USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1920-1921 > Part 25
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I think the moth situation in this town looks very en- couraging.
I respectfully recommend an appropriation of $6,000.00 for this department for the year 1922.
A. A. RAYMOND, Moth Supt.
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REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF SHORES AND FLATS
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen :
Gentlemen :- I submit the following report :
The commercial clam industry during the past year has not been as good as in 1920, there having been less demand for canning and shippers have procured their clams from other sources, largely from the Cape.
We have at the present time fewer large clams, but plenty of small ones which should be marketable this sea- son.
Mussels have come in rather abundantly, covering quite an area of the clam flats.
Clam digging has given men out of employment a chance to earn a few needed dollars.
My estimate of the clams sold during the last year would be about 10,000 bushels.
Respectfully submitted,
ALFRED HOLMES,
Supervisor of Shores and Flats.
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AGAWAM AND HALFWAY POND FISHERIES
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen :
Gentlemen :- We submit the following report of the Plymouth Committee of Agawam and Halfway Pond her- ring stream.
The stream was sold March 6th, 1921, for $200. The de- mand for fish was small and the market for the scales had gone by. We look for a better price at the sale this year as there is a demand for the fish for export.
Respectfully submitted,
ALFRED HOLMES, WARREN S. GALE, FRANK HARLOW.
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BOARD OF HEALTH
In accordance with custom and the Statutes we report the essential facts and figures covering the work of the past year.
The board organized immediately after the March elec- tion, with George II. Jackson, chairman, Harry R. Talbot. secretary, and reappointed Charles H. Robbins general in- spector, Frederick H. Bradley inspector of slaughtering, and M. D. Welsh and Arthur A. Sampson, plumbing inspec- tors.
The vacancy in the position of milk inspector, which had existed for several months, was filled by the choice of Mr. E. B. Young, practical dairyman and chemist, who has secured most excellent results in his field of work.
An examination of his report is of interest, showing as it does the large number of producers and dealers supply- ing the town.
Attention of the citizens is called to the Dispensary main- tained by the board for tuberculosis tests and treatment, in the Governor Bradford building, here incipient cases of tuberculosis are treated without charge where the patieut is unable to pay, or if able to pay, advice is given and the patient advised to consult his regular physician. Cases which have been discharged as cured, some times start afresh, and by having frequent examinations of the cured patients, the disease is prevented from again gaining head- way.
There has been a total of three hundred cases of con- tagious diseases reported in the town during the past, the following tabulation by months will show the conditions at all parts of the year.
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Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Total
Chicken Pox,
8
9
1
co
3 35
Diphtheria
3
2
1
12
German Measles
1
1
Measles
4
3
3
1
11
Mumps
1
2
3
Scarlet Fever
32 24 35 23 27 19
1
4
4
1 180
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary
1
1
3
2
6 2
4 1
5
3
2
20
Tuberculosis, Other forms Trachoma
1
1
Lobar Pneumonia
1
1
1
2
5
Sleeping Sickness
2
2
Typhoid Fever
1
1
2
Septic Sore Throat
1
1
Whooping Coughi
10
8
1
19
Influenza
1
1
Epedimic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis
1
1
2
Varicella
1
1
1
3
Total
58 50 55 37 31 23 10 5 107 9 6 302
In the Fall of 1920 many children were excluded from school, the School Physician questioning whether or no they were convalescent from scarlet fever.
Inquiry showed that while many had been slightly indis- posed, some were not known to have been sick at all and in others the condition had been deemed so trivial a nature that it did not seem to require the attention of a physician. It was then in this insideous manner that the disease gained hold and spread.
Beginning in the north part of the town, it was not until after the third week in December that the center and south parts became infected.
From this time on into the early summer, cases were re- ported from all parts of the town.
Quarantine measures seemed of little avail and cases
1
1
1
1 4
5
1 07
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were in so far as was possible removed at once to the hos- pital and the premises fumigated by order of the board.
The value of the isolation ward proved itself in this emergency inasmuch as while a serious epidemic prevailed in the town, yet the summer visitor was not greeted on every hand by scarlet fever warnings. In fact, in so far as could be seen the town showed little or no signs of the epidemic at all.
To bring about this result the board was compelled to exceed the original appropriation which was thought at the beginning of the year to be adequate for this branch of the work.
However, in view of the number of cases, low mortality and the result in so far as any deterient effect on the Ter- centenary celebration, the board deems the money to have been spent wisely.
Brief mention may be made of one case of typhoid on the premises of a dealer in milk products.
Here the suspected family were removed to another loca- tion and so kept until the period of incubation of the di- sease had passed.
The expense of this removal and the subsequent care of the family being borne by the board and paid by money taken from the appropriation.
This branch of the work, fumigation, has been carried on as in the past. All infected premises having been visited by a regular agent of the board and the work done in the most affective manner. Inasmuch as no second infection has been reported, the work of the past year has in all ways been satisfactory.
In many instances the attention of the board has been called to neglected animals, sick or dead, found in the ways of the town. Prompt removal of the offending mate- rial has been affected by a suitable agent and in most in- stances at a nominal expense to the town.
es
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In one case, a stranded black-fish at Manomet Beach re- quired a larger sum for removal but this was the only excep- tion noted.
Biological products have been procured and distributed throughout the year, as in the past.
Various examinations of blood, etc., have been made at the State Laboratories, for the profession at large, and whenever necessary, a physician from the State Depart- ment of Health has been furnished as a consultant.
The large number of contagious cases, especially of sca :- let fever and largely indigent, has increased enormously the expenses of the board, an unusual proportion of the afflicted being unable either to pay for the medical atten- tion required or having any relatives who were in a posi- tion to care for them.
The result has been that case after case has been cared for at public expense and at a cost of from $75 to $100 per case.
Tuberculosis cases have, the past year, proven very ex- pensive, at times seven or eight patients being in State or County institutions and their expenses paid from the Town appropriation.
In view of the present health conditions both country- wide and locally, it is rather difficult to state with exact- ness, the amount of money that this department can proper- ly, economically and adequately use for the current year.
In view, however, of our experience during the past year, we would recommend the sum of $15,000 to cover the curren expenses and the additional sum of -- to cover bills incurred prior to January 1, 1922.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE H. JACKSON, M. D., Chairman. HERBERT S. MAXWELL,
HARRY R. TALBOT, Secretary,
Board of Health.
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REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF MILK
To the Honorable Board of Health of Plymouth :-
As milk inspector for the town, I herewith submit my re- port for the past year, with suggestions for the future. As time passes I feel better acquainted with the territory from which our milk supply comes, with our consumers, our pro- ducers, our dealers, and their respective needs.
The following items are revealed by inspections, license records, etc. Only six stores are now registered for the sale of olemargarine. Sixty-four dealers' licenses have been issued with the following approximate distribution: thir- ty-two for retail delivery, nineteen for the counter trade of stores and markets, ten for eating places such as hotels, restaurants and lunch rooms, and three miscellaneous ones. Inspections have been made of the places of some new pro- ducers, which, for the most part were for small scale pro- duction. Conditions in stables, barns and milk rooms, everywhere, have been satisfactory in most cases. Few complaints of poor milk have been made, and in these cases the persons making them, have been unwilling to stand be- hind their statements openly, which is quite necessary to be most effective.
There are two or three reasons for low grade milk which may be well worth mentioning. Unfortunately our con- sumers are sometimes responsible. They know that good milk should taste well and keep well and yet if it does not, they continue to put up with it, instead of making a change to a better supply. When a change is made the consumer too often looks for a cheaper milk instead of a higher grade milk. Thus the painstaking man who tries to put
PLYMOUTH FIFTEEN
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a good product on the market is driven out of business be- cause the consumer patronizes the careless man who sells the poor milk a little cheaper. Indeed, it should be the oth- er way.
Few people seem to realize that the more care and precau- tions taken to put out a high grade of milk, the greater the cost of production. It costs so much to put out certi- fied milk, with its low bacteria count, that it is almost un- known excepting to a few wealthy people. Pasturized milk, however, is well within our reach and should be a greater demand because it is safe from tuberculosis, typhoid fever and diphtheria germs which are killed, if present, by bringing the milk to a temperature of 145 F. and holding there for thirty minutes. More care, more time and more and better equipment are the items which make up the greater cost.
Another reason is because of the milk itself: because it is so perishable, so susceptible to contamination and has to be produced under such unfavorable conditions. But a very little dust, contact with seemingly inoffensive odors, minor matters in the care of utensils, lack of extreme clean- liness on the part of the milker, etc., will sometimes cause milk to be harmful and even dangerous to human life. Even perfectly healthy employees may serve as carriers of di- sease germs so that our system of milk inspection alone is inadequate. Indeed, it means the most extreme care and much expense to put out high grade milk.
A milk producer may sometimes lack business efficiency but it is wholly unfair to call him a profiteer. His margin of profit is small and when compared with that of many other things we buy without a thought. makes a very poor comparison. If the truth were known it would be seen that some are actually selling below cost. How do they do it ? Because they may be sacrificing the fertility of their land ; employing primative methods; giving free the services of
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their families; valuing their own services for little or noth- ing; failing to consider the cost of other help, housing tools, dairy utensils and such things as brushes, cards, malt, soap, ice, bedding, veterinary service, not to mention feed; fail- ing to consider depreciation of buildings, etc., and numer- ous other things. Consumers should bear these things in mind and patronize the men with milk of the highest qual- ity.
The problem is how may we have the very best and cleanest product and satisfy both consumer and producer? This is partly answered above. There must be cooperation all around, but in the final analysis of the situation, "The milk producer," as one authority says, "is the key to the situation, for he really possesses the power of making or unmaking a dairy regardless of inspectors, cows, milk uten- sils, manipulation or handling." Could our producers get together on some effective system of organized improve- ment, like they have in other places, and have a standard- ized grading of milk on the basis of bacteria and fat con- tents, they would not only be able to put out milk at low cost to consumers but actually be able to make more profit themselves. We would have better and healthier animals and fewer cows of the type which do not pay for their keeping. We have a well equipped laboratory which in such a case might be used to good advantage.
To conclude : milk is a complete food; it is ready to use ; it is necessary ; and it is cheap. Its great worth and uni- versal use demand that we have the highest quality supply with satisfaction to all parties concerned.
Respectfully submitted,
E. B. YOUNG, Milk Inspector.
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REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF SLAUGHTERING
Report of Inspector of Slaughtering for Town of Plym- outh for year 1921.
During the past year the following animals have been killed for food :
Pigs
Calves
Cattle
Sheep
January, 1
54
6
16
9
February,
21
6
11
March,
24
15
18
April,
17
12
13
May,
10
14
17
June,
8
13
9
July,
8
13
13
August,
5
3
12
September,
15
4
16
October,
20
9
14
November,
39
4
19
December,
83
10
16
Total,
304
109
174
9
The following animals or portions of the carcass was de- stroyed as unfit for food.
January three pigs heads were affected with tuberculosis of submaxillary glands and they were rendered.
In March one cow's head was condemned as she was suf- fering from actinomycosis of the jaw.
In May one cow was condemned on account of suffering from tuberculosis.
In July one cow's head was condemned, she having acti- nomycosis of head.
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In August one cow was condemned, she having general tuberculosis.
In October one cow was condemned, suffering from tu- berculosis.
In November one pig and two pigs heads were condemned as they had lesions of tuberculosis.
During the past year we have had four places where slaughtering has been regularly carried on, and they have shown improvement in general, both as cleaning up, and general neatness.
Many animals have been slaughtered at private places as they were unable to take them to slaughter houses.
FREDERICK H. BRADLEY,
Inspector of Slaughtering.
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PLYMOUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY
The following report of the Plymouth Public Library for the past year is respectfully submitted to the Town.
During the year 522 books have been added to the library, of which 167 were gifts. 656 new cardholders have been enrolled, 159 being temporary residents. The record of attendance during the year, for reading and reference is 15,100 adult and 15,411 juvenile. The total circulation of books was 48,862.
A comparison of this record of circulation with that as recent as five years ago is of interest as showing an extra- ordinary increase in the use of the library, the gain in that short period averaging ninety per cent: the gain in the circulation of juvenile literature exceeding one hundred and fifty per cent. !
The library has been favored the past year by an unusual number of gifts of books, periodicals, pictures, statuary etc., for which we wish to make grateful acknowledgement to the following donors :- Miss Anne P. Appleton, Mrs. Rich- ard H. Morgan, Mrs. Henry W. Barnes, Mrs. Sophie R. Westwood, Miss Lucretia S. Watson, Mrs. George R. Briggs, Miss Lucia Bartlett, Mrs. M. A. Small, Miss Rose S. Whit- ing, Mr. Edward R. Belcher, Mrs. Theodore P. Adams, Karl Bittinger, Anna Bent, Edgar S. Kelley, Mr. and Mrs. Ar- thur Lord, Dr. Harold M. Bruce, Mrs. Herbert H. Chandler, Miss Alice Thorp, John Russell, Jr., Miss Elizabeth N. Per- kins, The Plymouth Book Club, Division of Public Libraries of the Department of Education, Omar Khayyam Club of America, Miss Alice B. Barnes, Mrs. E. R. Greeley.
Miss Mary Pratt continues her generous annual contribu-
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tion of $100.00, which for many years has been applied to the purchase of books of non-fiction.
Books on Old Furniture and Historie Silver, and a num- ber of interesting pictures have been received from the Arts and Crafts Committee of The Plymouth Woman's Club. 347 pictures from this collection, and from those given by Miss Mary G. Bartlett, have been circulated. These are of much value to teachers in illustrating subjects that are being studied in our public schools.
A valuable collection of pictures of Plymouth wild flow- ers, painted by the late Mrs. William Hedge, has been loaned to the Library. These have been exhibited from time to time in the children's department, and on the Arts and Crafts bulletin board, where they have attracted much interest. Plymouth photographs by Miss Lillian N. Hobart have also been exhibited in this attractive way.
During the Tercentenary celebration the activities of the library were greatly increased, many visitors finding it an attractive place for rest and reading. It was also a bureau of information and of service in those busy days. One of the interesting visits of the summer was from the American Library Association and the Old Colony Library, Club on the 27th of June. The annual meeting of the former being held at Swampscott a post-conference trip was arranged for Plymouth and over four hundred came by steamer and in automobiles, the library serving as headquarters, and the directors acting as Cicerones to the places of general interest in the Town.
There has been an increasing demand for books at points not accessible to the library. To meet this demand deposits of books have been sent to the Jordan Hospital, to the coast guard at Manomet and to Miss Luard's vacation house for young women, also at Manomet. A library club lias been formed at the Morton school where books have been placed for circulation among the pupils who are mem-
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bers of the club. Books no longer needed either in Plym- outh or Manomet have been sent to a small library in Maine where they are much appreciated.
The juvenile attendance at the library is constantly increasing; indeed for some time it has exceeded that of adults; furthermore the use of the library by the children, in taking out books for study and general reading, has grown remarkably. The gain of over 150 per cent. in five years, as noted above, applies to both fiction and non-fiction and is an impressive proof of the increasing value of the library as an adjunct of our public schools. This was due in no small degree to the willing and capable assistance of the library staff in directing pupils to sources of informa- tion and of literary excellence helpful in their school work.
The story-telling hour for the younger children, begun two years ago by the assistant librarian, Miss Gladys Greene, has been continued on Saturday mornings from November to April inclusive. The large attendance shows the growing appreciation of this happily conceived addi- tion to the usefulness of the library.
The inadequacy of the present reading room, referred to in previous reports, is increasingly evident. The only possible relief is the addition of another room for the ex- clusive use of juvenile readers. The estimated cost of such a room is twelve thousand dollars. We cannot ask the Town to provide this addition to the building, in view of exceptional financial demands that must be met in the near future, but we continue to hope that some generous donor will see in this urgent need an attractive opportunity for honoring himself, or some cherished memory, in a way of perpetual usefulness such as this children's room would most assuredly be.
The increasing demands upon the library are such as re- quire an administration of experience and efficiency, and the record of the past year gives proof that this has been
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amply met in the continued service of Miss Kerr, Miss Greene and their faithful subordinates. Furthermore, in the facts set forth in this report the thoughtful and con- siderate citizens of the Town will surely note how worthy our public library is of whatever financial support may be asked to continue and to increase its usefulness and far- reaching value to the community.
Respectfully submitted, For the directors,
WILLIAM S. KYLE,
President.
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REPORT OF THE TERCENTENARY COMMITTEE
We herewith submit to the citizens of the Town our report as its representative "in all matters relating to the three hundredth anniversary of the Landing of the Pil- grims." The committee was represented at every legisla - tive hearing on Tercentenary matters and presented Plym- outh's claims for an appropriation commensurate with the historic importance of the event as, in the main, a celebra- tion of the founding of the Commonwealth.
Conferences with the Governor, and with prominent mem- bers of the House and Senate were arranged for and at- tended. The assistance of the Press was also sought in efforts to arouse public interest and enthusiasm in the proposed celebration. The committee was also active in. efforts to influence, in every becoming way, favorable action by the Legislature.
We were also in evidence at councils of the Congressional committee, and we may reasonably claim having some in- fluence in securing an issue of special postage stamps, and the commemorative coin, both of which were of interesting and extensive advertising value, nor were we inactive in efforts that finally led to the National appropriation. While no part of these contributions came into our custody or control we certainly had some share in securing them and we therefore deem it quite pertinent to incidentally refer to such matters in this report.
Among the problems of local improvement considered by the committee, in the line of making the Town as attractive
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as possible in its Tercentenary year, was a comprehensive treatment of the lower basin of Town Brook and the land adjacent thereto. Under our direction detailed plans were worked out by competent civil and landscape engineers which if carried out would transform that unsightly sec- tion into one of the most attractive spots in the centre of the Town. A non-resident, much interested in Plymouth, offered to defray the entire cost of the scheme, and also to build a copy of one of the first homes on the original site which he had purchased with that intent. This project would have been carried to completion, without any ex- pense to the Town, if satisfactory arrangements could have been made with owners of the land. The log house has been constructed, but it is now very doubtful if this generously disposed party can or will add to his gift in view of a serious change in his circumstances. Another generous donor, of Plymouth antecedents, has however, done much to redeem a part of the land adjacent to the northerly side of the Brook by very attractive planting under competent direc- tion, a contribution deeply appreciated by the people of the Town. The efficient and active Civic Pride committee of our own organization has also contributed much to the creditable improvement of this locality, and it is hoped that the committees' comprehensive plans may yet re carried out.
Another project of importance, assigned to the sub-com- mittee on Relocations, to which they gave much time and long extended study, was that of replacing the docks of which the Town was deprived in the carrying out of the harbor-front scheme of the State Tercentenary Commission. This matter is still in abeyance but certain to come before the Town for consideration, and the elaborate plans of competent engineers, which our committee authorized, are certain to figure in the matter and we believe will prove of such practical value as fully justifies their cost.
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Long intervals of inaction were inevitable while waiting for helpful legislation by both State and Nation, without which nothing could be accomplished or even undertaken. The delay was due mainly to imperative demands incident to the war which side-tracked every unrelated project, however worthy or important. This was a disheartening period and made the prospect of an adequate celebration of Plymouth's tercentenary seem dubious indeed.
At this stage of depression the committee was advised that an organization of highest standing, with an unbroken record of notable successes in raising money for objects of National interest, would undertake the task of securing funds for an event of such historic importance. At its advice, and after fullest investigation, your committee called to its councils, Mr. J. Frederick McGrath of New York as secretary and general advisor. His record had been one of marked success and he came to us with assur- ances of utmost confidence that plans for a highly creditable celebration could be formulated, and amply financed from other than local sources, as it should be in view of its National significance. Mr. McGrath urged, and at once undertook the formation of a National committee which ultimately included some of the most prominent men in the country, together with representatives of practically all of the national, historical and patriotic organizations of importance. The local committee was increased to num- bers that admitted of organizing several working sub- committees to be ready for service when the time came to require it. A finance committee was also formed, composed of men of prominence in the monetary circles of Boston, who accepted the duty of raising funds covering a budget which they approved. All this took much time and was costly but we were assured that all the money necessary would be secured and the 1920 appropriation of the Town repaid. A series of adverse conditions soon appeared,
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