USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1898 > Part 12
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Martin E. Hawes of Weymouth 413
Charles C. Mellen of Braintree 474
John B. Whelan of Weymouth
. 305
A true copy,
Attest :
JOHN A. RAYMOND,
Town Clerk of Weymouth.
Attest :
REPORT OF THE ENGINEERS OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 1
To the Board of Selectmen :-
GENTLEMEN : - As Chief of the Weymouth Fire Department I hereby submit to you my fourth Annual Report of the Depart- ment for the year ending December 31st, 1898, and the twenty- second of the present organization.
At the beginning of the year the Department was under control of five Engineers, as follows : Otis Cushing, Chief ; W. O. Coll- yer, Clerk ; Edward Fahey, Francis M. Drown and W. H. Hock- ing. On May 1st Mr. Drown was dropped from the Board and James R. Walsh was appointed. By the removal of Mr. Drown the Board lost one of its most zealous workers. He had the in- terests of the Department at heart, had identified himself with it in various ways since its organization, and was always ready when duty called. Mr. Walsh has since his appointment proved himself an able successor.
The Department consists of one hundred and sixty-eight men besides the Engineers and Superintendent of Fire Alarm, divided into seven hose companies, four hook and ladder companies, three men detailed for each steamer and five for the chemical.
The apparatus consists of seven hose wagons, four hook and ladder trucks, two steam fire engines and one chemical. The hook and ladder truck in Ward 3 has passed its usefulness, is un- safe for use, and we recommend the purchase of a modern truck to take its place.
241
BUILDINGS.
In the engine houses in Wards 1 and 3 the partitions have been removed and windows put in the doors, making the rooms large and pleasant and more convenient for fire purposes.
Engine House, Hose 7, has been sheathed and windows placed in the doors, and the house in Ward 2 has been painted and shingled. What is now required for the benefit of the Depart- ment is the building of hose towers for Houses 4 and 7.
APPROPRIATIONS.
We recommend the following amount for expenses for the year : -
Salaries of Firemen, Engineers, Stewards
$2,400 00
Poll Taxes of Firemen refunded
336 00
For Fires and Engine House Supplies
1,600 00
Hose .
1,000 00
Fire Alarm Supplies
700 00
Five New Fire Alarm Boxes
500 00
$6,536 00
ALARMS.
Whole number of alarms during the year
29
As follows : -
Ward 1
10
Ward 2
9
Ward 3
1
Ward 4
3
Ward 5
6
Of these, six were false alarms.
The loss of property in Weymouth this year was nearly ($500,000) five hundred thousand dollars.
One second alarm was sounded.
FIRE ALARM.
This branch of the service is giving good satisfaction. There have been some extra blows at times caused by the wires getting crossed with the electric wires ; but considering the severe storms
242
we have had they must be expected. We have had two very hard storms this year doing considerable damage to the wires and burning some of the boxes and gongs, making considerable extra expense for repairs, but we were more fortunate than many other towns around us in the damage done.
Through the courtesy of M. C. Dizer & Co. a gong has been placed in the engine room of their factory. The alarm is taken from that and given on his whistle, in the day time, which makes it doubly sure, as the steam during that time is apt to be low at the electric light plant.
HOSE.
The Department is sadly in need of hose. Some is needed in every ward, especially in Ward 1, as several lengths of Hose Company No. 1 were ruined at the Bradley fire.
In closing I wish to thank the members of the Department for their co-operation in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the Department, and the citizens in general for their aid in times of need, and your Board for the courtesy shown myself and asso- ciates in all business transactions in which we have been con- nected.
Yours truly,
OTIS CUSHING, Chief.
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE TUFTS LIBRARY.
This twentieth annual report of the Board of Trustees of the Tufts Library is respectfully submitted to the town of Weymouth, as follows :-
The library was open for the delivery of books 304 days during the year 1898, - 63,869 volumes were circulated for home use, an average of 210 volumes per day and 5,322 per month. The largest number of books loaned in one day was 482 on February 23, and the smallest number loaned on any day was 38 on August 15.
The decrease in the circulation of the year 1898, compared with the year 1897, is 6,004 volumes.
The circulation through the several agencis was 30,815 vol- umes, as stated below.
Precinct 1, Bartlett's store .
4,537
Precinct 1, Holden & Sladen's store
1,968
Precincts 2 & 6, Salisbury's store 9,545
Precincts 2 & 6, Bates & Humphrey's store
2,592
Precinct 4, Pratt's store 1,802
Precinct 4, Nash's store
3,542
Precinct 5, Tinkham's store & Fogg Library
6,829
30,815
The teachers have taken out 5,967 volumes on their special cards, which is 86 volumes in excess of the number so taken in the year 1897 ; but a much larger increase of borrowing on these
244
cards by the teachers in the grammar and lower grades could be made with profit to their pupils, as shown by the requests at the library by such pupils for useful books which had been loaned them at school.
The marked decrease in the circulation of the library for the last year is due principally to three distinct causes, namely : To the reduction of three hundred dollars in the annual appropriation by the town for its support ; to the war with Spain ; and to the open- ing of the " The Fogg Library." Of these causes the first-named was more influential than both of the others, since neither of these was operative to an appreciable degree for more than four months, while the first-named compelled a reduction of one-half in the number of additions to the library - the whole reduction in the appropriation being necessarily taken from the book fund. Dur- ing the progress of the "war " the attention of the reading pub- lic was largely devoted to " daily newspapers," and for a time the library circulation was considerably diminished by this cause.
Since the opening of "The Fogg Library" in September the reduction in the circulation of the town library in the fifth precinct has fallen off about two-thirds. In addition to these causes the fire in the library building occasioned some reduction in circula- tion in the month of December.
CLASSIFICATION OF CIRCULATION.
Arts, .027; Biography, .026; Fiction, including Juvenile Fic- tion, .703 ; History, .040; Literature, .027; Natural Science, .026; Poetry, .018 ; Social Science, .014; Religion and Theol- ogy, .003 ; Travels, .032 ; Periodicals, .084.
The number of accessions to the library to date is 19,310, - 472 volumes having been added during the year. Ninety-seven volumes were gifts; 40 magazines were bound and placed on the shelves, and 335 volumes have been purchased ; 40 replacing worn out copies.
Since opening the library in the year 1880, 818 books have been withdrawn as worn out, 28 withdrawn as not desirable for loaning, making a loss to the library of 846 volumes. Of these, 275 have been replaced, leaving 571 titles upon our catalogues
245
not represented by books available for loaning ; but of this num- ber it will be desirable to purchase 234 as early as practicable.
The number of borrowers' cards to date is 3,029.
At the last meeting of the Trustees the age limit at which chil- dren may take out a card was changed from 10 years to 9 years, in the belief that so considerable a number of children of the latter age are sufficiently interested in useful reading as to render it desirable to afford them opportunity to enjoy this privilege.
The annual inspection of books was in the usual manner, and Bix volumes are missing and unaccounted for. Two volumes have not been returned after notice to the borrower."
Many of the more popular books of fiction are badly worn and should be discarded, but the means at the disposal of the Trustees will not permit this, and they therefore are patched and loaned anew to aid in meeting the great demand for books of the class to which they belong.
One hundred and ninety-seven volumes have been rebound, and a very large number mended and covered at the library.
The annual classified bulletin was published as usual at the close of the year, and is for sale at the library and its agencies. The sum realized by the sale of the bulletins is only a small per cent. of their cost.
Some of the more valuable books of the year's additions are : Bell's Cathedral Series, Henderson's Practical Electricity and Magnetism, Moore's How to Build a Home, Livermore's Story of My Life, Appleton's Annual Cyclopædia, The Annual Literary Index and Index to Periodical Literature, The Statesman's Year Book, 1898, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolu- tionary War (volume 4), Walsh's Curiosities of Popular Customs, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation," Hart's American History Told by Contemporaries, Newell's King Arthur and the Table Round, Warner's Library of the World's Best Literature (volumes 21-30), Britton and Brown's Illustrated Flora of North- ern United States, Canada and the British Possessions (volume 3), Schneider's Guide to the Study of Lichens, Baldwin's Mental Development in the Child, Barrows' Isles and Shrines of Greece, Bishop's Korea and Her Neighbors, De Windt's Through the Gold- fields of Alaska to Bering Straits, Ford's American Cruiser in the
246
East, Foreman's Philippine Islands, Paton's Picturesque Sicily, Peary's Northward of the Great Ice, Story's Building of the British Empire, Bryce's Impressions of South Africa, Baldwin's Social and Ethical Interpretations in Mental Development, and Clerk's Astronomy.
" The steady growth of the demand for books," to which we. referred with much gratification in our last annual report, has been arrested during the past year, temporarily we hope; but the situation imperatively demands the earnest consideration of every friend of the maintenance of a useful, free public library, avail- able for all classes of readers and for all sections of the town. Under a misapprehension of the facts of the case, by the reduc- tion, at its last annual meeting of its usual appropriation for the support of the library from two thousand dollars to seventeen hun- dred, the town diminished the fund available for the purchase of books nearly one-half, rendering it impossible to supply the library with more than a small fraction of the current popular literature suitable for circulation through its agency. The records of the library show that seventy per cent. of its loans have been from the class known as " Fiction ; " but the whole sum available the past year for the purchase of books, would not have sufficed to supply the usual number of accessions to the library in this dc- partment. The past year, however, was an especially unfavor- able one for the trial of such an experiment, since books treating of the Klondike, of Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands had become of paramount interest to all classes of readers, and the supply for this demand was to be first provided, and in ad- dition to these a considerable number of volumes of serial works, of which the library owned the previous volumes, were issued during the year and could not well be rejected.
The small number of accessions to the library, especially in the class of fiction, has, in the judgment of the Trustees, been largely influential in reducing the circulation from 69,873 volumes in 1897 to 63,869 volumes in 1898. While we would not claim that a principal object in maintaining a free public library is the foster- ing of a love for the reading of fiction, yet we firmly believe that such a library cannot be maintained in any town in which the principal pecuniary support is derived from town appropriations,
247
except by making this department most prominent, since, when a majority of its patrons cease to find on its shelves books which interest them, they will not vote the needed support. It is a question of the choice of the majority, and we must have what pleases them or have none. But the history of the Tufts Library. during its almost 20 years of existence, has been an unusually successful one, not alone in the extent and growth of circulation, but in its effect in fostering a love and appreciation for the best literature.
It has ever been the purpose of the trustees and librarians to exclude from its list of accessions every book believed to be of demoralizing tendency, and to select from the great number of current publications, as far as practicable, those works possessing much literary merit and wholesome in their moral influence ; and we believe its influence in all ways and. especially through the medium of our schools has been instructive and elevating; and the fact that the percentage of fiction loaned, in our largely in- creased circulation has decreased nearly eight per cent., is strongly confirmatory of this view.
The recent death of Francis Ambler, Esq., has deprived this board of one of its early and most efficient members. As a mem- ber of both its standing committees he was ever a helpful and interested officer, and we deeply mourn his loss to the library to which he was an earnest and influential friend from a period sev- eral years antecedent to its organization, and without faltering to the day of his death. Personally we also mourn his loss as of a brother well beloved.
READING ROOM.
The reference department and reading room have been well patronized but there is still room for more readers and students. This department contains many of the best and most necessary works of reference on its open shelves, but many other books should be purchased as soon as possible that every one may find those needed for even special research. The large expense of dictionaries, cyclopædias, atlases, and other like works, renders the personal ownership of them impracticable to a large class of students, and therefore it is desirable that they be found on our reference shelves.
248
The " Census Reports," and the " Official Records of the War of the Rebellion," a valuable set presented by Col. B. S. Lovell have been moved to the book room where they may be consulted in quiet. The fine maps have been bound in two volumes and will be of great use to students of our Civil War.
Appendix B contains a full list of all the periodicals to be found at the library. The new ones added for 1899 are the "Cumula- tive Index," a most valuable tool for students, the "Overland Monthly," and the " Popular Science News."
A full list of donors to the library is given in Appendix A. We wish to thank all who have been thoughtful of the library in this way. Mrs Mary A. Livermore, a former resident of the town, has presented an autograph copy of her "Story of My Life", and Mr. Bradford Torrey, who was born in Weymouth, but who now resides in Boston, has given three of his books; "Spring Notes from Tennessee", "A Rambler's Lease", and "Bird's in the Bush", each containing his autograph. These books will form a nucleus of a department of books whose authors were born or at some time resided in Weymouth, which we hope from time to time to add to. Mr. John J. Loud has given copies of his patriotic music. Rev. H. S. Snyder has loaned the Congregationalist. Mrs. S. Newton Blake has furnished the Electrical World, Mr. John H. Gutterson, The Musician, a popular magazine, and other valuable magazines have been given to the reading room by the publishers which are listed in Appendix B. We also extend our thanks to the libraries that have sent us their bulletins, some con- taining valuable reference lists.
ART EXHIBITIONS.
One special feature of the year has been the entertaining and instructive exhibitions of photographs, five of which have been held.
The first, illustrating our National Library with its rich orna- mentation, was loaned by the Woman's Travelling Library Club. This was well arranged, and gave all who made it a study a good idea of the beautiful building.
The second, a loan collection of photographs by amateurs, proved such an attraction that the pictures were hung for four
249
weeks. Those who so kindly loaned the photographs were Mr. William A. Allen, Miss Vira Bates, Miss A. B. Blanchard, Mr. Granville Bowditch, Mr. Elbin Lord, Mr. F. W. Raymond, Miss Annie E. Richards, Master C. L. Virgin, Dr. C. P. Whittle, Mr. T. P. Willey and Mr. A. E. Worthen. We wish again to thank them.
The third exhibit was the Peabody Collection of Photographs of New England Scenery, giving beautiful views of the White Mountain region. These were loaned by the Library Art Club, and attracted a goodly number of visitors.
The fourth, another collection from the same source, was pho- tographs of the beautiful city of Venice. These, 200 in number, were hung in the Reading Room, which made an excellent art gallery.
They proved most interesting and instructive, and it was grat- ifying to receive a sum of money towards defraying the expenses of the exhibition from one who had appreciated and enjoyed the beautiful pictures.
The other was of the extra colored plates received with the magazine " Birds." These were mounted on manilla paper and hung in the Delivery Room. The bright colors made an inter- esting exhibition for the children.
APPENDIX A .- DONATIONS.
Vols.
Pamphs.
Nos.
Beverly, P. L., Beverly, Mass.
5
Bicknell, Charles .
2
Blake, Mrs. S. Newton
52
Boston Book Co.
4
Boston Public Library
2
11
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me. .
3
Brookline Public Library, Brookline, Mass.
1 5
Brooklyn Library, Brooklyn, N. Y.
1
5
Cambridge, Mass .
1
Cambridge Women's Christian Temper- ance Union
1
250
Vols.
Pamphs.
Nos.
Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Mass. .
3
Chamberlain, G. W.
.
Channing, Walter, M. D.
3
Chase, W. G.
1
Chelsea, Mass.
1
Consolidation Coal Co. 1
Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md.
1
Fall River Public Library, Fall River, Mass. 2
Finley, W. W.
1
Fitchburg Public Library, Fitchburg,
Mass.
4
Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass.
1
Gallinger, J. H.
1
Gutterson, J. H.
16
Harrington, Mrs. Ruth
2
Hart, Mrs. J. W., 48
Hartford Public Library Hartford, Conn.
1
6
Helena L'ublic Library, Helena, Mont. .
2
Hinchcliff, G. A.
3
Hoboken Free Public Library, Hoboken, N. J.
1
Livermore, Mrs. Mary A. 1
Loud, J. J. .
23
Lovell, Col. B. S.
8
Lovering, W. C. .
54
10
Malden Public Library, Malden, Mass.
1 2
Marsh, C. N.
1
Massachusetts Free Public Library Com- mission 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1
Massachusetts Public Documents .
31
3
Medford Public Library, Medford, Mass. Merrill, Mrs. M. T. W. . 1
1
Monouk Arbitration Conference · Morse, Hon. E. A. . .
1
1
7
.
1 3
251
Vols.
Pamphs.
Nos.
Morse Institute, Natick, Mass.
1
Minneapolis Public Library, Minneapolis, Minu.
1
2
Newton Free Public Library, Newton, Mass.
New York University, Albany, N. Y.
6
12
Nye, Dr. A. G.
97
Omaha Public Library, Omaha, Neb.
2
Osterhout, F. L., Wilkes Barre, Pa.
12
Palmer, Mrs. C. F.
1
Parsons, J. R .; Miller, L. and Steward, JJ.F.
1
Perry, Mason & Co.
1
Pratt Bros., Publishers
52
Providence Public Library, Providence, R. I. Rogers, G. C.
9
Salem Public Library, Salem, Mass.
12
Simms, Joseph, M. D.
1
Smith, C. H.
1
Smithsonian Institution . .
2
4
Southern Railway Company
1
Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy, Mass.
2
Thomson, John
1
Torrey, Bradford
3
Thurston, L. A.
1
Towle Manufacturing Company
]
Turner, W. H.
13
United States Public Documents ·
19 101
17
Weymouth & Braintree Publishing Co. ·
52
APPENDIX B-PERIODICALS FOR 1899.
MONTHLIES, SEMI-MONTHLIES AND QUARTERLIES.
American Historical Review. Library Journal.
Arena. Library News Letter (Gift).
Art Amateur. Lippincott's Magazine.
12
252
Atlantic Monthly. Birds.
Boston P. L. Bulletin (Gift).
Brookline Lib. Bulletin ( Gift).
Bulletin of Bibliography (Gift). Minn. P. L. Quart'ly Bul. (Gift).
Catholic World.
Musician (Gift). National Magazine.
*Century Magazine. Christian Science Journal ( Gift). * New England Magazine.
Cosmopolitan.
New York P. L. Bulletin (Gift). Nineteenth Century.
Critic. Cumulative Index.
Current History . Current Literature.
Dial.
North American Review. Our Library (Gift). Outing. Overland Monthly.
Engineering Magazine.
Popular Science Monthly.
Fitchburg P. L. Bulletin (Gift). Popular Science News.
Five Points House of Industry Monthly Record (Gift) .
Providence Athen. Bul. (Gift). Providence P. L. Bulletin (Gift) . Public_Libraries.
*Review of Reviews.
St. Nicholas. Salem P. L. Bulletin (Gift) .
*Scribner's Magazine. Spirit of '76 ( Gift ).
Traveller's Record (Gift) .
WEEKLIES.
Bulletin of Good Roads (Gift). Nation, Newspaper. Electrical Engineer Electrical World (Gift). Great Round World. Harper's Bazaar. Harper's Weekly. Illustrated London News. Journal of Education
Public Opinion. Official Gazette of the U. S. Patent Office (Gift.) Scientific American.
Scientific American Supplement. South Weymouth Sun (Gift). Weymouth Gazette (Gift).
Forum. Good Housekeeping. *Harper's Monthly.
Harper's Round Table.
Hartford P. L. Bulletin (Gift).
Home Market Bulletin (Gift). Ladies' Home Journal.
Literary News. Literary World.
Little Men and Women (Gift). McClure's Magazine.
253
Leslie's Weekly Illustrated. Woman's Journal ( Gift) . Littell's Living Age. Youth's Companion. *Extra copies are taken for loaning as published.
JAMES HUMPHREY,
By order and in behalf of the Board of Trustees.
January 2. 1899.
TREASURER'S REPORT.
OF THE RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE TUFTS LIBRARY FOR THE YEAR 1898. .
WEYMOUTH, January 2. 1899.
RECEIPTS.
Income from Tufts Fund .
$100 00
Rents .
600 00
Balance town appropriation for 1897,
500 00
On account town appropriation for 1898 ·
1,350 00
Dog license money for 1898
493 25
Fines collected by Librarian
146 36
Catalogues and bulletins sold by Li- brarian
8 69
Books
1 10
Photograph
0 25
·
$3,199 65
Cash on hand Jan. 1, 1898 . .
0 04
$3,199 69
254
EXPENDITURES.
For Librarian and assistants :
Miss C. A. Blanchard
$700 00
Miss C. A. Blanchard for ex-
penses .
4 84
Miss L. C. Richards
399 96
Miss M. L. Foye
75 01
Miss Alice Humphrey
10 95
$1,190 76
For Janitor :
T. D. Bagley
270 79
For Water rates :
Town of Weymouth
23 00
For Insurance :
A. S. Jordan & Co. .
$118 44
A. W. Blanchard
25 00
143 44
For Lighting :
Weymouth Light & Power Co.
214 41
For Street sprinkling : W. A. Ford .
10 00
For coal and wood :
Reuben Loud & Sons
$ 6 75
A. J. Richards & Son
97 37
104 12
For binding books :
F. J. Barnard & Co.,
75 59
For cleaning and labor :
Mrs. James Mcavoy
$17 55
Mrs. Owen Connor
5 80
G. & J. Fitzgerald .
5 78
29 13
For printing and supplies :
Weymouth and Braintree Pub-
lishing Co.
114 39
For expressing
10 50
For supplies :
Post Office supplies
$15 85
C. F. Vaughan
1 05
J. E. Connell . ·
6 55
.
255
For supplies :
Baker Hardware Co.
$6 87
A. Storrs & Bement
1 51
Hooks, wire, blank books and ink
3 14
A. F. Powers .
11 17
F. L. King
13 97
Carter Rice & Co.
11 85
S. F. Brown
4 80
W. F. Sanborn & Co.
5 29
W. T. Burrell
35
J. G. Worster & Co.
3 35
J. W. Rand
1 14
Library Bureau
20 20
Ingalls & Kendricken
5 05
Telephone
30
C. H. Lovell
2 00
A. K. Bates
1 50
For transportation and distribution of books :
J. F. Dwyer
$52 65
O. Cushing
50 00
J. W. Bartlett & Co.
52 00
W. B. Hollis & Son .
13 80
Bates & Humphrey .
25 00
Holden & Sladen
25 00
Mrs. Ellen A. Pratt .
40 00
C. H. Tinkham
37 50
J. P. Salisbury
52 00
New York, New Haven & Hart- ford Railroad Co. . .
7 44
355 39
For books :
W. B. Clarke & Co. .
$340 65
Miles & Thompson . 80 ·
Publishers' Weekly .
5 00
Great Round World .
1 50
Nature Study Publishing Co. . 1 53
.
.
$115 94 1
.
.
2.56
For books :
Balch Brothers
3 50
E. H. Hames & Co. .
.
2 00
War Records .
8 00
Boston Book Co.
12 00
Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
10 00
William H. Guild & Co.
40 80
- C. J. Maynard 1 50
American Library Association
2 00
Library Art Club
5 00
W. A. Allen
3 25
Harpers' Weekly Club
18 36
Cumulative Index
4 82
The Dial .
2 00
D. Appleton & Co.
6 00
Jordan, Marsh & Co.
7 29
476 00
$3,133 46
Cash on hand January 2, 1899
66 23
$3,199 69
FRANK H. MASON, Treasurer.
REPORT OF PARK COMMISSIONERS.
In accordance with their usual practice the Park Commissioners of Weymouth hereby submit their annual report :
The lack of an appropriation to be expended upon any of the parks has precluded any active work in the development of our reservations, and in the case of Webb Park, even of the proper care of the same.
There is therefore little to report as to our doings during the past year. We have received for pasturage from the park on Great Hill the sum of thirty-five dollars, and have expended in the care of Beals Park the sum of thirty-four and 50 dollars. A detailed report of receipts and expenditures for the past two years is appended hereto marked "A." We renew our recom- mendations of last year.
LOUIS A. COOK, WILLIAM H. CLAPP, LEVI B. CURTIS, Park Commissioners of Weymouth. "A."
No. WEYMOUTH, MASS., December 31, 1898.
Town of Weymouth in account with L. B. Curtis, Treasurer Park Commissioners.
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