USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > Town annual report of the offices of Fairhaven, Massachusetts 1936 > Part 3
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Sept. 22
Arline Amn Jura
Sept. 26
Mary J. Joaquin
Sept. 26
Sally Ann Cook
Sept. 27
Barbara Francis Cornell
Sept. 27
Mary Otis Henry
Sept. 28
Daniel Gaston Debrosse
Sept. 28
Constance Irene Phaneuf
Oct. 1 Paul Francis Hodziewich
Oct. 7 Robert Edward Fitzgerald 3rd
Oct. 9 Marilyn Louise Powers
Oct. 10 Stillborn
Oct. 12 Frank Charles Benoit Jr.
Oct. 13 Marie Pauline
Oct. 14 Mary Jane Silveira
Oct. 20 Dorothy Jean Lindblow
Oct. 21 Daniel Perry Rezendes
62
BIRTHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936 - Continued
Date
Name of Child
Oct. 24
Barry Anthony Mareiro
Oct. 25
Paul Lewis Wilkinson
Oct. 26 Norbert Brum Goulart
Oct. 27 Joan Maryln Lopes
Oct. 29
Walter Ernest Chase
Nov. 2 Stuart Anthony Dudgeon
Nov. 4 Joseph Francis Carter
Nov. 4 Rita Lillian Maciel
Nov.
6 Lauretta May Mello
Nov. 8 Bruce Alan Gulbranson
Nov. 10 Judith Cushman
Nov. 12
May Elizabeth Perry
Nov. 16
Marie Alma Silva
Nov. 16
Ruth Theresa Mello
Nov. 17 Mary Frances Riding
Nov. 19 Peter Jon Oldham
Nov. 24 Donald Earle Howes
Nov. 26
William Prescott Johnson
Nov. 27
Sandra Kay Gonsalves
Nov. 30 Dorothy Ruth Renaud
Dec. 2
Louise Yvonne Blanchette
Dec. 9 Eileen Costa
Dec. 12
Jose DoRego Torres Jr.
Dec. 12
Lucille Marguerite Louise Begin
Dec. 15
Lydia Louise Dowd
Dec. 22
Eleanor May Norcross
Dec. 28
Antone Morris Frates
Dec. 29 Doloris Pauline Trudeau
Dec. 5 John Edgar Darling
Dec. 14 Paul Fryer Sylvia
Dec. 14 Carole Meserve
Dec. 19
Carol Mulcahy
Dec.
30 Richard Morton Negus
63
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936
Date
Groom
Bride
Jan. 11 Raymond Alixes Poyant
Jan. 18 Vincenzo Romeo
Jan. 25 Roger Cornelius Maloney
Clara Madeline Sylvia
Jan. 25 Manuel Almeida
Conception Duarte Lima
Feb. 3 James Edward Reynolds
Feb. 14 Valentine G. Henshaw
Feb. 15 Manuel August Silva
Marie Lourdes Rego Bondade
Feb. 17 Manuel Ramos Padeiro
Mary Flora
Feb. 22 William Rose
Carmelina Margaret Reale
Ada Rita Malaguti
Julia (Barros) Pina
Josephine Helen Ansay Verna Ethel Irving
Julia Stefania Rupkus
Apr. 18 Clarence Sumner Williams
Apr. 18 Manuel Alua
Apr. 18 William Grinrod
Apr. 18 Louis Joseph Almond
Apr. 20 James Percival Catlow
Apr. 25 Joseph Armand Frank Breault
Apr 25 Antone Mareiro
Apr. 25 John Enos Romero
Apr. 29 Harry Franklin Childs
May 2 Manuel Moniz Mello Jr.
May 2 Edward Brown Costello
May 9 Joseph Samuel Desrochers
May 9 John Barcellos
May 15 Kenneth Ray Raulins
May 16 Jasper Reale
May 16 Roland Joseph Ernest Scott
May 23 George Gordon Griffiths
May 23 James Benedict Taylor
May 30 Joseph Charles Albert Dubois
May 30 Thomas Roswell Green
May 30 Jack Walters
June 1 Harry John Lampara
June 6 Henry Charles Govoni
June 13 Wladyslaw Polchlopek
June 14 Ivon Earl Clayton Whitehead June 16 Antoine Rudler
June 16 Peter Auguste Blier
Ruth Wright Edith Eliza Crowther
Irene May Johnson
Annie Mary Trepanier
Ethel May DeTerra
Lea Eglantine (Godreau) Dalon
Clara Louise Greenhalgh Lucinda Barcellos
Marie Bertha Martin
Bronislawa Mendrala
Edna May Fuller
Marguerite Plaud
Anna Beatrice Fontaine
Anna Beatrice Days
Beatrice Elizabeth Serror
Jeanne Blanche Hevey
Natalie Perry Mary Margaret Almeida
Minnie Elizabeth (Thomson) Howarth
Emily Botelho Couto
Emily Dolores Souza
Eva Alphonsine (Boulanger) Gervais
Rose Adelina Leclair
Elsie Briggs Stevens
Mary Corey Taber Honarina Pragana Hildegarde Frances Backus
Feb. 22 Louis Joseph Manganelli
Feb. 22 Eugene Fortes
Feb. 29 Edward Forrest Quintin
Mar. 7 Albert Perry
Mar. 20 William Timothy Leahy, Jr.
Alice Elizabeth Norton
Columbia Maria Lapolla
Sarah Veronica McLoughlin
Leona Cushman Locke
64
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936 - Continued
Date
Groom
Bride
June 20 William Joseph Abrams Jr.
June 20 George Costa Rebello
June 20 Frank Robert Nunes
Alice Elizabeth Frances
June 20 Bradford Almy Swift
Rosamond Leonard
June 20 Antonio Santos
Maria Augusta Costelejo
June 24 Antone Braga Jr.
Elva Allison Hayden
June 27 Joseph Theodore Pothier
Jeanette Anita DeBlois
June 27 Henry John McCorkill
Dolores Simone Picard
June 27 Joseph Henry Dwelly
Emily Lewis Faria
June 27 Edward Joseph Shea
Leona Margaret LeDoux
June 27 George Francis Perry
Ethel Frances Smith
July 1 Eddy Petrain
Amanda Raymond
July 4 Antony Rose
July 4 Lyman Dudley Wilbur
July 8 Jesse Sylvia Jr.
July 20 Joseph Fontes Jr.
July 24 James John Ziska
July 25 Eugene Francis Sweeney
July 25 Joseph August Gomes
July 25 Joseph Oliver Martin
July 27 James William Woodacre
July 28 Russell Norwood Barker
July 29 Norman Louis Dreher
July 30 William Hilton Schofield
Aug. 8 Raymond Arthur Messier
Aug. 8 Herbert Lincoln Sweet Jr.
Aug. 18
Walter Clifford Devenport Keehn Cecilia Mary Major
Aug. 22 Joseph Mariano Soares
Aug. 22 John Oliveira
Aug. 22 Manuel Cabral Jr.
Aug. 27 William Allen Haskins
Aug. 27 George Francis King
Sept. 1 John Matthew Coyne
Sept. 3 Charles Clifford Johnson
Sept. 5 Eugene Joseph Kanienski
Sept. 5 Robert Lee Jageman
Sept. 5 Joseph Ulric Fleurant
Sept. 5 Joaquim Faria
Sept. 5 Manuel Francis Roderiques
Sept. 6 Frank Burrows
Sept. 7 Ovila Alphonse Cournoyer
Anita Laura Fredette
Edith Mello Bizzarro
Elsie Dorothy Costa
Bertha May Gibbs
Gladyce Mae DesJardins
Rachel Cecelia Benoit
Esther Beverly Bryce
Agnes Ida Audette
Isabelle Harris Bradbury
Flora Tetrault
Eugenia Carvalho
Helen George
Dorothy Crandon Bassett
Cora Eva Lussier
Mary Vieira
Alice Theresa Filochowski
Emily Florence Wilson
Juliet DeTeves Leite
Thelma Louise Williams
Geraldine Helena McMullen
Hilda Travers Costa
Brazalina Souza Tavares
Rhoda Bertha (Shepherd) Rogers Almyra Blossom Marra
Dorothy Lillian Lafferty
Dorothy (Jones) Schofield
Josephine Chroniak
Florence Belle (Summers) Woodır.
Katherine Gwendolyn Buckley
Mary Margaret Dias
65
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936 - Continued
Date
Groom
Bride
Sept. 8 Dorival Theodore Duarte
Sept. 8 William Albert Fonteneau
Irene Eva Roy
Sept. 12 Joseph Botelho
Almarinda (Correia) Cabral
Sept. 12 Peter John Majocka
Wladyslawa Jennie Krol
Sept. 12 Ned Albert Stanley Jr.
Sept. 16 Ben Cecil Stevenson
Irene Wolan
Sept. 17 Squire W. Stephens
Gertrude M. Portas
Sept. 18 Allan Hadfield
Sarah Elsie Padelford
Adeliza Dunn Macomber
Sept. 19 Maurice Livsey Stevens
Sept. 26 Bolcolaw Potkay
Sept. 26 Leonard DeBlois
Sept. 26 John Gerin Sylvia
Sept. 29 Luiz deC. Perry
Oct. 3 David Preston Valley
Oct. 9 Rex Dewey Bumpus
Oct. 12 Joseph Alcide Frechette
Oct. 12 Frederick Joseph Lagasse
Oct. 12 Emile Micael Gentilhomme
Aurore Marie Elise Montplaisir
Louise Elfrieda Kruger
Oct. 12 John Henry Benoit
Irene Marie Gautreau
Oct. 12 Francis Cardoza Derocha
Oct. 17 Joseph Medeiros
Sylviena DeTerra Aurelia Conceicao Borges
Oct. 20 AlbertEnos Faria
Oct. 23 Robert Ellsworth Dexter
Marion Louise Fontaine
Oct.
24
John Edward Laiscell
Oct. 24 Joaquim Almeida Faustino
Oct. 31 Frederick William Mevis
Helen Gertrude Brown
Nellie Roberts
Nov. 10 Herbert Franklin Cole
Elizabeth Whitehead Bent
Lillian Azevedo Gonsalves
Nov. 12 David Hinckley Bangs
Nov. 14 Leslie Clarence Ford
Nov. 14 Antone Joaquin Oliveira
Nov. 19 Alfred Nerbonne, Jr.
Nov. 21 Frank Russell Dexter
Nov. 26 Joseph Gonsalves Nov. 26 Antone Carvalho Martin Jr.
Nov. 26 Allan Morris
Nov. 26 Frank Santos Jr.
Nov. 26 Roland Albert Pothier
Eva Lavina (Emberson) Connor
Sylvia Bernice Gonsalves
Alma G. Gendron
Eva Edna Sykes
Laura Janice Campos
Louise Leonie DeBlois
Ethel Nemec
Yvonne Florence Sebourin
Mary Geraldine Paula McGowan
Florence L. Corrie
Lorraine Thelma Davis
Rhoda Mary McCabe
Helene Marie Cecile Plaud
Lovina Stetson
Oct. 12 Alexander Mitchell
Caroline Sophie Filipek
Oct. 17 Thomas Columbus Lacerda
Philaura Jane Brightman
Rhoda De Pina Alice Dias Enos
Nov. 11 George Albert Howard
Elizabeth Battles Eaton
Adeline Isabella Peters
Mary Souza Araujo Mildred E. Rose
Nov. 7 Richmond Thomas Lothian
Eleanor Esther Lombard
Florinne Elizabeth Gamans
66
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936 - Continued
Date
Groom
Bride
Nov. 26 John William Kennedy
Nov. 28 Kenneth Newell Packard
Dec. 7 Joseph Robert Nunes
Dec. 8 Howard Jackson Cummings
Dec. 24 Harold Bedell Dutton Jr.
Dec. 26 Adrien Gerard Prefontaine
Maybelle Elizabeth Francis
Mariam Sargeant
Lillian Antonette Cote
Deborah Elizabeth MacDougall
Loretta Desruisseau
Mary Rose Lucy Henrietta Fortin
67
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936
Date
Name
Years Months Days
Jan. 5 James A. Stetson
59
3
10
Jan. 6 Louis P. Vallett
49
9
20
Jan. 7 Bertha M. Dodge
62
11
28
Jan. 12
Mary Ann Brimley
71
-
Jan. 14
Sarah E. C. Goodnow
78
3
22
Jan. 15
Gil Joseph Amaral
1
7
3
Jan. 27 Mary L. Drew
77
11
7.
Jan. 31
Charles LeBaron Drew
84
7
17
Jan. 30 Susan Wordell
77
4
22
Feb. 9 Priscilla M. Hafford
81
1
15
Feb. 16
Manuel Alves Amaral
31
Feb. 20
Alice Hackett Gardner
85
Feb. 20
John S. Gomes
65
Feb. 2 William H. Rowe
70
25
Feb. 23 Matilda LaFrancois
78
11
8
Feb. 24
Charles W. Bryant
69
8
7
Feb.
26 Attie B. Jenney
62
9
14
Feb. 26 Robert Anderson Banks
83
2
Mar. 1
Thomas Barnes
66
8
10
Mar. 11
Lucy S. Cottle
78
10
6
Mar. 11
Carrie Rhinehart Bisbee
84
3
24
Mar. 13
Elizabeth A. Fernihough
80
11
19
Mar. 15
William Murdy
38
6
7
Mar. 17
Lizzie P. Robbins
73
10
17
Mar. 19
Claus F. Forsblom
82
11
16
Mar. 20
Baby Roderiques
-
1
Mar. 22
Samuel Herbert Wilson
51
4
11
Mar. 26
Robert Thatcher
74
4
21
Mar. 27
Felix R. Calassa
30
-
Mar. 27
Victor Benoit
55
3
2
Mar. 27
Henry Joseph Viens
48
7
7
Mar. 29
Mary (Viator) Miguel
75
Apr. 1 Stillborn
Apr. 2 Etta M. Sisson
81
2
25
Apr. 5 John P. Lial
73
4
21
Apr. 12 Eben E. Tinkham
93
Apr. 15
Thomas W. Norris
78
-
-
Apr. 16
Louis Daigle
1
1
-
Apr. 23 Thomas Goode
€2
10
16
-
-
-
-
-
Mar. 12
George B Mosher
82
Feb. 9 Ada Milette
82
68
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936 - Continued
Date
Name
Years Months Days
Apr. 21 Alyre LaBonte
80
7
29
Apr. 25 Lawrence J. Francis
31
Apr. 27 Anthony H. Mosgrove
72
. 7
29
Apr. 2 Malvina Desroches
74
-
-
Apr. 30 Charles J. Moxon
74
1
17
May 2 Henry Dunham
40
4
9
May 3 Marie (Heap) Pimblett
63
8
29
May 9 Moniz
4 hrs.
May 11 Emily D. Slocum
52
1
7
May 13 Marietta Frances Pease
82
10
May 14 Charles Hunt Cummings
80
11
May 14 Mary Hagen (Kelley) Folger
81
0
20
May
21 Mary E. Reed
62
9
May 28 Pedro Poleta (Pedro Poulett?)
71
10
4
June 4 Mary W. Greenleaf
74
10
6
June 7 Clara J. Davis
76
10
4
.June 7 Beatrice Costa
June 13
Thomas C. McDermott
1
6
27
June 14
Florence Teague
60
5
June 16
Ansel G. Douglas
86
11
29
June 16
Emily F. Lemos
86
-
July 1
Susan A. Gilbert
79
6
22
July 3
Robert W. Taber
76
July 3 Elizabeth Moss
60
5
10
July
4 Mary Pacheco
25
11
19
July
6 Maria (Torte) Gonsalves
50
11
20
July 6 Edith Taylor
89
4
5
July 7 Matilda G. Sherwin
22
1
23
July 8 Louis Gigante
60
3
14
July
11 John Warburton
49
2
24
July 12 Abbie E. Tripp
78
1
23
July 22 Lora M. Eames
July 28 Joseph E. Foster
July 31
Benjamin B. Crosby
72
11
Aug.
5 Christopher Harrison
71
4
11
Aug.
7 Eliza J. Daffinee
92
6
8
-
-
May 9 Gregory Martin alias Cardoza
63
-
-
-
June 2 Mary C. Souza
39
-
-
June 23
Stillborn
53
11
June 7 Stillborn
80
May 23 Alfretta Kelley
37
69
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936 - Continued
Date
Name
Years Months Days,
Aug. 7 Stillborn
Aug. 8 Paul Gagne
73
Aug. 8 Mary J. Wilbor
94
2
.24
Aug. 9 Stillborn
Aug. 10
Prince S. Aiken
65
29
Aug. 11 Peter John Bulgar
76
Aug. 12
Louis Pappas
3
11
10
Aug. 18 Henry L. Derosiers
28
7
28
Aug. 24 William R. Gibbs
70
10
21
Aug. 24
James Abbott Boutelle
86
8
14
Aug. 25 Elbert L. Bryant
64
9
1
Sept. S
Nancy Lillian Haskell
1 hr.
30 min.
Sept. 12 Samuel Dudgeon
69
6
5
Sept. 16
Antonio Carvalho
63
Sept. 19
Manuel Rezendes
58
1
.
Sept. 21
Norris Riley
54
1
4
Sept. 23
Rital L. Thomas
72
4
14
Sept. 30 John Howarth
67
11
13
Oct. 3 Florence M. Gault
65
4
25
Oct. 6
Alice Elizabeth Poyant (Norton)
21
5
3
Oct. 6 Rachael Ann (Fish) Drinkwater
71
1
17
Oct.
7 Edward L. Rouke
80
1
8
Oct.
9 Louis C. McCracken
63
Oct. 10 Stillborn
Oct.
11 Rudolph P. Plasse
15
10
15
Oct. 13 James Greenhalgh
57
9
22
Oct. 13 May Flood
63
11
19
Oct. 16 Edward J. Carroll
63
4
22
Oct. 16
George M. Nunes
40
6
10
Oct.
20
Frank E. Waterman
67
1
11
Oct. 22
Clarissa A. Miller
50
7
12
Oct. 24 Catherine (Lavoie) Vincent
79
4
11
Nov. 11
Maria L. Acucena Sylvia
53
Nov. 13 Abby Paull
78
Nov. 14 Benjamin G. Allmond
50
0
21
Nov. 20
'Tom Lloyd
74
!
-
Nov. 21
Harriet A. Poole
82
9
29
-
-
-
Oct. 19 Agnes March
65
72
-
Nov. 10
Franklin Sylvanus Wilbur
-
-
Sept. 25 Maria Gloria Silva
81
Aug. 18 John M. Rogers
50
-
70
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN IN 1936 - Continued
Date
Name
Years Months Days
Nov. 23
Anna J. Rogers
44
28
Nov. 27
Clara Arruda
32
Nov. 29 Celine (Gendron) DeNomme
66
5
Dec. 3 Frances A. Sylvia
85
Dec. 4 Eliza C. Pollitt
78
0
13
Dec. 6 Emily B. Hayward
50
2
22
Dec. 12
Annie T. Delano
69
1
23
Dec. 13 Joseph R. Torres Jr.
Dec. 15
Annie L. Rounsevell
78
6
3
Dec.
22 Sarah Pheobe Lee
78
4
15
Dec. 2 Mary Silvia
16
9
10
Dec. 10 Margaret Blakeley Taylor
44
8
9
Dec. 10
Adelaide S. Bryden
78
10
5
Dec. 19
Edward Dias Oliver
25
10
27
30 min.
21 hrs.
Report of Police Department
٢٠
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and the People of Fairhaven:
Below and on following pages you will find the Annual report of the Police Department for the year ending December 31, 1936.
For those interested in a quick comparison of the various ap- propriations with the work accomplished the following table is furnished :
Year Appropriation Fines Imposed Fines to Town
Offenses
1933
$15,000.
$1,481.00
$ 48.50
263
1934 $15,000.
$2,786.00
$1,272.80
463
1935
$18,000.
$3,079.80
$2,349.90
409
1936 $18,000.
$3,790.00
$ 915.25
408
It seems to be customary to call the attention of the public to whatever new services and new equipment needs changed condi- tions have required. Our only equipment need this year is a re- placement for Car No. 2, a 1934 Ford Sedan which was purchased in April of that year and which has been in constant service since that time. The speedometer shows a mileage of 71,813.
Protection of School Children
The increase in the number of automobiles, increased speed, and the fact that many parents choose to drive their children to and from school indicate that police protection should be fur- nished the younger school children at the opening of school and at dismissal time. For over a year one man has left cruiser car duty to watch over the children of the Washington Street School. We could not impair other services in order to furnish similar protection at the other buildings. Following numerous calls from parents and a request from Miss Margaret McGuire of the Oxford School, an officer was assigned there at an extra expense to the police department. I can see that this work should be extended in the future to the other primary schools. We have not had an accident in the vicinity of the school buildings, and I hope none will occur.
72
The Appropriation
I recommend that the 1937 appropriation be the same as at present-$18,000. Anyone to whom a lower police appropria- tion is suggested should sit down with paper and pencil and figure out the proposition for himself. He would have to allow for regular man power, spare men, telephones, cruiser car and motor- cycle maintenance, telephones, auto hire, equipment replacements, and various other items. He could not arbitrarily cross out or omit any items as they would still have to be paid. He could not lower the price of gasoline, telephone service or other items as these costs are established by market conditions and other factors beyond his or our control.
The person who undertook this figuring and did it conscien- tiously would finish by wondering how $18,000 has done the work. He would discover, as has been pointed out in previous reports, that the town is getting tremendous value for but little outlay. Actually, we are at least two men short, but we are doing the best we can and are not complaining.
Highway Safety
Seventy-four Speeding cases were prosecuted in 1936. This figure compares with 60 prosecuted in the previous year. Again, faster cars and more of them are the factors requiring more at- tention. Too much speed is menacing at any hour, but during the hours of darkness it is doubly dangerous.
Consider these facts: Barring exceptional circumstances, a car is not being operated at a safe rate of speed at night outside thickly settled districts and under favorable weather and traffic conditions unless it can be stopped within the distance illuminated by the headlamps. By regulation, this distance must be at least 160 feet. At forty miles per hour 4-wheel brakes should stop a car in 120 feet. A car will travel 59 feet in one second at 40 miles per hour. Therefore, if an operator is alert and his reflexes allow him to release the accelerator and apply the brakes in con- siderably less time than one second the speed of 40 miles per hour is safe. Many night speeders convicted in 1936 had driven their cars at speeds of 45, 50, and 55 miles per hour. We can only guess the speeds of offenders who were not caught.
One death blots our safety record for the year. Oddly enough it was not the result of circumstances usually associated with highway fatalities. The accident took place in broad daylight and at a time when road and visibility conditions were the best. No unreasonable speed and but little negligence were involved.
73
The fact that a fatality occurred under these conditions shows what grave consequences could result from negligent operation under adverse conditions.
Auto Fines to the County
Up to the beginning of this year the satisfaction in hailing speeding and other offending motorists before court was twofold. We showed them that their violations would not be tolerated, and we showed the townspeople that the fines imposed upon auto violators were paid, indirectly, into the town treasury. This year, however, saw a new law go into effect, and auto fines are now paid into the county treasury.
This new law is the chief reason why fine money received by the town fell from $1272.80 in 1934 and $2349.90 in 1935 to $915 .- 25 in 1936. You will note that the total fines imposed amounted to $2786.00 in 1934; $3079.80 in 1935; and $3790.00 in 1936.
Juvenile Delinquency
This year I can again report favorably with regard to our work with child offenders. Only twenty-seven offenses were prosecuted against eighteen juveniles. Of these four are old offenders, and one is a sixteen-year-old boy speeder. One charge was brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts against one of its wards and involved moral turpitude. Two offenses are charged against two boys with excellent home surroundings who fell into bad company and had to be prosecuted as all three were jointly and severally liable, and thus faced court action.
This analysis reveals that only exceptional cases have been treated, and that it has not been necessary for us to apply for juvenile summonses in anywhere near the numbers required in 1934 when 90 offenses were prosecuted.
Liquor and Police Costs
Probably few people ever think of the relationship existing between liquor and police costs. As a matter of fact there are many ways in which liquor adds to the department's expense.
There are about sixteen licensed liquor dealers of one kind or another in Fairhaven. Regular men, in making their rounds, must watch these establishments whenever they are open for business. Traffic, parking, and the possibility of drunks or fights must be kept in mind constantly. Sales of alcoholic beverages to minors must be guarded against. With bigger business weekends and holidays and at summer colonies, extra men are assigned to keep
74
a strict surveillance during rush hours. A host of situations which otherwise would result in dire consequences are in this way either prevented or halted before harm is done. So many of these situ- ations are adjusted that the expense is unquestionably justified. The fact remains, however, that without liquor these situations would not present themselves and the expense would not have to be incurred.
But liquor makes still more business and expense for the de- partment in spite of all this precautionary work. Too frequently we are called into homes to quell family difficulties with which the people themselves cannot cope. Nine times out of ten liquor is the cause of the trouble.
Sometimes the money spent for grog is begrudged by the wife. Sometimes its use by grownup children irks a loving mother. In many cases its use results in drunkenness. Some of the more serious drunkenness cases involve added charges for disturbing the peace, assault and battery, and damaging property.
"Friends" give liquor to people who use it in causing home upsets. Many a time a policeman has wished that friendship were borne by a different vehicle.
The husband or wife who refuses to drink with the other half and thus starts trouble presents another problem. Then, too, there is the type of woman who, when provoked, takes advantage of the liquor situation and reports to the station that her husband is drunk, even though he is absolutely sober. Probably her mis- taken idea is that the police will do something to him anyway. It is needless to say that unless a man's condition bears out the report no action is taken.
A loving mother or a devoted father standing behind an alco- holic breath is as well concealed as a warship behind a smoke screen.
When you read the list of offenses on another page of this re- port you will see that eighteen intoxicated driving cases were prosecuted in 1936. This figure compares with twenty prosecuted in 1935. Some of these raise our payroll by requiring extra men to investigate. Others incur expense by requiring me to hire men to take the place of those absent from duty while appearing in superior court. It is difficult to choose a caption in the report under which to mention these cases. They are safety problems, accident problems, and liquor problems.
Delivering on October 11 one of his series of sermons based on the ten commandments, a local pastor pointed out that child-
75
ren could not honor their fathers and mothers unless the parents conduct was such as to merit that honor. Keeping liquor out of homes would help many parents to deserve honor and would help keep the police away.
Obedience to Traffic Signs
I want to record here an earnest appeal to every motorist using Fairhaven streets to obey each and every traffic sign. Firstly, it is to his advantage to do so; secondly, it is a mark of respect for the rights of other users of the highways; thirdly, it is parti- cularly helpful in case the fire department is passing through the district or operating there; and, lastly, Fairhaven business is en- couraged.
A fact which not all people realize is that traffic signs are intended primarily for the benefit of moving traffic.
Everyone knows, of course, that the signs are maintained in the interest of better regulated traffic, and that the police are charged with the responsibility of enforcing the law that gives the signs their meanings. How many, though, ever stopped to think that the signs tell how the law applies in any given location, and thus serve as reminders to motorists that they should comply ? Being reminded of a law is a unique advantage enjoyed by motor- ists. Although ignorance of any law is never an excuse for a violation, there are so many laws in recent years that permanently established reminders are things to be thankful for. And only traffic regulations have this feature!
Traffic signs are intended not only for the benefit of auto- mobile drivers but for the police as well. The signs are supposed to be respected by autoists, and that fact obviates the necessity of having officers regularly in the districts where the signs are located. So long as the signs are respected there is a saving in department time and money. Should the signs be habitually ignored the enforcement cost would advance.
Thefts and Recoveries
The relation between thefts and recoveries in 1936 is more favorable than that relation has been in some previous years. This is remarkable in the face of certain circumstances. Study of the various items that combine to make Total Thefts reveals that ap- parently this year's total was noticeably affected by a series of automobile thefts which took place in June and July. First, a $600 Ford Sedan was stolen. It was recovered in Fairhaven after a 2500-mile trip through New Hampshire and Vermont. Second.
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a $1900 LaSalle Sedan was stolen in Fairhaven. It was subse -- quently recovered at East Jaffery, New Hampshire. Third, a $700 Ford Sedan was stolen in Fairhaven. Recovery was at North- ampton. Fourth, a $400 Essex Sedan was stolen in Fairhaven and recovered at Lockport, New York. Investigation of the first three thefts brought about the arrest of a man who was prose- cuted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and who was sentenced at Manchester, New Hampshire, to ten years in prison.
Christmas Baskets
Although the Fairhaven Police Relief Association is separate and distinct from the Fairhaven Police Department, I believe that the two are closely enough associated to justify my commenting on one of the Association's activities. Organized and managed for the purpose of carrying on relief work, the Association spon- sors one project which attracts wide public notice-the Christmas Basket Fund. The idea of distributing Christmas baskets was con- ceived after many officers, in line of duty, had visited homes where food was scarce and cheer lacking.
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