USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1882 > Part 12
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
$2,500 00
For fees, for permits to keep swine and goats and to collect grease,
$273 00
Ashes sold,
32 25
Bill of M. R. Warren for stamps in
1881, paid twice.
4 00
309 25
Total credit,
$2,809 25
EXPENDITURES : -
For Inspector's salary,
$500 00
Collecting offal,
500 00
Collecting ashes,
1,429 56
Burying dead animals,
20 00
Fumigating,
114 00
Sulphur,
7 80
Cast-iron spiders for fumigating,
2 50
Vaccine virus,
30 00
Oil of peppermint,
38 50
One half cost of dam and tide gate
near Eastern Railroad, to improve outlet of Waverly Street sewer, the other half being paid by the city of Boston,
134 63
Digging ditch at outlet of Canal Street sewer,
15 00
Books, printing, stationery, advertis- ing, and postage stamps,
110 50
Carriage hire,
16 00
Expenses at Mystic Lake,
2 00
Serving notice in Boston,
1 00
Total debit,
2,921 49
Excess of expenditures,
$112 24
GEORGE A. KIMBALL, C. E. GEO. C. SKILTON. THOMAS M. DURELL, M. D.
14
APPROPRIATION,
RECEIPTS :
INDEX.
PAGE
Ashes
196
Dangerous Diseases
200
Death Rate, 1882 (at end of mortality table) 200
Deaths
199
Diphtheria
201
Districts
204 209 196 196
Grease
House Offal.
Licenses and Permits
Map. . ..
Membership.
193 197 193
Nuisances
Organization
Privies and Water-Closets
Regulations
Scarlet Fever
Sewers
Sewer Outlets
198
Swine
196
Typhoid Fever
201
TABLES.
Diphtheria in 1882, Inspector's Report 203a
Mortality in Somerville, 1882.
199
Rates of, in Districts, 1874 to 1882 205
Nuisances Abated, 1882 194
66 in Districts, 1882 207
Principal Causes of Death, in Districts, 1882.
206
Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, and Typhoid Fever, 1882
203
66 66 Deaths, 1877 to 1882. 203
66
66
in Districts, 1882 .... 206
193 195 208 200 197
Night Soil
197 195 208
Expenses
Goats
REPORT
OF THE
CITY PHYSICIAN.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE.
IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN, March 1, 1883.
Referred to the Committee on Printing, to be printed with the Annual Reports for the year 1882, and sent down for concurrence.
GEO. I. VINCENT, Clerk pro tem.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, March 1, 1883.
Concurred in.
DOUGLAS FRAZAR, Clerk.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE.
REPORT OF THE CITY PHYSICIAN.
To His Honor the Mayor and the City Council : -
GENTLEMEN, - I have the honor to present the following report for the year ending Dec. 31, 1882 : -
I was appointed on the 15th of February, 1882, and entered at once upon my duties.
I have made during the year 2,937 visits ; of these 2,686 were medical and 251 surgical ; 35 visits were made to persons at the police station. I have viewed the bodies and given certificates of the probable cause of death of 12 persons who died unattended by a physician. I have examined 7 persons supposed to be insane, and have given certificates in 4 cases. 52 persons had teeth extracted at my office.
Shortly before my appointment the Board of Health offered free vaccination to all who could not afford to pay for having it done (many applied, I am sorry to say, who ought not to have come under this head). In this way I vaccinated 207 at my office and elsewhere, a large proportion of this number being children who wished to attend school.
In a large proportion of the cases which come under the care of the City Physician the patients are fully in as much need of proper food as they are of medicine. Cases of pneumonia, for example, in which milk would form a large part of the treatment. In such cases I think the City Physician should have the power to order necessary articles of diet. Our Overseers of the Poor meet only once in two weeks, and live in widely separated parts of the city,
214
ANNUAL REPORT.
and it is sometimes impossible to obtain an order for twenty-four hours at least. In cases of the sort I mention above such a delay would be a very serious matter.
It is to be hoped that the suggestion of the Overseers of the Poor in regard to an almshouse will be carried out, for in such a case many of our own poor might receive much better care and attention than they do at present, and at the same time be cared for at a much less expense than at present.
Respectfully submitted,
THOMAS M. DURELL, M. D., City Physician.
REPORT
OF THE
TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE.
IN BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN, Feb. 7, 1883.
Referred to the Committee on Printing, with instructions to print the same in the Annual Reports, and sent down for concurrence. CHARLES E. GILMAN, Clerk.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, Feb. 8, 1883.
Concurred in.
DOUGLAS FRAZAR, Clerk.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
TENTH ANNUAL REPORT.
To the Members of the City Council :-
GENTLEMEN,-The annual report of the librarian, hereto appended, shows that the library is increasingly used and valued by the people of this city with every added year of its existence. It has been the endeavor of the trustees to administer the funds placed at their command in such a way as to make it more valuable in its influence and increasingly serviceable to the several classes of readers that draw or consult its volumes. A good deal of work has been at- tempted by the book committee, not only in their care to make the best selections from the books of the year, which necessarily form a considerable portion of their purchases, but also in the attempt to give greater adequacy and completeness to the different depart- ments of standard works. They call attention, especially, to what has been done in completing the standard English poets, and in adding many works of value in the departments of history, biog- raphy, political economy, and philosophy. Teachers and others interested in education will also be glad to know that quite a number of the choicest and most approved works on school instruc- tion and pedagogic methods have been added during the year. Considerable effort has also been made to fill gaps among the best works of standard fiction and to supply deficiencies in the depart- ment of juveniles. With nearly 10,000 volumes now on our shelves, the duty of proper selection of books and their apportion- ment as to topics and relative cost becomes more and more difficult
218
ANNUAL REPORTS.
and responsible ; and it is clear that with the increase of borrowers the adoption of new methods of purchasing, cataloguing, and ad- 'ministration is only a question of time.
The new shelf room which has been added during the year has temporarily furnished room for the accumulating books; but the crowded state of the library, the insignificant size of the reading and waiting room, the discomfort and confusion that are coming to prevail at certain hours, the impossibility of using in the present state of the accommodations the reference books or periodicals by any considerable number of persons, cause us to urgently renew the plea of last year for new quarters for the library and for speedy consideration of the best way of granting it relief and enlarge- ment. Early in the year the trustees appointed a committee to consult and report on this matter, and plans and estimates have been prepared of a one-story extension of the City Hall building which have received the cordial approval of the board. We believe that adequate accommodations for the next ten or fifteen years can be provided at a cost of not more than $4,500 ; and shall be glad to consult with any committee of your body in reference to these sug- gestions at an early day. While not ideally the best provision for the library, we believe that this proposed extension will be much the most economical method of providing adequate and convenient rooms ; and will have, further, the great advantage of continuing the present facilities for economical lighting, warming, and attend- ance. May we not hope that the improving financial condition of the city, together with the increasing need, will make feasible this year the action which successive Mayors have recommended, and for which successive Boards of Trustees have pleaded ?
The financial statement of the year is as follows : -
Appropriation,
$1,500 00
Dog licenses,
1,018 37
Catalogues,
28 80
Fines,
236 71
$2,783 88
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 219
.
Expended for salaries,
$1,304 19
Books,
971 91
Printing,
213 50
Binding,
55 44
Catalogues,
113 50
Express,
25 05
$2,683 59
Balance to credit in account 1883,
100 29
$2,783 88
For the Board of Directors,
HENRY H. BARBER,
President.
LIBRARIAN'S ANNUAL REPORT.
The whole number of books now in the library is 9,766. The library has been open 306 days, and 67,673 books have been delivered. Of this number 1,000 have been used here. 731 have been added during the year.
The largest number given out in any one month was 7,143, and the largest number on any day was 657.
Two hundred books have been rebound and sixty-five worn out, and where it was thought necessary, have been replaced. We have not many gifts to record. One magazine has been donated, " The Electrician," one book, and one newspaper, " The Register." These have been duly acknowledged. We have also added " Education " to our list of periodicals.
Early in the spring a request for more shelf room was made, which request was promptly complied with, thus giving us ample accommodation for the well-selected volumes just placed upon the shelves. Nine hundred and fifteen names have been registered.
In September a supplement was completed, which proves a great convenience, as it was much needed and meets with a ready sale. These should be printed as often as every other year.
220
ANNUAL REPORTS.
According to a vote of the Trustees, 50 copies of catalogue and supplement have been bound expressly for the grammar schools and presented in your name. The Superintendent of the Schools has distributed them and expressed his thanks for the same.
I would propose as assistants the same who are at present employed in the library : Lizzie Stevens, assistant; Georgette Colman and Lucia Manning, substitutes; W. Crooker and I. Fillebrown as runners.
H. A. ADAMS, Librarian.
REPORT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE.
IN BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN, Dec. 30, 1882.
Report accepted. Referred to Committee on Printing, with instructions to print the same in the Annual Reports. Sent down for concurrence.
CHARLES E. GILMAN. Clerk.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, Dec. 30, 1882.
Concurred in.
DOUGLAS FRAZAR, Clerk.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE.
IN COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS, Dec. 30, 1882.
To the City Council of Somerville :-
THE following is presented as the final report of the Committee on Highways for the year 1882.
APPROPRIATIONS AND EXPENDITURES.
HIGHWAYS ACCOUNT.
APPROPRIATION,
30,000 00
Receipts and credits : -
For private work done in 1881, 287 49
Rent of dwellings at City Farm, 136 00
Gravel from Wakefield gravel land, 152 80
Value of gravel received from Waltham, 363 75 Net increase in value of materials during year, 1 01
Value of personal property, Jan. 1, 8,375 03
Value of materials, Jan. 1, 206 80
Profit on crushed stone (being ex-
cess of credits at $1.25 per load at the crusher, over expenses), 630 62
10,153 50
Total credit,
$40,153 €0
EXPENDITURES AND DEBITS : -
For removing snow and ice,
1,876 41
Cleaning streets,
2,155 77
Repairs of streets, made necessary
by the laying of horse-railroad tracks : --
Beacon Street, west of Washington Street, 1,526 66
Amounts carried forward, 1,526 66
4,032 18
224
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Amounts brought forward, 1,526 66 4,032 18
Newton Street (tracks laid in 1881), 21 26
Somerville Avenue, from Oxford to North Cambridge, 416 28
Summer Street, from Bow to Putnam Street, 91 89
For repairs and paving in connection with
the setting of edgestones : - Concord Avenue, paving,
350 37
66 repairs,
93 56
Day Street, paving,
276 15
repairs,
187 44
Newton Street, paving,
254 17
66 repairs,
17 50
Pearl Street, paving, 66 repairs,
227 61
903 02
Wallace Street, paving,
1,034 01
66 repairs,
773 66
Cross Street (west end), paving, 1,036 03
Vinal Avenue, 1,251 04
6,404 56
For filling on the south side of Mystic Avenue and partially repairing said avenue between the park and Austin Street, 722 95
For ordinary repairs of streets : -
Medford Street, between School and Sycamore, 741 15
Central Street, from Lowell Railroad, southerly 300 feet, 140 90
Pinckney Street,
78 09
Washington Street, near Railroad, 64 17
Washington Street, near Fitchburg Railroad, 93 93
Prospect Street Bridge approaches, 8 80
General repairs, 6,928 41
8,055 45
Amount carried forward,
21,271 23
Lowell
2,056 09
225
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS.
Amount brought forward, 21,271 23
For labor in building sidewalks where materials were furnished by abutters, 368 30
Repairs and paving made necessary by the building of said sidewalks, 152 45
Repairs of paving,
327 40
Repairs of brick sidewalks,
711 65
Labor in widening driveway for private street (materials paid for by petitioner),
7 90
Clearing streets after construction of sewers and catch-basins, 465 87
Street crossings, 688 14
Laying out of Austin Street (advertising, etc.), 12 15
Laying out of Cottage Avenue (advertising, etc.), 11 55
Laying out of Herbert Street (advertising, etc.), 11 55
Laying out of Jaques Street (advertising, etc.),
12 75
Laving out of Newbury Street (advertising, etc.),
13 95
Laying out and construction of Vinal Avenue,
559 72
Construction of Cross Street (northeasterly exten- sion), 696 72
Construction of Cross Street (southwesterly exten- sion), 223 06
Construction of Linden Avenue (from Summer Street southwesterly), about 400 feet,
458 56
Construction of North Street,
1,701 28
One half cost of maintaining Middlesex Avenue
Bridge (the other half being paid by the town of Medford), 373 44
Tax on Wakefield gravel land,
27 64
Tax on Winchester gravel land,
10 75
Tax on Waltham gravel land,
127 50
Grading for track in 1876 at Waltham gravel land,
37 26
Sewer assessment on Bond Street land,
90 00
Damage by widening Gilman Street,
18 00
Pump at Oliver Street land,
15 00
Part cost of setting fountain in Union Square,
24 65
Amount carried forward,
28,418 47
226
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Amount brought forward, 28,418 47
For constructing passageway between Marshall Street
and Sargent Avenue, 146 51
Stone bounds, 50 00
Repairs of city stable dwellings,
108 16
Private work done, the bills for which remain unpaid,
177 33
Repairs of tools, etc., 104 99
Superintendent's salary,
1,500 00
Books, stationery, and printing,
69 95
Collecting ashes,
1,451 46
Less credits from Health Department
account,
1,429 56
21 90
Expenses of city teams : -
Grain,
1,762 23
Hay and straw,
767 62
Cutting hay,
104 16
Shoeing,
338 77
Doctoring and medicine,
138 78
Repairs of carts and implements used with horses, 572 25
Repairs of harnesses,
85 01
Horse hire,
18 00
Stable expenses and repairs,
1,191 08
Value of carts and implements
used with horses, Jan. 1, 2,292 70
Added during the year, 280 41
Total, 2,573 11
Value of same on hand, Dec. 30, 1,923 70
Depreciation, 649 41
Value of harnesses, Jan. 1,
693 00
Value of same on hand Dec. 30, 576 00
Depreciation, 117 00
Amounts carried forward, 5,744 31 30,597 31
227
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS.
Amounts brought foruard, 5,744 31 30,597 31
Value of stable utensils, etc., Jan. 1, 115 50
Added during year, 12 25
Total, . 127 75
Value of same Dec. 30, 57 00
Depreciation,
70 75
Value of horses Jan. 1, 3,480 00
Added during year (one horse) $255, less one horse died, 30 00
Total, 3,510 00
Value of horses Dec. 30, 2,605 00
Depreciation, 905 00
Total expenses of teams, 6,720 06
Less earnings at $1.25 per horse per day, 4,457 68
Excess of expenses over earnings, 2,262 38
Value of horse that died during the year,
225 00
Value of tools, etc., Jan. 1,
335 18
Added during the year,
138 13
Total,
473 31
Value of same Dec. 30,
216 45
Depreciation, 256 86
Value of materials on hand, Dec. 30,
717 48
Value of property on hand, Dec. 30 : - Horses,
2,605 00
Carts and implements used with horses,
1,923 70
Harnesses,
576 00
Stable utensils, etc.,
57 00
Amounts carried forward, 5,161 70
34,059 03
228
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Amounts brought forward,
5,161 70
216 45
Stone crushed and machinery,
1,452 50
6.830 65
Total debit,
$40,889 68
Excess of expenditures,
$736 18
Labor and materials have also been furnished to private parties during the year, in the construction of driveways, laying of side- walks, etc., the bills for which have been collected by the City Treasurer, to the amount of $740.97.
SIDEWALKS ACCOUNT.
APPROPRIATIONS,
2,600 00
EXPENDITURES :
For Concord Avenue sidewalks,
412 38
Cross Street 66
927 24
Day Street 66
1,255 01
Glen Street
(advertising),
10 80
Newton Street 66
460 60
Pearl Street
66
302 57
Vinal Avenue
66
1,996 79
Wallace Street
1.992 18
Total cost,
7,357 57
Assessments,
3,672 92
Net cost to city,
3,684 65
Excess of expenditures,
$1,084 65
A full description of the sidewalks constructed may be found in the City Engineer's report.
WATERING STREETS ACCOUNT.
APPROPRIATION,
3,000 00
Received from abutters, 3,133 95
Value of carts, stand-pipes, and hydrant- wrenches, Jan. 1, 2,962 00
Total credit, $9,095 95
34,059 03 Tools, etc.,
229
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS.
EXPENDITURES : - For Teaming,
3,808 00
Water,
1,950 12
Repairs of carts,
166 06
Hose,
44 25
Repairs of hydrants and stand-pipes,
35 22
Advertising,
13 50
Collecting, Total,
25 00
6.042 15
Value of carts, stand-pipes, etc., Dec. 30, 2,604 00
Depreciation in value of property, 358 00
9,004 15
Balance unexpended,
$91 80
STORMS.
The heavy snow-storms in the early part of the year, especially in the month of February, caused a large expense to this depart- ment. Of the total cost of removing snow and ice during the year, which was $1,876.41, the sum of $1,706.42 was expended in the months of January and February. The damage to streets by heavy rainfalls during the year has been light.
MYSTIC AVENUE.
In compliance with petitions received early in the year, consid- erable work has been done in improving Mystic Avenue, between Temple Street and Austin Street. The filling of the ditches on the southerly side has been substantially completed, and some repairs have been made upon the road-bed ; a part of the avenue between the park and Middlesex Avenue has also been raised and macadamized. The figures given in the foregoing statement of expenditures do not represent the full value of the work done on this improvement, as considerable filling has been carted to the ditches without additional expense to the city, because it had to be disposed of, and this served as a convenient dump. About 2,342 cubic yards of filling have been placed here during the year, besides some seven hundred loads of ashes collected for the Board of Health at the expense of Health Department account.
230
ANNUAL REPORTS.
CHARLES RIVER STREET RAILWAY COMPANY.
The Charles River Street Railway Company has extended its tracks this year in Beacon Street and Somerville Avenue from Wash ington Street to the North Cambridge line, and in Summer Street from Bow Street to Putnam Street, and it has also laid connecting tracks across the Fitchburg Railroad, for which permission was ob- tained from the railroad commissioners. Within the present month it has commenced running cars between our city and Boston, via Cam- bridge. Although this road is already a benefit to us and promises in the near future to aid in the development of our city by afford- ing improved means of local travel, it will be seen by the foregoing financial statement that the extension of its tracks necessitates a considerable outlay by the city for repairing the streets where they are laid, and as we hope the company will push on as vigorously in the coming year as it has in the past, the next City Council should bear this fact in mind when making the appropriation for highways. This company has some two miles of tracks in our streets, all of which have been laid within the past two years.
RAILROAD BRIDGES.
An order of a former City Council was placed in our hands, in- structing the Committee on Highways to endeavor to arrange with the Boston and Lowell Railroad Company for the building of a new bridge over its road at School Street .. We have given the matter due attention and have received valuable aid from his Honor Mayor Cummings. The railroad company being desirous of raising and widening its bridges at Cross and Walnut Streets, an order was offered in the Board of Aldermen and passed by the City Council authorizing the Mayor to contract with the company for new bridges at these streets, in accordance with plans submitted by its engineer, and of the full width of the streets, to be built entirely by the rail- road company, except the grading of the approaches, which is to be done by the city. The railroad company has made some repairs on the School Street Bridge, and has expressed a desire to replace it with a new bridge during the coming year.
STONE CRUSHER.
The stone crusher continues to give good satisfaction. It has
231
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS.
supplied us with all the broken stone used, and the screenings have taken the place of gravel for our sidewalks.
STEAM ROAD-ROLLER.
We believe the time has come when Somerville should own a steam road-roller. We have taken special pains to inform ourselves of the utility of this machine, and have been convinced by personal observation of its work. The city of Newton owns one and has run it for about a year and a half. Its cost was about $6,000, and, at the time when we saw it, in September last, it had not cost a dollar for repairs. It is both a roller and a picker, and its work in each capacity was witnessed by this committee. From its great weight it rolls a road-bed more compactly than can be done by a horse roller, and its work is consequently more durable; and the thorough and expeditious manner in which it picks up macadam is surprising. It requires an engineer to run it, and can be worked in rainy as well as fair weather, as it is provided with a shelter for the man. It can also be run by night as well as by day. We are con- fident it would be a matter of pure economy to purchase one of these rollers, as its saving of labor would, we believe, pay the cost of the machine, with interest, in a few years.
DRINKING FOUNTAIN IN UNION SQUARE.
A petition numerously signed was received early in the year for a more suitable watering trough in Union Square, on the easterly side, and the removal of the old one. An iron drinking fountain surmounted by a street lamp, and manufactured by Henry F. Jenks, of Pawtucket, R. I., has just been placed in Union Square, on the easterly side, and within the triangle formed by the prolon- gation of the northeasterly line of Somerville Avenue and the southwesterly line of Washington Street, and the old watering trough will soon be removed.
NEW STREETS.
Six streets have been accepted during the year, to wit: Austin Street, from Broadway to Mystic Avenue ; Cottage Avenue, from Russell Street to Chester Street; Herbert Street, from Chester
232
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Street to Day Street; Jaques Street, from Chauncey Avenue to Temple Street ; Newbury Street, from Holland Street to the Cam- bridge line, and Vinal Avenue, from Summer Street to Highland Avenue.
Vinal Avenue has been graded and prepared for macadamizing, and the gutters on both sides have been paved in connection with the setting of edgestones. No work has been done upon the con- struction of the remaining streets.
Cross Street, from Medford Street to High Street, and Cross Street, from Broadway to Mystic Avenue, both accepted in 1881, have been graded this year, but have not been macadamized, and gutters have been paved in connection with the setting of edge- stones on both sides of Cross Street, between Medford Street and High Street.
North Street, which was accepted in 1880 as a 40-foot street, from Broadway to City Bound Number 17, has been widened and graded during the present year, but has not been macadamized. This street, which is one of the old range-ways laid out by the colonial government, and forms a convenient route between our city and Medford, was in such a dangerous condition as to be almost impassable, and its construction was clearly a matter of necessity.
Linden Avenue, which was accepted and graded a few years ago, has been macadamized this year on its northerly end, from Summer Street southwestwardly about 400 feet.
PAVING GUTTERS.
The paving of gutters in connection with the construction of sidewalks is, it seems to us, an item of expense which has not been fully understood. It is borne by the appropriation for high- ways, and is necessitated by every sidewalk that is built. It will be seen by the statement of expenditures in this report that the cost of paving gutters is, on the average, more than one half as much per foot as the entire cost of a gravel sidewalk with edgestones (Day Street sidewalk being the only brick walk laid this year), and, as one half of the cost of each sidewalk is assessed upon the abutters, it appears that for every dollar of cost to the city for gravel sidewalks with edgestones more than a dollar must be ex- pended from the appropriation for highways for paving gutters.
233
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS.
We think money spent for paving gutters is well spent, as it contributes largely to the good appearance of the street and reduces the expense of maintaining it ; and, as it is an outlay which cannot be avoided if sidewalks are to be built, proper provision should be made for it in the annual appropriation.
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.