USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1867-1870 > Part 51
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OVERSEERS OF POOR.
21
ed be
of
Report of Overseers of the Poor.
To the Honorable, the Mayor and City Council :
GENTLEMEN : Again we present our Annual Report, and contrary to our usual notice that with the increase of our population there had also been an increase in the numbers of those amongst us who were not self-support- ing, we have the pleasure to announce that the actual number of those dependent on the city charities has not been so large the past as it was the previous year.
The cause of this has probably been the greater facili- ties afforded to many in obtaining employment, by the liberal appropriations made for the city improvements in the Sewer and Water Departments ; while vigilance in investigation of the cases of impostors, has also had its influence to some extent.
As has been stated before, our central location is the cause of bringing to our city a larger proportion of the floating population of this and other States, and proba- bly more vagrants are thus thrown upon us in proportion to our population than any other municipality in the State, and we consequently have a larger number of State Paupers to provide for.
Forty-one persons and families have been provided for under Section 25 of Chapter 71, of the General Stat- utes, which requires those bringing paupers here from other States to return them from whence they came; and all our railroad superintendents deserve the thanks of this community for their promptness in responding to the request of this Board in such cases, as in no one in-
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ce have they refused or demurred when called upon, ut cheerfully complied and without any questions.
Seventy-four persons having no settlement have been sent to the State Alms House at Monson, at an expense of from $1.45 to $5 each, in addition to various small amounts they had received in charity previous to being sent and while struggling with the adverse circumstances to which they were finally obliged to surrender.
And two hundred and ninety-seven other persons and families, also State paupers, have received temporary aid or partial support during the year.
Seventy-five different persons have been fully sup- ported for a part of the time during the year, and the average number has been thirty-three for the entire year.
Forty of them have been provided for at the City Alms House, eight at the Insane Hospital, and twenty- seven in private families and elsewhere.
Four hundred and ninety-six persons and families have applied for and received temporary aid or partial support, three hundred and eight of whom were males, and one hundred and eighty-three females; and of these persons two hundred and thirty-three were relieved for the first time, of whom one hundred and fifty-two were males and but eighty-one females ; sixty-four of these appli- cants had a settlement in this city, twenty-eight of whom were males and thirty-six females; thirteen of these were military settlements, and held by nine males and four females; and there were forty-seven who had a settle- ment otherwise, twenty-two of whom were males and twenty-five females.
Two hundred and twenty-one resided in the city, one hundred and five of whom were males and one hundred and sixteen females ; nine were insane-four males and five females.
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And in ada the many who were moderate drinkers of ardent spirits, and from which cause came most of their poverty and suffering, fifty-one, of whom thirty-six were males and fifteen females, were of con- firmed intemperate habits, and could not be safely trusted with aid in any shape that they could exchange for in- toxicating drinks.
The families comprised in the statistics above given consisted of nine hundred and ninety-seven persons; this is nearly two hundred less than the total number of the preceding year. In addition to these there have been two thousand and eighty-nine homeless wanderers provided with food and shelter at the Station House. "
To provide for the several cases above enumerated, there have been drawn at the Clerk's Office upwards of seven hundred orders on various persons, for food, fuel, and clothing, and there have been disbursed for weekly allowances in different sums to various persons :
In Cash, $475 18
For Groceries,
610 84
" Fuel,
578 25
" Furniture and Clothing,
92 62
" Medicine and nursing,
220 23
" Transportation of Paupers, 221 90
" Burials, 204 00
" Insane Hospital bills, 881 20
" Reform School bills, 589 54
" Aid in other towns, 60 00
" Postage, blanks, stationery, etc., 107 58
Total, $4,041 34
· The Alms House and City Hospital have been recently inspected, and the commendations that have been hereto- fore bestowed upon the Superintendent and Matron, Mr. & Mrs. John Farwell, were repeated-every thing in and about the premises, showing the neatness and
thrift for which they have so en noted, and which received the entire approval of every member of the Board.
The statement at the commencement of this Report, of a falling off in the whole number of those provided for, does not hold good as regards the numbers in the family at the Alms House-the whole number during the year has been forty, and the average for the same time, twenty-seven, while in 1868, the average number was but twenty-two.
During the year a neat and substantial fence has been crected around the Cemetery connected with the estab- lishment, its white painted pickets contrasting well with the evergreens with which the place had formerly been surrounded, and giving the assurance to those poor un- fortunates who are destined to spend the remainder of their days at this home provided for them by the City's bounty, that their ashes will be sacredly guarded should they be deposited within its enclosures.
Upwards of thirty rods of stone wall have been built on that part of the Farm near the old Boylston road, and the old dam at the same place has been removed, thereby avoiding the danger of freshets washing away the road at that place, which had so long been an annoy-
The Farm is also at this time well stocked, having thirty head of cattle and horses, all in fine condition.
Many additions of modern farming tools and utensils have been made, and show the results in well filled barns, while the troops of fowls that assemble and strut around them, are possessed of virtues to which we can attest.
The cellar under the rear part of the main building has been floored over with a coating of cement, making
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it much more suitable for the safe keeping of vegetables ; and the entire interior of the structure has been whit- ened and painted, and all its surroundings show the care and watchfulness bestowed upon them.
The valuation of the property at the Farm just taken, is as follows :
96 acres of cleared land at $80 per acre, $7,680 00
100 acres of wood and sprout land at $75, 7,500 00
26 acres near the Harlow place at $40,
1,040 00
50 acres in the Davidson pasture,
1,280 00
All the Farm Buildings,
21,000 00
Making the total value of the Real Estate,
$38,500 00
Farm, stock, tools, and produce,
7,493 00
Furniture and household goods,
4,449 61
Appurtenances of the Truant School,
371 00
Total valuation,
$50,813 61
And the valuation of 1868 was,
48,757 31
Difference in favor of 1869,
$2,056 30
The total disbursements at the Farm for the year have been, $7,752 59
And the receipts from products of the Farm, $1,406 62
And for Board of the Truant School, 1,541 83
Total receipts, $2,948 45
Making the net expense, $4,804 14
The expenditures of the the Department for the year have been as follows :
Disbursement at the Clerk's office, $4,041 34
Net expenses at the Alms House, 4,804 14
Salary of the Clerk of the Board, 1,000 00
Salary of Sup't of Alms House, 600 00
Salary of City Physician, 300 00
Total expenditures, 10,745 48
The receipts of the Department have been :
1.80
Appropriation by City Council, $11.000 00
Amount received from other towns, 413 00
Amount received from the Commonwealth, 324 84
Total receipts,
$11,737 84
Unexpended balance, $992 30 The Truant School has also been under the care of the Superintendent of the Alms House ; and under the tuition of Miss E. J. Parker, has received such instruction as has been thought best by the Committee having the school in charge, a full report of which will be presented by them.
The accounts have been kept separate from those of the Alms House, and are as follows :
Amount paid for Board, $1,541 33
Instruction and supervision, 400 00.
Clothing, Books, etc., 331 22
Total expenditure,
$2,273 05
Value of labor performed. 96 75
Net expenses, $2,176 30
Appropriation for maintenance. 3,000 00
Unexpended balance, $823470
The services of the City Physician have been in con- stant demand during the year, and he has responded to the calls upon him with a promptness which should be commended ; a report of which will be presented by himself.
There have been but two cases of small pox that this Board has been called on to provide for in this City, one of which terminated fatally, and both were colored per- sons having no settlement here.
The present year closes the term of service of two members of the Board of long standing-one of them
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its senior member, who has long and faithfully served as Chairman of its Committee on Finance, the other has acceptably filled the place of Committee on the Farm. We part with them with regret, hoping that the relations which have so long and pleasantly existed with them may be worthily sustained by the gentlemen who have been chosen as their successors.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE W. GALE, Clerk.
JAMES B. BLAKE, JAMES M. DRENNAN,
A. P. MARBLE,
GEORGE W. GALE,
JOHN C. NEWTON, GEORGE GEER,
Overseers of the Poor.
GEORGE W. RUGG,
DAVID F. PARKER,
WALTER HENRY,
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FIRE DEPARTMENT.
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REPORT
OF THE
Chief Engineer of the Fire Department.
CHIEF ENGINEER'S OFFICE, - Worcester, Jan. 3, 1870.
To the City Council :
Gentlemen-I respectfully submit to your honorable body my first Annual Report, in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance of the Fire Department, embracing such information as may be of interest, or will conduce to the welfare and benefit of the city ; presenting such suggestions, as in my judgment will improve this branch of the municipal service. It was my misfortune perhaps, to accept the duties of my present position at a time when the power, which for the last thirty-four years, had been vested in the Board of Engineers, was assumed by the city council. It had been so long conceded that the organization was quite independent of the city authorities, that it required a cautious exercise of power to bring the department to a harmonious realization of the relations that should" exist between those elected to govern and those ap- pointed to serve. There is, however, a growing impres- sion that the change was not only wise, but had become necessary. It has been my purpose to intro- duce into the service good reliable men, fully believing it is not necessary to be a rowdy in order to acquire
1.86
the reputation of being a good fireman; and I take great pleasure in saying that the Fire Department was never in a better state of efficiency, or possessed great- er ability to meet the just expectations of the property owners of the city than at the present time.
The houses in which the apparatus is kept are in good condition, and conveniently arranged for the use of the several companies occupying them, except those on Carlton and Myrtle streets. The waste water runs into the cellars of these, and the dampness shows its effect upon the timbers underneath the floors, and they are very much decayed. These cellars ought to be filled and stone flooring put in the same as in the other houses.
Most of the apparatus is in very good condition. Hose carriage, No. 2, should be improved at a small expense, and a new Hook and Ladder Truck built to take the place of the old one now kept on Carlton street which has been in use about forty years, and is not adapted to the necessities of the present day.
During the past four years, there have been erected a number of valuable blocks of stores and other buildings, five and six stories high. Our facilities for getting upon the roofs, or to the upper stories of these high buildings are quite insufficient in case of fire. It is hoped this matter may not be postponed until a fire demonstrates the wisdom of the suggestion.
A. house has just been provided at Quinsigamond for old Niagara Hand-Engine No. 3, to be manned by a vol- unteer company, which it is believed will add consider- ably to the protection of property in that village.
I wish to call your attention to the southerly portion of the city, which appears to me, not properly protected. There are besides residences, a number of large and
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valuable manufactories in that section, and no fire appar- atus south of Myrtle street, and no engine south of Front street. I would suggest the propriety of building an engine house at some point near the "Junction Shop." and locating there one of the steamers now kept in Bigelow Court. From there it could be easily taken across to Main street, or as readily go the other way to . South Worcester, or the "Island," and considerable time saved, should a fire occur in that direction. Nor do I think such a change would materially weaken the power of the department in the central portion of the city.
I think the time has come for the City Council to seri- ously consider the establishment of the Fire Alarm Tele- graph. In this matter we are behind the age in that spirit of progress which has been adopted, and regarded with great favor by all the leading cities throughout the country ; and as our city enlarges in area it becomes more desirable in order to complete that system which renders our organization effective.
I would commend to your favorable consideration the building of two reservoirs to be used exclusively for fire purposes, one in the vicinity of Grant square, and another in the neighborhood of the residence of Geo. Crompton, Esq. In both localities the hydrants would be useless in case of fire, and some provision should be made for a supply of water.
There has been during. the year, thirty-one alarms of fire-two of them were alarms that were needlessly repeated, and another caused by the inabili- ty to control the whistle valve at Washburn's Rolling Mill while blowing the six o'clock whistle one afternoon, last October. The amount of property destroyed by fire, as near as we could ascertain has been $44,635.00, which must be regarded as small when it is taken into
188
consideration that our city is so largely constructed of wood, and the extent of territory embraced within its limits.
The department now consists of one hundred and seventy-three men, and divided into eleven companies viz :
Three steamer companies, 12 men each 36
Two Hook and Ladder " 20 " 66 40
Five Hose Companies 10 " 60
50
One Hand Engine "
40 “ 40
Two Drivers,
2
Board of Engineers,
5
Total number of men, 173
In closing this Report I am constrained to say that the rates of insurance imposed upon our citizens are without a just regard to the facilities at our command in case of fire. Notwithstanding the large amount of money expended in introducing and distributing water to nearly all parts of the city, and nearly every large manufacturing establishment being supplied with all the necessary appliances for immediately extinguishing fires, the rates of insurance have very largely increased, and this too in the face of the fact, that a small amount or' property has been destroyed by fire. Again, in local- ities where the whole force of the department can be put into operation in the shortest possible time, and the best provided with water, the rates are the highest. It is often asked, and with some force, why all this expenditure without a corresponding benefit. Certainly the insurance of property in this city must be profitable to all such companies as take the risks. I submit whether it would not be good policy for the municipal government in her corporate capacity. to insure the
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property within certain limits, say the "mile circle" and then with special interest look well to the facilities for extinguishing fires, and the maintenance of a thorough- ly and well organized Fire Department, which now is under the absolute control and management of the city council.
Finally, permit me to thank the city council, and especially the Committee on the Fire Department for the cordial support given me in the administration of the affairs. of this department, also, the City Marshal and his associates for their co-operation and assistance at fires.
I am respectfully yours,
R. M. GOULD, Chief Engineer.
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1
PUBLIC GROUNDS & TREES.
REPORT
OF THE
Commissioners on Shade Trees and Public Grounds,
1869.
To His Honor, the Mayor,
and the City Council of the City of Worcester :
The Commissioners on Shade Trees and Public Grounds beg leave to present their seventh annual report :
At a meeting of the members of the Commission, holden on the 12th of March, 1868, a vote was passed to the ef- fect that any person who shall properly set out suitable trees in any street, opposite his or her land and within the limits of the city, shall receive the sum of one dol- lar for each such tree thus set out; provided, first, that the work be done under the direction of this Board, and, secondly, that the tree be living and the money be claimed in the month. of September next following the planting of any such tree.
Obviously economical as this plan appears, it is ad- vantageous otherwise also, inasmuch as to have shared in the expense of the planting, naturally creates an in- terest in the growth and preservation of a tree that is intended to contribute its shade and beauty to the sur- roundings of one's home or place of business. Interest of such a character it is always desirable to awaken and foster. While, however, the aforesaid vote has exerted a
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manifest influence in stimulating tree-planting in various directions, unfortunately for those desiring compensation, the conditions under which the offer of one dollar per tree was made, have scarcely in any one instance been complied with. Without previous consultation with any member of this Commission, persons have set trees where they pleased, and have demanded the bounty when they pleased. Of the streets thus decorated, some have been of no established grade, some have been obscure, some remote, and some only partially finished. Trees unsuit- able in size, or in some other respect, have been planted, sometimes too near together, sometimes too far apart, and sometimes at improper distances from the lines of the streets. Thus, what was intended to grow into an orna- ment, becomes from the first an obstruction, and almost a nuisance. Hence the claims for the compensation have been difficult to adjust. To give the full remuner- ation voted, would be, under the circumstances, mani- festly wrong ; to pay nothing at all would seem, in some cases, very nearly like a breach of faith. Thus, the Com- missioners have sometimes been perplexed on the one hand, and the tree-planters, dissatisfied on the other As, however, the vote establishing this bounty is not likely to be rescinded, those having an eye to the proferred com- pensation, should carefully bear in mind that this board does not obligate itself to pay anything whatever, unless one or more of its members shall have been first con- sulted in regard to the location, the variety, and the size of the trees to be planted, and their distance from the line of the street and from the nearest tree, on either side, in the same sidewalk. The application for payment, made in writing and signed by the person entitled to it, should be forwarded to the chairman of the Commission, in season for an inspection of the trees in the month of
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September, which is the time the Board has fixed, as being the earliest in which an opinion can be formed whether the transplanting has been a success.
There is very little encouragement to attempt to re- place, by any new planting, the fine, large and beautiful trees which, with each successive year, are gradually dis- appearing from the quarters of the city where the popu- lation is densest, and the movements of industrial activity are most crowded. In their construction, existence and maintenance, lofty buildings, cellars, sewers, pavements, water pipes, and gas pipes-and especially the frequent leakages of the latter-are all hostile to the healthy de- velopement of those living decorations, of which the loss is not the less to be deplored, because it cannot be prevented. Of the ancient trees in the compact portion of the city, some will soon have to be taken down, as in the decaying condition of their old age they, one by one, become dangerous to people passing beneath them. Some, also, of the younger and still healthy trees, will have to be sacrificed to the bustling improvements of modern times. Indeed, it may be regarded as a sort of necessity, in the growth of American cities, that, where brick and mortar, pavements, and underground conduits steadily increase their encroachments, trees are doomed. The law of the future promises nothing more favorable than that of the past. And so it must be,-wherever Business frowns, this Commission reverently bows its head and retires. Neither, on the other hand, do the cares and duties of this Board extend into half-finished streets, or where the tramp of travel scarcely suffices to disturb the green mantle of grass that stretches unbro- ken across the way. Nevertheless, such has been the growth of the city, that the boundaries within which this Commission may appropriately labor, have been, from its
196
first organization, considerably extended every year. Already, indeed, a public-spirited member of the Board may find occupation for all his leisure hours in the care of the public trees and grounds.
Wherever the enclosures around the school houses of the city are of sufficient extent, they might be rendered much more attractive and pleasant than they are at pres- ent, and this simply by a judicious planting of shade trees. Such a very desirable improvement has not been overlooked; and, within the past three years, a begin- ning has been made, rather experimentally than other- wise, in the grounds of the New Worcester; the Providence street, the Dix street, and the Pleasant street school houses. This Commission, however, will be nearly pow- erless to effect anything in this way, without the hearty co-operation of the school committee, and that of the parents and teachers of the children. That the grounds, and the buildings also, of the suburban schools, especially, are not to-day so neat and tasteful as to challenge admi- ration from the passing traveller, is not because of the trifling cost of appropriate ornaments, but rather for the reason that the taste of the community in the immediate neighborhood has not been sufficiently cultivated for such a manifestation. The people in the least wealthy dis- trict in the city might easily convert the small enclosure around their school house into a beautiful little park. They might also enlarge the area of the ground, if they chose, and thereby impart more dignity and effect to their decorative improvements. Nor would such labor be altogether barren of utility; for, within and around the school room, every refining influence, indirect though it be, is in the nature of a blessing, which is not less real because it may not have been hitherto appreciated. It is for lack of purpose more than of pecuniary means
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that embellishments like these continue to be indefinitely postponed. One exception to this state of things it is very gratifying to record. The praiseworthy example set within a few years, by the inhabitants of the subur- ban village of Tatnuck, in decorating their school grounds with a goodly number of fine trees, both evergreen and deciduous, is worthy of special commendation, as an en- couraging evidence of progress in the right direction. A solitary case like this, here and there, however, does not detract from the truth of the assertion that, elevated and intelligent as may be the stage to which our admira- ble civilization has already arrived, it must ascend into the regions of a more universal culture and refinement, before educational buildings and their surroundings will assert their claim to consideration among the ornaments that blend their charms with the scenery of the country.
During the period embraced within this report, a great amount of pruning has been accomplished, so that the public trees are now, for the most part, in such a well- kept condition that their branches do not obscure the street lights, or interfere with the conveniences of travel, except in a few remaining localities only. But, in this field of occupation there can be no permanent rest for the commissioners, while trees continue to be planted, and to grow. Nor will the labor itself become specially attractive, so long as its performance is annoyed by per- sons who claim to have a certain local interest, or quasi right of property in the public trees standing on the sides of the streets adjoining their estates. Of these dissatisfied citizens, one class unreasonably oppose even the slight pruning that is necessary to clear the streets from obstructions to travel; the other class, regarding the trees themselves as a nuisance, complain of any ap- plication of the saw or ax that is not so severe as to des-
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