USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Inaugural address of the mayor, with the annual report of the officers of the city of Quincy for the year 1905 > Part 10
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 (link on the Part 1 page).
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
On April 1 Mr. William J. Vaughan and wife were in- stalled respectively as superintendent and matron and under their direction as well as by their untiring labor the building has been thoroughly renovated. Every room cleaned as it never had been before. The floors were washed, the walls were washed and this was followed by painting. Mattresses and bed comforters that for various reasons were unfit for further use were taken from the building and burned.
211
Clothes racks nailed to the walls were taken down and everything else was removed from the rooms that would furnish harbor for vermin. The old fashioned iron beds were taken outside the building and after being thoroughly cleaned, disinfected and washed were again placed in the rooms. These bedsteads should be replaced by more modern ones with wire springs. Because these persons are poor is no reason why they should be obliged to sleep on a hard bed. Today the sleeping rooms in our Almshouse are as clean and as pure as any rooms in the best regulated private homes of any of our citizens.
Everything that was found to be worn out and worth- less was removed from the Home and consigned to the dump. Owing to a small amount of money only those things actually necessary were purchased, but by adding a few each year and by caring for that which we already have the Home will finally be equipped with the modern and inexpensive appli- ances which every good housekeeper uses.
For a number of years the basement has been used as a place for the men on stormy days and during the winter. It was a most unhealthy place for them and at the same time caused the whole building to become a nuisance. Early in the fall a building in the rear of the Home was remodelled and thoroughly cleaned at an expense of about $30, and the men were removed to it. They now have a nice place and their condition, as well as that of the Home, has been greatly improved.
The farming tools and stable furnishings were sadly in need of repairs. The greater part of the former are an- tiquated but with proper care they will last several more years. The wagons and carriages have been repaired only to a limited degree. With proper care and making permanent repairs they will again become as good as new.
As a farm the Quincy Almshouse is situated in a very poor place. The soil is light and sandy. Much of the part now under cultivation is gravelly and requires a large quan- tity of dressing to make it productive. The garden the past year more than paid for itself but it was not as successful as anticipated. This in a measure was due to the very dry weather. Another year we hope to have better results.
212
We would call your attention to the fact that while the City Stable and several buildings belonging to the Board of Health are located upon land of the Poor Department, and a section has been added to the Cemetery, there never has been a transfer of the parts occupied. This should be done that the interests of the city may be protected. Since 1895 the street department has been taking gravel from the Farm much to the benefit of that department and to the injury of the Farm. After they have used all they require the city will be obliged to spend a very large amount to put the place in presentable condition, it being located at the entrance to Mt. Wollaston Cemetery. It is to be hoped that this year this will be done, as the responsibility may then be placed. Under the present conditions the Cemetery Department cannot give proper deeds to lots in the section they occupy.
In closing this report we would state that the Quincy Almshouse today has received high praise from the inspect- or of the State Board of Charity, and knowing this our citi- zens may feel that their poor are being properly cared for. As a whole the inmates have conducted themselves in a cred- itable manner. The discipline is much improved. While there have been some bad cases they have been overcome by resorting to strict measures, and we feel that the coming year will see a marked improvement over all former years. We wish to extend our thanks to all who have assisted us in any way, more particularly to the Superintendent and Matron who have labored so faithfully and conscientiously.
The usual statistics are annexed to this report.
FREDERICK F. GREEN. Overseer of Poor.
The following is the financial statement for the year: Appropriation
$9,000.00
Expended outside direct $3,011.65
Expended from Almshouse 2,568.07
Expended Almshouse net 3.419.76
Total amount expended
$8,999.48
Bills contracted in excess of the appro- priation
1.501.45
Total cost of the year
$10,500.93
213
EXPENSE OF OUTSIDE POOR.
Provisions
$2,711.18
Coal
407.49
Clothing
65.50
Medicine
1.85
Rent
450.00
Board
309.13
Burials
147.00
Transportation
3.00
Institutions
847.43
Hospitals
535.97
Other Cities
1,101.63
Telephone
22.62
Clerical
103.00
Miscellaneous
65.29
$6,771.09
Bills contracted in excess of the appro-
priation
$1,191.37
Amount expended for Outside Poor . .
$5,579.72
EXPENSE OF ALMSHOUSE.
Salary of Superintendent
$534.78
Wages
282.00
House supplies
3,658.32
Stable supplies
801.94
Clothing
218.50
Fuel
61.26
Telephone
34.82
Electric Lights
124.53
Medicine
29.40
Hardware
107.16
Freight
6.59
Furniture
134.07
Repairs and fixtures
62.58
214
Lumber 56.11
Miscellaneous 185.85
$6,297.91
Credit by supplies to Outside Poor
2,568.07
Net cost of Almshouse $3.729.84
Bills contracted in excess of the appro-
_priation $310.08
Amount expended for Almshouse $3,419.76
ALMSHOUSE.
Number of inmates January 1 1905 21
Admitted during the year 4
Total number during the year -25
Discharged during the year 12
Died during the year 2
Total 14
Number in Almhouse December 31 1905 11
Number of families aided temporarily 140
Number having settlement in Quincy 71
Number having settlement in other cities or towns 19
Number having no settlement (State charges) 50
Number of cases fully supported 36
Number of cases in Almshouse 25
Number of cases in Institutions 5
Number of cases in private families 6
DISCHARGED.
Almshouse 12
Institutions 0
Private families 2
DIED.
Almshouse 2
Institutions 0
Private families 1
Number fully supported December 31, 1905 19
-
215
Report of City Physician.
To His Honor the Mayor of the City of Quincy:
I have the honor to submit the following as the report of the City Physician for the year 1906.
I have made sixty-five visits to the Almshouse and seventy-eight visits to the outside poor under the direction of the Overseer of the Poor. I have made thirty visits to pa- tients sick with contagious diseases-scarlet fever and diph- theria-to whom I was sent by the Board of Health.
To persons confined at the Police Station and others to whom I was called by the Police Department, I have made eighteen calls.
I have held an examination of the physical condition of applicants for appointment to the Police Department under the Civil Service rules. I have vaccinated eighteen children sent to me by the School authorities.
Three deaths have occurred in this practice, one result- ing from diphtheria, one resulting from pneumonia and one from hemiplegia.
At the suggestion of the keeper, it has been my custom to call at the Almshouse weekly so as to keep myself in- formed of the physical condition of the inmates, who though not on the technical sick list are nearly all chronic invalids, incapacitated by various bodily ailments. I have thus been able to observe "in season and out of season" the care which has been given to those whose misfortunes have made them wards of the City, and I wish to report to your Honor, that in my judgment it has been intelligent and sympathetic.
While the rules of public institutions have to be en- forced here and by necessity make a condition of living differ- ent from that which many poor people voluntarily adapt themselves to, they are without doubt established in wisdom and I hereby commend the patient individual care which the inmates receive.
To steer between the Scylla of Economy and the
216
Charybdis of Humanitarianism, the Overseer of the Poor seems to me to have a very difficult course in the treatment of incurable cases. During the past year a nurse was provided for one invalid, who with a complication of ailments devel- oped pneumonia from which she died. In another instance a patient, a paralytic, who was unable to help herself at all, was cared for and faithfully attended by the matron with the assistance of the inmates of the home until her death. This voluntary assumption of a nurse's duties by the matron, while highly commendable, should not be interpreted as a prece- dent, and I think it a fair professional statement that a single incurable, bedridden patient at the Almshouse requires the employment of a special attendant or nurse.
A mildly insane patient to whom in this age of special- ties the Almshouse is not adapted, became violent and noisy and was committed to the Insane Hospital.
A patient who had developed an incipient tuberculosis was by advice from the Rutland Sanitorium furnished an op- portunity for the special modern treatment which that insti- tution affords.
I am pleased to note that the hygienic condition of the house has been improved by removing the men's smoking room from the basement of the building to a room outside.
As the duties of the City Physician vary in the different cities and as so many of our citizens seem to be of the impres- sion that they include the care of all worthy poor I respect- fully submit the section of the ordinance which defines then.
The City Physician shall attend, under the direction of the Overseer of the Poor, upon all sick paupers, whether state or city, and upon all sick persons under the care of the city authorities at the Almshouse or elsewhere in the city, and at the request of the Chief of Police upon all prisoners or other persons confined in the city lockup who require medical or surgical treatment.
He shall vaccinate all scholars in the public schools sent to him for that purpose by the School Committee, or Super- intendent of Schools, and give them a certificate thereof.
Respectfully submitted,
HENRY C. HALLOWELL, M. D.,
City Physician.
217
Public Burial Places
To His Honor the Mayor of the City of Quincy:
The Managers of Public Burial Places respectfully sub- mit the following report for the year 1905.
The work of this department has been successfully car- ried out during the past year largely upon the same lines of other years and within the amount appropriated for its use by the City Council. The appropriation for the year was $4,000, the same as in several years past. Of this amount $3,973.46 has been expended, leaving a balance on January 1 of $26.54. There are outstanding a few small bills, but the balance is more than enough to meet them. A very large part of this sum is expended for labor in the care of lots, re- grading, foundations, etc., for which the city receives a re- turn. This return is paid directly into the City Treasury.
During the year twenty lots have been sold, largely in the new part recently regraded. These new lots have been so laid out as to meet the wants of the majority of citizens, namely, a lot that can be purchased for a sum ranging from $10 to $60 and upwards. The wisdom of this move has been made apparent, for during the year a number of these have been sold.
Nothing has yet been done toward the completion of the work on the Sea Street side of Mt. Wollaston cemetery, but it is hoped that this work may be finished before another Memorial Day.
It seems to your Board that while this land is still un- completed, the time has arrived for the removal of the Sol- diers' monument to this site. The site of the monument is now very undesirable for the reason that it is surrounded by lots whose owners rightly object to the way in which they are used at the annual Memorial Day exercises at the monu-
218
ment. Hundreds of citizens attend these exercises and ar- range themselves about the monument, forgetting that they are standing upon the graves of persons buried in these lots. The result is that the grass is badly trodden and it is almost impossible to keep these lots looking as their owners desire them to be. If the monument were moved to the Sea Street side of the cemetery it would not only be in a sightly place, but be much more convenient for the Grand Army as well as the citizens at large. It is understood that the removal of the monument to this site could be done for less than $300, and it seems to your Board that such an expenditure should be made for this purpose at an early date.
The carrying out of the lawn plan adopted some years ago has been continued this year and seventeen lots have been regraded and placed under the lawn plan during the year. The expense of this work is borne largely by lot own- ers and the improvement of the lots regraded is so marked that your Board is receiving more orders every year than it can fill for lack of sufficient appropriation. By doing a few lots each year, however, it will not be many years before the entire cemetery has been regraded and placed upon the lawn plan.
Ten lots have been placed under perpetual care during the year, for which purpose $1,175 has been deposited. The total sum now held in trust for this purpose is $20,913 out- side of the sum held for the C. C. Johnson lot. This sum is deposited in the Quincy Savings Bank and National Granite Bank.
Some little care has been bestowed upon the Hancock cemetery, but not as much as your Board would have liked to have done had it more funds at its disposal.
The receipts of the department for the year, exclusive of the amount deposited for perpetual care, was:
219
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
Appropriation $4,000.00
Expended 3,973.46
Balance unexpended $26.54
PERPETUAL CARE FUND.
Cash on deposit Jan. 1, 1905
$19,738.00
Added during the year 1,175.00
Interest on same 828.79
Paid for care of lots
$828.79
Cash on deposit Dec. 30, 1905
20,913.00
$21,741.79 $21,741.79
C. C. JOHNSON FUND.
Deposited in Quincy Savings Bank $150.00
Interest on same 6,06
Paid for care of lot
$6.06
Cash on deposit Dec. 30, 1905
150.00
$156.06 $156 06
STATISTICS.
Whole number of lots cared for 568
By yearly contract 410
By perpetual care 158
There have been 214 burials in Mount Wollaston Ceme- tery during the year as follows:
Adults 142
Under 21 years of age 72
Died in other places 68
Adults 58
Under 21 years 10
220
RECEIPTS.
Care of lots, 1901
$3.00
Care of lots, 1902
3.00
Care of lots, 1903
24.00
Care of lots, 1904
608.50
Care of lots, 1905
626.50
Care of lots, 1906
6.00
Duplicate deeds
2.00
Foundations
391.22
Graves sold
240.00
Opening graves
893.00
Regrading
227.00
Removals
154.00
Lots sold
1,405.00
Miscellaneous labor
29.00
Interest Perpetual Care Fund
834.85
Total
$5,447.07
1
Respectfully submitted,
ALBERT W. FAY, Chairman,
GEORGE T. MAGEE, Clerk,
JOHN Q. CUDWORTH,
JOHN L. JOHNSON,
ALFRED O. DIACK,
JOSEPH H. VOGEL,
Managers Public Burial Places.
221
Report of City Solicitor
To His Honor the Mayor of the City of Quincy:
I beg leave to submit the following report in regard to the legal matters of the city committed to my charge as City Solicitor.
During the year there have been several matters before Special Commissions and Legislative Committees affecting the city, in which I have appeared on behalf of the city, neces- sitating much time in the preparation and presentation thereof.
Chief among these were the hearings before a special Commission appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court under the authority of Chapter 407 of the Acts of 1893 to consider and report upon the proportions which each city and town within the Metropolitan Parks District should pay toward the cost of construction and maintenance of Metropolitan Parks and Boulevards.
These hearings were held during the early part of the year 1905 and covered a period of several weeks, necessitat- irg the preparing of a brief setting forth the facts peculiar to the city and the printing of fifty copies thereof for the use of the Commission and the counsel of the other cities and towns interested.
This Commission has since reported its findings, and the proportion to be paid during each of the succeeding five years by each city and town within the district has been de- termined.
Next in order were the hearings before a Special Com- mission to determine the proportion each city and town with- in the South Metropolitan Sewerage district should pay dur- the next five years towards the cost of construction and main- tenance of the South Metropolitan sewer. A number of
222 -
hearings were had before this commission and its report has been filed into the Supreme Judicial Court.
The final hearings before the Special Commission to apportion the cost of the Fore River bridge were held in the early part of the year. One member of the original commis- sion having deceased after the evidence had all been intro- duced and before its report was made, and a new member been appointed in his stead, it was agreed by all counsel in- terested to leave the matter as it had been argued before the original commission with the understanding that the new member use the stenographic reports of the hearings as a basis of information. This was done with a view to expedite the report of the Commission. As yet no report has been filed by the Commissioners in this matter.
A hearing was given by the officials of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad relative to better train ser- vice. I appeared in conjunction, with a special committee of the council and pressed certain suggestions toward remedy- ing the existing conditions. As my predecessor, Mr. Black- mur, had one prior meeting with the same officials at which he courteously invited me to attend, the same courtesy was extended to him and he was present at the final meeting.
Nearly all the requests made were granted and today Quincy enjoys exceedingly good train service. Later in the year upon request the Railroad officials added an express train to Quincy at 11.13 o'clock P. M. to accommodate theatre patrons.
During the year a bill was introduced into the legisla- ture authorizing the City , of Quincy to borrow $200,000.00 without its limit of indebtedness for completing its system of sewerage. I appeared before the Legislative Committee having this matter in charge and was successful in having the bill reported.
In accordance with a motion of the City Council I made complaint before the Railroad Commissioners against the Old Colony Street Railway Company protesting against the increase of fares between Quincy and Brockton, and Quincy and Nantasket Beach, and asked that a hearing be given on
223
these matters. At the hearing, at which the Mayor was also. present, I presented the case on behalf of the city. The Commissioners decided that in view of the fact that they were about to recommend practically a rebuilding of the line of railway from Quincy to Brockton, it would be inadvisable at that time to recommend a reduction in fares on that line. As to the reduction on the Nantasket line that matter was deferred until the spring of 1906 when the Commission stated that they would hear the city again. This matter will be taken up by me this year.
In company with the Mayor I waited upon the Railroad Commissioners and also upon President Sullivan of the Old Colony Street Railway Company with a view to obtaining through street cars to the Dudley Street station of the Bos- ton Elevated Railway. So successful were we that at present Quincy enjoys fifteen minute service to and from Dudley Street station until late at night.
Upon petition of one of the resident ministers of Quincy the city was summoned to appear before the Attorney Gen- eral and show why it should not be proceeded against for misapplication of the Woodward Trust Fund. The city had hy ordinance prescribed that certain city officials should be paid stated sums from this fund for services rendered in han- (lling and caring for this fund. My predecessor, Mr. Black- mur, had rendered an opinion that it was legal for the city so to do. I presented Mr. Blackmur's opinion before the At- torney General and argued that the same was a true state- ment of the law. The Attorney General in his finding, how- ever, intimated that the city ought not to use the fund for the purpose of paying salaries to its city officials and the City Council has since by ordinance remedied this.
Outside of the hearings on apportionment of the cost and maintenance of Metropolitan Parks and Boulevards and Metropolitan sewers, perhaps the most important matter coming before the law department was the matter of the widening and change of grade of Hancock Street at the At- lantic Bridge so called. Authority for the necessary widening and change in grade had been obtained from the County
224
Commissioners by a prior administration, and the County Commissioners had entered a decree providing for the neces- sary change and specifying the work to be done thereunder. A special commission had been appointed by the Superior Court under the provisions of the Revised Laws to apportion the cost of the work upon the municipalities and corporations benefited. This Commission decided that the Railroad Com- pany should carry the decision of the County Commissioners into effect and decided that the expense of the work should be apportioned in the following manner, to wit: Sixty per cent. upon the Old Colony Railroad Company, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, lessee; twenty-five per cent. upon the City of Quincy; and fifteen per cent. on the Old Colony Street Railway Company.
Upon assuming the duties of the office of City Solicitor I found that all work upon the bridge and street had been suspended for a period of several months owing to a certain indefiniteness in the decree of the County Commissioners. It appeared that while the decree of the County Commissioners had provided for a widening of the street to sixty-four feet, no provision had been made in the decree for supporting the street when so widened. The railroad officials contended that the city should purchase additional land in order to maintain dirt slopes; on the other hand the city maintained the rail- road company should build retaining walls of granite on the line of the street as widened. Neither side seemed in a mood to concede to the demands of the other.
In conjunction with his Honor the Mayor I took the matter up with the proper officials of the railroad company. Many conferences were had, at several of which the City Engineer was present. The result was that the City Council passed Order No. 130 requesting the Mayor to sign and pre- sent a petition to the County Commissioners of Norfolk County requesting said County Commissioners to prescribe the manner and limits within which shall be made an altera- tion in the crossing of Hancock Street with the railroad of the Old Colony Railroad Company, the approaches thereto, the location of the railroad or way and in the bridge at the
225
crossing; and to take all necessary steps to secure action on said petition. Accordingly a petition was drafted and pre- sented to the County Commissioners. After a hearing of all parties interested and a view the County Commissioners en- tered a decree prescribing the manner and limits of such alterations in Sagamore, Old Colony and Madison Streets, and prescribing for retaining said streets by dirt slopes, bulk- heads, or walls, or otherwise.
These matters had previously been considered and rec- ommended to the County Commissioners by the City and the Attorney for the Railroad Company.
This practically necessitated going over the entire ground of the original proceedings.
A new special commission was appointed who appor- tioned the cost in the same relative amounts as had the prior special commission.
Work was immediately resumed on the bridge and street and the construction thereof is now practically completed.
The proportion of the cost of this bridge as well as of the Fore River Bridge falling upon the city to pay will un- doubtedly be determined this year.
By the change in the lay-out of Sagamore Street, the grade of that street as well as of Madison Street and Old Colony Street is materially reduced, and a fine approach is now had to the Atlantic Station of the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R., making a lasting improvement in this section of the city.
In accordance with Order No. 66 of the City Council I entered complaint with the Board of Gas Commissioners of the Commonwealth against the Citizens' Gas Light Company protesting against the quantity and quality of gas furnished to consumers in the city, and also the exorbitant prices charged by said company for its gas.
A speedy hearing was asked in this matter.
With His Honor the Mayor I interviewed the Secretary of the Board of Gas Commissioners and was informed that upon the return of two of the Commissioners from Europe a hearing would be granted. Upon the return of the Com- missioners in October of last year many interviews were held
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.