USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Town annual report of Quincy 1887-1888 > Part 6
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Your Commissioners recommend that the sum of $500 be ap- propriated for their use in 1888. A finanical exhibit is ap- pended herewith.
Respectfully submitted, W. B. RICE, C. H. PORTER, GEO. CAHILL, Commissioners.
103
FINANCIAL STATEMENT. Park Commissioners in account with Town of Quincy.
DR.
To cash from Selectmen $575 69
Frank McCormick, rent of pasture
100 00
Salt hay
17 50
Wood sold
47 29
Sale of tree
50
$740 98
CR.
Cash paid Moses Bodreau
. $198 47
John
103 25
Hubert Jeremy
66 51
T. O. Neil
69 57
T. Donahoe
56 44
Sam'l Mckay .
78 14
Horse and cart, 8 days
12 00
J. Breck & Sons, tools
14 03
C. B. Tilton, 66
50
C. H. Porter, scythe, etc.
2 00
J. A. Galvin, posts
5 00
$605 91
Balance in hands of Commissioners, $135 07
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH.
The Board of Health hereby submits its third annual report. The board organized March 14. Regulations were adopted and published, as required by law, in the Quincy Patriot. J. War- ren Hayden was appointed inspector and Terence Keenan and Peter McConnarty scavengers.
Three thousand and nine inspections were made by the in- spector, and ninety-three by the members of the board. Eight hundred and thirteen nuisances were discovered, and of these seven hundred and sixty-four or ninety-four per cent, were abated. The number and character of the several nuisances, and the number abated, are shown in the following table : --
Unventilated drains
30
Abated 28
Untrapped drains
34
29
Imperfect privy vaults .
48
66
45
Filthy yards
29
،،
27
Privy too near well
6
5
Sewage runs into barn cellar
1
66
1
Uncleaned privy vaults
273
269
Uncleaned cesspools
63
63
Sink spout discharges near well
2
1
Pig-pens
12
12
Wet cellars .
103
101
Broken sink drains
20
20
Sewage runs into street
13
66
8
Sink drains stopped up
15
15
Sink pool on surface of the ground
120
108
Sewage runs into brook
9
66
7
Sewage runs under house
5
5
Sewage runs into cellar
6
6
Piggeries
4
4
Cesspool too near the house
9
66
8
Contaminated well
4
66
0)
Sewage runs into pond .
2
0
Unburied dog carcass
1
.6
1
Decomposing fish offal .
1
1
Decaying fruit
1
66
1
105
The imperfect and uncleaned privy vanlts and cesspools, the untrapped and unventilated drains, and the wet cellars are the most common nuisances and the ones most dangerous to the public health. The sink pools, with their offensive exhalations, have generally disappeared.
Thirty-four untrapped and unventilated sink drains were dis- covered, twenty-nine of which were improved at the request of the board. There still remains throughout the town a very large number of unventilated and untrapped drains from sinks and water-closets, which convey the gases of the cesspools directly into the houses, constituting the most deadly of all nuisances. Notwithstanding the efforts that are being con- stantly made by sanitarians to show the evils of this method of plumbing, it is found on inspection that a very large number of the new houses that are being built from year to year in Quincy, while providing themselves with a carefully covered cesspool, which effectually shuts out their waste sink water and sewage from sight, connects it with the house by a more or less straight pipe, without trap or vent or other hinderance to the entrance of deadly cesspool gases into the dwelling.
One hundred and three wet cellars were found, varying in wetness from damp walls and bottom to four feet of water. ' These were bailed out and cleaned. A few were drained, or filled with gravel, and thus permanently improved, but the larger number filled up again with the onset of the rainy season, and will remain wet or full of water until bailed out, or dried up by the hot weather of July.
Many of the wet cellars in the south part of the town seem to have been caused by the building up of Water Street, which acts as a dam to the soil water in that neighborhood. In the neighborhood of the junction of Willard and Cemetery Streets the wet cellars are promoted by the obstructions in Furnace Brook, or the branch of it which drains that locality. A gen- eral system of drainage and the cleaning and deepening of the brooks of the town will relieve the wet cellars to a very large extent.
In the report of last year the hope was expressed that in the near future the cleaning of cesspools and privy vaults might be done by means of the odorless excavating apparatus. This year Peter McConarty provided himself with one of these machines, which did satisfactory work during the hot season.
The proper disposal of the contents of cesspools and privy
106
vaults meets with much difficulty, and is a frequent cause of complaint. It is impossible to secure a place for the dis- posal of so large an amount of filth so remote from human habitation as to insure entire immunity from unwholesome and disagreeable odors. It is hoped in the coming year that a method of composting or defecating with dry soil may be substituted for the present system of wider distribution.
The following by-law relating to piggeries was adopted by the town at its last annual meeting : -
" No person shall exercise the trade or employment of keep- ing swine in any part of the town of Quincy without a permit in writing being first obtained from the Board of Health ; said permit may be revoked at any time when said keeping of swine shall, in the opinion of the Board of Health, be likely to be prejudicial to the public safety, comfort, or health."
Eight piggeries and twelve pigstys were found ; four piggeries were discontinued ; eleven pigstys were abolished, and one improved. The piggeries still remaining are Kennard's, on Fenno Street; Kittredge's, on North Street; Keenan's, on South Street ; and Wight's, on Howard Street.
In compliance with the vote of the town at its last annual meeting, that the Board of Health procure the necessary legisla- tion for the purpose of giving the full charge of the brooks in the town to the Road Commissions or Selectmen, the following act was passed by the Legislature of the Commonwealth : -
LAWS AND RESOLVES, 1887, CHAP. 296.
" The Board of Road Commissioners of the town of Quincy, or the Board of Selectmen in case at any time said town has no Board of Road Commissioners, is hereby authorized, for the purpose of draining any lands which have been declared by the Board of Health of said town to be so wet or moist as to be offensive or injurious to health, to clear of obstructions, deepen and widen any brooks or streams in said town, and to enter upon any land for such purpose. Damages suffered by any per- son through such action of the Board of Road Commissioners or Board of Selectmen shall be ascertained and recovered in the same manner as provided by law in the case of the laying out of town ways."
This act, together with the urgent need of carrying out its provisions in certain sections of the town, was submitted to the Board of Road Commissioners, who have taken steps to have this important work performed.
1
107
Two hundred and sixty-four deaths occurred during the year, equal to about nineteen in a thousand of the population. Of these, 33, or 123 per cent, were from consumption ; 22 from pneumonia ; 13 from typhoid fever; 19 from diphtheria; 12 from croup; 9 from cholera infantum; 9 from meningitis ; 6 from measles ; 2 from whooping cough; and 1 from scarlet fever. In all, 126, or 472 per cent from the preventable dis- eases.
In compliance with the public statutes requiring householders and physicians to report all cases of contagious diseases occur- ring within the town, 114 cases of measles were reported, of which the town records show 2 deaths; 62 cases of typhoid fever with 13 deaths; 40 cases of scarlet fever, with 1 death ; 50 cases of diphtheria, with 19 deaths ; and 7 cases of croup, with 12 deaths. The large proportion of deaths from typhoid fever and diphtheria, and the remarkable discrepancy relating to croup, indicate negligent non-compliance with the public statutes requiring such diseases to be reported.
The reports enumerated, although evidently defective, show a large increase in the number of cases of the several infectious diseases, which have been epidemic throughout the State and the country generally throughout the year.
As soon as these reports were received notices of the several cases were sent to the principals of the schools, who excluded the children from the infected household until they received satisfactory evidence that they were free from contagion. Cards giving the necessary information on these matters were placed in the hands of all the teachers in the town. Much praise is due the teachers for the great care they have taken to carry out the instructions of the Board, and to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the schools. Great hindrance to the speedy furtherance of this work is due to the tardiness of physicians and householders in making the necessary re- ports.
The urgent need of a general system of sewerage is more evi- dent than ever before. Many serious nuisance had to be letf unabated on account of the difficulty attending their removal from want of proper drainage. This is notably the case with the sewage of the Wollaston Hotel, the Gardner estate, the Robertson House, the Faxon block, and many other places in the centre and other parts of the town.
At its last annual meeting the town appropriated the sum of
108
seven hundred and fifty dollars for the purposes of the Board, which was expended as follows : -
Inspecting
$349 70
Printing .
272 75
Room
75 00
Legal advice
30 00
Vaccine virus
4 25
Stationery
4 90
Keys
1 80
Sign-boards
7 00
$745 40
In the item for printing the sum of $120 was expended in printing circulars relating to fumigation and the sanitary man- agement of the infectious diseases, and for the publication of a pamphlet on Public Health, issued by the Board. Thirty-five hundred copies were printed and distributed as far as possible to every householder in town. Several hundred of these pamphlets remain, and a copy will be given to any one apply- ing therefor to the Board.
The following appropriations are recommended for the ensu- ing year : -
Printing
$100 00
Inspecting
350 00
Disinfecting
125 00
Rent of room .
75 00
Secretary's services
100 00
Incidental expenses
50 00
$800 00
The large amount of work devolving upon the Secretary of the Board, in the way of correspondence, attending to com- plaints, notices of the schools, superintending disinfection, and the numerous other duties of the office, should be remunerated, at least to a small extent, and the sum of one hundred dollars. is asked for that purpose.
JOHN A. GORDON, JOSEPH L. WHITON, JOHN H. GILBERT, JOHN F. WELCH, CHAUNCEY M. MARSTIN.
REPORT OF MANAGERS OF ADAMS ACADEMY.
The managers of the Adams Academy have the pleasure to report that the last year has been one of gratifying success. There has been a large accession of pupils, especially from the Wollaston district of the town, and we are now educating more Quincy boys than in any year since Dr. Dimmock's death. Twelve boys have received certificates of honorable dismission ; ten applied for Harvard College, of whom nine were admitted, all with creditable and several with brilliant records ; one was admitted to Yale College, and one joined the Lawrence Scientific School.
The supervisors of the Adams Temple and School Fund have made important improvements in the Academy building. The cellar under the south room has been laid in concrete, and new desks provided after the best approved pattern.
The managers desire to call attention to the following extract from the report of the master. They fully share his opinion of the discourtesy of the procedure to which it refers.
" I find that citizens who decide, for any reason, - it is to be presumed a proper one - that their sons shall not remain in the school longer, simply because their attendance to cease, with- out giving us any information to this effect. It may be said that there is no obligation but that of courtesy to give such in- formation ; but that obligation is a serious one ; and when teachers have taken pains for some years to do their very best for a pupil, by close attention and care, to find at the beginning of the year, perhaps even in the middle, that he will not return, is, to say the least, not pleasant. Repeatedly the fact that a boy would not return to school has been known to a large circle of family acquaintances and to every one of his classmates without a hint of the intention coming to his teacher's ears."
There is something more than a lack of courtesy to be noted in the cases to which reference is here made. Parents in deter- mining the careers of their boys are obviously the losers if they pay no consideration to the advice of persons of exceptional
110
skill, who have patiently studied their capacities and tendencies. A teacher's knowledge of his pupil's adaptation to a given pur- suit is often more trustworthy than that of a relation, and may well have its place as a factor in a decision which is always diffi- cult.
An alumni association of the graduates of Adams' Academy has been formed during the past year. Such bodies have given decided stimulus to other educational institutions, and there can be little doubt that this new society will tend to deepen and awaken interest in our Quincy school.
The managers have to announce with the deepest regret that one of their number, Mr. Luther W. Anderson, died in the last year. He was one of the original members of the Board, and always took a deep interest in the the school.
J. P. QUINCY, C. H. PORTER, EDWARD NORTON, PETER BUTLER, CHAS. A. HOWLAND,
Managers.
CHIEF ENGINEER'S REPORT.
ENGINEER'S OFFICE, QUINCY. Feb. 1, 1888.
TO THE HONORABLE BOARD OF SELECTMEN : -
Gentlemen, -I herewith submit the twenty-sixth Annual Report of the Chief Engineer of the Quincy Fire Department, together with certain recommendations for the benefit of the department, and items of interest to the citizens of the town.
Membership.
The department is at present under the control of a chiet engineer and five assistants, namely : -
JOHN W. HALL, Chief,
JOHN A. DUGGAN, Clerk, WM. B. BARRY,
AMOS L. LITCHFIELD, PETER WILLIAMS, BENJAMIN KING.
The number of men now on the roll of the department is as follows : Steamer No. 1, 2; Hose No. 1, 12 ; Hose No. 2, 10 ; Hose No. 3, 10 : Hose No. 4, 10 ; Hook and Ladder No. 1, 12 ; Chemical No. 1, -; Chemical No. 2, 12. Total, -.
Since the first of May last six men have been attached to Chemical No. 1, at Hough's Neck. These men were accepted and approved as members of the Fire Department by the Board of Engineers, with the distinct understanding that they were to serve without pay. The Board, however, recommend the payment of twenty dollars to Mr. Walter F. Littlefield for his faithful care of the engine for the past year.
Apparatus.
The apparatus of the department consists of one Amoskeag steam fire-engine one, hook and ladder truck, three hose wagons, two four-wheel hose carriages, one hose pung, two chemical engines.
There are also three horses, one double and one single set of harness, a full complement of ladders, and 5,650 feet of hose. Five hundred (500) feet of the hose are not in reliable con- dition.
112
Fire Alarmı.
The fire-alarm service consists of about twenty miles of wire, a battery, twenty-five boxes, three bell strikers, three gongs, four tappers, and one bell ; the latter located at West Quincy. During the past year four new boxes, a bell and bell-striker have been added to the system, and the wire has been extended to Squantum.
Hydrants.
There are at present ninety-six hydrants, located in various parts of the town, and several more should be added to that number.
RESERVOIRS.
There are sixteen reservoirs, of which ten are self-tilling. Three of these have been built during the past year.
Recommendations.
While the Fire Department consists of first-class apparatus, manned and operated by citizens thoroughly interested in the duties of firemen, it is yet a matter of regret both to my asso- ciates and myself that there is much still needed to make the department such as we desire it to be. and such as we think the town of Quincy, with its 14,000 people and $10,000,000 of val- uation, ought to have. Believing that the Board of Engineers are the ones to whom citizens look for counsel and advice upon matters pertaining to the extinguishment of fire, we conceive it to be our duty whenever the occasion offers to call attention to the wants of the department. not only that the people may have an opportunity to supply those wants but also that the officers and members may be held blameless in case any serious dam- age may result if their recommendations are not adopted by the town. This year we desire to advise several purchases, one of which is of considerable amount, and will involve quite an out- lay of money, and several of less amounts, but all necessary to what we believe constitutes a well-equipped department. We recommend the purchase of a piece of land, centrally located, and the erection thereon of a brick engine-house large enough to contain the steamer, hose carriage and ladder truck, stalls for seven horses, a hose tower, sleeping rooms, hall for mem- bers, battery room, and office for Board of Engineers. To any one who has been interested in this first-named portion of the Fire Department and watched its response to alarms, and also
113
viewed the present quarters of the men and apparatus, the necessity for improvement must be apparent. The present steamer house was never intended to be the permanent location for the engine, and is in no way a suitable place for men to live ; there is no drainage, the building is old and out of repair, and the arrangements unsatisfactory. By reference to the Town Report of 1882-3, page 164, it will be seen that by a vote of the town it was recognized as only a " temporary " location, and we think the time has now come when a more desirable place should be procured. Especially is it necessary to make imme- diate provision for the prompt arrival of the hook and ladder truck at fires. At present no real dependence can be placed upon this important part of the department, and it may or may not arrive in time to be of any service. The greatest difficulty has been experienced in getting a reliable party to agree to fur- nish horses to draw the truck to fires, and much delay and loss of property have resulted in consequence. If the arrange- ment as herein proposed meets the approval of the town, there is no doubt that the liability of the department to respond to alarms of fire more quickly will result, and the men, horses, and apparatus will be of more service.
We recommend the purchase of three horses, one for Hose No. 1, and two for the Hook and Ladder. These two pieces of ap- paratus respond to all alarms of fire. One horse now draws Hose 1, which, with hose, men, etc., will weigh about 3,500 pounds. That this is far too great a load for any one horse to take over our roads at the desired rate of speed is too apparent to need argument. The necessity for horses for the Hook and Ladder has been mentioned above.
We also recommend the purchase of three sets of double harness and two sets of single harness. This is for the pur- pose of placing in the houses of Hose 2, 3, and 4 a set of single harness to be always ready for use, as the harness usually found on horses furnished to the department are such as are not liable to stand the strain of a heavily loaded hose wagon. The three sets of double harness are for Hose No. 1, Ladder Truck, and Chemical No. 2.
We recommend the purchase of five hundred (500) feet of hose, to replace that which the wear and tear of the past year has made unreliable.
We recommend that authority be given the Board of En- gineers to employ, and an appropriation to pay, one more man permanently to drive Hose No. 1, which is now located in the
114
old school-house. At present dependence is placed upon whomever may happen to be around the hose house, as the two permanent men go out on the steamer.
The response to the constant demand by the people for new fire-alarm boxes has necessitated the extension of the fire-alarm wire, until there is a single circuit of twenty miles. Whenever a break or other interruption occurs it requires a man to be sent perhaps over the whole distance before the defect can be dis- covered and remedied. This circuit is, I think, the longest in the State, and should be divided, in order that any trouble may be speedily located and promptly repaired. The Board of Engineers recommend the purchase of a "Three-Circuit Re- peater and Switch-Board."
We also recommend an appropriation of seven thousand six hundred and ten dollars ($7,610) for the ensuing year, for the following purposes : -
Pay . of members and stewards for past year, 1887-88 .
.
$1,870 00
Pay of engineers, 1887-88 240 00
Pay of two permanent men, 1888-89
1,664 00
Pay of substitutes, 1888-89 . 86 00
Fire alarm .
750 00
Horse hire .
450 00
Keeping horses
500 00
Fuel and lights
350 00
Miscellaneous
1,475 00
Repairs
225 00
Total
. $7,610 00
The appropriation last year was $6,080, and the board was obliged to overrun that amount by nearly $943.46, making a total expense of $7,230 ; and I believe it to be the proper way, and more in accordance with the desire of the people, to ask for the amount which I believe will be necessary to properly operate the department.
Remarks.
Accommpanying this report is a list of fires and alarms for the year ending Jan. 31, 1888, for which my thanks are due to John A. Duggan, the faithful and efficient clerk of the Board of Engineers. While the loss by fire has been considerable the past year, more than half the amount was at two fires, and,
115
in my opinion, was occasioned by the lack of a supply of water, for which the department was in no wise responsible. The members have labored faithfully and hard, and the appa- ratus has always been in order. The hydrant service has been generally good, though unsatisfactory at the Neck fire of July 14, 1887, and the West Quincy fire of January 21, 1888. In the former case there was a lack of supply, and in the latter a frozen or rusted hydrant. The charge of the fire alarm has been intrusted to Engineer John A Duggan, and to his many hours of labor and careful attention the town is indebted for a finely working system. To the engineers and members of the department I extend my thanks for careful attention to duty and cordial co-operation and assistance in the performance of our common branch of service, and assure them that I have appreciated all their efforts to maintain the credit of the depart- ment and the reputation of Quincy firemen.
To your Honorable Board I tender my grateful acknowledg- ment for many acts of kindness and courtesy.
Respectfully submitted, JOHN W. HALL, Chief Engineer, Q. F. D.
.
116
LIST OF FIRES AND ALARMS FROM FEB. 1, 1887, TO FEB 1, 1888.
DATE.
TIME.
Box.
PROPERTY.
LOCATION.
OWNER.
Feb.
8.
8.30 P. M.
35
Dwelling
Off Water St ....
H. H. Faxon.
Mar.
24.
7.40 A. M.
71
Mill St.
Mrs. C. F. Colby.
May
8.
2.45 P. M.
41
Engine-house.
On Common.
Mckenzie & Patterson.
13.
9.45
11.40
46
Dwelling
West Quincy .
20.
2.15
23
Blacksmith shop.
Hancock St ..
G. L. Miller. J. B. Weld.
June
1.
S 55
41
Dwelling .
Off Granite St ...
George Anderson. South Walnut St. J. E. Drake.
July 14.
2.30
73
Dwellings and Barns, Quincy Neck.
Small barn
Quincy Point
Mrs. Costello.
44
29.
7.40
23
Stable ..
President's Hill ..
J. Q. Adams.
Oct.
26.
7.00
37
Dwelling
Penn St
66
26.
6.00 P. M.
72
66
28.
8.45 A. M.
Still.
Nov.
7.
3.00 P. M.
Woodland
Quincy Ave .
66
3.30
66
66
Railway woods ..
Dwelling
Hancock St ..
B. A. Gould. Grant.
Dec.
10.
12,50
54
Haystack.
Off Fenn St.
24.
6.25 A. M.
46
Temperance hall.
Willard St ..
1888
Jan.
2
5.04 P. M.
23
Store.
Hancock St.
..
21
6.57 A. M.
46
Dwelling
Common St ..
Tirrell Brothers. E. Byard.
23.
11.45 P. M.
26
Woodshed
Coddington St ... H. H. Faxon.
6.30 A. M.
34
Shop.
Baxter St ...
Charles Woodbury.
11.
S.35
34
2S.
3 35
35
Shoe Manufactory ... Quincy High School ..
Washington St .. Hancock St.
Eliot Ramsdell.
16.
6.10
51
53
..
Newport Ave.
20.
12.20
42
St. Plymouth Rock ..
Hough's Neck ...
18.
29.
7 20 A. M.
72
( D. Holbrook. E. Newcomb. ( P. Lyons.
John Galvin. John Federhen.
Martin Pfaffman. St. Mary's T. A. U.R.S.
TOWN RECORDS
FOR
1887.
WARRANT FOR THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING.
MARCH 7, 1887.
NORFOLK, SS. To either of the Constables of the Town of Quincy, in said County, GREETING :
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby required to notify and warn the inhabitants of the Town of Quincy, qualified to vote in town affairs, to meet at the Town Hall, in said Quincy, on Monday, March 7th, 1887, at seven and one-half o'clock in the forenoon, to act on the following articles, namely :---
ARTICLE 1. To choose a Moderator.
ART. 2. To choose Town Officers.
ART. 3. To see how the town will vote on the following question : Shall licenses be granted for the sale of intoxicating liquors in this town ?
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