USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1878 > 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 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
WORCESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 8139 0129 6552 3
Worcester Free Public Library
F
CITY DOCUMENT No. 33.
ADDRESS
OF
HON. CHAS. B. PRATT,
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF WORCESTER, JAN. 6, 1879;
WITH THE
ANNUAL REPORTS
OF THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS,
FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING NOV. 30, 1878.
WORCESTER: PRESS OF NOYES, SNOW & CO 47 MAIN STREET.
R 352. 07443 W9220 v. 33 18-18
CITY OF WORCESTER.
IN CITY COUNCIL, JANUARY 10, 1879.
Ordered :
That the Committee on Printing be, and they are hereby authorized to cause to be published 1,000 copies of the annual "City Document," to be numbered 33; to contain the Mayor's Inaugural Address, together with the Reports of the several Departments, for the year 1878.
A Copy, Attest :
E. H. TOWNE,
City Clerk.
INDEX.
MAYOR'S ADDRESS, 5
SCHOOL REPORT, 28
AUDITOR'S REPORT, 88
CITY TRESAURER'S REPORT, 93
REPORT OF TREASURER OF TRUST FUND, 96
SCHEDULE OF CITY PROPERTY,
151
REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF SINKING FUND, . 154
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ACCOUNTS, 158
CITY CLERK'S REPORT, . 161
REPORT OF JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON WATER, 162
REPORT OF WATER COMMISSIONER,
164
REPORT OF WATER REGISTRAR,
173
REPORT OF CITY ENGINEER TO JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON WATER, 170
REPORT OF CITY ENGINEER, 176
REPORT OF CHIEF ENGINEER OF FIRE DEPARTMENT, 188 .
REPORT OF CITY MARSHAL, 238
COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS, 243
COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC GROUNDS, 257
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS, 282
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 293
CITY HOSPITAL, . 331
OVERSEERS OF POOR,
358
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON TRUANT SCHOOL, 384 .
- REPORT OF CITY PHYSICIAN, 388
REPORT OF CITY SOLICITOR, .
392
REPORT OF BOARD OF HEALTH, 394
HOPE CEMETERY, 397
APPENDIX.
CITY GOVERNMENT AND OFFICERS FOR 1879, 1
SALARIES, · 9
APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1879, 0
10
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014
https://archive.org/details/citydocumentnoan1878worc
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
Gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen,
and of the Common Council :
WE have assembled again this morning, to take upon ourselves the duties and responsibilities which have been assigned us by our fellow-citizens, for the year which has just commenced, and to renew our pledge of fidelity to the care of the interests which have been committed to our hands. Most of us know, from our past experience, the nature and character of these duties and responsibilities, and not a few of us can fully appreciate the serious difficulties with which a faithful, manly and honest dis- charge of them is surrounded.
It is one of the plain injunctions of our charter, that the Mayor shall, from time to time, communicate to both branches of the · Council such information, and recommend such measures, as the business and interests of the city may, in his opinion, require. No more favorable time than the beginning of a municipal year, perhaps, presents itself for the observance of this injunction. At any rate, custom has made these annually recurring ceremonies fitting and appropriate occasions for laying before you, in a gen- eral way, the condition of our city affairs, the mode of conduct- ing them during the past year, and to suggest, as far as may be possible, the business and the subjects which will be most likely to engage your attention during the year which is before us. Aside from the injunction, however, it is a duty, certainly, which I owe to you and to our constituents, no less than to myself.
The hopes and anticipations in which many of us indulged a year ago, that long before this, business would revive, and our
6
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
industrial pursuits resume their wonted activity, restoring con- fidence and bringing relief to all classes, have failed. The same dark, impenetrable cloud of doubt and uncertainty hang over us now, that did then.' As the strain becomes more severe, as the danger of general financial disaster becomes more imminent, the plea for economy, in all departments of our public service, becomes more earnest and irresistible. It becomes our impera- tive duty, and we should regard it as our highest privilege, in times like these, to afford all the assistance in our power for rendering light the burdens of the city, and to do whatever may come within the scope of our authority, to assist and strengthen the brave hearts and stout hands that are all around us striving so earnestly to bridge over the crisis in our business affairs. It becomes our duty to meet every proposition for new public work, and new public improvements, with the utmost caution, and to investigate the question of their necessity with the most scrupulous care. It becomes our duty to see to it, that no work is entered upon without first having obtained the most reliable and accurate estimate of its cost-so reliable and accurate that there is a moral certainty the cost of execution will be brought within it. And above all, it becomes our duty to avoid the expenditure of money which is to be provided for by those who come after us. Except in those instances where the work is undeniably a needed permanent improvement, every year should be made to bear its own burdens, and every admin -. istration should meet its own expenditures. We have no right, as a general proposition, to create an indebtedness for the com- ing generation to liquidate. It is assuming a wisdom, on our part, which is not becoming in us, nor complimentary to those who follow us. In other words, it is no more than just that those who are burdened with the payment of money should have some voice in its expenditure. It is, moreover, an injury to the present generation, and indirectly, in various ways, brings with it many disadvantages. No more forcible illustra- tion of this truth can be found than our own history affords. We, of to-day, are suffering more than we are accustomed to realize, from the extravagant expenditure of only a dozen years since. We are burdened with a heavy interest account. We
7
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
are suffering from an over-valuation of real property, amounting in many cases almost to inflation-a valuation ingeniously con- trived for the purpose of raising, unobserved, larger sums of money without materially changing the rate of taxation. It leaves those of us who are now charged with the duty of levy- ing taxes, to encounter one of the most difficult and delicate tasks that could be imposed-that of bringing back values to a standard more nearly the true one, which shall lead to a juster and more equitable assessment of taxes upon every description of property and upon all classes of our people. Nothing can be more injurious to the welfare and prosperity of our city, in the long run, than to have a fictitious valuation of its property for the purposes of taxation. It is a species of self-deception which, sooner or later, proves disastrous. It increases the expenses of business. It enhances the cost of living. It acts as a repellant to business enterprise, and drives from us those who would otherwise be attracted to our city by its central business location and its social advantages.
But while I would urge upon you, with all the earnestness at my command, the exercise of the most careful and systematic economy in every department of our city affairs, I would with no less earnestness, caution you against the danger of falling into an evil scarcely less to be deprecated. We shall do well if, in our anxiety to reduce the volume of our expenditures, we do not lose sight of the true welfare and interests of our people. We must constantly bear in mind that there is a vast difference between a true economy and a false one. We must not forget that there is a positive, and a sharply defined line between economy and parsimony. The one has in view, and serves to promote, the best interests and the highest good of those in whose behalf it is practiced, - the other shuts out every con- sideration but the mere saving of money.
We none of us need to be told what effect upon the intelli- gence and character of our population the striking out of the appropriation for schools would have. We can all of us readily conceive the serious public loss and inconvenience which would, of necessity, follow the cutting off the supply of pure water. We can all of us realize the detrimental effect upon the business
8
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
and traffic of our city which would result from a total neglect of the streets and highways. We all know how much we owe the safety of our persons and property to the Police and Fire Departments. These and the other branches of the service must be sustained and provided for ; and that, too, in such a manner as shall render them most valuable and effective. We have no choice about it. They are what give value to our property, and contribute to the prosperity of our city and its institutions.
But what our constituents do demand of us, and what they clearly have a right to demand, is, that the work, which they intrust to us, shall be done judiciously, thoroughly and well ; that the money which they place at our disposal for that pur- pose, shall be applied in a faithful, honest and conscientious manner, and that none of it shall be squandered or diverted from its proper and legitimate use; and that we shall exercise the same care, the same skill, the same prudence, and the same fidelity in all our public acts, that we do in the transaction of our private business. Our oath of office exacts this, and the people have a right to expect it. Having done this, to the best of our ability, we shall be enabled to lay down our trust at the end of the year without the fear of unfavorable criticism from any man or any party.
FINANCES.
In calling attention, one year ago, to the subject of City Finances, I took occasion to present, for comparison, a state- ment showing our net indebtedness for the six years prior to, and ending, November 30, 1877. Without undertaking to repeat the items contained in that statement, it will be sufficient for my present purpose, to say that it then appeared that the city indebtedness had been constantly, although gradually, decreasing since 1873. During the year just closed, owing, mainly, to the large expenditures rendered necessary by the building of the Island sewer, by the construction of Foster street and the award of damages therefor, and by the settle- ment of additional claims growing out of the Lynde Brook
9
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
disaster, it appears that the net indebtedness of the city has somewhat increased, it having reached the sum of $2,343,621.41 in 1878, against the sum of $2,288,861.02 in 1877-a net increase of $54,760.39. Under the circumstances, it seems to me that we may well congratulate ourselves upon being able to make so favorable an exhibit. In this connection, I cannot for- bear to add that much of our success, in this respect, is due to the cordial co-operation, on the part of the various committees and city officials, in carefully scrutinizing all expenditures on account of their several departments, and to their earnest efforts so to manage their different trusts, as to show, if possible, a generous balance to their credit, rather than a deficit, at the close of the financial year.
Further evidence, in regard to our satisfactory financial condition, may be found in the table of "Cash Assest and Liabilities," published with the Auditor's annual report. This list indicates, in a very brief and comprehensive form, the net cash liabilities of the city, over and above all cash assets, but does not, of course, include the valuable real estate belonging to the city, nor any of the public works and improvements to which so much of our bonded indebtedness is chargeable.
The following comparative statement will serve, perhaps, to interest those who care for statistics of this description :-
YEAR.
LIABILITIES.
ASSETS.
NET AMOUNT.
1872
$2,755,698 73
$917,821 21
$1,837,877 52
1873
3,041,348 39
1,099,916 52
1,941,431 87
1874
3,080,396 70
992,615 06
2,087,781 64
1875.
2,681,719 04
764,387 17
1,917,331 87
1876.
2,510,242 02
573,188 24
1,937,053 78
1877.
2,580,353 73
641,484 04
1,938,869 69
1878.
2,583,472 21
574,122 30
2,009,350 21
It will be seen, from the foregoing figures, that, notwithstand. ing the extraordinary expenditures of the last few years, our 12
10
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 33.
net liabilities, at the close of the last financial year, were only $171,472.69 more than they were in 1872, and but $70,480.92 more than the corresponding item in 1877. It will also be borne in mind, that, although our net liabilities have somewhat increased, we have the increase represented by important public improvements.
During the past year, funded city loans, to the amount of $160,000.00, have been duly authorized and negotiated. Of this amount, the sum of $60,000.00 was for a ten years' loan, on account of additional Lynde Brook damages, and the sum of $100,000.00 for a twenty-seven years' loan, on account of the renewal of a part of our seven per cent. funded debt falling due April 1, 1878. In both instances, our new five per cent. registered bonds were readily placed at a handsome premium above par. Judging from our success, thus far, in renewing our old funded indebtedness, it is gratifying to be able to foresee, that, at no distant period, our interest account will be very materially diminished, and our taxes be correspondingly reduced. The gross amount of interest paid in 1878, was $162,051.36, and, in 1877, $163,063.09. The net amount, expended in 1878, vas $136,836.26, against $149,768, in 1877, -the total revenue from interest, during the past year, having been exceptionably large, owing to the settlement of an old claim against the Boston and Albany Railroad Company, growing out of an agreement made in January, 1873.
The several sinking funds of the city are, as usual, in a highly satisfactory condition. Under the judicious management of the Commissioners, seconded by the wise liberality of the City Council, a large portion of our funded debt, maturing in 1878, has been paid and cancelled, leaving a balance of funds on hand, at the close of the year, of $47,828.86. To this balance will be added, in a few days, the sum of $112,741.95, making the total amount of the funds #160,570.81, - the greater part of which sum will be available for the purpose of taking up such portions of our debt, falling due in 1879, as may not be renewed under the provisions of city ordinance of 1875.
It will hardly be necessary for me to do more than refer to the different trust funds in which the city is interested, as their
11
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
condition will be fully set forth in the various reports to be presented to the City Council. I will only state that the total amount of these funds, on the 30th of November last, stated, in all cases, at par value, was as follows :-
Dr. John Green, Library Fund,
$39,365 65
Geo. Jaques, Hospital Fund,
32,143 16
Isaac Davis, יי
1,446 60
Albert Curtis 66
1,076 29
John B. Shaw, “
64 27
A. H. Bullock, High School Fund,
1,400 00
Hope Cemetery Fund, .
5,185 15
Total amount,
$80,681 12
The Auditor's account of receipts and expenditures, for the financial year ending November 30, 1878, shows the following aggregates, the details of which will be found in his annual report : -
Balance December 1, 1877,
. $137,747 39
Receipts during the year,
1,869,941 64
Total,
$2,007,689 03
Payments during the year,
1,892,039 30
Balance November 30, 1878, .
. $115,649 73
I take pleasure in again referring to the clear and intelligible method of keeping the city accounts, and to the accurate and efficient arrangements for collecting and disbursing the city revenue, as adopted by the City Government of 1872 and per- fected by those having charge of the important department of City Finances.
SCHOOLS.
During the present school year, the ordinary increase of scholars, together with the transfer of pupils from private schools and places of private instruction, owing in some meas- ure, perhaps, to the stringency of the times, has had the effect
12
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 33.
to fill our public schools. to nearly, or quite their full capacity. In some portions of the city they are crowded almost to over- flowing, and in all parts are full, to say the least. During the past season a new building for school purposes has been erected and completed on Winslow street, and is now occupied. Addi- tional accommodations have been provided on Grafton street; and at Lake View, so called, a new building is now in process of erection. While it is very certain that, at no distant day, it will become necessary to provide further accommodations to meet the wants of a rapidly increasing population, it is con- fidently hoped that nothing further will be required during the present year, beyond what can be furnished temporarily.
The magnitude of the appropriation required from year to year for the support and maintenance of our schools, almost or quite the largest in any one department of our government, impelled me, a year since, to call the attention of those having the disbursement of it in charge, to the importance of their trust. I gave expression to some opinions as to the manner in which our schools were conducted, the apparent results which they had produced, and were then producing, and the results which, as it seemed to me, the people had a right to expect from them. These opinions represented my honest and well settled convic- tions ; and in the discussion of a matter of so much importance committed to our care and management, I deemed it not only my prerogative, but my duty, to give utterance to them. It is a matter of satisfaction to me to know that the expression of them has met with a hearty response, from all quarters, from those who are most interested in the success of our schools, and who are looking to them as the most powerful agencies for pro- moting or retarding the healthy growth of every element of usefulness in the young, in whom rest the hopes, and upon whom depend the strength, of the future. Those opinions, then expressed, I have seen no reason to change. They have met with no serious opposition, but on the other hand have been practically adopted. As a consequence, there has been a marked improvement in the use of the time at the disposal of those in the immediate charge of our schools. More attention has been given to studies of a more practical and valuable character, to
1
13
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
the exclusion of those more ornamental and unimportant, and, when I say more practicable and valuable, I mean more valua- ble to those who, from their very circumstances in life, can, at the best, have the benefit of only a partial course in the schools, and who have need of being taught in those things which will be of most value to them in the ordinary pursuits of life, and will best qualify them to become valuable members of society. And I can only hope that those opinions will lead to further discussion, and that our schools may feel and show further good effects from such discussion.
There is no one subject, perhaps, which interests and engages the attention of so large a proportion of our people-which comes so nearly home to each one of them-as this self-same question of schools and education. And there is no reason why it should not be so. For, when we reflect for a moment, that in less than a score of years, the boys and girls in our schools to-day, will take the places we now occupy, that upon them and their acts, upon their intelligence and their virtue, will depend so much the permanence and value of our institutions and the prosperity and happiness of those in whom all our present hopes are centered, we feel and realize the reason of its being so. As we go on, each generation will demand a higher culture, a more general intelligence ; and it is fortunate that we are all willing and eager to do our part in laying the foundation for it. For, to-day, no parent in the ordinary walks of life is satisfied with giving his child the same advantages that were given to him. He is constantly seeking something higher and better for him. He feels an honest pride in every step which his child takes in advance of himself. He spares no pains, hesitates at no sacri- fice, which can contribute towards giving that child an oppor- tunity for exploring fields of learning which he never dreamed of, much less entered.
Now, conceding this to be true, and I imagine there are few who will refuse their assent to it-the natural inference to be drawn is, that upon this question of schools and education, we are all animated by the same spirit, and are aiming at the same result -to ascertain, if possible, that system of education for the people which shall produce the best results, and that management of the
14
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 33.
schools which shall yield the largest and most satisfactory returns for the money which we so freely spend upon them.
But, in dealing with this question practically, there is one error into which we are liable to fall, and which we shall do well to guard against; and that is, when our schools are going on successfully and smoothly, giving us personally no trouble, with no challenge from any quarter as to the mode of their con- duct and management, we are too apt to come to the conclusion that they are models and cannot be improved upon. We pride ourselves upon their excellencies, and shut our eyes to their defects ; and nothing arouses us from this comfortable state of self-congratulation and self-satisfaction, into which we have suffered ourselves to be drawn, until we make the discovery, all at once, that we have been living upon our fancied reputation for excellence, while our neighbors have made rapid strides, and have far outstripped us in the matters of educational reform.
No system can be so perfect as to be above criticism; and no one should be censured for making it. Let us rather listen to criticism, when made, and examine it. If it be deserved, let us profit by it, from whatever source it may come; if not, it can, at least, have done no real harm.
Before leaving this subject, upon which I have, perhaps, already spent too much time, I desire, at the risk of being con- sidered a revolutionist, to call your attention to one feature in our present scheme of common school education. I do it, not so much with the view of precipitating any radical change in the sys- tem, as to that of taking some steps which may eventually lead to a modification of some of the more objectionable features of it.
The question to which I refer, and which I think deserves the deliberate, patient, intelligent and unprejudiced considera- tion of our school authorities, is, whether our graded schools, as such, and as they are now conducted and managed, have not, for all the purposes of the best popular education, in its largest and truest sense, proved substantially a failure. It is a question which, I am persuaded, must be met at no distant day; and the more we shall have examined it, generally and in detail, and made ourselves acquainted with it, the better prepared shall we be to meet it,
15
MAYOR'S ADDRESS.
That the system has some advantages, more particularly of an administrative character, will not be denied. It has the ability to deal with a larger number of scholars, in the same length of time, perhaps, than any other. But the dealing is not of the right kind. It is the pouring in, rather than the drawing out. It always crams, but rarely teaches. And the question which is now agitating the minds of some of our best educators is, whether the sacrifices demanded by it, are not too great for the benefits derived from it; whether there is not more lost in the quality of the teaching than there is gained in the quantity ; whether the whole system is not too mechanical, too artificial, dealing too much with formulas and too little with ideas ; whether the attempt to apply the same treatment to different minds and different temperaments, the dull dragging down and impeding the bright and active, for the sake of carrying them along together in the same grade, is not worse than useless- positively ruinous ; whether there is not great danger in the attempt to bring all diversities of gifts and talents which may be found in the different members of a school into one arbitrary line, for the purposes of a general treatment, applying to each and all the same inflexible and unyielding rule, and so incurring the risk of crushing out every trace of the natural and the true, in the pupil, and substituting the more shapely and comely, perhaps, but less desirable, and less attractive form of the artificial and the false ; whether, in brief, the process which the system calls for, has not the tendency, from its very character, to turn out from our schools mere machines, rather than think- ing, reasoning, and well educated men and women.
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Under its present able and efficient management, the Free Public Library is quietly, but faithfully, accomplishing its allotted work. The able and well digested report of the Libra- rian furnishes gratifying evidence that both branches of the Library - the consulting and the circulating-are more taken advantage of by our people in each succeeding year. It is kept so well supplied, and is so well ordered and arranged, is so
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.