
Report of Tufts Fund
220
Report of Fire Engineers
222
Report of Committee Appointed to Purchase Fire Trucks
224
Report of Superintendent of Fire Alarm
225
Report of Assessors
226
Report of Park Commissioners
228
Report of Trustees of Tufts Library
237
Report of Board of Health
268
Report of Inspector of Live Stock
272
Report of Building Inspector .
272
Report of Water Commissioners
273
Report of School Committee .
315
Report of Town Planning Committees
346
-
Report of Lighting Committee
227
TOWN OFFICERS FOR THE YEAR 1914-1915.
Town Clerk. JOHN A. RAYMOND, P. O. address, East Weymouth
Town Treasurer. JOHN H. STETSON,
P. O. address, South Weymouth
1
Selectmen.
EDWARD W. HUNT, Chairman, P. O. address, Weymouth BRADFORD HAWES, Clerk, P. O. address, East Weymouth GEORGE L. NEWTON, A. FRANCIS BARNES, HENRY E. HANLEY.
Overseers of the Poor.
EDWARD W. HUNT, BRADFORD HAWES, GEORGE L. NEWTON, HENRY E. HANLEY, A. FRANCIS BARNES.
Assessors.
LEWIS W. CALLAHAN
Term expires 1917
CHARLES H. CLAPP
.
Term expires 1917
JOHN F. DWYER, Chairman Term expires 1916
FRANK H. TORREY, Clerk Term expires 1916 .
WALDO TURNER
Term expires 1915
Town Accountant. CHARLES B. CUSHING.
Collector of Taxes. WINSLOW M. TIRRELL, P. O. address, East Weymouth
Auditors.
JOHN P. HUNT, WILLIAM H. PRATT, FRANK N. BLANCHARD.
1
Engineers of the Fire Department.
WALTER W. PRATT, Chief, P. O. address, East Weymouth JOHN Q. HUNT, Clerk, P. O. address, East Weymouth
MATTHEW O'DOWD, RUSSELL B. WORSTER, PHILIP W. WOLFE.
School Committee.
ARTHUR H. ALDEN
Term expires 1917
PRINCE H. TIRRELL
.
Term expires 1915
THERON L. TIRRELL
Term expires 1915
CLARENCE P. WHITTLE
Term expires 1916
ELMER E. LEONARD
Term expires 1916
SARAH S. HOWE
Term expires 1917
Board of Health.
DR. GEORGE E. EMERSON
Term expires 1916
JOHN S. WILLIAMS
Term expires 1915
DR. FRED L. DOUCETT
Term expires 1917
Park Commissioners.
LOUIS A. COOK
Term expires 1917
WILLIAM H. CLAPP
Term expires 1915
WILSON F. BEANE
Term expires 1916
Tree Warden. CHARLES L. MERRITT.
Trustees of Tufts Library.
WILLIAM A. DRAKE
Term expires 1917
FRANCIS M. DROWN
.
.
Term expires 1917
JOSEPH E. GARDNER
· Term expires 1917
JOHN B. HOLLAND .
Term expires 1915
LOUIS A. COOK
Term expires 1915
WILLIAM F. HATHAWAY
Term expires 1915
JAMES H. FLINT
Term expires 1916
CLARENCE P. WHITTLE
Term expires 1916
Registrars of Voters.
PATRICK E. CORRIDAN
Term expires 1917
BENJAMIN F. SMITH
Term expires 1915
MARSHALL P. SPRAGUE
Term expires 1916
JOHN A. RAYMOND, Town Clerk ( ex-officio. )
Superintendent of Streets. JOHN L. MAYNARD.
Water Commissioners.
GEORGE E. BICKNELL
Term expires 1917
FRANK H. TORREY .
Term expires 1915
ROBERT S. HOFFMAN
Term expires 1916
EDWARD W. HUNT, Chairman of Selectmen (ex-officio.)
JOHN H. STETSON, Town Treasurer (ex-officio.)
Sealer of Weights and Measures. FRANK D. SHERMAN.
Burial Agent for Indigent Soldiers. WALDO TURNER.
Chief of Police.
PATRICK BUTLER
P. O. Address, East Weymouth
Constables.
ISAAC H. WALKER,
GEORGE W. NASH,
PATRICK BUTLER,
THOMAS FITZGERALD,
ARTHUR H. PRATT,
JOHN D. WALSH,
GEORGE B. BAYLEY,
GEORGE W. CONANT,
ELBERT FORD,
WILLIE F. TIRRELL,
Commissioners of Ward Two Schoolhouse Sinking Fund.
HENRY A. NASH
FRANK H. TORREY .
Term expires 1917 Term expires 1915
WILLARD J. DUNBAR
.
. Term expires 1916
REPORT OF SELECTMEN.
To the Inhabitants of the Town of Weymouth :
The report of the Selectmen of Weymouth for the year ending December 31, 1914, is hereby submitted.
A. FRANCIS BARNES.
It is many years since the Selectmen have been called upon to record the death during his term of office of a member of the board.
Upon the 17th of October last, our colleague, A. Francis Barnes, was suddenly stricken and died in a short time. We had learned to esteem Mr. Barnes very highly for his strict integrity and loy- alty to duty. We had found him to be a man who had the cour- age of his convictions, and was devoted to the best interests of the town. We have missed him in the deliberations of the board, and feel that in his death the town has lost a conscientious and faithful servant.
ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT.
The accounting department has remained under the efficient care of Charles B. Cushing, assisted by Emerson R. Dizer, who has also assisted in performing the clerical work of the assessors. The financial statement of the several accounts as prepared by the accountant is submitted as a part of this report.
STREET DEPARTMENT.
John L. Maynard was again appointed Superintendent of Streets and has devoted faithful and painstaking efforts to the work of the department. For the details of the work accomplished we refer to his report, which appears on page 205. It is possible with the appropriation made for the streets the last few years to keep them in about their present condition. We are, however, confronted with a continual demand for improved roads, which it is difficult to comply with. We believe the town cannot afford to
10
spend a largely increased amount upon its public ways, and yet the fact remains that without such increase we must expect no more than to have our streets kept in about the same condition as at present.
We believe that to some extent broken stone roads should be built each year, making our worst pieces of road the best ones.
The problem of using dust preventative is evidently here to stay. Perhaps the policy of the highway commission is a wise one for our adoption. With them the prevention of dust, if considered at all, is secondary. The principal object being to employ such material as will best bind and preserve the road. Our experience the past season seems to indicate that for this purpose we have nothing better than tarvia.
The town referred the subject matter of Article 57 of the War- rant, in relation to improving the streets along the shore front to this board. We do not know how extensive improvements the advocates of the article had in mind. With the amount of money available we could only give the ordinary care to those streets.
NEW WORK.
The new streets accepted by the town the last year, viz : Wey- bosset street, Park road and Fogg road, have been worked and opened to the public. In neither of those was the appropriation adequate for proper construction and further appropriation should be made for their completion.
Weybosset street was not worked to the water front.
In the case of Fogg road, the hundred dollars appropriated barely sufficed for gravelling it in fairly passable condition. The drainage which had to be left undone, and which was an import- ant feature of this way, should receive attention as soon as the frost is out of the ground.
SNOW.
The appropriation for the removal of snow was for some reason made for only one-third of the usual cost, viz : $1,000. A sufficient amount was diverted from the street railway excise tax to cover the expense to the end of the year. This amount was much needed in the highway repairs account to help out the street oiling, which account is thereby overdrawn.
.
11
BAY STATE STREET RAILWAY COMPANY.
On August 3 a petition was filed with the Board by the Bay State Street Railway Company for a grant of extension, altera- tion and relocation of its tracks in Washington and Broad streets, constituting a double track location from a point at or near the junction of Washington and Commercial Streets to a point in Washington Street at or near the end of the state highway layout southerly from Lincoln Square, so called, and in Broad Street, not to exceed two hundred feet easterly from Lincoln Square.
After a hearing as required by law, at which all persons were given an opportunity to be heard, the Board considering that if this work was done it should be in a thorough manner and with a proper grade, we had the town engineer make a plan and profile and prepare estimates of the probable cost of properly grading and constructing the part of the way which the town would be required to do. These estimates showed that the amount would be about $8,000.
The proposed change would probably help the road to a great extent in the operation of its cars on this piece of way and in our opinion would be a benefit to the travelling public.
The company wished to complete the work during the fall. If the petition was granted, we could not see the way of performing the town's part of the work as we had no funds available for that purpose. Under these conditions no action has yet been taken thereon.
METROPOLITAN PARK APPORTIONMENT.
A matter of a good deal of interest to us, and to all the cities and towns in the Metropolitan District as well, is the reappor- tionment of the assessments upon the several municipalities in the district.
This reapportionment occurs once in five years, and when made is binding for the five succeeding years.
The report of the Selectmen for the year 1910 contained an elaborate statement of the procedure adopted in the making of the reapportionment, and to any who are interested therein we would refer to that report.
12
SURVEY OF THE TOWN.
The continuance of the town survey has remained in charge of Russell H. Whiting. We are glad to be able to announce that this work promises to be completed the coming summer. Mr. Whiting has taken great interest in it and the result is and will continue to be of great benefit in many ways.
We recommend the careful perusal of Mr. Whiting's report which appears on page 201. If the approval of the town is ob- tained. Mr. Whiting contemplates preparing a lithograph map of the town on a scale of about a thousand feet to the inch, which can be sold at about one dollar each.
POLICE.
Patrick Butler was again appointed Chief of Police and Thomas Fitzgerald, Inspector.
One change was occasioned in the night patrol by the resigna- tion of John D. Walsh, Charles W. Baker having been appointed in his place. This is the first new appointment which has been made since the department was placed unde the civil service law.
The completion of the new police station in East Weymouth having been referred to this board we took the matter up immedi- ately after the last annual meeting. The committee which had the original contract in charge gave us all the assistance in their power, also the contractor, C. A. Batson of Brockton.
We found the conditions as they existed at that time to be as follows :
Original appropriation
$5,500 00
Amount paid at date (including $1,000 for land)
5,099 16
Unexpended
·
$400 84
Appropriation, March 9, 1914
3,000 00
Total
$3,400 84
Payments then due, including architects commission
1,662 81
Available for completion
$1,738 03
Estimate to finish building
.
.
1,476 00
Balance
$261 03
.
13
The outstanding bills were paid and a new contract entered into with Mr. Batson for the completion of the building for the above estimate, $1,476. We have also had the ground graded and the necessary furnishings provided. The account shows an unexpended balance of $44.86.
The committee appears to have expended a good deal of time and trouble in its endeavors to obtain a contract within the amount of the original appropriation, but were unable to do so.
Their attitude in regard to awarding a contract in excess of the appropriation we found to be; that the town accepted the plan for the building and voted upon the purchase of the lot, the price paid for which was much in excess of what the committee had expected to pay for land. Under those conditions the com- mittee felt justified in procuring the best bid obtainable and pro- ceeding with the work on the supposition that the town wanted the building constructed in accordance with the plan submitted notwithstanding the fact that the estimate upon which the appro- priation was based was inadequate.
For the details of the work of the Police Department we refer to the report of the chief on page 209.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
At the last annual meeting the town instructed the board to appoint a committee "to investigate fully the Fire Department, its organization, equipment and efficiency, for the purpose of determining what changes, if any, are necessary in the organiza- tion or equipment of said department to insure suitable fire pro- tection to the town ; said committee to make a report of its find ings and recommendations in the next annual town report and to have inserted in the warrant for the next annual town meeting articles covering its recommendations in said report."
On March 24th this board appointed on the above committee the following named members : David M. Kidder, William A. Wheaton, Arthur E. Pratt, Theron L. Tirrell and Frank E. Loud, all of whom are well known as men of integrity and sound judge- ment, having the interests of the town at heart. Though all of the above are busy men, they consented to serve the town on this committee and we promised them all the assistance we could give
14
and bespoke for them the co-operation of the fire engineers. This committee laid out a broad and comprehensive field of investi- gation and were progressing well with their work.
On the evening of May 27 a destructive conflagration occurred in East Weymouth, the fire starting in the building of the Art Leather Company and extending to the Town Hall and Bicknell's garage, all of which were burned to the ground.
This fire occasioned a popular clamor for immediate action in strengthening our fire equipment with the result that a town meeting was petitioned for. This meeting was called and was held in the Odd Fellows Opera House on the evening of July 22, with the result that three motor fire trucks were voted and the necessary changes in the houses to accomodate the same. The town appointed a committee to carry the above votes into effect and its report will be found on page 224. The committee appointed by the board considered that the town had no further use for its services and asked to be discharged. We did not see fit to comply with this request but the committee, considering that the action of the town practically closed its services has made no report.
We have now an equipment with which one or more of the motor trucks should be able to reach a fire in any part of the town in three or four minutes with any ordinary condition of the roads. In voting to purchase this uew equipment it was, of course. under- stood that the town was incurring a largely increased expense for running the department as four or five permanent men must be employed.
TOWN HALL.
The destruction of the Town Hall leaves us without any suitable place for holding town meetings. The Fogg Opera House comes the nearest to serving this purpose of any building we now have in town, but its situation is not favorable for the purpose. It may, however, become necessary to use it until some more satis- factory place can be provided.
The burning of the Town Hall left us with two notes of $5,000 and $6,000 respectively still payable for money borrowed for its construction.
The question of building a new town house is one which should be considered with the utmost care. Fortunately we are well pro-
15
vided with town offices, the lease for which has eight years longer to run.
These offices are run more economically than we can hope to run offices in a building owned by the town. It is our opinion that we should not build another wooden building for a town nall.
DIGGING CLAMS.
The regulating of the digging of clams having been placed in the hands of the selectmen we adopted a regulation prohibiting the digging of clams without a permit from this board, and pro- viding that no such permits shall be issued to any person not a resident of the town. We have issued about thirty permits for this purpose. We think the above regulation has been observed except in the case of some non-residents who have landed on the beaches in boats. We know of no way by which this can be pre- vented except by having the beaches patrolled by an officer.
MEMORIAL TO REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS.
In regard to the erection of a Memorial stone to the revolution- ary soldiers buried in the burying ground upon the land of Josiah F. Martin, authorized by the town at the last annual meeting ; this matter was in the hands of Mr. Barnes at the time of his death and the provisions of the vote have not been carried out. We recommend that it be referred to the incoming board.
APPROPRIATIONS EXPENDED IN EXCESS.
Chapter 719, Section 16, of the Acts of 1913 provides that "No department in any city or town shall incur liability in excess of the appropriation made for the use of such department, except in cases of emergency involving the health or safety of persons or property, and then only by a vote in cities of two- thirds of the members of the city council and in a commission form of government by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the commission, and in a town by a vote of two-thirds of the members of the selectmen."
The object of the foregoing law is commendable, but without a largely increased appropriation in some cases or the creating of a reserve fund as provided in Chapter 645, Acts of 1913, it is well nigh impossible to live strictly up to its requirement.
16
We considered the situation of the fire department such as to justify us in voting an excess of their appropriation to the amount of $1,288.42.
Of, the other appropriations which show an expenditure in excess on pages 100-101 we would say as follows :-
In the case of a town house note of $5,000 which stood upon the books as due in 1915, it was found in fact it became due in 1914 and had to be paid.
The town by some oversight made no appropriation for bridges and our share for the maintenance of the Quincy bridge, $200, for which we are legally liable, had to be met.
For the suppression of moths, the state authorities required the expenditure of our full liability before the end of the state year, December 1, and the continuance of the work thereafter. It did not seem fair to the laborers that the work required by the state during December should remain unpaid for until March and the men were accordingly paid.
In regard to the street olling account, we can only say that if we had expended all that was demanded for this purpose the amount would have been much larger than it now is. The town appropriated but one thousand dollars for this purpose and the amount expended was as small as could possibly be made and at the same time secure passably satisfactory results. Of that amount we did not feel justified is assessing a larger proportion upon the abuttors than was so assessed.
The help given as Soldiers' Relief is required by law to be given, even if the town has made no appropriation, and the amount of this aid has been kept as low as the walfare of the recipients would in our judgment permit. In so doing the appro- priation has been exceeded by a moderate amount.
The appropriation for Interest and Discount was based upon the requirements of the previous year and was supposed to be sufficient. As a considerable part of the money borrowed the past year was during the time when high rates of interest pre- vailed and there was no choice in the matter, the appropriation was necessarily exceeded. We had the satisfaction of knowing that the terms obtained by our Treasurer were as favorable as those secured by any town.
The regular appropriation for the poor has for several years
17
been made much smaller than was required to meet the demands of the department. The last year was no exception to this prac- tice. The demands have steadily increased. We therefore close the year with an expenditure considerably in excess of our appropriation. In regard to the foregoing we would say that, with the exception of the town house note of $5,000, the condi- tion of the treasury will admit of appropriating without raising the amounts necessary to cover the deficits.
VISIT OF LOUIS A. COOK, ESQ., TO WEYMOUTH, ENGLAND.
Under date of December 16, 1913, M. A. Huxtable, the Town Clerk of Weymouth, England, wrote to this town saying that that town was to have a celebration in commemoration of the sailing of John Endicott, the first governor of Massachusetts Bay, in the ship Abigail, in the year 1628, and earnestly requesting that a representative of this town be sent to visit old Weymouth on that occasion.
The town at its last annual meeting considered the above re- quest and appointed the Hon. Louis A. Cook as the duly accredited representative of this town to Weymouth, England.
His Excellency, David I. Walsh, the Governor, under the great seal of the Commonwealth sent by Mr. Cook the following greet- ing :
"To the Mayor and Inhabitants of the Town of Weymouth, England :
Weymouth was the first settlement in Massachusetts Bay Colony of which John Endicott was the first governor. Just as that Colony has developed into the Commonwealth of Massachusetts so in its course of nearly three centuries has that first settlement become one of the largest and most beautiful of the many towns in which the Commonwealth takes pride.
We of New England can well understand how our fathers, in many instances, brought with them and bestowed upon the place of their new home, a name "in honor and love to their dear and native country."
Not only that, but they also brought with them those lofty and sterling principles of thought and action which have contributed
18
so much to our prosperity and secured for us the manifold bless- ings we now enjoy.
As the present Chief Executive of the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts and on behalf of all her people, I send to the town across the sea of which our Weymouth is the namesake, greetings and congratulations.
DAVID I. WALSH,
Governor."
Mr. Cook performed the duties reposed in him by the Common- wealth and the town faithfully, to his credit and ours.
It was the wish of Mr. Cook to have printed in the town report his report of his mission and of the proceedings at the celebration in Weymouth, England. Owing to the lateness of the time when the report was received and the fact that the town report had already grown to forty pages in excess of its usual size, and the still more important fact that by inserting this report the publica- tion of the book would be delayed, so that we could not hope to get it distributed more than three days before the town election, we feel compelled to omit Mr. Cook's report from this publication.
We are convinced that the town should provide for printing it as a separate publication, and an article will be found in the war- rant for the annual meeting for this purpose.
SUITS AT LAW IN WHICH THE TOWN IS A PARTY.
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT.
Alvin Hollis et al vs., Water Commissioners. This was a petition filed June 25, 1912, in the Supreme Judicial Court asking for a writ of mandamus requiring the Water Com- missioners to issue to the petitioners a permit to boat and fish on Weymouth Great Pond. Case tried before an auditor who found and reported the facts. The Court, after hearing on these facts, dismissed the petition. Exceptions were filed by the petitioners as a basis of taking the case to the full bench of the Supreme Court. During 1913 the case was pending on these exceptions. Early in 1914 the town moved that the court order the exceptions to be either further prosecuted or waived and after several hearings on the matter, the Court, on April 18, 1914, entered a final decree dismissing the petition. (The case is disposed of.)
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