USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1862-1866 > Part 37
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And now that we are allowed to congratulate each other upon the fact that peace has been restored to our
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borders, with Rebellion crushed, Treason annihilated, Lib- erty made national, and the union a reality, allow me to occupy your attention for a few minutes in the enumera- tion of the number of these men who are from this time henceforth to receive not only our own but the gratitude of all future generations. This new chapter of our City's History has been illumined by the gallant deeds of our Brothers in every department of governmental service. From the first call of the 6th Regiment in 1861, to the last summons, we find that 4,227 men have enlisted from our city ; 3,903 have been returned to us in safety, while 249 have passed on to that haven of rest where they await the trump of the archangel. As the curtain drops upon the scenes of the four years struggle, we find our Municipal History enriched and our City honored by the continued advancement of her sons, through the labor and heroism of their well earned titles. And the bril- liant record of to-day is simply told by the fact that we from our midst have furnished 1 Major General, 1 Brig- adier General, 6 Colonels, 4 Lieut. Colonels, 6 Brigade and Regimental Surgeons, 3 Chaplains, 8 Majors and 46 Captains, besides a long array of honorable names among the subordinate officers of the Army of the Union. Let this City of Worcester be indeed an Alma Mater of every citizen who has left her borders in defence of the Union, and may we ever, whether in public position or in pri- vate capacity, show our appreciation of the sacrifices made for us, by affording to these men every facility in our power which can contribute to their welfare and their happiness.
The uncertain future is before us : we know little of its coming history : yet our hearts thrill with high hopes
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in the bright omens of promise which cluster around our regenerated country,-that country the aggregation of Towns and Cities, and Counties and States, which are as nothing in their individual capacity, yet so supremely grand in their national unity. Let us therefore be faith- ful to the duties of our municipality, in all its relations to the general government, that as a part of the great whole we may infuse new life into other parts, and while we devote our immediate energies to the demands of our own city, may we never lose sight of the high duties we owe to our country in establishing in the hearts and lives of all, the fixed principles of true Patriotism and un- doubted Loyalty.
Gentlemen of the City Council, By the will of our fel- low citizens, so emphatically expressed, we have been selected to assume the responsibilities and perform the duties of our Municipal Government for the coming year, we have taken the solemn oaths of our respective offices, and are about to enter upon experiences new to many of us. Let us accept these high trusts with the full realization of their importance in all the relations they bear to ourselves, to our fellow-citizens, and to the fu- ture welfare and character of our city. It is, I believe, one of the established duties of the Chief Executive Officer of the City to present at this time, such matters of importance as will necessarily claim your careful con- sideration and thorough investigation. In accordance with this custom I will call your attention to the general departments of municipal business, together with such other matters as the occasion shall suggest and demand.
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FINANCE.
No higher trust can be imposed upon us than that of dispensing the moneys of our constituents for their ben- efit. In a city like our own, teeming with enterprise, where all departments of business are now so successful- ly operated, and where there is an apparent monetary growth and accumulation on all hands, the calls for the expenditure of the public funds will be urgent and per- sistent. Let us therefore ever watch and guard this de- partment of the public service with zealous care, and endeavor to be truly economical in the expenditures of all moneys placed at our disposal. The strict definition of economy is thrifty management-frugality in the use of money, time and labor. Accepting this, may we so govern our acts, that we can decide the duty of the day as presented, with frankness and judgment, and not study by what ingenuity we can defer action until a suc- ceeding government shall be obliged to perform the duty we have put off, involving as it may, a greatly in- creased expenditure. The Government of a city is con- tinuous, its interests progressive, and the crowding out of one twelvemonth, the expenses belonging to it, that they may be assumed by the succeeding Government, cannot tend to its welfare, and is as doubtful in expe- diency as it is false in economy. Let every call for the appropriations of the public funds be considered and met with honest candor, having the present and prospective welfare of the whole community at heart. May we never deceive ourselves or endeavor to delude the pub- lic with the idea that the aggregate expenditures in any one year is a fair statement of the true economy of an administration.
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The City Debt proper is
$89,140 07
Library Debt -
2,637 07
Water Debt, about
175,000 00
Temporary Loan
15,000 00
War Debt, for Bounties
$106,600
State Aid
44,400
151,000 00
Making a total of . $432,777 14 being an increase of $68.317,44 during the year. .
The debt has been decreased during the past year $11,625 by the payment of State Aid and Bounties.
The State is now indebted to the City about $40,000, which amount will be applied to the liquidation of the war debt, when the accounts are adjusted and settled. The number of families in the city who were the recipi- ents of State Aid in 1865 was 710; which number has been reduced at the present time to 20, and is constantly decreasing. The total expenditure for bounties paid in 1864 and 5 was about $89,000, which by Legislative enactment is required to be paid in three years ; $30, 000 was raised by taxation and applied to this debt dur- ing the past year ; the balance of $59,000 must be pro- vided for in the years 1866 and 7.
The valuation as returned by the Assessors the past year is $18,937,000, of which amount $11,862,650 is in real estate and $7,075,250 in personal property, being an increase of $2,555,100 on the total valuation of the previous year.
The amount of assessments in 1865 for city purposes $221,702,00 : received from State and Corporation Tax, $21,500,00. Total, $243,202,00.
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The rate of taxation was $17.00 per $1000.
The number of Polls 7851-increase for the year, 562.
For an accurate and detailed account of the financial condition of the city, I would refer you to the report of the City Treasurer ; as the bills for December and the salaries for the quarter ending on the 31st, have not been audited, it has been found impracticable to obtain the exact amount of expenditures, and as at this time our municipal year commences at the expiration of the financial year.
SCHOOLS.
The schools of our city, those nurseries of moral and intellectual development, will claim your careful atten- tion and fostering care, and I know they will receive your hearty support in everything which shall tend to maintain their present high standard as well as to elevate their character and promote their improvement. How faithfully our duties in this department are executed must only be known to those who come after us, as the fruits of our planting ripen into maturity : let us see to it that we perform our whole duty to the children of to-day, that the honor of the city in its social and intel- lectual character shall ever be sustained as these high trusts are transmitted through the generations.
The number of Schools in our city is seventy-six.
66 of Teachers, ninety-three.
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of Male Teachers, seven.
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66 of Female eighty-six.
The total number of scholars registered in our schools during the year, exclusive of those who left schools and were registered in the schools in the city, is 6719.
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The average number occupying seats through the en- tire year is 4728.
In Centre District, 4153
In Suburban District, 575
The average attendance is
4130
The number of seats in Centre District, 4272 66 Suburban 66 734
Making the total number of seats in the schools, 5006 356 attended school who were over 15 years of age, 43 66 66
under 5 " £
The increase in the number of children attending schools in 1864 was 146
In 1865, 265.
Making an increase in the 2 years of 411
A new School House is now in process of construction at the junction of Grafton and Providence streets, which will furnish additional accommodations for 360 scholars. The estimated cost of this with the lot, is $21,300, $8218.50 of which has already been paid, leaving a bal- ance of about $13,000 to be provided for during the coming year.
The repairs of the Thomas street School House, oc- casioned by the casualty a few weeks since, will necessa- rily come into the expenses of the new year, the esti- mated cost of which has not been ascertained. With these exceptions I know of no necessity which will call for any extraordinary expenditure.
The total expense of this department for the past year has been about $54,356, which exceeds the expenses of the previous year $5,971.00, on account of the in- 3
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crease in the salaries of the teachers. The amount paid for salaries for the year is about $41,916. Other expen- ses including the alterations and repairs of the Pleasant Street School House, $12,440.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
This higher branch of educational development, dis- seminating knowledge through all classes in our com- munity has in its annual growth proved more successful than the most sanguine hopes of its projectors could have anticipated.
The number of books circulated during the past year is 67,533, being an increase of 8000 over the circulation of the previous year.
The total number of names entered upon the register of the librarian is 10,260,-1181 new names having been added the past year.
The number of new books purchased during the year, is 356.
The Reading Room, which was established through the efforts and liberality of many of our public spirited citi- zens, is entirely free to all, and is regularly supplied with 24 English papers and 16 magazines and reviews. to- gether with 36 American papers and 9 magazines and reviews.
The Green Library contains about 12,000 volumes, 600 of which have been added by gift during the past year.
The munificent founder and continuous benefactor of this special department of our Public Library, Dr. JOHN GREEN, has passed away during the past year, but his name will be perpetuated as long as the city shall con- tinue, and his memory be transmitted hy these volumes
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of his selection through countless generations ; a monu- ment to his thoughtful generosity, a rich legacy of his discriminating care and zealous foresight.
By the liberal provisions of the will of Dr. Green, the City Library is now placed upon a permanent basis and its continuity made absolute. As I learn from one of the executors of this instrument, Dr. Green gives to the city of Worcester, to be paid within one year after his decease, the sum of $30,000. This legacy and its ac- cumulations are to be designated upon the books of the city as the "Green Library Fund." One fourth part of the income of this fund is to be added annually to the principal, and the other three fourths to be expended upon the Green Library until it reaches the sum of $100,- 000. After the fund reaches $100,000, one fourth of the income is to be added to that sum, and the other three fourths may be expended generally upon both branches of the Public Library.
After the decease of three persons named as legatees, he bequeathes certain bank stock, and establishes a Librarian Fund, directing that no part of the income shall be used until it amounts to $20,000: when this amount is acquired, then one fourth part of the income shall be added to the principal and the other three fourths may be applied to the payment of the salary of the Li- brarian, thus foreseeing and designing at no distant day, that this provision will relieve the city of at least a por- tion of the expense of this public institution.
After the decease of three other persons, he bequeaths 20 shares additional of bank stock to be added to the Green Library Fund, and after the decease of a certain
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relative, a mortgage amounting to $650, is to be added to the same fund.
Since the decease of Dr. Green quite a number of valuable books have been received at the library, upon orders given months previous, which will be paid for by the executors.
AQUEDUCTS.
This great enterprise, which directly or indirectly ben- eficially effects every inhabitant of our city, was pro- jected in 1863. Through the untiring exertions of that and the succeeding administrations, with the effective skill of the engineer, (who has so fortunately for the city been retained as its administrative head,) it has progressed as favorably as the friends of the project could have de- sired. The source of the supply of water being ample, as its distribution is effected through the city, its bles- sings will be more fully realized in domestic, sanitary and protective uses, and at whatever cost to the inhabitants it will be prized as the greatest boon of our city's life.
The total length of water-pipe now laid, including new Hydrant Branches, is 90.053 feet; 27.500 feet having been laid during the past year : 5800 feet of service pipe has also been laid during the past year. The number of Public Hydrants is 192, and Private, 19. The number of takers are about 600, 375 having been added during the past year.
The expenditures in this department for the past year amount to about $88,000, which includes $19,500 paid upon last year's contract. The receipts of the depart- ment for the year will amount to about $17,300, which will be somewhat increased in the coming year, by the full annual payment to be made by many of the takers.
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For the full and detailed operations of this department, I would refer you to the Annual Report of the Commis- sioner.
FEWERAGE.
Concomitant with the water, is the important matter of Sewerage, a subject which it seems to me should com- inand our early attention. Few inland cities have greater natural facilities for drainage than our own, located upon the several hills, with the business and industrial portions in the valleys, and a stream of water flowing through the entire length. By the introduction of water the general character of drainage has been essentially changed, and this must become more apparent every year. In the inaugural address of Mayor Richardson in 1855, this subject was recommended to the attention of the government, but no decided action was taken. Had the recommendation of the Mayor been adopted at that time, much benefit must have accrued to the city, and a very large expense been saved. The public health which has now been entrusted to our care, may, in the coming season, become in reality the public safety, and in antici- pation of the rapid march of the dreaded disease which has already been heralded on this side of the Atlantic, it behooves us to guard well our borders. A fearful re- sponsibility rests upon us, and upon the promptness of our action may depend many of the lives of our fellow- citizens. The recommendation of personal cleanliness to our citizens by the City Physician, will avail little if we allow the entire sewerage of our city to collect and spread its evaporating surface over an area of several acres, offering as it were, the facilities by which the at- mosphere of a large and densely populated section of the
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city may be poisoned by the exhalations of its pestilen- tial vapors. This subject of sewerage I believe to be the foremost and most important of any matter which can come before us for the coming year, and I trust you will cordially co-operate with me in endeavoring to con- summate a project, not only so desirable, but indispensa- ble to the welfare of every citizen.
HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES.
This department of the city's business, demands (with the exception of the schools) the largest appropriation of the public funds. We have now placed under our charge and responsibility 114 miles of streets and roads, 1 44-100 miles of which are paved: also 47 bridges, 9 of which are constructed of stone and 38 of wood.
The actual aggregate expenditure on Highways and Bridges for the ten years ending Jan. Ist, 1865, has been $160,991. Deducting what may be called extraordinary expenses, such as the construction of Bridges, building New Roads, purchase of land, &c., which amounts to $34,- 240, and we find the actual depreciation of our Streets, Roads and Bridges to be $12,751; with the low average prices of that period. It must therefore be evident that an annual expenditure of a less amount than $12,675 upon this department, must be at the sacrifice of the condition of the highways and is to be assumed and paid for in some succeeding year.
During the four years of the War, $42,000 was appro- priated and $50,338 was expended; deducting $8,394 for extraordinary expenses, and the actual amount ap- plied to meet this depreciation of Highways and Bridges was $41,944, or $10,486 per year. Whether it will be deemed advisable or necessary to assume the payment
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of $8,756 during the coming year, to fully make up the four year's depreciation, is a matter for future considera- tion. The appropriation for 1865 was $16,000, which with the general advance in material and labor, is ren- dered about equal to the average appropriations of the past four years. I trust you will fully realize the econ- omic necessity of promptly meeting the actual annual depreciation of our Streets, Roads and Bridges, which must continually increase with the rapid growth of our city, where every branch of industry is at its full limit of operations.
The extension of Herman St. from Main St. to South- bridge St., which involves the construction of a Bridge ·under the Norwich and Worcester Railroad, has been duly located and awaits the opening of the coming sea- son for its consummation.
The estimated cost of this improvement is about $10,- 000. The Norwich, Providence and Nashua R. R. Com- panies assume a proportionate amount of the cost of the Bridge, equal to $2,750, and bind themselves to assume the charge of, and forever maintain the same, and to re- lease the city from all damages which may occur through the neglect of their companies. The estimated cost to the city will be about $7,250.
POLICE.
This important branch of the government, which ap- pears to be more closely allied to the executive power than the other branches, will claim, as doubtless it will receive from you, co-operative and continued support. In the operation of this department, the maintenance of public order, the guards to public security and the execu- tion of the law, may we never forget that these surface
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waves are the positive effects of certain causes working in the depths of every community, and use our best en- deavors to create and continue in our distinctive organi- zations, in each department of the public service and among the employees of the city, such influences as shall tend to elevate the individual characters, and develope the highest morality in our community. . Let the central power of the government be pure and of good report, and its operations based upon firm principles tempered by healthy moderation.
The whole number of arrests during the past year has been 1559; the number of persons provided with food and lodgings at the station, 956.
Resources of the Department.
Appropriation by City Council, -
- $12,000 00
Fees on warrants served by Assistant Marshals, - - -
- - 1,811 30
Fees of Watchmen as witnesses, 479 40
Incidental Receipts, - - - 90 00
Total, - - - $14,380 70
Expenses of the Department. - - 3,153 10
Salaries,: - - -
Pay Roll of Watchmen, about
9,282 40
- 66 66 Day and Extra Police, 868 75
Incidental expenses, - - - 800 06
Total,
-
- $14,104 31
The City Marshal whose experience for the past three years, justly entitles his opinions to great weight, recom- mends an increase in the police force of the city.
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In 1850, with a population of 17,053, the effective force of the department, including the Marshals, was eight men. In 1855, with a population of 22,284, nine- teen men ; in 1860, with a population of 24,963, twelve men; in 1865, with a population of 30,358, fifteen men.
I believe an increase in the effective force of this de- partment, will commend itself to your judgment, and I have no hesitation in recommending the same, although the number and character of such increase I shall defer until I become more thoroughly acquainted with the operations and necessities of the organization.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
This branch of service rendered to the community by so many of our fellow citizens, a service which must be prompted in 'a great measure by the noblest spirit of self-sacrificing duty, cannot be too highly appreciated by our people : and I think we should lose no opportunity, whether in official capacity or in private life, to render to this organization every encouragement which may tend to create harmony and engender self-respect.
The effective force of the department is 272 men, comprising 7 Engineers and 11 Companies.
The annual ordinary expenses have been about $10,- 000; extraordinary expenses for repairs, purchase of new hose, &c., $6,000.
The number of alarms of fire during the year have been 22, all of which have been traced to a sufficient cause.
It is a gratifying fact, that with the greatly increased population of our City, the number of alarms have been less during the past year, than in any of the eight pre- vious years. 4
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The estimated loss during the year by fire, is $42,000, most of which, was covered by insurance.
The machinery of the department is reported to be in thorough repair.
A new Engine house has been built on School St. du- ring the past year, the cost of which, together with the lot, will amount to about $8,140. This House will be occupied by Engine Company No. 1, and Hose Company No. 1.
You will doubtless join with me in feelings of regret in the retirement of Mr. Alzirus Brown as Chief En- gineer, who has for the past five years so faithfully per- formed the arduous duties of his position with satisfac- tion to the members of the department, as well as to the whole community, who cannot but cordially give to him a full appreciation of the valuable services which he has so acceptably rendered.
To the newly elected Chief, who assumes the office under so auspicious a condition of its affairs, and who has been so long and so favorably known to our citizens, let us give that cordial and hearty support which is due to his position as well as to the department, one of the most important in service, that all who serve us in these trying and hazardous scenes, may realize that we ac- knowledge the generous spirit which prompts them to assume these arduous duties.
CHARITIES.
The charities of the city, of which we are now to be- come the dispensing agents, in connection with the Board of Overseers of the Poor, involve much careful attention and a peculiarly discriminating judgment. Pauperism, which in a large majority of cases is but the fruits of
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antecedent crime, hereditary and accumulative in its lineage, should present itself to our minds in the brighter aspect of christian sympathy rather than in the mere formal duty of almoners of the city's bounty. The poor, whom we always have with us, are but the compensating powers, through whom those more highly favored are to develope the spirit of self-sacrifice, kindness and charity. Let us then assume this high trust with full appreciation of its moral and social relations ; and while we cheerfully dispense the bounty of our fellow citizens, may we not lose sight of our duty in repressing the sources of evil, and checking the main springs of immorality whenever it is in our power.
At the Poor Farm, 33 persons have been maintained at the expense of the city, either the entire or a portion of the year.
The disbursements at the Farm have been, $5,392 45
The receipts from the Farm amount to, 1,591 07
Making the actual expense on this account, $3,802 38
In the Truant School there have been 38 commitments during the year. Twelve of this number still remain. This school, which was established in 1863, is carried on in connection with the Farm, the expenses of which are not separated from the general fund.
At the office of the Clerk of the Overseers of the Poor, in the City, 1248 weekly allowances in cash have been paid to 24 persons. Groceries, fuel and medicines have been supplied to 352 persons, at a cost of $2,945 87. 67 persons have been sent to the State Alms House, at an expense of $119.90. 21 sick persons have been pro-
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vided for, at an expense of $411.81. 1769 orders for the relief of different persons have been drawn by the clerk, and the total disbursements of the office for the year has been $6274.66, of which amount 318.56 have been paid for bills contracted and left unsettled in the previous year.
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