USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1906 > Part 22
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4.60 0.37 0.50 0.12
1.32 9.21 2.63 .... 10.48 0.24
2.92 3.65 0.88| 0.15 0.15 0.29
4.43 5.72 2.86 2.67 6.63 1.29 0.21 0.11 .. 0.11 0.58 0.13
§ Cases
1.81
7.09 0.99
0.98 4.59 0.98
1.32 2.13 0.32
1.60
3.36 0.48 0.16 0.16
2.18 5.60 1.24 0.31 0.11 0.31
2.44 1.29 0.58 0.14 0.43 .. ..
1.72 1.10 8.75
1.72 3.59 1.91 0.09|0.17 0.09
III.
§ Cases Deaths
0.19| 1.35
....
..
.
...
....
0.19|0.19
....
0.54 0.36
2.24 6.27 1.11 0.08 0.61 0.16
IV.
§ Cases Deaths .
0.49
1.15
0.33
. . .
1.28 2.56 0.81 0.16 0.16
3.12 0.16
3.90 0.31 0.78|0.16
3.45 5.97 0.36 0.18 0.18 0.18
1.57 5.92 1.05 0.17 ...
2.57 6.65 0.87 0.12 0.39 0.07
V.
Cases Deaths
4.13
5.08 0.95 0.69 0.43
1.37 4.26 0.86 . 0.09 0.26
0.59 4.11 0.54 0.17 0.09
0.16
1.97 0.74 0.33 0.16 ...
0.73 2.02 1.78 10.08|0.25
0.98 1.11 0.38 .... 0.19 0.07
0.97 1.42 0.77 0.06 0.26
1.45 2.85 0.86 0.02 0.23 0.22
VI.
.
§ Cases Deaths . ·
2.55
8.99 0.89 0.59 0.15
2.83 3.29 1.94 1.74 6.41 1.02
3.02 0.43
2.11 9.54 0.71 10.14 ....
1.67 2.79 1.31 .... 0.29 0.09
2.11 3.12 1.10 0.09 0.19 ....
2.19 5.31 1.06 0.08 0.32 0.17
VII.
§ Cases Deaths .
0.27|
4.78 0.96 0.27 0.14
1.35 2.69 0.68 10.14 0.14 ...
0.59 3.02 0.13 0.26
1.30
2.47 1.04 0.13 0.52
2.16 3.43 0.51 10.38 0.13 ...
3.56 2.18 0.59 0.19
2.79|2.61 1.12| 0.18 0.18
2.07 3.03 0.72 0.04 0.22 0.16
VIII.
S Cases Deaths .
4.53
6.99 0.60 0.30 0.30
2.19 7.97 0.88
.. .. 2.56 3.84 0.29 0.29
2.91 0.26
2.11 0.53
1.98 3.47 0.49
2.14 4.07 0.22 . . ... ..
..
0.04 0.19 0.09
IX.
§ Cases Deaths .
3.71
6.81 1.09 0.22 0.22
2.81 4.04 2.63
0.78 2.71
2.97
2.23 0.37
1.43 3.39
0.8 10.36
1.24 1.04 0.41 .. 0.21 .. ..
1.19 2.19 0.99
2.02 3.21 0.91 0.09 0.09
X.
.
·
·
.
Cases Deaths .
5.45
7.75 0.58 1.73
5.57 8.07 2.51 0.56 1.68 0.28 ....
0.25 0.25
3.08 0.21
2.87 1.03 0.41|0.21
.. 4.01 5.56 2.04 0.14 0.19
1.96 2.84 1.96 0.22 0.44 ..
2.71 3.00 1.60 .... 1.20 0.20
3.50 5.07 1.42 0.16 0.85 0.13
§ Cases Deaths .
3.73 0.11
8.39|1.16 0.79 0.15
2.07 5.39 1.24 1.20 3.45 0.43 0.08 0.46 0.19 0.46 0.29 0.09
2.18 0.15
3.11 0.57 0.28 0.15
1.71 5.34 1.39 0.05 0.21 0.16
1.96 2.84 0.74 0.06 0.24|0.13
2.14 3.28 1.29 0.20 0.21 0.15
2.14 4.54 0.98 0.16 0.35 0.15
.
Deaths
..
....
..
. .
..
2.13 2.61 0.19
2.56 0.18
4.94 0.36
0.18
0.89 7.41 2.29 0.53|0.18
0.94 5.83 1.13 3.22 7.71 0.89
3.66 10.22 2.12
2.29 5.16 0.96 0.19 1.34 0.39
2.28 7.34 0.82
..
.... 10.29 0.45
10.29 0.87 0.29
. . ..
....
.
. .
..
2.25 1.84 2.66
2.66 4.33 0.78
0.59 0.29 ..
....
..
...
0.19 ....
..
.
..
..
·
City . .
.
.
.
ANNUAL REPORTS.
282
II.
0.16
0.33|0.16
0.16
..
....
1.39
2.30 0.29
2.73
...
. . .
1.72 5.41 0.25
Typhoid Fever.
4.69 11.98 1.17
4.75 15.88 2.13
1.51 4.98 0.61
283
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
Undertakers.
Under the provisions of section 44 of chapter 78 of the re- vised laws of 1902, twenty persons have been duly licensed as undertakers.
Examiners of Plumbers.
The public statutes provide for a board of examiners of plumbers, consisting of a chairman of the board of health, the inspector of buildings, and an expert at plumbing, to be ap- pointed by the board of health. This board appointed Duncan C. Greene, the inspector of plumbing, to fill the place of expert. The number of licenses granted will be found in the report of the inspector of buildings.
Financial Statement. HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
CREDIT.
Appropriation
$6,400 00
Receipts :-
Milk fees
121 22
Permit fees
63 00
William A. Campbell, Campbell
care of Laura
120 00
Sale of horse
64 40
Total credit
$6,768 62
DEBIT.
Expenditures :-
Salaries
$4,300 00
Ambulance
175 00
Mattress for ambulance
5 50
Blanket for ambulance
5 00
Buggy
100 00
One bay horse
235 00
Horseshoeing
20 90
Harness, repairing clothing
same and horse
72 85
Board of agent's horse
244 32
Use of horse
60 00
Repairing and painting vehicles
57 20
Repairing regenerator
24 00
Burying dead animals .
162 00
Bacteriological laboratory
10 62
Telephones
114 18
Office expenses of milk inspector
42 40
Books, printing, stationery, advertising, and postage
159 10
Building ambulance shed
100 66
Care of contagious diseases (settlements of patients being in this city)
3,840 42
Incidentals
214 89
Total debit
.
$9,944 04
Amount overdrawn
3,175 42
1
ANNUAL REPORTS.
284
Health Department, Collection of Ashes and Offal.
CREDIT.
Appropriation
$36,600 00
Receipts :-
Sale of three horses
190 00
Sale of sleigh
5 00
Sale of manure
20 00
Sale of offal
6,907 67
Total credit
$13,722 67
DEBIT.
Expenditures :-
Salary of superintendent Collection of ashes
19,364 75
Collection of offal
15,379 63
New carts (two)
236 00
One buggy
100 00
Repairs of carts
703 82
One gray and two bay horses
872 50
Horseshoeing
745 59
Horse doctoring
27 65
Horse clipping
4 00
Hay and grain
4,673 89
New harness and repairing same
509 82
Horse blankets and covers .
165 60
Board of superintendent's horse
257 05
Stable expenses
2,032 00
Tools and repairing same
85 20
Proportional part of cost, constructing
road from Cedar street to city stables,
1,005 46
Paving at garbage plant with Hassam pavement
717 45
Incidentals
283 32
Total debit
$48,363 73
Amount overdrawn
4,641 06
Health Department, Hospital for Contagious Diseases.
CREDIT.
Appropriation
$6,000 00
Receipts :--
Sundry cities and persons, for care of
patients
5,116 29
Total credit
DEBIT. $11,116 29
Expenditures :-
Salary of matron $516 07
Salary of assistant matron . 140 00
Salary of Dr. Frank L. Morse (three months) · 50 00
Amount carried forward $706 07
.
$1,200 00
285
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
Amount brought forward
$706 07
Nurses' services
972 98
Cook's services
243 89
Janitor's services .
392 16
Laundress' services
135 23
Seamstress' services
10 00
Housework
54 00
Supplies
727 62
Concreting
283 75
Fire extinguishers
84 00
Furniture
45 00
Carpet
58 35
Paint and labor
66 21
Ambulance
500 00
Incidentals
481 04
Total debit
$5,723 74
Balance unexpended
$5,392 55
Health Department, Medical Inspection in the Public Schools.
CREDIT.
Appropriation for one month .
$125 00
DEBIT.
Expenditures :-
Salary paid seven physicians (one month) for medical in-
spection
$116 69
Balance unexpended .
$8 31
Appropriations Overdrawn.
Health Department
$3,175 42
Health Department, collection of ashes and
offal
4,641 06
Total amount overdrawn .
$7,816 48
Appropriations Unexpended.
Health Department, hospital for contagious diseases $5,392 55
Health Department, medical inspection in the public schools . 8 31
Total credits
$5,400 86
Net amount overdrawn $2,415 62 ALLEN F. CARPENTER, Chairman, EDMUND S. SPARROW, WESLEY T. LEE, M. D.,
Board of Health.
Groceries and provisions
963 44
REPORT OF BACTERIOLOGIST.
Somerville, January 10, 1907.
To the Board of Health of the City of Somerville :-
Gentlemen, -- I herewith present the report of the bacteri- ologist for the year 1906.
During the latter part of December, 1902, in accordance with your vote, a laboratory was established at the city hall, and regu- lar bacteriological examinations were commenced upon January 1, 1903, which have been continued during the past year.
During the year 1906 968 examinations were made of cul- tures for the diphtheria organism, 175 examinations made of sputum from patients suspected of having tuberculosis, and ninety-four examinations to detect the Widal reaction in typhoid fever.
With the beginning of 1903 your board established regula- tions, which required, in cases of diphtheria, that no patient should be released from quarantine until two consecutive nega- tive cultures had been obtained from the patient, one by the at- tending physician and one by a physician representing the board, thus making the work more extensive than had been previously required.
On May 1, 1905, in response to a request from the Somer- ville Medical Society, representing the physicians of the city, the taking of the first release culture was made optional with the attending physician, and if so requested, the physician represent- ing the board took all of the release cultures. In addition, it was also voted that all patients ill with scarlet fever should be exam- ined by a physician designated by the board, before releasing the family from quarantine, and the bacteriologist was instructed to perform both of these duties, and was made an agent of the board of health. Since this time 432 visits have been made for the pur- pose of taking release cultures in cases of diphtheria, and 217 visits to examine patients convalescent from scarlet fever, it being necessary to inspect sixty-one patients ill with the latter disease a second and sometimes a third time before releasing them from quarantine, on account of the process of desquamation still being present.
Culture stations were also established at four different parts of the city, which were later increased to eleven in number, to more generally accommodate the physicians of the city, at which places, in connection with the laboratory, culture outfits, diph- theria anti-toxin, typhoid fever outfits, vaccine lymph, and sputum bottles could be obtained. To avoid delay in the exam-
287
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
ination of specimens, it was required that all specimens should be sent to the laboratory at the city hall, thus obviating any delay through the culture stations. Cultures left at the city hall as late as midnight are placed in the incubator immediately, making it possible for a result to be obtained early the next morning.
Diphtheria .- Nine hundred and sixty-eight cultures have been examined for diphtheria, 407 being in males, and 561 in females. Diphtheria being a disease of children, 282 of these examinations have been made in children under five years of age, 370 in those from five to ten years of age, 158 from ten to twenty, and 152 in adults over twenty years. In six cases the age of the patient was not stated. Four hundred and nineteen examina- tions were made for the diagnosis of the case, 116 proving posi- tive, and 303 negative. Of the positive results, fifty-five were of cases in which the attending physician's diagnosis of diphtheria was confirmed, fourteen in which the clinical diagnosis was not diphtheria, and forty-seven in which no definite diagnosis was made. Of the 303 negative examinations, sixty were obtained in which the clinical diagnosis was diphtheria, 136 in which the diagnosis was not diphtheria, and 107 in which no diagnosis had been made.
Five hundred and forty-nine cultures were taken for release of patients from quarantine, eighty-five of which were positive, and 464 negative. The importance of taking release cultures is demonstrated by these figures, these patients showing the pres- ence of the bacilli in the throat after the clinical evidence of the disease had disappeared. In six examinations there was no growth upon the serun tube.
Tuberculosis .- One hundred and seventy-five examinations 'have been made of sputum suspected of containing the tubercle bacillus, nine of which were positive and 166 negative. In fifty- one cases a definite diagnosis of this disease had been made by the attending physician, but in forty-four of them the organism could not be detected. In the remainder of the cases, eighty-six were stated as not showing evidence of the disease, one being positive, and in thirty-eight cases no statements were made giv- ing information as to its character, one of which was positive. Ninety-five were males and eighty females, Although printed directions accompany each outfit, telling how the specimen should be obtained, it has not been unusual for specimens to be sent to the laboratory containing only saliva from the mouth, with no excretion from the lungs or bronchial tubes. Physicians should be urged to give definite instructions to each patient, relating to the collection of the sputum, for in some instances a negative report would mislead both physician and patient. Con- sumption to-day is recognized as an infectious disease, and all persons afflicted with it should be instructed in the modern methods for preventing its spread. In some cases this is not done by the attending physician, and during the past three years your board has required that this disease be reported to you, as
288
ANNUAL REPORTS.
other infectious diseases are, and that printed instructions and advice be sent to each patient ill with the disease. The decrease in the death rate of consumption, and the cure of persons afflicted with it, is due to the improved and intelligent manner with which cases are treated, and the prevention of further spread of the dis- case is a subject which is of importance to all local boards of health.
Typhoid Fever .- Ninety-four examinations of the blood of patients suspected of having typhoid fever have been made, twenty-four of which proved positive. In twenty-nine cases a positive diagnosis of this disease had been made by the attending physician, in eight cases it was stated not to be typhoid fever, and in the remainder no statement was made relating to the diag- nosis. Of the negative results, fifteen were diagnosed as typhoid, eight were said not to be typhoid, and in forty-seven no diagnosis was made. Fifty-seven were males and thirty-seven females.
Summary for Four Years, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906.
Diphtheria Cultures.
No. examined
Males
Females
0-5
5-10
10-20
Over 20
Age not No. stated growth
1903
817
387
430
282
199
125
185
26
5
1904
1,429
629
800
537
400
231
261
34
1905
792
346
446
20-1
260
139
170
19
4
1906
968
407
561
282
370
158
152
6
6
For Diagnosis Clinical Diagnosis Diph. Clin. Diag. not Dipl. Clin. Diag. not stated
Positive
Negative
Positive
Negative
Positive
Negative
1903
360
56
35
11
122
27
109
1904
406
72
37
11
96
59
131
1905
263
15
23
10
76
36
103
1906
419
55
60
14
130
47
107
For Release
Positive
Negative
1903
95
362
1904
233
761
1905
139
386
1906
85
464
Sputum for Tuberculosis.
No. Examined
Males
Females
Positive
Negative
Clin. Diag. Tuberculosis Positive Negative
1903
137
66
71
26
111
15
21
1904
124
54
70
28
96
14
29
1905
162
69
93
22
140
11
38
1906
175
95
80
9
166
7
44
Clinical Diagnosis not Tuberculosis Clinical Diagnosis not stated Positive Positive
Negative
Negative
1903
9
61
2
29
1904
11
43
3
24
1905
5
59
6
4.3
1906
... .
1
85
1
.
37
289
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
Blood for Typhoid Fever.
No. Examined
Males
Females
Positive
Negative
Positive Clin. Diag. Typhoid Fever Negative
1903
72
39
33
27
45
18
1904
76
53
23
32
44
18
4
1905
78
45
33
26
50
11
-
1906
94
57
37
24
70
14
15
Clinical Diagnosis not Typhoid Fever Clinical Diagnosis not stated Positive Positive
Negative
Negative
1903
2
6
7
32
1904
0
6
14
34
1905
1
5
14
4-1
1906
0
8
10
47
Respectfully submitted,
FRANK L. MORSE,
Bacteriologist.
-
REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF ANIMALS AND PROVISIONS.
OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH, City Hall, January 17, 1907.
To the Board of Health of the City of Somerville :-
Gentlemen,-I herewith submit the report of the inspector of animals and provisions for the year 1906.
The following is a statement of the number of animals killed during the year at the six slaughtering establishments in the city : Swine, 1,210,605 ; sheep, 293,388; calves, 67,996; cattle, 22,121. All of the work in the four large slaughtering establish- ments is now done under United States government inspection, and all that the local inspector has to do with these places is to inspect the sanitary condition of the plants. This condition has been much improved during the past year, and the sanitary equipment of the various buildings is now well-nigh perfect.
Somerville is now the leading city in slaughtering east of Chicago, and is the largest quarantine station for the export of animals in the United States, the number exported last year be- ing 121,857.
The total number of neat cattle kept in the city is 303, all of which I have inspected several times during the year.
I have examined 2,561 horses in stables where contagious diseases were reported to exist. There were thirty-nine horses killed for glanders, and five released.
I have made 2,317 visits to stores and markets, and have in- spected 1,080 pedler carts from which fish, provisions, and produce were sold. There are 55 barber shops and 74 bakeries in the city, all of which I have frequently inspected. For the most part, these places are in excellent sanitary condition.
I have inspected, condemned, and caused to be destroyed 19 whole cattle, 41 livers, 91 tripes, 15 tongues, 41 whole calves, 1,163 pounds of fresh beef, 757 pounds of corned beef, 153 pounds of fresh pork. 117 pounds of salt pork, 297 pounds of mutton and lamb, 973 pounds of fowl, 3 whole swine, 312 pounds of veal, 11 dozens of eggs, 110 whole codfish, 23 pounds of salt codfish, 241 whole haddock, 216 whole pollock, 67 pounds of swordfish, 184 mackerel, 517 herring. 94 pounds of smelts, 118 pounds of halibut, 187 pounds of salmon, 21 whole lobsters, 1 gallon of oysters, 3 gallons of clans, 1 bushel of clams, 63 crates of cantaloupes, 14 watermelons, 3 crates of raspberries, 217 quarts of string beans, 3 crates of cranberries, 119 quarts of blue-
291
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
berries, 114 baskets of grapes, 6 boxes of oranges, 4 boxes of lemons, 8 bushels of apples, 123 dozens of bananas, 9 barrels of squash, 8 bushels of onions, 2 bushels of beets, 3 barrels of tur- nips, 5 barrels of cabbage, 1 bushel of cauliflower, 19 crates of tomatoes, 5 bushels of tomatoes, 7 crates of sweet potatoes, 3 barrels of sweet potatoes, 16 bushels of common potatoes, 11 bushels of greens, 8 dozen bunches of celery, 9 boxes of cucum- bers, 3 bushels of lettuce, 6 barrels of flour, 16 barrels of cakes and crackers, 33 loaves of bread, 14 jars of cream.
I have performed numerous other duties, as required by your board.
Respectfully submitted, DR. CHARLES M. BERRY, Inspector.
REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF MILK AND VINEGAR.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR OF MILK AND VINEGAR,
310 Broadway, Somerville, Mass., January 1, 1907. To the Board of Health of the City of Somerville, Mass. :-
Gentlemen,-I herewith submit my report for the year end- ing December 31, 1906.
I have collected and analyzed 717 samples of milk. I have bought and tested twenty-four samples of vinegar. Only one sample was found to be below the standard, the others were, as a rule, above in acidity. There have been nine complaints fron citizens, two for poor quality, two on condensed milk, three for bad taste in the milk, and two for suspected poisoning. One of these was a clear case of ptomaine poison, in a baby. One sample was submitted by a physician for an analysis of known quantities.
There have been issued 241 licenses ; pedlers', 142; store- keepers', ninety-nine.
I have received and paid to the city treasurer for licenses $120.50 ; for postage stanips, $1.22 ; from the city of Medford for sample bottles and corks, $2.35 ; a total of $124.07.
The average daily consumption of milk is 25,336 quarts, and about 600 quarts of cream. Based upon our population, each person in the city daily consumes two-thirds of a pint of milk.
Our supply and quality this year has been good, some of the conditions being an improvement over last year.
The following cases were prosecuted in court :-
1 milkman, selling milk below the standard, fined $10 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, fined . 5 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, found guilty, placed on file.
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, found guilty, fined 5 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, found guilty, fined
10 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, fo found
guilty, fined
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, found
10 00
guilty, fined 10 00
1 storekeeper. selling milk below the standard, found
guilty, fined 10 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard (second offence), fined 100 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, fined . ·
1 00
Amount carried forward
$161 00
293
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
Amount brought forward $161 00
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, found guilty, placed on file.
1 storekeeper, selling milk below the standard, found ·guilty, placed on file.
1 milkman, selling milk below the standard (second offence), fined 100 00
1 milkman, selling milk below the standard, fined .
10 00
Total amount of fines imposed in the courts $271 00
I spent eighteen days in the Somerville police court, and one day at the superior court, East Cambridge, prosecuting the above cases.
I desire to again recommend to you that a rule be passed by your board that all milk for sale in this city shall at all times be kept at a temperature not exceeding fifty degrees; also that you make some rules for the sale, care, producing, and handling of milk in the city.
I desire to again invite any of the physicians wishing to know the amount of fats and solids of any milk their patients may be taking to submit samples at any time.
Any citizen is invited to make any just complaint at my office at any time. Such complaints will receive my immediate attention. If persons have reason to think they are not receiv- ing a good quality of milk and samples are submitted for an analysis, please bring the milk as you receive it, without opening the bottle or can.
My office is open from 8 A. M. to 10 P. M. every day, where all complaints will be received and licenses issued.
This office needs about $300 worth of chemical apparatus and about $50 for the installation of a card index system for filing records.
Respectfully submitted, JULIUS E. RICHARDSON, Inspector of Milk and Vinegar.
SUPPORT OF POOR DEPARTMENT.
Board of Overseers of the Poor. EDWARD B. WEST, President. ALBERT W. EDMANDS, Vice-president. HERBERT E. MERRILL.
Committees. ON FINANCE, INVESTIGATION AND RELIEF, AND CITY HOME. - Mr. West, Mr. Edmands, and Mr. Merrill.
Secretary. CORA F. LEWIS.
General Agent. CHARLES C. FOLSOM.
City Physician, to August 19. ALVAH B. DEARBORN, M. D.
City Physician, August 19 to December 31. C. CLARKE TOWLE, M. D.
Warden and Matron "City Home." Mr. and Mrs. J. FOSTER COLQUHOUN.
Office. City Hall Annex, Highland Avenue.
REPORT OF OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
Somerville, Mass., December 31, 1906.
To the Honorable, the Mayor, and Board of Aldermen of the City of Somerville :-
Gentlemen,-We herewith submit our annual report for the year 1906, together with the report of the general agent for mis- cellaneous account and of the warden for the city home, with tables attached (showing receipts and expenditures), which we think will meet with your approval.
At the city home, we would recommend that the main house be piped and connected with the heating system now in operation in the new part, so that it can be ready for use next fall, also that a hard wood floor be laid in the warden's dining-room, which is very much needed. With this work completed, the house will be in good condition for several years to come.
We wish to thank our general agent for the ability he has shown in handling the perplexing questions that have come be- fore him the past year, and for the genial feeling he has shown the board. We also thank the secretary for the able manner in which she has performed her duties.
The warden and matron of the city home are giving good satisfaction, and we wish the good feeling that exists with the board to continue.
Yours respectfully,
EDWARD B. WEST, Overseers ALBERT W. EDMANDS, of the
HERBERT E. MERRILL, Poor.
REPORT OF GENERAL AGENT.
Somerville, Mass., December 31, 1906. To the Overseers of the Poor, Somerville, Mass. :-
Gentlemen,-In accordance with the vote of the board, 1 herewith submit to you my annual report for the year 1906. There must necessarily be included in a report of this character much that has already been talked over and passed upon. As we look into the reports from the other cities and towns, we find the same theme running through them, viz., poverty, mismanage- ment, drunkenness, desertion on the one side, and appropriation of money, spending of time, planning, trying to help families and individuals to become self-supporting on the other. The same is true in our city to a certain extent.
Families and Individuals.
We have aided 212 families and 1,016 persons during the year, a slight falling off as compared with the previous year. We have some fifty-seven families on our books where the mother is a widow and her children range from two to eight in number and from one to sixteen in age. We have also about fifteen families that we are aiding where the mother is making a brave fight to hold her little family together and the fathers have either deserted or are locked up, serving time generally for drunkenness -or assault, or both. It seems especially good charity to assist the two classes named, for it means more com- fort for the mothers, who have to work hard, when they can get it, and more comfort for the children than they could possibly have if they had to depend entirely on what the mother earned. 'There are many families aided where sickness prevents the father or mother from earning very much, then there are families where there are old people, quite a number whose ages range be- tween eighty and ninety years, some quite vigorous and some very feeble. We have helped very few families where there has been a well man or grown-up boy; if such a family applies for help, we invite the ones who are able, to work at the city farm for what help they receive. Usually they do not care to work, and consequently get along without receiving much aid.
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