USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1897 > Part 26
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The aggregate annual appropriations from the city for the past twenty-five years for the support of the Library have been $80,139.38, and the dog licenses, amounting to $40,946.62, mak- ing the total sum received $121,086.
The present Library building was erected in 1884-85, at an expense of $28,338.45, exclusive of the land, and was altered and
485
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
a steel book stack erected in 1895, at an expense of $5,967.50. These changes doubled the shelf-room capacity of the building, and furnished accommodation for about 60,000 volumes.
Three changes of importance, which were inaugurated dur- ing the year 1895, should be mentioned. They do not appeal to the public at large, save only as the public at large avail them- selves of them. They emphasize changes made after much care- ful thought. They have proved of much value in furnishing convenience to those having the care of the Library and of those using the Library:
Classification .- It was for years the custom in almost all the libraries to give books a fixed location, shelving them according to size and date of purchase. It happened, therefore, that new books were farthest away from the delivery desk, and the topic treated had very little, if any, order of sequence. To-day there is a careful classification of all books, according to a modified Dewey, or decimal, system, with twelve classes. So that, for in- stance, books of science, or of religion, have a department of their own.
Finding List .- A new catalogue, or finding list, was prepared and published on an entirely new plan. Formerly, the catalogue must be consulted as an ordinary list, arranged under one alpha- bet, now all books are classified and arranged under three heads, subject, titles, authors. Thus indicating the resources of the Library in each department.
Charging System .- It was deemed necessary to discharge a book before issuing and charging another. This occasioned much annoying delay. Now, when a book is returned and a new book is to be charged, the latter is done immediately and the re- turned book discharged at the convenience of those having that duty in hand. No book leaves a shelf without its slip being trans- ferred to its proper place in the charging case. It is known, therefore, at any time whether a book is in the hands of a reader, withheld to be repaired, at the bindery, or in use for reference. This lessens the possibility of loss, expedites the delivery of books,
486
ANNUAL REPORTS.
and enables the Librarian and his assistants to have full control of the Library at all times. This brief mention is made to changes, mentioned somewhat at length in former reports, to remind those interested of the watchful care taken of the property entrusted to us, and for making the Library more immediately convenient to those using it.
The Trustees have aimed to introduce all successful modern methods, not only to make the Library more attractive, but more useful. The frequenters of the Library are not only more rapidly, but more easily, accommodated in receiving or returning books, and if they prefer to consult books at the Library, the reference room is open daily for their convenience, and a trained attendant is ever ready to assist them.
In this connection it should be stated that a very careful in- spection is made of all books and other publications admitted for general public use, so that all may be fairly well assured that nothing will be issued from the Library for the general reader which is not merely objectionable, but questionable. Of course there must be some margin of judgment, but with the care exer- cised by the Librarians and the oversight of the Board of Trustees, it may be taken for granted that nothing harmful will be sent into the homes of our city.
Special facilities for the study of special topics have been pro- vided, so that students, young or old, may find helpful assistance in well-nigh every study.
Another feature of the Library which has been extendedly noticed in another part of this report should be mentioned here, that is the issuing of special libraries, under the direction and ad- · vice of the public school teachers, for the use of pupils too young to hold Library cards. Children in our schools are informed of books that will be helpful to them, and under certain restrictions volumes asked for are sent to schools as desired, so far as the limited resources of the Library will permit.
Not only is the attention of the public called to new books and to standard books added to the Library through the local press, and by displaying them in the delivery room, but a monthly
487
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
bulletin is issued directly from the Library for general information on topics of literary, scientific, and historic interest.
All such methods are held to be the best practical, and yet as tentative. The effort is being made all the time to make improve- ments in the Library itself, and in the means employed to bring its resources into immediate and common use.
The help of all patrons is invited in suggesting improvements. Especially do we ask this aid in the selection of books. The fact is recognized in all reading, for instruction or for entertainment, that a worthy book is an instrument of moral and intellectual power, which will warrant a good return in ideas and in life. This is true not of those books that have a popular character, and can go to the home or the school, but of books which are more fitted for occasional reference, and which are to be consulted at the Library.
So it is we stand upon the summit of our quarter of a century looking back with gratitude upon the labors of the past, and for- ward with cheerful confidence into the hopes of the future. It is wise for us to review what has been done. It seems to steady our own efforts in doing the work at our hand, and to toughen our courage as we go forth into the untried days before us. A wise use of experience may help us greatly in all new enterprise. The victory of yesterday aids us in the conflict of to-day. It is from the heights we have won that we look toward the heights whose summits we fondly hope will sometime be under our feet. Hugh Miller studied the stones of a quarry, working diligently as a stone mason, till at last he traced the footsteps of the Creator in the old red sandstone. Sir Walter Scott dwelt within the ivy- wreathed castles of old, listened to the songs and legends of their walls, and so not only reconstructed the past, delighted his pres- ent, but won fame for the future. Gibbon sat amid the ruins of Rome, mused over her departed greatness, studied the days he mused in silence, dissected the motives of men who had once lived, judged their conduct and aim, and so wrote that masterpiece of historical rendition, the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire."
488
ANNUAL REPORTS.
As I close this report of the twenty-five years whose annals we give into the custody of those archives wherein we preserve all that belongs to the history of our beloved town and city of Somer- ville, I refer again to the poet's words which were quoted as we began this report, and, as we count the years of the quarter of a century now ended, let us "level that lift, to pass and continue beyond."
Respectfully submitted, JOHN S. HAYES,
Librarian.
Somerville, December 27, 1897.
REPORT OF THE SOMERVILLE MYSTIC WATER BOARD.
/
1
CITY OF SOMERVILLE.
IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN, February 9, 1898. Referred to the Committee on Printing, to be printed in the annual reports. Sent down for concurrence.
GEORGE I. VINCENT, Clerk.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, February 10, 1898.
Referred to the Committee on Printing, to be printed in the annual reports, in concurrence.
CHARLES S. ROBERTSON, Clerk.
SOMERVILLE MYSTIC WATER BOARD, 1897. GEORGE D. WEMYSS, President.
GEORGE A. KIMBALL (term expires Dec. 31, 1897). Residence, 33 Warren avenue. WM. FRANKLIN HALL (term expires Dec. 31, 1898). Residence, 345 Broadway.
GEORGE D. WEMYSS (term expires Dec. 31, 1899). Residence, 5 Austin street.
CLERK OF THE WATER BOARD. FRANK E. MERRILL.
SUPERINTENDENT OF EXTENSION AND RELAYING WATER MAINS. NATHANIEL DENNETT.
OFFICE OF THE WATER DEPARTMENT. Room 10, City Hall.
ENGINEER AT PUMPING STATION. SIDNEY E. HAYDEN.
PUMPING STATION. Cedar street, near Broadway.
Bills against the department should be rendered to the Clerk on or before the first day of each month, and are payable by the City Treasurer on the seventeenth of the month.
CITY OF SOMERVILLE.
OFFICE OF THE WATER BOARD, January 14, 1898.
To HIS HONOR THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL: -
The Somerville Mystic Water Board present herewith, for your consideration, the twenty-fourth annual report of the depart- ment in their charge, covering the operations of the year ending December 31, 1897.
The Board organized on the 8th of March by the re-elec- tion of George D. Wemyss as President, and Frank E. Merrill as Clerk of the Board. Mr. Merrill was made the executive officer of the department on March 12th, and his duties were extended to cover the care of the entire water works system; Mr. N. Den- nett was placed in charge of the laborers in the construction and relaying of the water mains.
FINANCES.
COST OF WATER WORKS.
The total cost of the water works on December 31,
1896, was $684,608 76 Expended during the year 1897 on construction account 10,000 00
Total cost December 31, 1897 $694,608 76
WATER DEBT.
The indebtedness of the city on account of the water works on December 31, 1896, was $315,000; this debt has been re- duced during 1897 by the payments of bonds, maturing July 1 and
494
ANNUAL REPORTS.
October 1, to the amount of $21,000; the indebtedness being now represented by bonds drawing interest as follows :-
$241,000.00 at 4 per cent. per annum. 43,000.00 at 5 per cent. per annum. 10,000.00 at 5} per cent. per annum.
The income from water in 1897, being 50 per cent.
of the amount collected by the city of Boston from sale of water in Somerville, and paid over to the City Treasurer of Somerville, was
-
$99,688 57
The disposition made of this income was as follows :- Appropriated by the City Coun-
cil for the use of the water department $66,000 00
Applied to interest on water
debt 12,930 00
Applied to reduction of water
debt
20,758 57
$99,688 57
The following table, exhibiting the financial condition of the department from its first movements, is presented for reference and comparison :-
495
REPORT OF THE WATER BOARD.
YEAR.
Water Loan Bonds Issued on Funded Debt Account.
Reduction of Funded Debt by Payments of Water Loan Bonds.
Expenditures for Construction of Water Works.
*Revenue from Water Works.
1869
$80,000 00
$92,203 27
$ 911 39
1870
60,000 00
66,546 50
1,907 63
1871
60,000 00
43,648 66
3,151 30
1872
90,000 00
$50,000 00
43,288 33
3,719 91
1873
60,000 00
20,000 00
27,691 26
5,084 97
1874
15,000 00
34,294 06
6,818 20
1875
20,000 00
13,375 76
9,652 37
1876
70,000 00
60,000 00
6,409 49
10,268 06
1877
10,000 00
13,845 74
10,735 90
1878
30,000 00
30,000 00
514 13
11,584 89
1879
1880
60,000 00
60,000 00
12,999 79
1881
40,000 00
40,000 00
14,697 37
1882
90,000 00
90,000 00
19,354 28
1883
7,500 00
7,500 00
19,661 67
1884
20,000 00
20,000 00
20,085 95
1885
20,000 00
20,000 00
21,542 28
1886
55,500 00
55,500 00
21,444 91
1887
9,000 00
9,000 00
42,650 57
1888
25,000 00
96,500 00
19,338 89
50,419 07
1889
90,000 00
19,000 00
81,117 43
51,470 91
1890
55,000 00
13,000 00
53,411 79
55,879 72
1891
10,000 00
+11,000 00
40,708 48
60,150 80
1892
28,000 00
28,000 00
34,863 17
77,640 91
1893
17,000 00
35,545 30
78,459 73
1894
18,000 00
28,375 67
83,401 30
1895
19,000 00
32,007 44
89,431 46
1896
#12,000 00
18,500 00
16,631 83
95,719 69
1897
21,000 00
10,000 00
99,688 57
$1,017,000 00
$723,000 00
$694,608 76
$990,875 20
Total issue
$1,017,000 90
Total payments
723,000 00
Present water debt
$294,000 00
* From 1869 to 1886, inclusive, the basis of Somerville's water revenue was as follows : - The entire revenue from sale of water in Somerville was collected by the city of Boston and payments were made to this city on the following sliding scale : -
On annual receipts up to $20,000.00, Somerville's proportion was 15 per cent.
On annual receipts $20,000.00 to $30,000.00, Somerville's proportion was 20 per cent.
$30,000.00 to $40,000.00
25
$40,000.00 to $50,000.00
30
66 exceeding $50,000.00, Somerville's proportion was 40 per cent.
In 1887 the contract was changed so that Somerville should receive 50 per cent. of the revenue, and this contract is still in effect.
+ In 1891 $5,000.00 of Water Loan Bonds were cancelled, City Loan Bonds being substituted for them.
# Renewal.
791 56
12,341 60
496
ANNUAL REPORTS.
In April the office of the Water Board was removed from the quarters which it has occupied since 1877 in the old buildings at the corner of Somerville avenue and Prospect street to the com- modious apartments assigned by the City Council to its use in the City Hall. This brings this important municipal department into- convenient communication with the other city officers with whom its business is intimately related, and is, thereby, an arrangement. of mutual benefit, as well as a great convenience to the public who have occasion to transact business with the water department.
Commencing January 1st, all the work heretofore performed in the water income office in Boston, relating to the assessment and collection of the Somerville water rates, will be carried on in our own office, and our citizens will henceforth receive their water bills from this department, make payment of the same to our City Treasurer, and be enabled to transact any other business con- nected with the water works without the necessity of going to. Boston for that purpose; a change which, we believe, will be appreciated.
METROPOLITAN WATER SUPPLY.
The introduction of the Metropolitan water and the abandon- ment of the Mystic supply for domestic uses was made on Janu- ary 1st, and the problem of an abundant and pure water supply for Somerville is happily solved. Much credit is due to the men whose singular ability has been demonstrated by the practical completion on the appointed day of an enterprise of such magni- tude. Somerville will rejoice in the changed conditions and in the removal of the prejudice which has, to some extent, prevailed against her as a residential city on account of the unfavorable quality of the Mystic water which it has been obliged to furnish for household purposes.
The cost to Somerville for the Metropolitan water is fixed by statute on a valuation and population basis, and the first assess- ment, comparatively light, will increase from year to year as the Metropolitan system of work progresses toward completion, it
497
REPORT OF THE WATER BOARD.
being impossible, at this time, to state the maximum assessment. which will be levied on this city.
WATER REVENUE.
By legislative enactment, the contract with the city of Boston for supplying Somerville with water was annulled on January 1st, 1898. Instead of dividing the annual receipts with Boston, the entire amount received from the sale of water in Somerville will hereafter accrue to this city. The disposition of this income is a matter which may produce a wide and honest difference of opin- ion. Provision is made in the Public Statutes, Section 21, Chap- ter 488, Acts of 1895, for the disposition of the water income in the. following general manner :----
First: Payment of expenses of maintenance and operation of. . the works.
Second : Payment of maturing water bonds and interest requirements.
Third: The assessment levied by the Metropolitan water board.
Fourth: Expenses of the extension of the water works.
Fifth: The balance, if any, as the City Council may deter- mine.
It is assumed that there will be no question as to the applica- tion of a sufficient portion of the income to fulfill the requirements of Sections 2 and 3, the amounts being, for 1898, as follows :-
Payment of bonds $22,000 00
Payment of interest 11,950 00
Payment of assessment (approximate) 14,400 00
Total
$48,350 00
It is, therefore, on the amounts to be appropriated by the City Council for the maintenance and extension of the water works and on the disposition of any balance that may remain that our special interest centres. On these points the Water Board desires to go on record as unanimously of the opinion that all water earnings
498
ANNUAL REPORTS.
over and above the amount necessary for the payment of maturing bonds, interest, and the Metropolitan water assessment should be applied solely to the benefit of the water works, until such time as the system is so far renewed and perfected that the necessity for large expenditures ceases to exist. It is the equally firm opinion of the Board that, as soon as the present heavy requirements of the department have been fully met, the water-takers themselves should receive our first consideration, and a portion of the benefits arising from the changed conditions should be distributed in the form of a reduction in the water rates.
It is estimated that the water income in 1898 will be $210,- 000; deducting for this the amount of $48,350, the payments required during the year as noted above, there is left $161,650, which should be devoted to water works purposes in the following general manner, viz., a sufficiently large appropriation should be made on water maintenance account for the removal of all the weak cement-lined mains in the city; the appropriation for con- struction account should be large enough to not only answer the necessary demands for extension of the distribution mains in the new building districts, but should also enable the department to complete the high service circulating system by connecting up the numerous dead ends now existing throughout the city, and which have been a source of discomfort to the many residents com- pelled for so long a time to obtain from them their household water supply ; and the balance should be set aside as the nucleus of a fund to apply to the extinguishment of the water debt.
CEMENT-LINED MAINS.
The condition of the old cement mains in our streets is not only a source of annoyance and expense to the department, but a menace to the comfort and security of the entire city. In the month of July the Board, desiring to take advantage of the legis- lative Act of 1889 authorizing a bond issue on water works ac- count, presented to the City Council an urgent request for an ad- ditional sum of $25,000 to enable the department to replace the
499
REPORT OF THE WATER BOARD.
weakest of the cement-lined pipes, and to place the system in proper condition to withstand the increased pressure expected upon the introduction of the Metropolitan water supply on Janu- ary 1st. The City Council, however, deemed it inexpedient to authorize a further appropriation for this purpose, and the Board was granted leave to withdraw its petition, the old pipes continu- ing to burst at intervals during the remainder of the season.
The turning on of the Metropolitan water on the 1st of January brought an increase of seven pounds pressure per square inch on our mains, as had been anticipated by the Board, and re- sulted in promptly causing six dangerous and expensive bursts in the cement-lined pipes. This is only an indication of the trouble in store for the department during the winter; trouble which might have been avoided if the appropriation asked for by the Board had been granted.
RENEWALS, EXTENSIONS, ETC.
The department has vigorously pushed forward its street work, having laid 7,573 feet of pipe of various sizes in extension of the works, and 14,409 feet in replacing the old cement-lined mains. Five hundred and sixty-one service connections have been made, requiring the laying of 16,027 feet of pipe ; practically all the premises in Somerville which have heretofore been supplied with water by the city of Cambridge have now been transferred to our own system.
Reference is asked to the report of Mr. Merrill, presented in connection with this, for further details in regard to the operation of the department during the year.
GEORGE D. WEMYSS, GEORGE A. KIMBALL, WM. FRANKLIN HALL, Somerville Mystic Water Board.
500
ANNUAL REPORTS.
OFFICE OF THE WATER DEPARTMENT, December 31, 1897.
TO THE SOMERVILLE MYSTIC WATER BOARD : -
Gentlemen,-Herewith I submit a statement of the condition of the Somerville water works at the close of the year 1897, tables showing the work performed during the year, and an outline of what should, in my opinion, be accomplished by the department during the coming season.
On March 12th the general care and supervision of the entire water works system of this city, as well as the clerical work of the department, was placed by you under my charge.
On the first day of April the office of the department was removed to spacious apartments on the ground floor of the remod- eled City Hall, being the rooms formerly occupied by the City Engineer and City Treasurer. The offices have been suitably arranged and furnished for the accommodation of the largely in- creased clerical work of this department, resulting from the statu- tory annulment of the water contract between Somerville and Boston. which takes effect January 1st, 1898. Radical changes have been adopted in the system of accounts and in the methods heretofore in vogue in the assessment and collection of water rates, and, so far as they have been put into operation, the results have been very satisfactory. As the water charges are assessed in advance on January 1st, the clerical force of the department has already opened over ten thousand annual water accounts, and has prepared the consumers' bills for distribution. All necessary books, blanks, forms, etc., have been prepared for the proper trans- action of the business connected with our new relations to the pub- lic, and it affords me much pleasure to be able to state that the work starts off very auspiciously and with no friction whatever.
501
REPORT OF THE WATER BOARD.
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR THE YEAR 1897.
WATER MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT.
Dr. Cr.
Amount appropriated by City
Council from water revenue .
$46,000 00
Transferred by City Council from extension account Collections from sundry accounts for labor and materials
10,000 00
7,807 06
Balance from water service as- sessments
802 43
Materials furnished construction account
$2,407 96
Materials furnished service de- partment
2,468 56
Labor and materials furnished sundry persons
3,158 91
Labor and materials used in maintenance of the water works
56,468 75
Balance to credit of water debt
105 31
$64,609 49
$64,609 49
WATER WORKS EXTENSION ACCOUNT.
Dr. Cr.
Amount appropriated by City
Council from water reve- nue
$20,000 00
Amount transferred by City
Council to maintenance ac-
count
$10,000 00
·
Amounts carried forward
$10,000 00
$20,000 00
502
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Amounts brought forward $10,000 00
$20,000 00
Labor and materials used in ex- tension of the water works . 10,000 00
$20,000 00
$20,000 00
WATER SERVICE ACCOUNT.
Dr. Cr. $5,578 29
321 water service assessments
Collections for extra labor and
material on above services . Sundry charges, water service account ·
36 31
$20 50
Labor and materials used in
water service construction 4,791 67
Balance transferred to water maintenance account · .
802 43
$5,614 60
$5,614 60
A large amount of work was rendered necessary by the lay- ing of the 48-inch water mains of the Metropolitan system through our streets, as in almost every case the grade of the large pipe was such as to require the lowering of our side street connec- tions and of many service pipes in the main streets. The work was thoroughly performed, and the entire expense incurred has been paid to this city by the Metropolitan water board. The 48-inch water mains of the Metropolitan water system enter Som- erville in both the easterly and westerly sections of the city; one passing through Norfolk street, Webster avenue, Union square, Bow street, Walnut street, and Chauncey avenue, and the other crossing the city through Willow avenue. The easterly line is the only one at present completed, and is the one through which our city will at first obtain its supply of the Metropolitan water. Local connections have been established with these large mains at the following places: Webster avenue, near Prospect street,
503
REPORT OF THE WATER BOARD.
20-inch; Pearl street, at Walnut street, 16-inch; Broadway, at Walnut street, 20-inch; Willow avenue, at Elm street, 12-inch ; Willow avenue, at Broadway, 20-inch.
These connections will be sufficient to give us an abundance of water, but, in addition thereto, arrangements have been made for suitable connections with the Metropolitan high service system as soon as it shall be completed ; by then placing the Clarendon- hill district on the high service, with a connection with the Metro- politan main at Professors' row, and the other elevated portions of the city being supplied with the high pressure as at present, by a connection at Broadway, near Cedar street, it would seem that there could be no question as to the completeness of the arrange- ments made to give to Somerville an unlimited water supply.
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