USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1868-1871 > Part 15
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148 DUTIES OF THE JANITORS.
1. To sweep the entries and stairways daily ; the rooms and outhouses twice a week.
2. To dust the furniture as often as the rooms are swept ; the windows, blinds, walls and ceilings as frequently as neces- sary to keep them in good order.
3. To clean the doors and all other painted surfaces, includ- ing seats and desks during the summer vacation ; the windows twice in each year, and the ink-wells once in three months.
4. To build fires, when necessary, in season to have the rooms properly warmed at the time for opening the schools. Where stoves are used, fuel sufficient for the day must be car- ried to the several rooms.
5. To use the fuel economically. To screen the ashes thor- oughly and use the screenings on the fires.
6. To remove the ashes and all other debris from the cellar during the month of June.
7. To keep the path clear of snow from each outside door of the school building to the gate, and also to the out-houses.
8. To keep the windows, outside doors, including those of the out-houses, and the gates locked except during school hours.
9. To take every precaution to avoid accidents from fire.
10. To have a general oversight of the premises at all times.
11. When the building is heated by steam, the janitor is required to be in attendance CONSTANTLY DURING SCHOOL HOURS.
It is understood that the Janitor in the performance of his duties, is under the direction of the Principal.
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LAWS RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
SECT. 17. . If any person elected a member of the school committee, after being duly notified of his election in the manner in which town officers are required to be notified, refuses or neglects to accept said office, or if any member of the board declines further service, or from change of residence or otherwise, becomes unable to attend to the duties of the board, the remaining members shall, in writing, give notice of the fact to the select- men of the town, or to the mayor and aldermen of the city, and the two boards shall thereupon, after giving public notice of at least one week, pro- ceed to fill such vacancy; and a majority of the ballots of persons entitled to vote shall be necessary to an election.
AMENDMENT.
[SECT. I. The school committee shall require the daily reading of some portion of the Bible, without written note or oral comment, in the public schools, but they shall require no scholar to read from any particular version whose parent or guardian shall declare that he has conscientious scruples against allowing him to read therefrom, nor shall they ever direct any school books calculated to favor the tenets of any particular sect of Chris- tians, to be purchased or used in any of the public schools.]
SECT. 28. The school committee shall direct what books shall be used in the public schools, and no change shall be made in said books except by the unanimous consent of the whole board, unless the committee consists of more than nine, and questions relating to school books are intrusted to a sub-committee. In that case, the consent of two-thirds of the whole num- ber of said sub-committee, with the concurrent vote of three-fourths of the whole board, shall be requisite for such change. If any change is made, each pupil then belonging to the public schools, and requiring the substi- tuted book, shall be furnished with the same, by the school committee, at the expense of said town.
SECT. 30. If any scholar is not furnished by his parent, master or guardian, with the requisite books he shall be supplied therewith by the school committee at the expense of the town.
SECT. 31. The school committee shall give notice in writing to the as- sessors of the town of the names of the scholar supplied with books under the provisions of the preceding section, of the books so furnished, the prices thereof, and the names of the parents, masters or guardians ; who ought to have supplied the same. The assessors shall add the price of the books to the next annual tax of such parents, masters or guardians ; and the amount so added shall be levied, collected, and paid into the town treasury, in the same manner as the town taxes.
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SECT. 32. If the assessors are of opinion that any parent, master, or guardian, is unable to pay the whole expense of the books so supplied, on his account, they shall omit to add the price of such books, or shall add only a part thereof, to his annual tax, according to their opinion of his ability to pay.
CHAPTER XL.
SECT. I. The clerks of the several cities and towns, upon receiving from the secretary of the board of education the school registers and blank forms of inquiry for school returns, shall deliver them to the school com- mittee of such cities and towns.
SECT. 2. If a school committee fails to receive such blank forms of re- turn on or before the last day of March, they shall forthwith notify the secretary of the board of education, who shall transmit such forms as soon as may be.
SECT. 3. The assessors shall annually in the month of May, ascertain the number of persons in their respective towns and cities on the first day of May, between the ages of five and fifteen years, and on or before the first day of July following, report the same to the school committee.
SECT 4. The school committee shall annually on or before the last day of the following April, certify under oath, the numbers as returned to them by the assessors, and also the sum raised by such city or town for the sup- port of schools during the preceding school year, including only wages and board of teachers, fuel for the schools, and care of the fires and school- rooms, and shall transmit such certificate to the secretary of the board of education. The form of such certificate shall be as follows. to wit : -
AMENDMENT.
[We, the school committee of , do certify that from the returns made by the assessors in the year , it appears that on the
first day of May, in the year , there were belonging to said town the number of persons between the ages of five and fifteen years ; and we further certify that said town raised the sum of
dollars for the support of public schools for the preceding school year in- cluding only the wages and board of teachers, fuel for the schools, and care of fires and school-rooms ; and that said town maintained, during said year, each of the schools required to be kept by the first section of the thirty- eight chapter of the General Statutes for a period not less than six months ; and we further certify that said town maintained, during said year, school for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the town, as required by section two, chapter thirty-eight of the General Statutes for months and days.
School Committee.
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Ss.
On this day of personally appeared the above named , , and made oath that the above certificate
school committee of
by them subscribed is true.
Before me,
Justice of the Peace.
SECT. 3. In the returns made by the school committee to the secretary of the board of education, twenty days or forty half-days of actual session shall be counted as one month.]
SECT. 5. The school committee shall cause the school registers to be faithfully kept in all the public schools, and shall annually on or before the last day of April, return the blank forms of inquiry, duly filled up, to the secretary of the board of education ; and shall also specify in said returns the purposes to which the money received by their town or city from the income of the school fund has been appropriated.
SECT. 6. The school committee shall annually make a detailed report of the condition of the several public schools, which report shall contain such statements and suggestions in relation to the schools as the committee deem necessary or proper to promote the interests thereof. The committee shall cause said report to be printed for the use of the inhabitants, in octavo, pamphlet form, of the size of the annual reports of the board of education, and transmit two copies thereof to the secretary of said board, on or be- fore the last day of April, and deposit one copy in the office of the clerk of the city or town.
SECT. 13. The several school teachers shall faithfully keep the registers furnished to them, and make due return thereof to the school committee, or such person as they may designate, and no teacher shall be entitled to receive payment for services until the register, properly filled up and com- pleted, shall be so returned.
CHAPTER XLI.
SECTION I. Every person having under his control a child between the ages of eight, and fourteen years, shall annually during the continuance of his control send such child to some public school in the city or town in which he resides, at least twelve weeks, if the public schools of such city or town so long continue, six weeks of which time shall be consecutive ; and for every neglect of such duty the party offending shall forfeit to the use of such city or town a sum not exceeding twenty dollars : but if it appears upon the inquiry of the truant officers or school committee of any city or town, or upon the trial of any prosecution, that the party so neg-" lecting was not able, by reason of poverty, to send such child to school or to furnish him with the means of education, or that such child has been otherwise furnished with the means of education for a like period of time, or has already acquired the branches of learning taught in the public schools, or that his bodily or mental condition has been such as to prevent
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his attendance at school or application to study for the period required, the penalty before mentioned shall not be incurred.
SECT. 2. The truant officers and the school committees of the several cities and towns shall inquire into all cases of neglect of the duty pre- scribed in the preceding section ; and ascertain from the persons neglect- ing, the reasons if any therefor ; and shall forthwith give notice of all violations, with the reasons to the treasurer of the city or town ; and if such treasurer wilfully neglects or refuses to prosecute any person liable to the penalty provided for in the preceding section, he shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars.
SECT. 4. The school committee shall determine the number and quali- fications of the scholars to be admitted into the school kept for the use of the whole town.
SECT. 8. The school committee shall not allow any child to be admitted to or connected with the public schools, who has not been duly vaccinated.
CHAPTER XLII. AMENDMENT.
[SECT. 2. Any minor convicted of being an habitual truant, or any child convicted of wandering about in the streets or public places of any city or town having no lawful occupation or business, not attending school, and growing up in ignorance, between the ages of seven and sixteen years, may at the discretion of the justice or court having jurisdiction of the case, instead of the fine mentioned in the first (substituted for section 4 above :) section, be committed to any such institution of instruction, house of refor- mation, or suitable situation provided for the purpose, under the authority of the first (substituted for section 4.) for such time, not exceeding two years, as such justice or court may determine.]
SECT. 7. A minor convicted of either of said offences and sentenced to pay a fine may, in default of payment thereof, be committed to such insti- tution of instruction, house of reformation, or suitable situation provided as aforesaid. And upon proof that the minor is unable to pay the fine, and has no parent, guardian, or person chargeable with his support able to pay the same, he may be discharged by some justice or court, whenever it is deemed expedient, or he may be discharged in the manner poor convicts may be discharged from imprisonment for non-payment of fine and costs.
SECT. 8. Warrants issued under this chapter shall be returnable before any trial justice or judge of a police court, at the place named in the war- rant ; and the justice or judge shall receive such compensation as the city or town determines.
SECT. 23. Whoever wilfully interrupts or disturbs any school or other assembly of people met for a lawful purpose, shall be punished by impris- onment in the jail not exceeding thirty days, or by fine not exceeding fifty dollars.
REPORT
OF THE
OVERSEERS OF POOR.
During the financial year that has just closed, there has but little transpired not common to the business of the Poor Department. The number applying for relief, will not vary much from one hundred families, represent- ing about four hundred persons ; which was about the number for the preceding year. This, on the whole, may be considered favorable, if we take into consideration the largely increased population of the town. Only a very small percentage of this number have a settlement in Somerville, or in any other place in this Commonwealth.
At the present time there are only three persons re- ceiving full support from the Town, viz., Henry Kinsley and Bridget Bradburn, at the Vermont Asylum at Brat- tleboro, both moderately insane ; and Truman Morrill at the Charlestown Almshouse. The aggregate cost to the Town for the support of these three persons, does not amount to quite four hundred dollars per annum, which sum, we think, the town will consider sufficiently low, when assured that the comfort and well being of these persons at each of these places appear to be well cared for.
Early in the year, the sum of four hundred dollars was paid into the Town Treasury by the guardian of Henry
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Kinsley, the same having descended to him from the estate of his late brother, Calvin Kingsley. This sum has been passed to the credit of our Poor Account. Some- thing more, it is supposed, will be realized by the town from the same source.
During the past three years, the tendency of legisla- tion has been in favor of extending increased facilities in favor of acquiring settlements, by which means a very large number of persons have become possessed of such settlements within the period named.
The " Naturalization " clause, which has made natural- ization a condition precedent to acquiring a settlement, has within a year been repealed ; as has also the clause in the Military Act of 1865, making six months residence in a place next preceding such enlistment, one of the conditions to obtaining such settlement.
It may be found necessary for the town, in order to protect itself from largely increased expenditures for this department growing out of this legislative action, to as- sert its legal rights, by sending to Tewksbury, very many of those who fall into distress, having no settlement in any place in this Commonwealth, and who have hitherto been the recipients of the free charity offering of the Town. In case such a course should be found necessary, due discrimination should be made in favor of families of temperate and industrious habits, among whose members are pupils of our schools.
The case of Joseph W. Martin, we think, should not be passed over by us in silence. He, it appears, served in the late war to the credit of our Town, for nearly two years ; so that according to law, when within our limits, if in distress, he was entitled to relief or support, which we supposed in cases of this nature it was intended by the Town to have relieved by the Selectmen from the appropriation of five hundred dollars for relief of Soldier's
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families voted last April to be disbursed by that Board. Relief, however was, declined by that Board, and we were under the necessity of providing for his support, he being very sick at the time. He was received at the Charles- town Almshouse where every needed attention was given him, and where he expired after about seven weeks residence. His remains were buried in a suitable manner at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Within the year, some six families whose settlement is in this town, have been relieved by other places in which they now reside, and the expenses of such relief paid by our town. Thus far the expenses incurred in behalf of such persons, has been comparatively small, but from this fact, we cannot feel assured that such will be the case in future.
Coal in this department was contracted for in July at $7.50 per ton.
Having been actuated by a desire to consult not only the financial interests, but the generous sentiments of the town, as well as the necessities and deserts of those applying for aid : we find as a gratifying result, that our expenditures have fallen considerably within the appro- priation made for the current year, by the town, after ex- cluding the unanticipated $400 from the Kinsley estate.
While it is gratifying to find our burdens so light for support of the Poor, it is humiliating to see the agencies and instrumentalities for demoralization, degradation and want, so actively at work in our otherwise prosperous town.
PATRICK RAFFERTY, CLARK BENNETT, ABRAM WELCH,
Overseers of Poor.
REPORT
OF THE
SOMERVILLE MYSTIC WATER COMMITTEE.
THE undersigned respectfully submit the first Annual Report of the Somerville Mystic Water Committee.
The first action by the town in regard to the introduc- tion of the Mystic Lake Water, was at a Town Meeting held Nov. 5th, 1867, when, upon the petition of Nathan Tufts, Jr., and others, it was voted "That Nathan Tufts, Jr., Aaron Sargent, George O. Brastow, S. A. Carlton, C. E. Rymes, Thomas Cunningham and Levi Russell, be a Committee to take the whole matter of contracting with the City of Charlestown for a supply of Mystic Water, into consideration - confer with the Charlestown author- ities - propose some plan, and report at the next Town Meeting."
At a Town Meeting held March 2d, 1868, the Com- mittee reported progress and asked for further time, which was granted.
At a Town Meeting held April 13th, 1868, the Com- mittee submitted the following
REPORT.
The Board of Water Commissioners of the City of Charlestown have - through their Engineer - caused a survey and plan of this town to be made, with reference to the introduction and distribution therein, of the Mystic
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Water, and have designated on said plan the sizes of the pipes which it is deemed will be requisite.
The most favorable conditions upon which the town can hope to obtain a supply of the water are, that the town (or such portions thereof as it may be decided to be expedient) shall be piped - including the cost of the pipe and the laying of the same - at the expense of the town. The water will then be furnished to the takers at the same rates as are, or may be, charged to the citizens of Charlestown ; the Water Commissioners collecting all water rates, and crediting and paying this town from the gross amount so collected, fifteen per cent. on all sums to $20,000; twenty per cent. on all sums in excess of $20,000 to $30,000; twenty-five per cent. on all sums in excess of $30,000 to $40,000; thirty per cent. on all sums in excess of $40,000 to $50,000 ; and forty per cent. on all sums in excess of $50,000. The terms of the con- tract between the cities of Charlestown and Chelsea, for supplying the latter named city with the water, precludes the possibility of obtaining more favorable terms than those stated, for a supply of water for our town.
By the plan of the town, before alluded to, it appears that a 12-inch pipe was intended as a main, to commence at the main supplying the City of Charlestown, near the junction of Medford and Main streets, in the town of Medford, to extend through Medford street, across Broad- way, to Central street, and thence. through Central to Milk street, near the Middlesex Bleachery. The distance from the Medford town line to Milk street is about 5,800 feet. It was originally intended by the Water Commis- sioners to lay a 24-inch pipe from the reservoir on Wal- nut Hill, through Elm, Milk and Washington streets, as an additional main to the City of Charlestown, and is so laid down on the plan, to which reference has already been made; but that project having been abandoned, it
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would only be necessary for a local supply of water, to lay an 8-inch pipe - as a main - in Milk and Washing- ton streets. An 8-inch pipe has already been laid by the Water Commissioners - as a main - commencing on Broadway, in the easterly part of the town, and running through Franklin, Pearl, Myrtle and Washington streets - westerly - to Asylum Avenue. The distance on Milk street from Central to Washington street, at Union Square, is about 3,200 feet, and the distance on Wash- ington street from Union Square to Asylum Avenue, is about 2,700 feet.
The cost of the pipe per foot, including the laying, will not exceed $2.25 for the 12-inch, $1.50 for the 8-inch, $1.10 for the 6-inch, and 85 cts. for the 4-inch pipe.
The cost of constructing these mains would be, to Milk street about $13,000
From Central to Washington street, at Union Square, about 4,800
From Union Square to Asylum Avenue, about 4,200
Making a total of about $22,000
Should the town decide to introduce the Mystic Water, this Committee would propose the election of a Commit- tee of three [five] to be called the " Somerville Mystic Water Committee," with authority to obtain the neces- sary legislative enactments to enable the town to raise and appropriate money for the construction and mainte- nance of the works; to conclude a contract with the Charlestown Water Commissioners; to lay in addition to the mains - or any portion thereof that may be decided upon - branch pipes from the mains and other branch pipes, through such streets as it shall from time to time be found expedient; to assess persons taking the water from the mains and branch pipes, such proportionate part of the cost of constructing the works as shall be
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deemed equitable, and to make any and all arrangements in regard to the introduction, distribution and supply of the water, both as regards the pipes already laid, and such as may be laid, as shall be found consistent with the best interests of the town.
NATHAN TUFTS, Jr. AARON SARGENT, GEORGE O. BRASTOW,
S. A. CARLTON, Committee.
C. E. RYMES,
THOS. CUNNINGHAM, LEVI RUSSELL,
SOMERVILLE, April 13, 1868.
The Report having been read, it was voted "That the Report of the Committee be accepted and adopted, and that the Committee recommended, for this year, consist of Aaron Sargent, C. E. Rymes, R. A. Vinal, R. E. Dem- mon, and Cutler Downer; and that the sum of thirty thousand dollars be appropriated for this purpose, and that the Town Treasurer be authorized to borrow the said sum for such term of years and on such conditions as he and the said Committee shall deem advisable."
The first work of the Committee was to procure the necessary legislation to authorize the making of a con- tract with the City of Charlestown, and permit the laying of the distribution pipes.
Through the influence of our townsman, Hon. George O. Brastow, President of the Senate, the Committee pro- cured the passage, by the Legislature of
AN ACT SUPPLYING THE TOWN OF SOMERVILLE WITH WATER. [Chap. 202 - Statutes of 1868.]
Be it enacted, &c., as follows :
SECTION 1. The town of Somerville is hereby author- ized to lay, construct and maintain within the limits of
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said town, such pipes, aqueducts and structures in con- nection with the water works or aqueducts of the City of Charlestown, as may be requisite for the purpose of supplying water to the inhabitants of said town for the extinguishment of fires and for other uses. And the said town is hereby fully authorized to raise by taxation, or by borrowing from time to time, an amount not exceed- ing one hundred thousand dollars for the purposes herein specified.
SECTION 2. The said town of Somerville is hereby authorized to assess and collect upon the polls and estates of the town, real and personal, all taxes necessary for the payment of the principal and interest of such promissory notes as shall be issued under the provisions of the pre- ceding section.
SECTION 3. The said town of Somerville shall annually elect a Committee of five from the inhabitants of the. town, who shall superintend, control, direct and make such rules and regulations for the construction and main- tenance of such pipes, aqueducts and structures as are authorized under the provisions of Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 4. All acts done by the inhabitants of the said. town of Somerville, at a legal town meeting holden on Monday, the thirteenth day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, having reference to a supply of water, are hereby ratified, confirmed and made valid, to the same extent as though the provisions of this act were then in full force.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage. Approved May 14, 1868.
Immediately upon the passage of the Act as above, the Committee made application to the City Council of Charlestown for the terms upon which the city would supply this town with water; and commenced investiga- tions as to the kind of pipe and patterns of stop-gate and hydrant, best adapted for use in our town ..
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