USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1848/49-1855 > Part 10
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1820 " 626
1850 4787
It will be seen on a view of the above tables, that the pop- ulation of Worcester increased from 1830 to 1840, 3285, being 78 per cent, and increase of the valuation $1,541,- 150, being 56 per cent, and that the increase of population from 1840 to 1850 was 9545, being 128 per cent, and of the ratable estate $6,793,550, being 158 per cent.
The inquiry naturally suggests itself, to what causes are we to attribute this rapid increase within the last twenty years ? for upon inspecting the tables, it will appear that the rate of increase anterior to this period, presents noth- ing worthy of remark.
The causes which have produced these results are vari- ous. We owe much, very much, undoubtedly, to the na- tive energy, the inventive genius, the industry, the intelli- gence and virtue of our people; something to the salubri- ty and healthfulness of our location; much to the natural advantages of our position ; somewhat, no doubt, to the beauty and variety of our scenery ; to the magnificence of these hills and the pleasantness of these valleys; and not a little to our being the centre of one of the richest agricul- tural and manufacturing regions in New England ; the shire town of a great and flourishing county. Not incon- siderably are we indebted for this increase to the superior excellence of our admirably organized and efficiently con- ducted school system, and to our educational advantages, which have attracted vast numbers to a residence amongst us.
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But however much we may attribute to these and other causes, we shall be constrained to admit that the proximate and most efficient cause in the production of these grand results, is to be sought in the introduction of railroads, and the establishment of our admirably arranged railroad system, which has made Worcester the centre and focus of no less than six converging railroads, thus affording to us facilities of communication not perhaps possessed or enjoy- ed by any other inland city in the world, of no greater ex- tent or population. And you will allow me to remark, in passing, that a seventh, the one already chartered, or one pursuing the same general direction with the Barre, Wor- cester and Gardner, is the great and crowning want and necessity of the city. The interests of the city demand its construction, and from the best information I have been able to obtain upon the subject, though I am far from being ยท prepared to advocate, much less to recommend, a loan of the city credit, or indeed any municipal action whatsoever in relation to it, at the present time, yet I cannot hesitate in expressing an opinion, that if constructed, it would add materially to the trade and business of Worcester, and swell the increasing tide of our growth and prosperity. Con- necting us as it would with the railroads constructed, con- structing and contemplated at the north-west, it would open to us new channels of communication for men and mer- chandize, furnish new facilities for distributing our products and of procuring the raw materials and products of the west and the north-west in return, and would thus insure to us a large amount of trade and business which must other- wise take a different, and to us an adverse and hostile direc- tion. I can not but hope that some general movement of the people here, and along the line of the contemplated
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road and elsewhere, will ere long demand and secure its location and construction.
The Blackstone Canal, which was opened in 1828, and the erection of the Hospital in 1831, created the first con- siderable upward movement in the wealth and population of Worcester. But these soon ceased to operate, and Worcester would have remained stationary, or have ad- vanced with an exceedingly slow and measured pace, had it not been for the introduction of railroads; which, as they were successively opened, were followed, as these tables show, by a manifest, a decided and immediately favorable effect upon our growth and prosperity; the Boston and Worcester Railroad having been opened in 1835, the Western in 1839, the Norwich and Worcester in 1840, the Providence and Worcester in 1847, the Wor- cester and Nashua in 1848, and the Worcester and Fitch- burg in 1850. So great has been the effect of these roads on our growth and prosperity, that it would hardly be exaggeration to assert, that, if six tide-water rivers, all fitted for sloop or even ship navigation, had been made to occupy the road-beds of these railroads, their effect upon our wealth and population would not have been more manifest and visible, nor would our communication with other parts of the country have been more cheap, facile and easy than it now is. The great facilities which these improved modes of communication have afforded in the transit of merchandize, to and from the sea-board and larger cities ; the ease with which our manufactured and other products created here, may now be distributed to the different points of consumption and use; the cheapness and facility with which the purchaser and consumer now find their way to our stores and work shops from all points
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of the region, whose trade we now enjoy ; the introduction of steam as a motive power in different kinds of mechani- cal and manufacturing business, supplying as it now does, the aid of water power which we lack, the use of which forms a new era in our industrial history, and the more ex- tended and general application of which is destined, I trust, to multiply indefinitely the number and value of our pro- ducts ; the fact that absenteeism, the bane of cities as it is of states, is here almost wholly unknown, a very minute and quite inconsiderable proportion only of the property of Worcester being owned by non-residents, the capital here, particularly that devoted to and invested in manufactures, in trade, in mechanic arts, being almost entirely owned, su- pervised and managed, not by the agent of some distant capitalist, but by the resident proprietor, whose personal supervision of his own affairs and his own capital, insures thrift and profit in his business, and whose personal resi- dence amongst us is a sure guarantee of his sympathy and generous co-operation in every enterprise calculated to benefit the city of his residence ; the circumstance that our capital, banking, insurance and railroad excepted, which could not well be otherwise managed, is not, as is frequent- ly the case elsewhere, accumulated in masses, through the instrumentality of large chartered companies, there not being a single one of that character transacting business within the limits of the city, and our capital, manufactur- ing and mechanical, being quite minutely subdivided and owned in moderate and comparatively inconsiderable amounts, by a great number of thrifty and independent proprietors ; the fortunate peculiarity in our industrial or- ganization, that the prosperity of our city is not depend- ant, as is the case not unfrequently elsewhere, upon the
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prosperity of any one particularly dominant and controling mechanical or manufacturing interest, which, now flourish- ing and now depressed, exhibits the place of its location, now a town or city full of life and activity, and now em- barrassed in its business and the abode of idleness, and a place of stagnation and distress ; the stability of our pros- perity, on the contrary, reposing upon the great number and variety of interests and trades, manufacturing, me- chanical and commercial, carried on here, where, though one branch or interest may be at any given time depres- sed, the greater number will be found prosperous and productive ; these and all these have conduced to our pros- perity, and are considerations and circumstances to be taken into the account and viewed in connexion with our superior educational and other advantages, above referred to, if we would study and thoroughly comprehend the causes of our growth and prosperity.
Under the operation of these causes, our trade has great- ly increased, our manufactures have multiplied in number and value of products ; our mechanical interests have received fresh impulses, new branches having been added yearly to our industry, and real estate, the true index of the prosperous or depressed condition of a place, when free from the influence of improper speculations, has rapidly risen in value. And now let me ask, Which of these causes has exhausted itself, or which is likely to cease its operation ? Not one ; in my opinion, not one. Many of these may not, and very likely they will not, continue constantly to operate with all their past energy and efficiency, but that they will continue to operate, and to add to our numbers and wealth, I think no one can reasonably doubt. The country will 'continue to demand an increased supply of the products
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of our skill and industry, and can we not produce an in- creased quantity at as cheap a rate as the quantity already produced ? Increased supply will require an increased number of men, and these will require an additional num- ber of workshops and dwellings, and of course, an in- creased and enlarged city for their accommodation. What may be the rank which Worcester is destined to assume among the cities of Massachusetts, what may be the full extent and final measure of her population, I will not here undertake to predict or determine. But may we not with confidence look forward to the day when our increased trade, manufactures and business, shall swell this city of 17,000 inhabitants, vastly beyond its present dimensions ; when these hills and valleys, many of them now vacant of habitations and inviting occupation, shall be covered with stores, manufactories, work shops and dwellings, the seats of a productive industry and the abodes of an industrious, educated, virtuous and happy people. The experience of the past, well warrants us in indulging the most cheering hopes of the future. And never, permit me to add, were the signs of progress and advancement more significant and decisive than at this moment. Business of almost every description is promising and productive. The most active preparations are in progress for the erection of buildings, public and private, in value if not in number exceeding the improvements of the past, if not of any former year, and the influx of population is by no means less than in years gone by.
The increase of wealth and population here would, how- ever, in my opinion, be more rapid, were there more care taken to furnish accommodation for every class desirous and willing to come among us. We lack, it seems to me, ac-
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commodations for many, desirous of removing and settling here. For one class especially, we have failed to provide, it seems to me, as we ought. I refer now particularly to those connected with one of the most flourishing, produc- tive and profitable branches of industry carried on in the city, and destined, as I think, to increase to an indefinite extent. I mean the manufactures wrought from leather ; the boot and shoe trade. The want of small and compara- tively cheap tenements, with shops connected with them, is sensibly and severely felt as an obstacle in the way of our progress. And allow me in this connection to throw out a suggestion, which I trust may strike favorably the public ear, and particularly that of capitalists seeking invest- ments; which is, that if smaller and cheaper, but still convenient, tenements,-such. for instance as would com- mand an annual rent of say from $50 to $70, and which could be erected at an expense of from $500 to $700 each to the capitalist,-not in the heart of the city where land is at a high price, but at a moderate distance from the centre where land may be obtained at a cheaper rate,- with shops for numbers of workmen convenient of access, our city by its superior educational, literary and social advantages, would invite and insure the removal and resi- dence here of numbers, now resident in other towns and places, and pursuing there a business to more or less dis- advantage ; their materials being now obtained from dealers or master manufacturers here. Numbers have, as I be- lieve, this very year, been obliged to pass us by and to seek residence and employment elsewhere, simply from the impossibility of obtaining small, low-priced and con- venient tenements, with shops convenient to them, where they might pursue a profitable business and at the same
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time enjoy the advantages which our city so richly affords. Nor is this dearth of lower-priced tenements confined in its influence to this one department of industry or business. It is felt, as I apprehend,-and seriously felt-in other departments of business carried on in the city, and operates to retard, to some extent, our growth and prosperity. If there was an abundant supply of cheaper and lower-priced tenements to be had, in my opinion a great and decided acceleration would be perceptible in the onward progress of the city.
The progress of the city is not likely to be embarrassed or retarded by financial difficulties. We have none, and probably shall have none of that character to contend with. The city debt, properly so called, nominally amount- ing to $96,996, is really only $90,440,-a part of it being payable on long time, and does not bear interest. It is not the intention of the City Government, as I understand it, to increase this debt The receipts from all sources during the financial year, ending on the 31st of March last, including $7151, money in the Treasury on the 1st of April, 1850, and exclusive of the amounts received on temporary loans, which have been paid during the year, will not vary much from $90,500 .* The principal, if not the only, sources of income have been-taxes, the school fund,-for the support of state paupers,-city hall rents,-the aqueduct,-and money from the State on account of the volunteer militia, and licenses. The precise amount received from each source I am not now able to state. The expenditures for the year, including the
* When this address was delivered the accounts for the year had not been made up by the Treasurer, and many bills and claims against the city had not been presented.
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county tax, $4,730,77, were about $87,300 ;- cash on hand, $3,164.
Of the expenditures, the principal were the following : About $9,500 were for school houses.
18,000
Schools.
3,300
Pauper account.
8,000
Highways.
.
66
3,600
Fire Department.
4,000
Salaries.
66
3,650
Interest of city debt.
4,730
County Tax paid.
9,750
66
Paving Main and Front sts.
700
Repair of Poor House.
1,500
Lights, Gas, &c.
800
Fuel, Printing, &c.
.
1,640
Sewer on Main St.
66
1,300
2 new Fire Engines.
1,000
66
Gas Posts and Fixtures.
66
2,100
Watchmen.
5,000
Abatement of Taxes.
There are included in the expenditures of $87,300 for 1850, certain disbursements for purposes for which no ap- propriations were made last year, viz :
$1,600 for school houses.
1,060 extension of aqueduct on Pleasant St.
625 Land damages for aqueduct.
463 the volunteer militia, which the State will pay.
381 " the detection and arrest of those concerned in the explosion of bomb shells.
800 " sundry other contingents. -In all about $4,900.
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The amount actually granted, appropriated and assessed in 1850, for specific objects, including the sum of $5000 for contingent expenses, was $83,643,99, and I am happy to state that by means of a few transfers made from one account to another, the expenditures for these specific ob- jects have been brought within the appropriations. There are sundry claims made against the city for damages, alleged to have been sustained by the owners of real estate by reason of acts done in the grading and repairing of streets and highways, which when finally liquidated and adjusted, will be chargeable to the city and must be pro- vided for and paid. The amount, of course, it is impossi- ble at the present time to state. There is also a claim outstanding against the city, now in the process of adjust- ment by reference, for damages alleged to have been done to the real estate of Samuel Putnam, situated to the east of Bell Pond, by reason of acts done in the construction of the reservoir for the aqueduct, some years since. Ap- propriations will be found necessary for the coming year, for the balance coming due on the Thomas street School house, $6000,-$1300 due Hon. Levi Lincoln and others, and $125 due Mrs. Stiles for damages to estates on Main and Pleasant streets, in consequence of the alterations of the grades of those streets, and for the above sums, ex- pended the past year for the extension of the aqueduct, for aqueduct damages and for the other purposes above mentioned, exclusive of money paid for the militia, in all about $11,400.
The damages paid on account of the aqueduct should have been adjusted years ago, and have been included in the city debt. Whether it will become necessary to pro- vide by appropriations the current year for the new county
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road from Holden soon to be located, and the Tatnic road, a town road recently laid out, I am not at present advised, as it is not known when those roads will be required to be constructed by the Commissioners. In relation to this whole matter of expenditure, I earnestly recommend that the most rigid economy be exercised, and that no expense be incurred unless it be shown to be for some object nec- essary and proper ; and when its necessity is proved and established, that the most rigid scrutiny be exercised in fixing upon the amount to be appropriated and expended for the object to be accomplished,
I also recommend that our system of accountability in the receipt and disbursement of the public money be, if possible, still further improved in some of its branches, and that, unless absolutely necessary, no expenditures be authorised or permitted beyond the appropriations.
Nothing has occurred during the past year to weaken the confidence of the community in our admirably organ- ized and well conducted school system. Free schools were indigenous to the Puritan soil of Massachusetts, and his- tory informs us that the founders of Worcester, in the original plan of settlement, having first made provision for the church and the ministry, directed that schools should be established and land set apart for their support ; and, in the expressive language of the early records, enjoined that care should be taken that a school master should be provided in due season ; and when the due season came, and time rolled on, and the town increased, schools and teachers were multiplied; and we are now reaping the rich harvest naturally consequent on free schools early planted, and since successfully cultivated and sustained amongst us. How would these ancient founders and pious
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fathers of the town exult, could they behold the successful issue and the glorious results which have crowned their early purposes and efforts in the great cause of popular education.
The organization of our schools seems as nearly perfect as it can well be made; and if capacious, well arranged and convenient school houses, if well classified schools, if faithful, moral, assiduous, experienced and able teachers, if most liberal, nay bountiful appropriations for their sup- port, if earnest efforts, if wise counsels and assiduous care on the part of intelligent and faithful committees, who have so long and constantiy labored to promote the best interests of our schools,-if all these can avail to secure the correct moral training and education of our children, then may we look here for a generation of well-trained and educated youth. If, on the contrary, all this array and complication of intellectual and moral machinery fails to secure these objects, there is certainly none other whose aid we can invoke, which will be likely to be more efficient or successful.
I am happy to be able to state that the new School House on Thomas street, for the accommodation of the Grammar School, will soon be completed, and that ar- rangements have been made to accommodate in this, when finished, and in the other Grammar schools in the centre, all scholars from all parts of the city who may desire to avail themselves of the benefit of Grammar school instruction. I would recommend the greatest liberality in your appro- priations for the support of schools, the erection of school houses, and for the promotion of everything connected with the cause of education ; and this I do not merely be- cause such a policy is in accordance with the repeatedly expressed and well known public sentiment of our people,
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but because education is the great and vital interest of the city, and demands, and should receive, a most liberal and generous support. Abolish your school houses and close your schools, and the industrial as well as the moral and intellectual interests of the city would receive a shock, from which it would be impossible to recover.
But even here, unnecessary expense should be avoided, and you will pardon me for suggesting whether a faithful discharge of duty will not require of you that any de- mands that may be made for the erection of any additional school houses should not be subjected to a severe scrutiny, and whether full and satisfactory proof should not be re- quired that the wants and necessities of the public really require such additional accommodations. If they do, I doubt not such demands will be most cheerfully and readily complied with.
From the best information I have been able to collect, I am inclined to the opinion that the wants of the eastern section of the centre district, as it is called, will require that a school house of moderate dimensions, and not proba- bly very expensive, should be erected, the present season, on the lot now owned by the city, on Pine street ; and perhaps you will be of opinion that preliminary measures should be adopted for the erection of others in other sec- tions of the city.
I should have no doubt, should the city continue to in- crease as rapidly as it has for the few years past, that the public convenience and necessity will soon require the erection of at least two new school houses for the accom- modation of additional Grammar schools in different sec- tions of the city. The most liberal provision should be made for the support of schools in the outer districts of
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the city. Such a policy is not only required by the consideration that, though the burden of taxation for the support of the High School and Grammar School, which are located in the centre, fall with equal weight on them, yet their remoteness from these schools renders the ex- penses of availing themselves of their advantages more onerous than it is to those in the centre, but for the ad- ditional consideration that though they pay equally with those living in the centre, towards all the city expenses, yet they do not receive the same immediate, direct and ob- vious advantages and benefits from many of the city expen- ditures, particularly those connected with the extension and maintenance of the aqueduct, the paving and lighting of the streets, and the maintenance and support of the Fire Department, that those do who reside in and near the centre. Indeed it must have become exceedingly obvious to any one who has paid the least attention to the practi- cal working and operation of the city government, that one of the greatest practical difficulties in the administra- tion of its affairs, arises from the fact that having, if I may so speak, town and country, a rural and an urban population, united under the same government, and being under a necessity of adopting nearly the same measures, and pursuing nearly the same course of policy in regard to both, there is danger felt, and not unfrequently expressed, that the operation of the government may prove unequal when brought to bear upon the different classes of our population, differing in their wants, necessities, occupa- tions, habits, and mode of living.
A most confident expectation, however, is entertained and cherished that the same spirit of mutual forbearance and concession which has been manifested in each section
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toward the other, from the first moment of our existence as a city, and which has thus far bound us together, will continue to unite us, and that each will cultivate towards the other a most friendly and fraternal regard, the surest pledge of our union and continued prosperity.
The past year has witnessed but few fires, and the de- struction of property from that source has been compara- tively inconsiderable. The fire department has seldom been put in requisition, but whenever an exigency has oc- curred, which has demanded its service, it has uniformly manifested a promptness, energy and efficiency seldom equalled, and no where surpassed.
A pretty decided opinion was expressed by the officers and members of the fire department of the last year, and that opinion was, I believe, concurred in by the late city government, that the public interests would be greatly subserved if the corporate powers now exercised by that department under its charter, obtained when Worcester was a town, could, by an act of the Legislature, be allowed to be surrendered up to and merged in the general cor- porate powers of the city. Should the fire department and the present city government concur in that opinion, an act of the Legislature could, I doubt not, be obtained, allowing it to be carried into effect.
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