Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1862-1866, Part 50

Author: Worcester (Mass.)
Publication date: 1862
Publisher: The City
Number of Pages: 1076

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1862-1866 > Part 50

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Steamer Col. Davis, 2, 16

Royal Combs,

Engineers, . 7

274 men in all.

*deceased.

City Document No. 21.

352.0443 INAUGURAL ADDRESS W9220 1866 OF

HON. JAMES B. BLAKE,

MAYOR OF THE

CITY OF WORCESTER,

JANUARY 1, 1867 ;

WITH THE

ANNUAL REPORTS

OF THE SEVERAL CITY OFFICERS FOR THE MUNICI- PAL YEAR ENDING JAN. 1, 1867.

CESTI

OWN

JUNE

FEBX.29.1848

14.112

WORCESTER : PRINTED BY TYLER & SEAGRAVE, CITY PRINTERS, 252 MAIN ST., (New Spy Building, Opposite City Hall.)

CONTENTS.

Mayor's Inaugural Address, -

Report of Special Committee on Sewerage,

Report of Scliool Committee,

Superintendent's Report, 45 ; Committee for 1866, 63 ; Secretary's Report, 65 ; Roll of Honor, 71 ; Assignment of Scholars to Schools, 81 ; Term and Half- term Reports, 83 ; Bullock Prizes, 84 ; Resources and Expenses, 89 ; Schools, Teachers and Salaries, 97, 125 ; Repairs, 99 ; Real Estate belonging to Depart- inent, 111, 125 ; Other School Property, 117 ; Committees for 1867, 120. Report of Directors of Free Public Library, - - 127

" Commissioners on Hope Cemetery, 147

66 of Shade Trees, -

155

66 " Water Commissioner, - -

167

" City Marshal, -

- - - 179

" Commissioner of Highways, -

183

" City Treasurer, - -

189

Treasurer's Account of Receipts and Expenditures, 195

244

Schedule of City Property,

Table of City Debt and Water Loan, -

249

Report of Overseers of Poor, -

City Offices for 1867,

251

255

CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY.

TREASURER'S OFFICE, CITY OF WORCESTER, APRIL, 1867. TO PERSONS HAVING CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY.

Bills presented for the action of the Auditor of Accounts, must specify what the arti- cle or articles sold were for-when for labor, where it was performed, number of days and price per day, unless otherwise agreed upon. When there are charges belonging to different departments, separate bills must be made, including only charges belonging to each department.

ALL BILLS MUST SPECIFY THE DATE OF THE SEVERAL CHARGES.

Claimants should carefully note the name of the person who orders the article or ser- vice, and should inquire to what department the charge shall be made, and should also know that the person is duly authorized to make contracts. Unless this is done, the claimant will be put to the trouble of making out his account the second time, and run the risk of losing it.

When bills are certified to, as per Chapter 3, Revised Ordinances (below), they can be left at the Treasurer's or Auditor's Office, before 2 o'clock, P. M., on or before the THIRD DAY of each month, except bil ls at the close of the year, which must be left on or before December 25th.

Those who attend to the above, willifind their bills audited and ready at the Treas- urer's Office, who will pay them promptly at the times designated below.

TIMES OF PAYMENT.

Salaries of the City Officers, and Teachers in the permanent Schools, on the first day of each quarter.

Families of Volunteers, on the 24th day of each month.

Salaries of Watchmen, on the 1st day of each month.

Salaries of Firemen, on or before the 15th day of January.

All other bills on the 10th of each month.

When the above days come on Sundays, payment will be made the next day.

And persons having claims are requested to call promptly for their money ON THE DAY DESIGNATED.

GEORGE W. WHEELER, City Treasurer.

PARTICULAR NOTICE.

AUDITOR'S OFFICE, April, 1867.

All persons having claims against the City, are hereby reminded, that agreeably to an established rule, all bills, in order that they may be ready for payment on the 10th, must be left with the Treasurer or Auditor, on or before the THIRD day of each month, except the closing bills of the year, which must be left on or before December 25th, be- fore 2 o'clock, P. M. Those who fail to comply with this rule, will have to wait till the following month before their bills will be ready for payment.

CHAPTER 3, REVISED ORDINANCES.

AUDITOR.

" SECTION 2. No Account or Claim against the City, other than judgments of the Judicial Courts, shall be received or acted upon by him, unless such account or claim shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Mayor, Committee, or other proper Certi- fying Officer of each department, authorized on behalf of the City to make the contract or cause the expenditure to be made, that the same is correct."

GILL VALENTINE, Auditor.

Office, No. 3, City Hall.

Address of Mayor Blake

AT THE

INAUGURATION OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT,

JANUARY

7, 1867.

Gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen

and Gentlemen of the Common Council :

Assembled at this time in conformity to the provisions of the city charter, as the chosen representatives of our fellow-citizens, to assume the responsibilities and perform the labors of our city government for the next municipal term, let us not forget as we enter upon the duties of the new year to express our acknowledgment of that Provi- dence which has crowned us with the manifold blessings of the past, nor fail to recognize that it is God's hand which guides and governs all, his spirit that animates every laudable enterprize and directs the issues of each undertaking; his power that vouchsafes good fortune, that grants us success, that delivers us from the pesti- lence and surrounds us with the benefactions of national peace, municipal prosperity, and the comfort and happi- ness of the quiet home.

Representing as we do a constituency of the highest moral and intellectual attainments, a community com- posed of the most diverse elements of thought and opinion, intensified by that individuality of character, the natural sequence of an enlightened and progressive people-we cannot too fully realize the responsibilities

which we now take upon ourselves as we assume for them the duties of govermental action.

I deem it a matter of congratulation, that by the provis- ion of the revised Charter granted by the Legislature at its last session and accepted by the citizens, the term of the official relations of the members of both branches of the City Council has been extended to two years; being fully convinced that by this change the welfare of the city will be advanced and a more permanent and satis- factory execution of the public business attained, estab- lishing as it does a continuity of government and render- ing thoughtless and radical changes impossible. This opinion, advanced in the early part of last year, has been by experience strengthened and fully substantiated into a firm belief of its importance to the future good of our city, in every phase and department of municipal life and action.

CITY HALL.

The alteration and re-fitting of the City Hall, which has been accomplished during the past year, was a work which had become an almost absolute necessity in the proper transaction of the public business, and as regards the police headquarters, accommodation for prisoners and poor lodgers, a work demanded by the claims of a common humanity. It may seem unfortunate that the exigency should have become so imperative at this time, when the cost of material and labor is at a maximum ; still the work had been so long delayed that the alterna- tive seemed forced upon the city and could not be lon- ger deferred. The aggregate cost of the alteration, to- gether with the expense incurred in heating, lighting, and re-furnishing the council chamber, public offices and police department, is larger than was anticipated, yet I believe the amount to have been judiciously expended,

and all contracts and purchases to have been made with due regard to the necessity of the case and the econo- mic disposition of the public funds. The expense attend- ing this alteration has been as follows :

Materials and labor as per contract,

$13,600 00

extra,

2,596 03

Boiler Room and Chimney,

1,483 39

Heating Apparatus complete,

4,413 25

Pipes and fixtures for lighting,

937 65

Carpets, repairs of furniture, new furniture, ventilators,

safe for Treasurer, vault for Police Department, &c.,

4,201 88

$27,232 20

The necessity and advantages of this improvement will be recognized and become more fully appreciated, as the increased accommodations afforded for the busi- ness of the various departments shall have been realized by the citizens, and the important fact understood, that by this alteration, the necessity for a new city building will be postponed for many years, and the great expend- iture which would be involved, deferred until the popu- lation and wealth of the city shall have been largely increased. The annual interest of the necessary outlay for a new City Hall, would doubtless exceed the entire cost of the improvements upon the present building.

FINANCES.

In assuming the duties of this department in our offi- cial capacity, let us not fail to realize the true relations which we bear to our fellow-citizens as their agents in the management and disposition of their monetary interests. In private life, in the general and ordinary expenditure of money, the agent is governed and restricted by the necessary limitation of income absolutely defined; while in public capacity there is danger of losing this sense of individual accountability, by the importunities of others in their pressing claims upon what is oftentimes consid- ered the inexhaustible treasury of the city.

The magnitude and importance of this financial trust is readily seen, when we consider that we are, as public agents, invested not only with the power to create the necessity of the expenditure of money, but also clothed with authority to assess the payment of such expenditure upon our fellow-citizens, a payment which becomes an involuntary one on their part, thereby placing the sole accountability upon the constituted agents of the city.

Admitting the wisdom and necessity of this provision of governmental policy, let us remember that the exer- cise of such power with its attendant prerogatives should never be separated from the corresponding personal and official responsibility with which it must ever bear the same practical relations.

The amount distinguished as the old debt is,

$54,140 00

The Library debt is, -

2,637 07

The war debt is about,

94,000 00

The water debt is about, 300,000 00

The amount of temporary loan,

19,223 00

Making the total debt of the city, -

- $470,000 07

The amount of cash on hand, January 1,

$28,000

For a concise and particular account of the liabilities of the city, I would refer you to the detailed Report of the Treasurer.

The water debt has been increased during the past year $98,872.89. Of this debt $100,000 are represented by the bonds of the city, $51,500 of which have been issued the past year. The balance of this debt consists of the notes of the city treasurer, which should be con- verted into bonds as soon as practicable.

In accordance with an act of the Legislature, $30,000 have been paid during the past year in liquidation of the bounty debt, and it will be necessary to appropriate an equal amount during the present year for the same pur- pose. The total amount of bounty debt, January 1, 1867, was $76,425.73.

The amount paid for State and County tax during the past year has been $79,716.16, it being $24,183.53 less than in 1865.

The current municipal expenses for 1865 were $218,- 607.40, and for 1866, $260,283.84, showing an increase of $41,676.44.

Besides the usual municipal expenses of the city the past year, there has been a large outlay for what ma y properly be called extraordinary expenses, not likely to occur during the coming year. A few of the larger amounts may be enumerated as follows :

Alteration of, heating and refitting City Hall, $27,232 20

Counsel charges in the W. A. Wheeler case, - 1,437 54

Balance due on Engine House on School street, 2,525 46

New Hose for the Fire Department, - 2,888 20

Bell for Central Church, broken July 4, 500 00

Machinery and building for Macadamizing streets, -

3,498 25

Land purchased on Dix, Washington and Southgate streets

for School purposes, 5,276 40

Building and repairs of School Houses, 9018 80

Hermon street bridge and regrading street, - 10,337 78 to which may be added the rents and expenses of the different departments occasioned by the alteration of the City Hall, and the expense incident to the execution of the order passed by the Board of Health relating to the sanitary regulations of the city.

The valuation as returned by the Assessors during the past year is $22,599,850, of which $14,198,550 is real " and $8,401,300 personal estate, showing an increase of $3,662,000 over the valuation of 1865. In addition to this, the State assess a tax upon $1,575,000 of the pro- perty of corporations in the city, called the " corporation tax," which amounts to about $23,000.

The amount assessed by the tax in 1866 was $377,- 381.60. The rate of taxation $16.00 on $1000. The rate of taxation would necessarily have been greater, had not the amount of valuation of property been largely increased. The number of polls is 7892.

Any increase of the city debt should claim your solic- itous consideration and be zealously guarded against. While necessity may demand its increase in the devel- opment and progress of the great internal improvements of water and sewers, yet I am fully convinced that both the sense of right and motives of expediency dictate that all annual expenditures for highways, school houses, fire department, &c., should be met at once by yearly taxa- tion, thus bringing to the mind of each tax payer a more direct appreciation of the annual expenses of the gov- ernment, entailing more personal accountability upon the members, and realizing that important element in all public and private policies of paying as we go.

Our fellow-citizens, with an acknowledged personal thrift and public spirit exceeded by few communities, demand that the proper calls for expenditures of the city should be fairly considered and frankly met, not in the spirit of par- simony, but with the larger view of economic considera tion, as it bears upon the future growth and prosperity of our city.

In all appropriations and disbursements may we never lose sight of the fact of our amenability, and endeavor to attain that desirable mean of action which shall result in stimulating every project tending to the permanent good of our city, and at the same time check every move- ment which shall lead to wastefulness of the moneys entrusted to our care.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

We cannot too fully realize the important trusts which are imposed upon us in our capacity as public servants, as in connection with the Board of School Committee, we assume the guardianship of the children of the city. The material enterprises of the city, of greater or less degree, which come under our supervision, and receive

our action, can be seen, appreciated and measured, but the result of these higher duties of educational interest are not perceptible, nor can they be made appreciable during our official term of service ; still the responsibility is none the less sacred; for the influences, ideas and motives with which these six thousand children are sur- rounded to-day, will by natural development, testify to the faithfulness of each succeeding government as from one gradation to another, they pass from the school to the stage of life's duties, with fixed powers to elevate or depress the character of our city, as the direction of early life shall have been given by us.

I cordially commend to you, members of the City Council, to the parents and guardians of our children, and to the public generally, this great interest, which although directly managed by a separate branch of the government, invested by the State with peculiar powers, should not be considered outside or distant from the other branches, but should rather claim your individual care and attention, made evident by your presence in the meet- ings of the Board of School Committee, in the daily rou- tine of school duty, and at the annual examinations ; by so doing a more general interest will be felt, a new im- pulse given to the members of the Board, and encour -. agement to the teacher and scholar. Let the parents and guardians enter into this matter, heartily co-operat- ing with all the agencies of this department, and I fully believe the cause of education will receive an impetus in this city which shall be realized at once, in the increased development of those children for whose culture and learning we are now responsible.

The whole number of scholars attending the schools the past year was 6884. The average number occupy- ing seats was 4880. The actual number attending at

the close of the Fall term was 5080. The increase of the number of scholars was 641 to the end of the School year, and since that time there has been added 223.

The number of Schools in the city is 83-eight new schools having been established during the past year. The number of teachers is 101, being an increase of 11 during the year. In addition to these, there have been established three Evening Schools, which are attended by about 160 scholars and employing five teachers.

The expenses of this Department for the year have been:

For salaries of Teachers, - $49,140 54

Superintendent and Clerk, - 2,650 00

Repairs and incidental expenses, - 11,132 94

For extraordinary expenses, in furnishing new houses, re- pairing Thomas street house, alteration in High School, maps, charts, globes, books, &c., for seventeen new school rooms,

7,270 03

Making a total expense of, $70,193 51

The average cost per scholar is $12.89; while in Boston in 1865 it was $20.41; in Springfield, $17.30; in New Haven, $16.31; and in Lowell, $15.67.

Serious inconvenience is felt, and complaint is often made that in the promotion of pupils at the commence- · ment of the school year from the different grades, a se- rious lack of proficiency is evinced in the scholars pro- moted, resulting in a general depressing tendency in the grade of the schools, by this annual introduction of new members, who may not be entirely fitted for promotion, yet must be advanced to make room for a corresponding or increased number who are to be advanced from a lower grade for the same reasons. Much of this trouble is doubtless caused by the want of room and teachers. In the Secondary and Grammar Schools of other cities, the average number of scholars allotted to one teacher

is about 50; while in the schools of corresponding grade in our own city the average number is 62.3. In one instance there were 96 scholars present under one teacher, and in some cases the teacher has been given 87 pupils who are to be educated and ready for promo- tion the following year. The impossibility of devoting the proper time and attention to faithfully instruct so large a number of pupils must be apparent, and I con- sider it but an act of justice to the teacher as well as the scholar, that proper provision be made whereby the most desirable results should be attained. These results can only be accomplished by affording additional school ac- commodations and an increased force of teachers.

The urgent demand for more School accommodations was brought to the notice of the City Council last year, and upon recommendation of the Committee, on Edu- cation, additional appropriations were made to meet the expense of enlarging old and constructing new houses.

The school house on Providence street was commenced in 1865, and completed the past year. The amount ex- pended upon this house in 1866, was $10,743.98.

The wooden school house in Chamberlain district has been raised, enlarged and thoroughly. repaired at an ex- pense of $1076.30. The brick school house at North- ville, has been extended, and its capacity doubled, the cost of which has been $2402.66. A lot of land on Washington and Orange streets was purchased at a cost of $2156.40, and a contract made for a two story brick house, amounting to $7475. This house is designed for the accommodation of the ungraded school, which has occupied leased rooms on Temple street, and will be completed in a few weeks.

To meet the pressing demands in the southerly section of the city, a lot of land was purchased on Southgate

street, at a cost of $1300, and a contract made for a two story wooden house, amounting to $3095, which is now finished and was occupied on the first of January.

A lot of land on Dix street, containing 18,000 square feet, has been purchased by the city the past year, with the view of building a new house in place of the house on Main street, which from its distant location from the homes of the scholars attending, and the constant and increasing noise experienced from the pavement, is ren- dered unsuitable for school purposes. I would suggest for your consideration the erection of a school house on Dix street, during the present year, to afford accommo- dation for eight schools, and that the Main street house be disposed of, the proceeds of such sale to be applied to the payment of the new house; and I can but express the hope, that in a city like our own, where land is at present so available, any building designed and built for school purposes shall be limited to two stories, thereby guaranteeing that personal safety and convenience which should command the attention and be considered the duty of those who direct the construction of buildings where hundreds of children are to be daily congregated.

Called by official position to preside over the deliber- ations of our Board of School Committee, and having been present at every meeting, regular and special dur- ing the year, I consider that I should do an act of injus- tice to the members of the Board, if I neglect to bear willing testimony to the spirit of self-sacrificing labor, purity of motive, and the honest and continued effort which has directed their efforts in the varied duties they have been called upon to perform, and which would tend to the welfare and advancement of the schools of our city.

HIGHWAYS.

This department, one of the most important in the public service, requiring unceasing attention and bur- dened with peculiar responsibilities, is equalled by no other in its rapid growth and constantly increasing de- mands upon the officers and committee, as it claims each year a larger appropriation of the public funds for its maintenance. The opening of new and the rapid depre- ciation of old streets under the present heavy travel, establishes the conviction that a judicious expenditure demands that more consideration be given to permanence of construction rather than the adoption of a system which aims only at temporary annual repairs.

The appropriation the past year for highways, streets, and bridges, was $16,000 00 The amount received for labor performed in the other de- partments of the city and for materials sold, 9,185 75

Unexpended appropriation for 1865, 1,123 05

Making the total revenue of the department, 1 $26,908 70 The total expenses of this department have been for general

repairs, $14,535 81, and for repairs of bridges, $1,310 91, 25,846 82

Leaving an unexpended balance of, - $1,062 08

The valuation of the property connected with this de- partment, including real estate, buildings, stock, ma- chinery, tools, &c., is $18,115.30.

The extension of Hermon street and the construction of a bridge under the Norwich and Worcester railroad, which was laid out and commenced in 1865, has been continued during the past year. The bridge has been built at a cost of $9,903.60; $2500 of which expense is to be paid by the railroad corporations. The cost of the land taken in the extension of the street, as assessed by the Board of Aldermen is $1,729.50. $300.00 have been paid to abuttors on account of the damages sus- tained by the alteration of the grade of the street. Other

claims for damage which it has been found impracticable to settle, have been referred to arbitration for their ad- justment.

The unsatisfactory manner in which the repairs of our streets were accomplished, the natural result of the de- fective, or perhaps want of any system in the work to be done, presented itself to the Committee having this de- partment in charge, in the early part of the year. Large sums of money have been annually appropriated and ex- pended upon repairs of streets, but without attaining the desired result. The increasing travel upon our most frequented streets, the continued bad condition of many, and the absence of suitable cheap material for construction and repairs, were facts that could not be controverted, and called for positive action. To remedy the general bad character of our streets, arrangements have been made, whereby a system of macadamizing has been adopted. This system, so generally used in con- structing the best roads in Europe, has, within a few years been adopted by almost every city in the State, and many of the smaller towns. A lease of three years has been effected with the Trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital, granting to the city the right to maintain the necessary buildings and machinery, and to take from their estate on Shrewsbury street, such an amount of stone as may be required for the streets. The advantage of possessing a ledge of stone so centrally located, with the most approved machinery for preparing it for use, will doubtless lead to the annual improvement of our streets, at a cost far below any other system of equal permanence and desirability.

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Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1862-1866, Part 50

Author: Worcester (Mass.) Publication date: 1862 Publisher: The City Number of Pages: 1076

Author: Worcester (Mass.)
Publication date: 1862
Publisher: The City
Number of Pages: 1076