USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1894 > Part 8
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$2,100 00
hose reel
·
400 00
ladder truck
300 00
steam fire engine, No. 3
2,000 00
hose, 1,950 feet
780 00
ladders and other supplies
425 00
$6,005 00
Number of firemen in ward, 33.
Ward 4. M. P. Sprague, engineer.
engine house and land .
$1,400 00
engine house and land Lovells Corner
1,200 00
hose wagon, No. 4
425 00
hose wagon, No. 6
350 00
hose reel
100 00
hose, 1,500 feet
600 00
ladders and other supplies
150 00
$4,225 00
Number of firemen in ward, 25. Ward 5. Otis Cushing, engineer. engine house and land
$2,500 00
hose reel
450 00
ladder truck ·
100 00
chemical engine . .
150 00
hose, 1,600 feet .
.
640 00
ladders and other supplies
.
425 00
·
$7,035 00
$4,265 00
156
Number of firemen, 35. The following boxes were used in giving the alarms.
Box. Alarm. Box. Alarm. Box. Alarm. Box. Alarm. Box. Alarm.
19 5 27 2 36 2
43 3 52
1
17 2 25 2 32 1
41 1
54 2
15 1 21 1
42 1
24
1
26 2
The estimated value of property where fires have occurred is :-
Value of buildings
$17,000 00
Damage to buildings
3,286 00
Insurance upon buildings
11,700 00
Insurance paid
3,286 00
Value of contents
7,400 00
Damage to contents .
1,300 00
Insurance upon contents
5,500 00
Insurance paid
1,300 00
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE TUFTS LIBRARY.
The Board of Trustees respectfully submit their sixteenth an- nual report as follows :-
During the year 1894, the library was open for the delivery of books during 304 days.
The number of volumes borrowed for home use was 61,562, be- ing a larger circulation than in any preceding year, averaging a delivery of 202 volumes daily, and a yearly delivery of 5.6 vol- umes for each inhabitant of the town. The largest number of loans in one day was 438, on February 14 and the smallest num- ber was 43, on November 5. The delivery in the month of Janu- ary was 6,193 volumes, which is the largest monthly record in the history of the library ; but the daily average for February-246 volumes -- was greater than for any other month. 32,879 vol- umes were delivered to borrowers at the library, and 28,683 through the several agencies, as follows :-
Precinct 1. Bartlett's store .
4,471
Precincts 2 and 6. Salisbury's store .
.
9,309
Precincts 2 and 6. Bates & Humphrey's store .
2,729
Precinct 4. Lovell's Corner 1,387
Precinct 4. Nash's store . 4,254
Precinct 5. Foster's store . 6,533
Teachers have borrowed on their special cards 2,965 books, a moderate increase upon the previous record.
The classification of the whole circulation is as follows :-
Arts, two and three tenths per cent; biography, two and two tenths per cent ; fiction, including juveniles, seventy-two and eight tenths per cent ; history, four per cent ; literature, two and one half per cent ; natural science, two per cent ; poetry, one and six tenths per cent ; social science, one and one tenth per cent; theology, three tenths of one per cent ; travels, five per cent; periodicals, six and two tenths per cent.
158
The number of borrowers' cards to date is 7,346, of which num ber 321 were issued during the year. 882 volumes were added to the library during the year ; 701 were purchased, 83 were reading room periodicals, bound by the library, and 98 volumes were gifts. The whole number of accessions to date is 16,163.
The following list contains the most important titles added to the library during the year : - Parsons's Landscape Gardening, Jackson's Theory and Practice of Design, Truman's History of the World's Fair, Wornum's Analysis of Ornament, Chadwick's Ocean Steamships, Clarke's American Railway, Méneval's Mem- oirs Illustrating the History of Napoleon, Prothero and Brad- ley's Life and Correspondence of Stanley, Brooke's Tennyson, Pickard's Life and Letters of Whittier, Appleton's Annual Cyclo- paedia, Century Dictionary, Thomas's Dictionary of Biography, (new edition), Adams's Civilization during the Middle Ages, Brown's Venice, Duruy's History of Modern Times, Maclay's History of the United States Navy, Mahan's Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution, Nadaillac's Manners and Monuments of Prehistoric Peoples, Winsor's Cartier to Frontenac, Curtis's Orations and Addresses, Jebb's Growth and Influence of Classical Greek Poetry, Wendell's Shakspere, Coues's Key to N. A. Birds, Gage's Microscope, Zimmermann's Botanical Microtechnique, Henry Irving's Shakespeare, 8v., Goodnow's Comparative Adminstrative Law, Shaler's United States of America, Curzon's Problems of the Far East, Fields's Corner of Cathay, Waters's Queen of the Adriatic, Congressional Record, 53rd Congress, 2nd Session, Publications of the 11th Census, Famous Oratorios and other Musical Compositons of the greatest Masters, and five vol. of Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia.
A bookcase placed in the delivery room near the children's table is kept filled, by the Librarian, with juvenile books of his- tory, travel, and biography, magazines and other good reading, to aid those who have no one to suggest suitable books, in making a wise choice.
By vote of the trustees, each borrower is allowed two books at the same time, but only one of these may be taken from the class of fiction.
159
A special card for this purpose will be given to all who apply for it, and this permission will extend to borrowers of music and of the magazines.
The annual inspection of the library was made as usual, and, with one exception, all books are accounted for. Two books charged in the latter part of 1893, have not been returned or paid for, and must now be counted as lost ; and one book charged dur- ing the year of 1894, to a person who has removed from town without leaving his present address, may be included in the same class.
In September last the library hours were so changed as to omit the closing from 5 o'clock to 6.30 o'clock p. m., and now include the following named hours :- on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the hours between 2 o'clock and 8 o'clock p. m. ; on Wednesdays, those between 2 o'clock and 5 o'clock p. m. ; and on Saturdays, those between 2 o'clock and 9 o'clock p. m., with the purpose better to accommodate those visitors whose residences are remote from the library.
The circulation of the unbound numbers of the magazines re- ceived by the library has been large during the last year, and it is probable that the permission to borrow these on the "special card" will considerably increase their circulation in the future. The Arena, Forum, North American Review, Review of Reviews, and Popular Science Monthly are those more especially called for as soon as they are taken from the Reading Room, which fact indicates a laudable desire on the part of many of our patrons to keep abreast with the advanced thought of the age. All of the magazines are loaned for seven days, to enable those to take them who borrow through the agencies.
The library is indebted to Hon. E. A. Morse, M. C., for valu- able public documents ; to James H. Flint, Esq., for numerous useful volumes ; to Supt. I. M. Norcross, for 39 volumes, specially adapted to the use of teachers; and to several others whose names appear in the list of donations, to each of whom the trustees tender thanks.
The large circulation of our library for the past year, indicative of its popularity and usefulness, while a cause for congratulation, should also stimulate to liberality, even to self denial, in our
160
appropriations for its future support ; and, in this spirit, the trustees respectfully but earnestly recommend an appropriation of the sum of two thousand dollars, the same as made for the years 1893 and 1894, in addition to the rents of the library building and one-half of the dog tax.
161
DONATIONS
Alvord, Rev. H. C.
Auburndale Public Library
Vols. Pamphs. Periodicals 1 2
Bray, Mrs. M. M.
1
8 nos.
Boston Public Library
1
Brookline Public Library
3
Brooklyn Library
1
Cleveland Public Library
1
Five Points House of Industry
12 nos.
Flint, Hon. J. H.
31
Fall River Public Library
1
Forsyth, W. G., Esq. .
1
Grand Rapids Public Library
1
Grecley, J. P., Esq.
1
Huckel, Samuel, Esq.
1
Harris, W. F.
1
Hartford Public Library
2
Hoar, Hon. G. F.
1
Home Market Club
12 nos.
Lanier, Mrs. Charles
1
Malden Public Library
1
Mass. Public Docs.
24
2
Minneapolis Public Library
3
Morse, E. A., M. C.
24
1
Newton Free Library
4 7
Norcross, I. M., Esq. .
39
Osterhout Free Library
12 nos.
Portland, Oregon, Library Association
8 nos 1
Raymond, W. W., Esq.
1
St. Louis Mercantile Assoc.
1
Salem Public Library
5 nos.
Seaver, E. P., Esq.
1
Smithsonian Institution
10
14 1
Thomas Crane Pub. Lib., Quincy, Mass. Torrey, Bates, Esq.
1
Travellers' Insurance Co. .
.
12 nos.
New York State Library
3
Public Library of Providence,
162
Vols. Pamphs. Periodicals 2 90
U. S. Public Docs.
Vickery, Miss H. P.
15 nos.
Watertown Free Public Library
1
Watson, T. A., Esq.
1
Wentworth, G. L., Esq.,
1
Weymouth and Braintree Pub. Co.
52 nos.
PERIODICALS FOR 1895. MONTHLIES, SEMI-MONTHLIES, AND QUARTERLIES.
Arena.
Art Amateur.
Library Journal. Library News Letter ( Gift)
Atlantic Monthly.
Lippincott's Magazine.
Brookline Lib. Bulletin ( Gift.)
Catholic World.
Literary News. Literary World.
*Century Magazine
McClure's Magazine. Monthly Illustrator.
Current History.
Current Literature.
Dial.
Engineering Magazine.
English Illustrated.
Five Points House of Industry.
Monthly Record ( Gift).
Forum. Good Housekeeping
*Scribner's Magazine. Traveller's Record ( Gift.)
*Harper's Magazine. Home Market Bulletin ( Gift).
WEEKLIES.
Frank Leslie's New England Homestead. Patent Office Gazette ( Gift).
Harper's Bazar.
Harper's Weekly. Public Opinion.
Harper's Young People.
Scientific American.
Illustrated London News.
Scientific Amer. Supplement. Weymouth Gazette ( Gift). Youth's Companion.
Littell's Living Age. Nation.
* Extra copies for loaning as published.
JAMES HUMPHREY. By order and in behalf of the Board of Trustees. .Weymouth, Jan. 1, 1895.
Journal of Education.
*New England Magazine. North American Review. Our Dumb Animals ( Gift). Our Library ( Gift). Outing. Review of Reviews. St. Nicholas. Salem Pub. Lib. Bulletin ( Gift ).
*Cosmopolitan
163
TREASURER'S REPORT
OF THE RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE TUFTS LIBRARY FOR THE YEAR 1894.
RECEIPTS.
Income from Tufts Fund
$100 00
Rents
550 00
Balance of Town Appropriation for 1893
700 00
On account of Town Appropriation for 1894
1,400 00
Dog license money for 1894
606 71
Fines collected by Librarian
152 44
Catalogues sold by Librarian
10 56
Book
40
$3,520 11
Cash on hand Jan. 1st, 1894 .
82 29
$3,602 40
EXPENDITURES.
FOR LIBRARIAN AND ASSISTANTS :
Miss C. A. Blanchard 4
$625 00
Miss C. A. Blanchard, for ex- penses .
5 38
Miss L. C. Richards
305 85
Miss M. L. Foye
50 28
Miss Alice Humphrey
10 95
997 46
FOR TRANSPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF BOOKS.
O. Cushing, to Jan 1, 1894 $50 00
W. G. Nash, to Jan. 1, 1894 25 00
J. P. Salisbury, to Jan. 1, 1894 26 00
J. F. Dwyer, to Jan. 1, 1894 Chas. T. Foster, to Jan. 1, 1894 J. W. Bartlett & Co., to Jan. 1, 1894 .
26 00
50 00
25 00
T. D. Bagley, to Jan. 1, 1894 . 14 39
164
Paid Mrs. E. A. Pratt, to Oct. 1, '94 $40 00
O. Cushing, to Jan. 1, 1895 .
50 00
J. W. Bartlett & Co., to Jan. 1, 1895 ·
52 00
Bates & Humphrey, to Jan. 1, 1895 37 50 . · J. P. Salisbury, to Jan. 1, 1895. 52 00
W. G. Nash, to Jan. 1, 1895 . 25 00
Chas. T. Foster, to Jan. 1, 1895. 50 00
J. F. Dwyer, to Jan. 1, 1895 52 00
$574 89
FOR PRINTING AND ADVERTISING :
Weymouth and Braintree Pub- lishing Co.
$ 88 81
FOR EXPRESSING :
J. F. Dwyer
$ 15
A. W. Baker
7 55 7 70
FOR PRINTING LIBRARY REPORTS :
Alfred Mudge & Son, 5 70
FOR JANITOR :
T. D. Bagley. . 200 00 .
FOR COAL AND WOOD :
A. J. Richards & Sons .
320 99
FOR SPRINKLING STREET :
John Ford
10 00
FOR SUPPLIES :
Baker Hardware Co., 22 43
E. W. Hunt
95
F. H. Fearing .
6 06
Paine Furniture Co. .
2 50
A. M. Bachelder & Co.
7 45
C. F. Vaughan.
1 85
Library Bureau
18 67
Dennison M'f'g Co. 3 00
Thos. South, Jr.
5 00
6
165
Paid C. H. Lovell . $4 50
Carter, Rice & Co.
3 44
F. L. King
6 50
Weymouth & Braintree Publish- ing Co. .
2 25
Post Office Supplies ,
13 65
$98 25
FOR BINDING BOOKS :
F. J. Barnard & Co.
103 10
103 10
FOR INSURANCE :
Francis Ambler
28 05
28 05
FOR REPAIRS :
Hayward Bros.
23 11
W. T. Burrell
1 00
A. F. Powers
1 00
25 11
FOR WATER RATES :
Town of Weymouth
23 00
FOR LIGHTING :
Weymouth Light and Power Co.
174 44
FOR IRON FENCE :
Thos. South, JR.
40 00
FOR PLUMBING :
A. F. Powers .
3 15
FOR CLEANING :
Mrs. J. McEvoy
9 10
FOR BOOKS :
W. B. Clarke & Co.
606 95
Carl Schoenhof
10 01
DeWolfe, Fiske & Co.
13 51
Francis Ambler
10 00
Publishers' Weekly
8 66
B. F. Larrabee
1 50
H. L. Matthews and E. E. Rule
1 10
W. H. Lowdermills .
.
W. H. Guild & Co.
24 60
Mary L. Crockett
2 75
The Dial
2 00
.
5 00
.
166
E. H. Hames & Co. $2 00
American Library Association .
5 00
Carretson, Cox & Co.
1 20
D. Appleton & Co. .
44 00
Miles & Thompson
17 24
Balch Bros.
14 00
F. W. Bird
3 50
The Johns Hopkins Press .
7 50
Weymouth and Braintree Pub- lishing Co. . .
50 00
Estes & Lauriat
.
5 83
$836 35
Total expenditures .
$3,546 10
Cash on hand Jan. 1, 1895
56 30
$3,602 40
FRANK H. MASON, Treasurer.
REPORT OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING COMMITTEE.
The committee on electric lighting, appointed by the moderator after the annual meeting of the town in March, respectfully sub- mit the following report :-
At the time of your committee's appointment there was a great deal of dissatisfaction expressed by the public at large over the condition and service of our street lighting. As many people expressed it, the lamps did not go half of the time, and when they did go they were no good.
The committee thought it was their duty to have a test of the lights made by a competent man, to see how far the complaints were justified. They engaged for this work Prof. Wm. L. Puffer of the Institute of Technology, an acknowledged authority on all electrical matters, and on whose report they felt that they could depend. The test was made on the evening of April 25, by Prof. Puffer and an assistant, accompanied by the chairman of the com- mittee. We submit his report in full :-
WEST NEWTON, May 2, 1894. Mr. Henry A. Richards,-
DEAR SIR : I have made certain tests of arc lamps in Wey- mouth, as well as some incandescent lamps upon the same circuit with the arcs, and herewith send you my report. The arc lamps were measured in position by the use of a portable photometer, which had been properly standardized by a true standard of candle power. In all cases the arc lamps were found to be of rather poor quality and of very poor regulation, due, I think, to bad feeding of the carbons.
The incandescent lamps were taken away by your direction and tested at the current values found flowing at the time the lamps were removed. The results show that as such lamps are
168
rated it would be fair to call them 30 candle power lamps with the higher current and 15 candle power at the lower current meas- ured on the line. The average given represents the average light thrown off from the lamps horizontally.
Test No. 1. Arc lamp at Read's Mill. 230 candle power at an angle of 40 degrees down from the horizontal, when the line current was 6.15 amperes. This lamp was very poor, and the cur- rent is much below the usual value of 6.8 amperes generally used on this system. The light was so poor that it was difficult to get any test, and the one given is a fair value.
Test No. 2. Arc lamp near house of Mr. John Hart. The test of this lamp was made, giving 820, 560, 380 candle power, 24 degrees down. This lamp was much better than the first, but did not regulate well.
The current was measured again near the house of Mr. A. J. Richards and found to be 6.75, indicating that the first value was low, owing to a leak of current from the wire, or as the night was dry, more likely to an increase being made at the station.
Test No. 5. At the top of Ice House Hill on an arc lamp, 360 and 180 candle power at an angle of 37 degrees down. The last reading was made after the carbons had been fed together, and the light was poor. After the arc had again been good, 500 candle power was measured at an angle of 40 degrees. The cur- rent was measured again and found to be fairly steady at 6.8 amperes.
The sudden change of current is at least suggestive that a knowledge of the testing reached the station after the test of the first arc lamp. It was noted that the lamps in general seemed brighter as we came back from the first arc, and remained so during the evening.
If the current were to be maintained at 6.8 amperes, the incan- descent lamps are good at about 30 to 32 candle power lamps, and the arcs good when at the brighest, but of a very unsteady and unsatisfactory nature.
Cleaning and adjusting and better carbons would improve the arcs.
Very respectfully submitted,
WM. L. PUFFER.
169
The committee were satisfied from this report that the town had been getting very poor service for what they were paying ; and had numerous consultations with the managers of the Weymouth Electric Light Co., in regard to improving the service. The elect- ric company changed their management about the fourth of July, and from that time there has been an improvement. The arc lights have been overhauled, and are better attended to. The current at the station has been kept at a higher point and is more steady ; and the series lamps, when burnt out, have been renewed with less delay than formerly. The committee would have liked to have made another test, but owing to the expense of same they thought it not advisable.
We think that Mr. Carter, the superintendent of the company, has done everything in his power to give a satisfactory service. He has arranged with people in the different wards of the town to notify the station by telephone of any complaints. He has dis- tributed postal cards to people living near the lights in order for them to notify him of any failure in the lamps to burn, and he has agreed to patrol the whole system twice a month at night re- newing the lamps wherever they are needed. He also informs us that the company has given him authority to satisfy us if possible regardless of expense, and we are of the opinion that he will exert himself to the utmost, and that the service next year will be a decided improvement on this year. Our system is not compact, but extended over a great amount of territory, and though by no means perfect, yet when you take into account the great number of accidents that are liable to interrupt any system of electric lighting, and also by comparing our lights with those in neighbor- ing towns, you will find that taken on a whole our present service is very satisfactory. 1
When your committee took charge of the lighting they found that there had never been any regular contract between the town and the company. We had a regular contract drawn up for the year ending April 1, 1895. The price under this contract is seventy dollars a year for each are light, and twenty dollars for each series lamp. In addition to this the company agrees to maintain one arc light at the town hall at their own expense. This was the same price for the arc lights that had been paid the
170
previous year ; but was two dollars per lamp less on the incan- descents. In this way we obtained fifteen more lights under the appropriation at the annual March meeting, and divided them equally in the five wards. We think that this price compares favorably with what other towns situated near us pay, and we present a table of a few places to show the comparison :
Town or city.
No. arc lights.
price. No. series lamps. Price
Weymouth,
31
$70
145
$20
Cohassett,
none
286
$20
Quincy,
89
$75
123
$20
Plymouth,
19
$80
227
$19
Milton,
none
396
$20
Hull,
none
357
$25
Abington and Rockland are the only towns near us that pay much less than we do, and they pay fourteen dollars for the serics and sixty-six dollars for the arc lights. We cannot include Braintree and Hingham in the comparison very well because they have adopted the municipal system of lighting ; and are spending ten or twelve thousand dollars a year. ' Your committee is unani- mous in the opinion that it is not advisable for the town to take any action toward municipal lighting. Several towns that have adopted this plan, make very flattering reports on paper, but if anybody examines them very carefully they will find that these same towns raise a great deal more money by taxation every year for the support of their electric light system than we do.
The committee do not think that the town is well lighted, but if more lights are wanted, more money must be appropriated. With this end in view your committee would ask the town for an ap- propriation of $6,500 for electric lights for the ensuing year. They think that with this amount they could obtain about one hundred more small lights which would be all that are needed at present. They would also recommend that the Town give what- ever committee is appointed on electric lights for the ensuing year, authority to make a five year's contract for lighting the
171
town. The committee could use its own discretion whether to avail themselves of this power or not, but we think that a more favorable contract could be made for that time than for one year.
HENRY A. RICHARDS. FRANK H. TORREY. JOHN W. BATES. GILMAN B. LOUD. HENRY B. REED.
REPORT OF THE INSPECTOR OF ANI= MALS AND PROVISIONS.
TO THE HONORABLE BOARD OF SELECTMEN, GENTLEMEN :
I have the honor to submit to you my report as Inspector of animals and provisions. At a meeting of the State Board of Cat- tle Commissioners, it was ordered that Inspectors make two thor- ough examinations in each year, one in the fall as soon as pos- sible after the animals come in from pasture, the other in the spring before they are turned to pasture. As I received my appointment in April, before I had completed my spring examina- tion a large number of cattle were in pasture making the work more laborious. However, I found two hundred and fifty-two owners and the number of cattle six hundred and ninety-nine. I found them, with a few exceptions, in a generally healthy condi- tion. During the summer months I also made frequent visits to the larger herds. In my fall examination I found two hundred and fifty-eight owners and the number of cattle seven hundred and eight. I found them in a better condition than in the spring. I have found it difficult to procure the services of the commis- sioners when I notified them of suspected cases of tuberculosis.
I would advise buyers to purchase only healthy animals and be especially careful about cattle with a cough, for such animals may have tuberculosis. The detection of tuberculosis in its earliest stages by external signs is usually impossible. Unless the les- sions are in the lungs, even advanced cases are hard to detect. An animal in this condition may be sleek, fat and frisky, may give large amounts of apparently normal milk and yet may be infecting other stock, as well as those using her milk. It is obviously desirable to be able to detect the presence of this disease in any stage, early or late, wherever its location, without injury to the healthy animal. The means for such detection is the tubercu- lin test. Although not infallible, this is the most reliable test we
173
now have. The test is made as follows (1). The normal tem- perature of the animal is taken; (2) A small quantity of the fluid is injected under the carefully disinfected skin near the shoulder blade. (3) The temperature of the animal is taken at intervals of from one to three hours, beginning with the sixth hour from the time of injection and continuing until the sixteenth to twenty-fourth hour. If an animal is tuberculos a decided rise of temperature or temporary fever is observed, usually in from six to fourteen hours. Many farmers are condemning the course of the State Commissioners, in their effort to stamp out tubercu- losis, and will probably ask for a modification of the law.
MEATS AND PROVISIONS.
I find the provision stores, with few exceptions, well kept, but there are meat and fish carts that may have a good load one week and a bad one the next. I have not met with any serious trouble in this direction.
I extend my sincere thanks to all the owners of cattle in town for the gentlemanly manner in which I have been received during my several examinations.
Respectfully submitted,
HIRAM E. RAYMOND, Inspector.
REPORT OF SPECIAL POLICE OFFICERS.
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen of the Town of Wey- mouth :
GENTLEMEN,-
We herewith submit our report for the nine months, ending December 31st, 1894, our appointment dating as police and special officers, to enforce the laws, since April 1, the current year.
During this time, having been given full power by your Board, we have used our best efforts to suppress the sale of intoxicating liquors in this town. We have succeeded in breaking up thriteen places, and the keepers of the same have either gone from the place, or have relinquished the business entirely. In a number of places, by persistent searches and continual watching, we have driven the business to that stage known as the pocket business, . which, with the class of customers it carries, makes it impossible to secure evidence to bring them before the courts.
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