USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1897 > Part 2
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
COMPLAINTS OF EXCESSIVE VALUATION.
Frequent complaints have been made of late by some of the tax-payers of the excessive valuation of their real estate by the assessors. It would be hard to determine to just what extent the charge is fair and well founded. No one questions that the as- sessors act conscientiously in appraising the property of their fellow-citizens. My own observation and knowledge of real es- tate values lead to the belief that there has been a marked falling off in the market price of residential property in some sections of the city. This is particularly true of old houses, and the causes are easily ascertainable. We have passed through a long period of business depression, and all the while there has been unprece- dented activity in building operations. Great improvements have been made in dwelling-house architecture, and tenants naturally prefer the residence of modern design. Already there is an ex- cess of houses, and the older and less attractive structures are not sought after. This leads to a depreciation in values, which is deserving of recognition by the assessing board. Last year, as I am informed, material reductions were made by the assessors in some parts of the city, and it is probable that a still lower valua- tion will be placed upon property in all cases where justice may seem to require such a course.
Nothing is more injurious to a city than excessive and dis- proportionate valuations of taxable property. It breeds discon- tent in the mind of the tax-payer, and burdens the city with an undue share of state and county taxes, and assessments for metro- politan improvements. All of the assessments for metropolitan water, sewers, parks, and boulevards have been, or will be, appor- tioned among the cities and towns in part on the basis of valua- tion. A reasonable valuation means a reasonable assessment. My duties as president of a savings bank, and as an investor of money for clients, have lead me to give close attention to the question of real estate values, and I hear the same complaints in neighboring cities as in Somerville, of frequent sales of property at prices below the assessors' valuation. The far more frequent
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
cases of sales much above assessed values are studiously kept in the background.
TAXATION QUESTIONS.
Under the authority of a legislative resolve, adopted in 1896, a commission was appointed by the Governor to inquire into the expediency of revising and amending the laws of the Common- wealth relating to taxation. An exhaustive study of the taxation question was made by the commissioners, and the results of their deliberations have lately been disclosed in majority and minority reports. I regret that time will not permit even of a brief discus- sion of the recommendations contained in these important state documents. I can only refer to two or three points in the majority report which are of particular interest to our own city. The commission recommends :-
First .- The levying of an inheritance tax of five per cent. on all estates which exceed $10,000, with an abatement of $5,000 on estates between $10,000 and $25,000. As this tax would be dis- tributed among cities and towns, one-half in proportion to popu- lation and one-half in proportion to assessed valuation, Somer- ville would gain considerable revenue therefrom.
Second .- The application of the tax on corporate excess, hitherto distributed among the cities and towns where the owners of corporate securities are domiciled, to the payment of state and county expenses. This is a measure which I have publicly ad- vocated for many years, and it is supported by every consideration of honesty and equity. If it becomes a law, it will place a salutary check upon the establishment of tax-dodging communities, and go far toward the equalization of burdens in the several cities and towns. Under existing laws, the largest holders of corporate securities congregate in certain favored localities, where the rate of taxation is low, and where the assessors are not over-zealous in their search for taxable property. These rich towns get the benefit of the tax, while the cities which are most heavily burdened by the carrying on of corporate business-such enterprises, for example, as steam and electric railways, lighting and telephone companies, etc .- are deprived of their fair share of the tax revenue. The proposed retention in the state treasury of the tax
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
on corporate excess, and the assumption by the state of county expenses would be of marked benefit to Somerville, yielding, on the present basis of population and valuation, an added annual revenue of more than $25,000. Our representatives in the Legis- lature should exert themselves to the utmost to secure the adoption of the recommendation of the commissioners as to the application of the tax on corporate excess.
The feature of the commissioners' report which relates to the assessment of an annual tax of ten per cent. on the excess, above $400, of all rental values is open to grave objections. No law should be enacted which tends to lower the standards of living in this Commonwealth. Even from the standpoint of expediency, it is desirable that the people should occupy the very best houses they can afford to erect, and it would be short-sighted policy to impose a tax, in the nature of a penalty, upon a man who should presume to acquire a home, the rental value of which is more than $400 a year. The more costly and elegant the dwelling, the more money will be spent in maintaining it. The result is more employment for the wage-earner, more business for the trades- man, more taxes for the city, more beauty for the eye of every human being who looks upon the pleasing architecture or the well-kept grounds. No form of class discrimination in the matter of taxation should ever be countenanced.
Other provisions of the commissioners' report are of great interest, but I cannot even refer to them at this time.
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I am pleased to bear testimony to the fidelity and zeal of the police department of Somerville. The Chief of Police has been at all times vigilant and alert in the management of his important department, and has promptly co-operated with me in the en- forcement of the laws and ordinances. The members of the force are diligent in the performance of duty, and successful in their efforts to suppress crime and disorder within our borders. On several occasions of late, individual members of the force have displayed great skill in ferreting out crime and marked courage in the arrest of criminals. While the department, as a whole, is de-
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
serving of warm commendation, it is true, nevertheless, that a few members have become, through age and physical infirmities, partially incapacitated for active out-door service. If their places could be taken by agile and vigorous young men, the efficiency of the force would be noticeably increased. I have felt reluctant to ask for the resignation of these men, as they have rendered long and faithful service to the city, and it would be difficult for them to gain a livelihood in any new business or employment. I would recommend that the city ordinances be so changed as to provide for the retirement of all members of the police depart- ment, hereafter appointed, when they shall severally reach the age of sixty-five years.
During the past year, as in the year 1896, two officers have been specially assigned to the enforcement of the liquor law. They have carefully watched all places where it was suspected that a traffic in intoxicants might be secretly carried on, prevented the illegal transportation and delivery of liquors, and collected evi- dence to be used in the prosecution and conviction of offenders. It is the opinion of the Chief of Police that we have never come nearer to a complete suppression of the sale of intoxicating liquors in this city than during the the past year. At such a result every intelligent citizen of Somerville and every friend of humanity should rejoice. The dramshop is the implacable enemy of mankind, and I shall do all in my power to prevent it from gaining the slightest foothold in this beautiful home city of ours.
By promotions to the regular police force, the number of re- serve officers has been reduced to four. This is only one-half the number provided for by law, and is much too small for the needs of the city. I should have made appointments to the reserve force last year, but for the fact that no appropriation was set apart by the City Council for the compensation of such appointees. It is hardly necessary to remind you that the increase of the police department has not kept pace with the growth of the city. Not a single addition has been made to the membership of the regular force since 1894, while the reserve force has been reduced since 1895 to one-half its original number. Thus it will be seen that
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
we are not so well equipped for the battle with vice and crime to-day as we were three years ago, when the population was much smaller. Notwithstanding the most stringent economy practiced in the police department, last year's appropriation was overdrawn to the amount of $2,437.16. A sufficient sum should be set apart this year to permit of more liberal treatment of one of the most important departments of our public service.
During the year 1897, two vacancies occurred in the regular police force, one by resignation and the other by removal. Both were filled in the manner prescribed by law; namely, by promo- tion from the reserve force. If the regular force is increased this year, one or more officers should be detailed from time to time for secret service.
By the removal of the poor department to new quarters in City Hall Annex, the office accommodations at the Police station have been greatly improved. When a new armory is provided for the militia company, the entire building on Bow street should be given over to the police department and court.
The Chief of Police recommends that an additional horse be purchased for the use of the department, as the work is sometimes beyond the capacity of the two horses now in service.
SUPPORT OF POOR.
One of the most important questions connected with the management of the poor department relates to the establishment of an almshouse. For many years, the Overseers of the Poor have asked that such an institution might be provided, and they have been sorely disappointed because of the failure of the City Council to comply with their request. It cannot be doubted that many of the city's poor could be more comfortably and economi- cally cared for in an almshouse than under the present system of support in private families and the public institutions of other municipalities. It is a little humiliating to be dependent upon our neighbors for shelter of the unfortunate ones who are compelled to be recipients of public charity. In an almshouse many of the mildly insane and feeble-minded, now confined in insane asylums, could be housed with safety, and at a decreased cost to the city.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
Initial steps should be taken the present year toward the estab- lishment of an almshouse. If a suitable tract of land can be secured at a reasonable price, an appropriation for the purpose should be made. It may be necessary to defer the erection of buildings until a subsequent year. I trust the matter may be given the attention which its importance merits.
Last year, by an arrangement between the Overseers of the Poor and the highway department, several suppliants for public aid were set to work scraping the streets, being thus enabled to help themselves to a slight extent by their own labor. This prac- tice should be continued as far as practicable in the future. It is to be hoped that the wisdom of man will some day discover a method by which employment can be given to every person who is able to work. When that time comes, we shall no longer see thousands of worthy men and women suffering for the mere neces- saries of life in this land upon which God's bounty has been so richly bestowed. Meanwhile, let us extend a helping hand to all the unfortunate and destitute within our borders who are deserv- ing of aid.
The sum of $18,000 was appropriated for the support of poor last year. The expenditures amounted to $22,064.46.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
There is little that is new to be said in relation to this indis- pensable branch of the public service. It is nowhere questioned that Somerville has one of the most energetic and efficient fire de- partments in the Commonwealth, and its past success in protect- ing the property and lives of our citizens is an earnest of what may be expected of it in the future.
All of the fire apparatus is in good condition, and the fire stations, with the exception of the house at the corner of Washing- ton and Prospect streets, are in excellent repair. No new fire stations were erected last year, and repairs of an ordinary nature only were made on the old buildings.
There is urgent need of additional fire apparatus in West Somerville, for the protection of the Clarendon hill and College hill districts. No other part of the city is in such an unguarded
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
state. In 1896, a lot of land, situated near the junction of Hol- land street and Broadway, was purchased as a site for a fire station. For financial reasons, the building has not yet been erected. Further delay is unjust to property owners in the west- erly part of the city, hence I would recommend that work upon a new station be commenced the present year. The Chief Engi- neer believes that the chemical engine and the hose reel, now operated in connection with engine No. 4, should be transferred to the house of ladder company No. 2, and that a new hose wagon should be purchased and placed in station No. 4. I commend: this suggestion to your careful consideration.
Another recommendation of the Chief Engineer, relative to. more stringent building laws, is deserving of your attention. If restrictions not too burdensome to land-owners can be agreed upon, it may be well to place a check upon the further erection of quickly combustible wooden buildings on some of our streets and squares. The question is one not free from difficulties, and should be intelligently studied in all its aspects. It must be clear to all that the building of shingled roofs ought to be hereafter pro- hibited. It is not generally known that Somerville is the most densely populated city in the Commonwealth ; but this is the fact. In view of such a condition, the establishment of fire districts, within which the character of all buildings shall be carefully pre- scribed, seems to be proper and necessary.
Last year's appropriation for maintenance of fire department was $55,000 ; the expenditures were $58,117.15.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT.
More than the ordinary amount of work was done last year on the public streets of the city, but their condition is not yet of a character to entitle them to praise. The highway appropriation was too small for the reasonable demands of the department, and it is to be hoped that a liberal increase may be made the present year. Great public benefit will result from the improvement of the city's streets, and the attention of the City Council should be specially directed at this time to the main thoroughfares, over
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
which our people drive daily for business or pleasure. We ought to strive diligently to make our highways attractive and conven- ient, but we cannot accomplish the impossible, nor can we bring all streets into the smooth condition of a boulevard which is main- tained solely for pleasure travel.
It seems to me that sufficient attention has not been given to the proper grading and crowning of our principal thoroughfares. They are, in many places, so flat and level that the water does not readily drain off. A road so constructed that pools of water re- main for several hours after a rain is sure to deteriorate, and to call for frequent and costly repairs. No street can be considered safe and attractive unless it is kept free from ruts and cradle- holes and all manner of unsightly litter. Loose stones, bits of wood, paper, wire, and refuse matter of all sorts should be ex- cluded from the surface of our streets.
There are many grave and perplexing problems connected with the building and maintenance of streets in a city like Somer- ville, where the best part of the main thoroughfares is monopo- lized by car tracks, and the remaining portions are cut up by heavy teaming. Only a paved surface can long withstand the wear to which our principal highways are subjected, and granite or asphalt paving is a luxury so expensive that we can only indulge in it to a moderate extent. Some of the principal streets of the city have been seriously injured of late by excavations for the metropolitan water pipes, and it will be many months before the earth will settle back into its former condition. Without unnecessary delay, these streets should be carefully repaired and surfaced.
I will take time to refer briefly to some of the work done in the highway department last year. Eight new streets were ac- cepted, and a like number were for the first time thoroughly constructed and macadamized. Three other streets were graded and surfaced with gravel. Many old streets were macadamized anew, including portions of Somerville avenue, Prospect street, Broadway, and Medford street. Twenty-two thousand and sixty-five linear feet of edgestones were set, 6,181.5 square yards of brick sidewalks laid, and much other work was done upon
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
street crossings and driveways. The granite paving in Somer- ville avenue was extended from Park street to the northerly side of Kent street. A detailed account of all work done in the street department will be found in the annual reports of the highway committee and Superintendent of Streets.
In addition to ordinary work upon the streets, I would make the following specific recommendations for the present year :-
First .- That a new steam road roller be purchased to take the place of the old one which was sold last year.
Second .- That Highland avenue be thoroughly macadam- ized and surfaced throughout its entire length, so that one, at least, of our principal highways may be in perfect condition.
Third .- That the granite paving in Somerville avenue be extended westwardly, from the point where it now ends at Kent street, so far as the appropriation for the purpose will permit.
Fourth .- That Washington street, from Tufts street to the Boston line, and Webster avenue, throughout its entire length, be put in good repair. The last-named avenue is one of the nar- row streets of the city which have been almost spoiled for travel by the tracks of the street railway company. The space between tracks and sidewalk is so narrow, and there is so much heavy teaming in the street, that a road-bed of macadam is quickly destroyed. As soon as the finances of the city will allow of the expenditure, the entire avenue should be paved with granite blocks. By reason of the mischievous provisions of the Boston Elevated Railway bill of last year, it will be idle to ask the street railway corporation to make any contribution toward the paving of this or any other street, beyond the area which it is now com- pelled by law to care for.
There continues to be urgent demand for the building of brick sidewalks. Notwithstanding the unusual length of walks constructed last year, many petitions failed of favorable action because of the insufficiency of the appropriation. A large num- ber of such petitions were handed down by the last City Council to the present city government, and their merits should be care- fully weighed by members of the highway committee, to whom they will be later referred.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
PARKS, PLEASURE-GROUNDS, AND BOULEVARDS.
Careful and intelligent attention was given by last year's City Council to our pleasure-grounds and parkways. Every one who was permitted to look upon the Somerville parks last sum- mer will agree with me, that the committee on public grounds and the city engineer are deserving of unstinted praise for the good taste which they displayed in the care and adornment of the lands under their charge. They were aided greatly in their work by one of our local florists and landscape gardeners, of recog- nized ability in his craft.
One of the most beneficial measures adopted by the city government of 1897 was the purchase of Sanborn field, in ward 2, for a public playground. This tract of land contains 5.34 acres, and adjoins the Wyatt's pit lot previously acquired by the city. The two parcels, taken together, will constitute a pleasure- ground of respectable dimensions, and almost measureless ad- vantage will be derived from such a public reservation, situated in a densely populated district. Future generations will view with approbation and gratitude the far-sighted wisdom of the men who were instrumental in carrying out such a beneficent project. Something should be done the present year to adapt the land to the uses for which it has been set apart. The cost to the city of Sanborn field was $33,000. It is to be hoped that a suitable name will soon be suggested for the proposed park. I have thought that it might be fitting to bestow upon it the name of our great war president, Abraham Lincoln, thus keeping in the minds of the thousands of children who will resort to the playground the memory of one of the noblest characters the world has ever known.
Another project, briefly mentioned in last year's inaugural address, which promises much for Somerville, is the laying out of the banks of the Mystic river as a parkway. Unless steps are promptly taken to secure for public uses the lands lying along the course of the river, they will be occupied by unsightly and offensive manufacturing establishments, and the territory contiguous to them will be covered with cheap tenement houses.
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MAYOR'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
The metropolitan park commissioners should be urged to enter upon this undertaking without delay. After the lands are se- cured, the filling, grading, and beautifying can be done gradu- ally, and in such a way as not to impose an undue burden of tax- ation. I think our people hardly realize what a beautiful river- way could be constructed, at comparatively small expense, ex- tending from a point near the Wellington bridge to the lower Mystic lake. If this measure should be carried out, it would result in immeasurable good to the dense population which will be found in the Mystic valley district twenty-five or fifty years hence. Such an extensive and costly improvement cannot be undertaken except by concerted action on the part of the various cities and towns in interest, or through the agency of the metro- politan park commission. No city or town, acting by itself, can accomplish much. The work should be done under a broad and comprehensive plan, and the expense equitably apportioned among the municipalities receiving the benefits.
The Mystic valley parkway, extending from High street in West Medford to Winchester, was opened to the public last September. The people were quick to recognize the beauty and utility of this charming drive, and during the sunny autumn days it was resorted to by thousands from neighboring cities and . towns. On pleasant afternoons, it has not been unusual to see hundreds of our Somerville citizens driving in carriages or rid- ing on bicycles along the parkway's winding course. In the past, our people have been compelled to drive long distances, over rough and crowded streets, in order to reach the attractive boulevards, parkways, and avenues of Brookline and Boston, but hereafter we shall have at our very doors a boulevard of un- surpassed beauty and diversity.
The Mystic valley parkway leads directly to one of the principal entrances to the Middlesex Fells, and thus connects with the picturesque roads which thread that charming sylvan domain. In no other part of the Commonwealth can there be found a pleasure drive possessing so many rare scenic features as will be offered to our people when the Fells boulevard is com- pleted to Broadway, and the Mystic valley parkway extended
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
to Powder-house square. It will traverse in its course some of the most attractive parts of Somerville, Medford, Malden, and Winchester, wind along the grassy banks of Mystic river, skirt the shores of gleaming lakes, penetrate the depths of whispering forests, and at every turn disclose some new charm to the lover of nature.
The metropolitan park commissioners should be asked to extend the Fells boulevard from Middlesex avenue to Broadway, Surely, the people of Somerville will never willingly assent to such an unattractive starting-point of their one boulevard as that which is now projected by the commissioners. Some difference of opinion exists as to the best route for the extension, but the most direct course would seem to be along the line of Winthrop avenue. Only slight expense would be incurred in the widening of this street, and it would bring the boulevard to a convenient point in one of our principal thoroughfares. It has been sug- gested that the fences might be removed from the Broadway park, and both Chauncey and Winthrop avenues included within the location of the boulevard. This plan is objectionable in some respects, as the fence is needed for the protection of the park, and Chauncey avenue should be reserved for ordinary business travel. If Winthrop avenue is taken as a part of the boulevard system, Chauncey avenue should be put in thorough repair.
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