USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > West Bridgewater > Town annual reports of the selectmen, overseers of the poor, town clerk, and school committee of West Bridgewater for the year ending 1891-1900 > Part 15
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B. B. HOWARD, Auditors.
GEORGE F. LOGUE,
NAMES OF JURORS.
For acceptance or revision by the town at its annual meeting.
James A. Fobes, Azel Lothrop,
·George F. Logue,
Frank L. Howard,
William H. Bosworth, Edwin L. Pratt,
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NAMES OF JURORS Continued.
George Burke,
Curtis Eddy,
Charles H. Caldwell,
George H. Knapp,
Linus E. Hayward,
Herbert W. Packard,
Jonas Hartwell,
William F. Ryder,
Julius Hayward,
Charles E. Tisdale,
Albert L. Alger,
Henry W. Leach,
Jacob Atwood,
Lyman E. Copeland,
Charles T. Howard,
Edwin H. Thayer,
William H. Washburn,
Charles H. Fuller,
David R. Simmons,
Ellis R. Holbrook, )
David Snow,
Bradford Copeland,
Henry F. Thayer, Loren A. Flagg,
Robert H. Hatch,
NAMES OF JURORS DRAWN IN. 1897.
Warren C. Kinney,
George S. Drake,
Seba H. Marshall,
Charles W. Elliott,
Joseph C. Howard, Samuel G. Copeland,
Japhet B. Packard.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF SCHOOLS.
There has been drawn from the treasury
for school repairs and supplies,
$4,860.77
Appropriation for schools, $3,600.00
Appropriation for school repairs and supplies, 650.00
Received from school fund,
362.57
Received from state on account of district supervision, 166.67
4,779.24
Overdrawn, $81.53
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT.
There has been drawn from the treasury
for superintendent of schools, $770.83
Rec'd from town of East Bridgewater, $145.83
Received from the state, 750.00
895.83
TRANSPORTATION OF SCHOLARS.
There has been drawn from the treasury
for transporting scholars,
$355.58
Appropriation,
275.00
Overdrawn, $80.58
LIBRARY.
Drawn from the treasury for the library, $446.92
MEMORIAL SERVICES.
Appropriation, $100.00
Paid Charles R. Packard, 100.00
FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF HIGHWAYS.
Appropriation for roads and sidewalks, $3,500.00
Drawn from treasury on bills approved by superintendent of streets, 3,508.57
Overdrawn, $8.57
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COCHESETT CEMETERY.
Appropriation,
$100.00
Paid John Shipman,
$18.75
D. A. Penpraise.
19.00
S. H. Marshall.
11.00
Joseph Vosmus.
19.50
W. H. Lindsey,
12.50
L. A. Flagg,
12.00
A. J. Parker,
6.00
98.75
Balance, $1.25
At a meeting of the selectmen, held at their office on March 8th. William Ryder was appointed superintendent of streets.
WE RECOMMEND THE TOWN TO APPROPRIATE :
For the support of poor,
$1,500.00
transportation of pupils,
350.00
schools,
3,600.00
repairs and supplies,
500.00
highways and sidewalks,
3,500.00
town officers,
900.00
incidentals.
600.00
memorial service.
100.00
superintendent of schools, 250.00
In accordance with a vote passed by the town at the last annual meeting in March, instructing the selectmen to notify Mr. Otis S. Gould of Boston, who was supposed to be legally bound to support George L. Edson, under the will of Jane M. Edson, if the bill of the town for the support of the said
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Edson in eighteen hundred and ninety-six was not paid in three months from the time, to collect the same by law.
The selectmen wrote Mr. Gould as instructed and had two personal interviews with him, but could arrange no settlement and as instructed put the matter into the hands of Dist. Atty. B. O. Harris for collection.
The will of Jane M. Edson provides that in case Geo. L. Edson should become unable to support himself, he should have reasonable support, and his funeral expenses paid from her estate. Edson claimed that in no way had he signed any deeds or papers releasing Gould from the provisions of the will. Mr. Harris on examination of the records found that Edson had quit-claimed the larger part of the real estate to Gould, still there seemed to be two parcels of real estate available for his support. Upon further investigation, coun- sel for Gould produced a document, signed by Edson and acknowledged before a Justice of Peace some years ago, releasing Gould from all obligations relative to his support, under the will of Jane M. Edson, therefore throwing the support of Edson upon the town.
The next annual town meeting will be held on Monday, the 7th day of March.
E. BRADFORD WILBUR, SAMUEL G. COPELAND, CHARLES E. TISDALE,
Selectmen, Assessors and Overseers of the Poor.
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENT OF STREETS.
The Superintendent of Streets has approved bills to the following named persons for material and work on the roads and sidewalks :
H. A. Marshall,
$4.80
Michael Quinlan,
1.00
John Sands, .
14.00
David Dailey,
3.10
S. D. Bartlett,
3.40
John Norman,
11.89
John Reeves,
4.80
Henry D. Devonport,
10.50
Daniel Lynch,
1.00
Frank Conlon,
6.40
Frank Eckler,
1.20
Joseph E. Ryder,
1.20
E. N. Fisher,
24.85
Sumner P. Ames,
1.40
S. H. Marshall,
7.55
Charles Von Glug,
1.00
B. R. Kenney,
1.00
Andrew Munson,
24.70
C. E. Simmons,
.83
L. E. Hayward,
18.81
Charles A. Macomber,
7.00
John Nelson,
9.80
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Howard George,
Michael King,
6.00
B. J. Conwell,
7.50
William Lindsey,
5.80
Henry Brown,
5.40
Daniel Sullivan,
.90
Michael Fallon,
3.50
Thomas Walker,
.70
Patrick Keenan,
2.40
Patrick Quinlan,
1.00
Charles Ness,
9.20
O. K. Ness,
11.00
Antone Johnson,
1.80
Otis Kinney,
2.75
Lewis Ponter,
18.29
W. K. Dickerson,
21.35
John King,
1.00
Joseph George,
2.80
Elijah Godfrey,
6.00
William L. Cox,
8.20
R. Sampson,
1.00
F. P. Hatch,
5.10
George Burk,
17.00
J. S. Allen,
16.60
E. H. Thayer,
3.75
Erland Thayer,
7.30
L. E. & E. Copeland,
4.00
21.20
Alton W. Snell,
1.20
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William F. Ryder,
302.90
George G. Hopkins,
406.85
L. A. Flagg,
172.40
Charles H. Fuller,
112.25
John Duguid,
107.35
John Cashman,
176.50
John Luddy,
88.60
Samuel Hetherington,
29.20
John Courtney,
41.00
Charles Hakanson,
98.30
Charles E. Brown,
95.50
Terance Keenan,
68.00
Thomas Hennessey,
144.50
T. Prescott Snell,
99.35
Clinton P. Howard,
125.20
Horace Bartlett,
125.45
James Keenan,
81.70
David Frahar,
14.20
Charles E. Leonard,
120.00
Albert L. Alger,
69.45
E. E. Howard,
100.11
F. J. Hambley,
68.75
S. G. Copeland,
104.40
E. B. Wilbur,
34.06
J. C. Howard,
98.45
P. O'Connor's estate,
49.32
Daniel Gardner,
35.00
Michael Mccarthy,
17.20
James McAnaugh, 27.00
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John Peterson,
23.50
Peter Keenan,
15.00
Geo. Withington,
10.40
Eric Ohlson,
4.00
I. M. Charlton,
3.00
R. C. Bennett,
1.20
L. H. Adams,
3.40
Albert Packard,
. 3.00
C. H. Egan,
6.55
Dennis Gorman,
5.60
W. J. Alger,
32.00
John Norman,
12.00
William Penpraise,
.80
Waldo Bros.,
20.85
J. C. Leighton,
1.40
$3,508.57
Appropriation,
3,500.00
Overdrawn,
$8.57
WILLIAM F. RYDER,
Superintendent.
TOWN MEETING.
Plymouth ss :
To any Constable of the Town of West Bridgewater in the County of Plymouth, Greeting :
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you are hereby required to notify and warn the inhabitants of said town, qualified to vote at elections and in town affairs,
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to assemble at the Town Hall, in said town, on Monday, the seventh of March, at one o'clock in the afternoon, then and there to act on the following articles, viz :
ART. 1. To choose a Moderator to preside in said meeting.
ART. 2. To hear the annual report of town officers and committees, and act thereon.
ART. 3. To choose all necessary town officers.
ART. 4. To bring in their votes "Yes" or "No" on the following question : "Shall license be granted for the sale of intoxicating liquors in this town?"
ART. 5. To act on the list of jurors as reported by the selectmen.
ART. 6. To raise such sums of money as may be neces- sary to defray the town charges for the ensuing year, and make appropriation of the same.
ART. 7. To see if the town will authorize the treasurer to borrow money, in anticipation of taxes, to pay charges against the town.
ART. 8. To see if the town will appropriate money for necessary transportation of pupils to Grammar Schools.
REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
To the School Committee of the Town of West Bridgewater :
Among the duties pertaining to the office of superintendent of schools, is that of preparing an annual statement of the condition and needs of the schools, which, though it is made directly to the school committee, is understood by every one to be addressed to the citizens of the town and to be for the enlightenment of the general public. It is the people who
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furnish the means of supporting the schools ; it is the people whose children are trained in the schools to become educated and useful citizens, or who are hampered and dwarfed by insufficient means and improper instruction. It is therefore, to them, through you, their honored representatives, that I address this, my third annual report, in the hope that it will receive careful attention.
Number of schools, 9
Number of teachers required, 10
Number of teachers employed during year, 13
Number of pupils in town between the ages of 5 and 15 years, as shown by the census of
May, 1897, 263
May, 1896, 261
May, 1895, 261
Number of children in town between the ages of 8 and
14 years, 161
Number of pupils enrolled on school registers during year, 308
Number of pupils enrolled between the ages of 8 and 14 years, 182
Number of pupils enrolled over 15 years,
2
Average membership,
241.46
Center Grammar, 37.62 North,
23.9
Center Primary, 30.28
South, 17.55
Cochesett Grammar, 31.22
East, 18.78
Cochesett Primary, 16.07 Matfield,
44.43
Jerusalem, 22.41
Average membership per school,
26.83
Average attendance,
220.18
Center Grammar,
33.85 North,
20.8
Center Primary,
27.84 South, 15.25
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Cochesett Grammar, 28.97 East, 17.37
Cochesett Primary,
14.77 Matfield, 39.58
Jerusalem, 21.74
Per cent. of attendance,
.912
Center Grammar, .90
North,
.90
Center Primary, .912
South, .86
Cochesett Grammar, .921
East, .92
Cochesett Primary,
.919
Matfield,
.886
Jerusalem,
.969
.925
Per cent of attendance, 1896,
.912
There has been but one permanent change in the teaching force during the past year. Miss Eva Planche of the East School resigned in June, being succeeded by Miss Lizzie Dunn. The town is to be congratulated upon retaining its teachers, for the value of a competent teacher's work is greatly enhanced by each succeeding year of service, and the thor- oughly established teacher, whose attention is not distracted by the cares of discipline is capable of doing a much better quality of work than the new, inexperienced, discipline-vexed teacher.
The establishment of a ninth grade has been a decided benefit to our schools ; hitherto, the graduates of our grammar schools have been at a disadvantage in taking up their high school work. This has been due to two causes, insufficient preparation and the character of the instruction and studies below the high school. Up to the present year, there has been a gap between grammar school and high school work which a grammar school pupil has felt, and by which he has been frequently discouraged. When in the past, the gram- mar school course has been finished, the pupil has been brought face to face with a new condition of affairs ; the
27
subjects that he was to study were entirely new to him, and the methods of instruction radically different. The establish- ment of a ninth grade has enabled this gap to be bridged; it has enabled much fuller preparation for the high school ; and has given to the pupils entering that school some knowledge- of the subjects there taught as well as of the methods there used. It has another advantage; many pupils terminate their school life on graduating from the grammar school. Hitherto, such pupils have had no training either in civil- government or book-keeping, and very little instruction in physiology. Hereafter, all such pupils will have been thor- oughly trained in the history and government of their country, in the keeping of accounts and in the structure and care of their bodies.
During the present year a new departure in teaching read- ing has been made in the upper grades. Your superintendent does not find himself in accord with that system of teaching reading which consists in drilling children upon certain selected "pieces," in the vain endeavor to secure perfect elocutionary effect. The high grade elocutionist is-as Lord Tennyson said of poets-" born as well as made." It is a foolish waste of time to attempt to secure more than clear-cut, expressive reading in our schools. The balance of the time should be given to acquainting children with the riches of literature. The day of the old-fashioned, cat and dog reading book has gone by, and children should be fed no longer upon. such " quadruped literature." What is the sense of compel- ling children to read the wishy-washy selections of the average reading book, when publishers have put within the easy reach of all school boards the works of Hawthorne, Cooper, Long- fellow, Scott and the other masters of English and American literature?
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A well defined beginning along the new lines has been made. The eighth and ninth grades, during the past year, have read, Scott's Kenilworth, Longfellow's "Courtship of Miles Standish," and Irving's "Sketch Book."
I recommend the adoption of the following course in read- ing as soon as the economical retirement of the books now in use will permit.
5th Grade. ( Fall term -"Grandfather's Chair," Hawthorne. Winter term-"Blaisdell's Short Stories from English History.' ( Spring term -"Seven Little Sisters," Andrews.
6th AND 7th GRADES.
Even years - Winter term-"King of the Golden River," Ruskin. (Spring term -"Birds and Bees," Burroughs.
Odd years.
Fall Term-"Little Nell "Old Curiosity Shop" Dickens. Winter term -"Snow Bound," Whittier. (Spring term-"Tanglewood Tales," Hawthorne.
8th AND 9th GRADES.
Fall term
"Ivanhoe," Scott. "Courtship of Miles Standish," Longfellow. "Twice Told Tales," Hawthorne.
Winter term
Even years.
' Tales of Knightly Adventure." "Vision of Sir Launfal," Lowell. "Horatius at the Bridge," Macaulay. "Gareth and Lynette," Tennyson.
Spring term
"The Spy," Cooper.
Whittier's Shorter Poems.
Fall term
"Kenilworth," Scott. "Evangeline," Longfellow.
Winter term
"Sketch Book," Irving. "Longfellow's Shorter Poems," ("Webster's Orations." ""Dedication of Bunker Hill Monument."
Spring term
{ "Landing of the Pilgrims,"
"Adams and Jefferson," "Tennyson's Shorter Poems."
In connection with the work in reading, teachers have been requested to make the books read the basis of the work in composition. I well remember with what profound dissatis- faction, when a school boy, I heard the command from the teacher, " The class will write compositions on summer," or some such kindred subject, and I also vividly recall the char- acter of the compositions submitted for the teacher's exami-
Odd years.
Fall term-"Hiawatha," Longfellow.
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nation. Children can write well and expressively, if only they have a definite idea of the thing written about, and after having read, critically, some story or poem like " Ivanhoe," or the " Courtship of Miles Standish," they will frequently sur- prise one with the good quality of their work in analyzing the characters, and in writing abstracts of the books studied. The modern system of instruction which discourages and for- bids parrot-like repetitions of the pages of the text books, while correct in principle, tends to weaken the memory. As a corrector of that tendency, teachers have been requested, during the past year, to require daily memorizing of one or more stanzas of some famous poem.
Some few years ago, the old time-honored " spelling book " went out of fashion, and it became a fad to teach spelling by selecting words from reading or other lessons. During the past two years, I have been watching the results in our schools and I must say that I consider them very unsatisfactory. With the consent of the committee, I shall return the spelling book to its place in our schools and demand that spelling be made the subject of distinctive teaching.
In my last report, I referred to the bill authorizing a state appropriation toward the support of public schools, commonly known as the " School Mill Tax Bill." That bill passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but the gover- nor of the Commonwealth, in his superior wisdom, saw fit to veto it. I am informed, on reliable authority, that the bill will be again introduced into the present Legislature and pressed to a passage. I do not propose in any way to criticise the action of His Excellency. I trust that he vetoed the bill because in his judgment it was for the best interests of the State, rather than, as some allege, because the bill was against
30
the interests of Boston, Brookline and the tax-dodgers. I wish to state, however, that after a very deliberate considera- tion and discussion, the legislature of last year saw fit to pass the bill. It met then with the approval of a great majority of the people of the State. The governor based his veto not upon the unconstitutionality of the bill but upon-to him- its doubtful expediency. Upon a question of law and consti- tutionality, the opinion of the governor, an able lawyer, should have much weight; upon the question of expediency the opinion of the average intelligent voter should be of equal value. In his last inaugural address, the governor convinc- ingly argued for the equality of all citizens in matters of tax- ation. Expressly declaring for the old Massachusetts idea that all taxation should be proportionate to the ability to pay. If he believes that all taxation should be "proportionate and equal," how can he conscientiously oppose a bill whose sole purpose is to equalize the taxation for schools?
" In a State, whose government and institutions are based on the free will of its citizens, the education of the young becomes of the utmost importance to the common interests, for the state must deal with it not only as a judicious policy, but in a large measure, as necessary to the continuance and perpetuity of the State itself; it must deal with education as a matter of necessity for the common good and as a question of expediency for the wholesome furtherance of that good ; it must seek to educate the individual so that he may develop as a useful and reliable citizen and thus contribute most to the common weal. Individual characters make up the char- acter of the State of which the individuals are the constituent parts.
In recognition of this principle, the State has established a system of schools for the training of its children and youth,
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The public school as an institution of the State is intended not only to prepare the young to become useful individuals but to prepare them to become loyal citizens of the State. In her nursery of developing citizens whose habits of thought and sentiment are in the stage of formation, the State not only expects that the training will tend towards habits of patriotic and loyal thoughts and sentiments, but ought to demand and does demand positive training in that direction.
In this light, the State utters her commands to every city and town within her borders to maintain public schools of such grades, in such numbers, and for such times as she deems best ; determines the qualifications of the teachers ; prescribes the branches to be taught; the mode of administration and the means of securing attendance ; and all this that she may secure the prevalence of intelligence throughout her borders, without which she could not exist as a free and prosperous Commonwealth.
In Massachusetts, the burden of supporting these schools, with the exception of a small amount from the state-fund distributed to the smallest towns, is at present imposed upon the separate municipalities, without any regard to the differ- ence in their ability. Obviously, this method of supporting a state system of schools is equitable only when the several municipalities occupy such a position in respect to population and wealth that the burden thus thrown upon one will press equally upon all.
Such was substantially the condition of things when our school system was originally established. In the homogeneous character of the people, in the similarity of occupations (agri- culture and fisheries being the principal industries) were found the conditions of a substantial uniformity of worldly
32
fortune, throughout the several towns of the colony, most favorable for the great experiment. During the periods of our colonial, provincial and constitutional history, until the close of the first quarter of the present century, these favor- able conditions remained substantially the same, but these conditions no longer exist, and the old method of supporting our schools has ceased to be equitable. The introduction of great branches of manufacturing industry, which draw large masses of people to convenient centers, the vast increase of internal trade and external commerce, by means of our rail- road systems, spreading like a network over our territory, and all converging at a few central points, have silently, yet wonderfully, changed the old order and relations of our muni- cipalities to one another, and have given rise to such a dispar- ity in the relation of their child population to their conditions of wealth, as to render a marked inequality in the burdens imposed on the several cities and towns for the support of the schools of the Commonwealth.
An examination of the statistical tables in the annual report of the Massachusetts Board of Education will show an inter- esting exhibit of this disparity and inequality. For example, the statistical tables in the last annual report show that while in the State as a whole there is an average valuation of $7,903 per pupil, some places have more than $15,000, $20,000 or even $30,000 per pupil, while others have less than $4,000, $3,000 or even $2,000 per pupil. It follows that while some towns have to tax themselves less than $2.00 or even $1.50 on the thousand for educational purposes, others have to tax themselves $4.00, $5.00, $6.00, $7.00 and even $9.00 per thousand for the same purpose. For illustration, suppose a tax payer has $10,000 of taxable property, if he lives in Man-
33
chester, his annual contribution for educating the children of the State is $12.10; in Brookline $18.90; in Milton $20.80 ; in Boston $20.70 ; in Malden $44.10; in Quincy $46.70; in Marlboro $52.00; in Attleboro $54 30; in North Attleboro $67.60; in Weymouth $72.80. In short in 136 places he would have to contribute for this purpose alone in response to the State's commands, over $50; in 60, over $60; in 16, over $70; in 9, over $80; and in 4, over $90.
To put it in another way, 30 rich cities and towns of the State have a total valuation of $1,279,816,039 and an average school attendance of 86,484. The rest of the State has a valuation of $1,262,532,944 with an average attendance of 235,201, or $17,000,000 less wealth and nearly three times the number of pupils. The property of the former contributes in taxes for the current expenses of the schools for educating the children of the State $2,777,293.65 and the latter (the lesser half) $5,513,582.44.
There are 37 other cities and towns that are just about on an average in their wealth and in their tax rates for schools, with an average attendance of 54,025 pupils. Leaving these out of the second class as given above, we have 290 cities and towns left, with a valuation of #895,724,092 and an average attendance of 181,176 pupils, and this part of the wealth of the State contributes $4,196,939.67 for education.
Facts like the foregoing, show that there is a wide disparity in the burdens which the present system of supporting our public schools imposes ; that these burdens, borne not for the good of individuals or towns alone but chiefly in furtherance of good citizenship and for the Commonwealth, should be in some good measure, equalized.
To accomplish this end is the purpose of the bill in ques- tion. It is intended as a measure to enable the Common-
34
wealth, as such, to share in the expense of supporting her schools. The tax for which the bill provides, assessed on recent valuations, would yield not far from $2,500,000 annu- ally ; and, when distributed in the manner proposed, about $6.00 for each child between 5 and 15 years in the Common- wealth, or somewhat less than one-third of the aggregate expended for all public school purposes exclusive of buildings and repairs."
West Bridgewater with a tax rate for schools in excess of the average for the state would gain some $850. It would gain because it ought to gain. Educating its children not for the benefit of itself alone, but for the state; it should have the assistance of the state in supporting its schools. It is manifestly unfair that West Bridgewater should be compelled to raise over per thousand for the support of public schools, while Nahant raises only $1.05; Manchester only $1.21; Milton only $2.08 and Boston only $2.07 per thousand.
I trust that, as last year, the town will both by vote at its annual meeting and by vote of its school committee, instruct its representative and senator in the General Court to work for the passage of the bill.
The repairs during the past three years have kept pace with the needs. This has been- wise. Prompt attention even to minor repairs is economy as it tends to keep teachers and pupils reminded that the property of the town is to be suit- ably preserved and protected.
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