USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1867-1870 > Part 63
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E. 40° S.
N. 29° E.
5 rods.
20 rods.
About North.
BURYING GROUND.
154 square rods.
14 rods.
12 rods.
S. 29° W.
11% rods.
E. 26 ° S.
OLD ROAD. (NOW MECHANIC STREET.)
[The above is a copy of the old plan on the town records, and represents very nearly the present boundaries and dimensions. Bridge street, NOW the S. E. boundary, was not then opened.]
Notwithstanding the encroachments since made for the laying of railway tracks and for some other improvements, the quantity of land still left within the enclosure must considerably exceed three-fourths of an acre. This burying ground, first occupied in 1795, may be regarded as hav- ing been closed somewhat more than thirty-five years ago. For the very few interments here since, ought to be considered as exceptional cases, where some last remnants of families have been gathered to their kindred dust.
Although it would be hardly appropriate to encumber this report with further details of this kind, it may, nevertheless, be stated here incidentally and as illustrative of the old style of doing business, that no deeds or memoranda can anywhere be found as evidence that the town ever con. vcyed the fee of the lots in this burial place. Hence were the remains of those interred herc to be voluntarily removed by persons duly authorized to take them away, the city would be left in unencumbered possession, and might make such disposition as it pleased of the ground va- cated. This cemetery, it must be admitted, is very densely crowded with graves. In fact, it had become, over forty years ago, almost too' populous for further occupation, so that in 1828, the town was obliged to purchase a fourth place of sepulturc. This latter-on the plain just ... cast of Washington square-now called the Pine Court Cemetery, like the first two above- named has been also an unforbidden playground for school children, from the day of the first interment there down to the present hour.
Approaching nearer to the subject under investigation, your committec find that the burying ground on Mechanic street contains, in round numbers, not far from thirty-five thousand square feet of land, which, if unencumbered and unrestricted as to any use to be made of it, might be fairly appraised at over $60,000. The quantity of land exceeds that of the Thomas street lot, but falls short, by considerable, of the dimensions of the Providence street, and the Woodland street playgrounds, being in fact only a little above the average of the enclosures around the large school houses recently built. The form, also, of the land is very convenient and well adapted to
8
N. 9° W.
1
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
the proposed use ; and the location is easily accessible as well as extremely central. The front of the ground looks pleasantly towards the south, and it is dry and elevated enough to be perfectly healthy. If a number of seltools for children of the Primary and Secondary grades were estab- lished here, to the exelusion of the higher grades, something perhaps might be gained in the ad- ministration of the schools, in addition to the advantages of educating these little children at but a short distance from their homes. Possibly, also, it might. in a measure, disarm any malignant opposition to the change under consideration, to be assured that only such as are said to be "of the kingdom of heaven," are to be suffered to play over the concealed graves that are to remain here.
Were there standing upon this ground, at the present moment. a school house of suitable size, three or four hundred scholars might be transferred to it to-morrow morning. without leaving half their number of vacant seats in the publie sehool rooms. In anticipation of certain objections that may be raised. it has been aseertained that the noise arising from various business in the rear of this cemetery is less than many people imagine; and it will be greatly diminished when the railways shall be removed from the vicinity, as they probably will be, before a school house could be finished and made ready for occupation. But-taking the worst prospective view of the case-should the annoying sounds of machinery and of railroad traffic continue unabated, and even be augmented by the paving of Mechanie street with stone, without the casy substitution of wooden pavements along the front of these premises, still. the whole combined hissing, clat- tering and rumbling around this ground, would scareely cxeced the confused noises which the Salem street schools, and those on Front street, especially, liave years ago learned to overcome or to endure without much complaint. In the training of navy apprentices, studying and recit- ing in the midst of hubbub and confusion, is regarded as essential discipline. Is it not just pos- sible that there is a tendeney to the opposite extreme in the drowsy stillness pervading some of our school rooms, where children's lungs become enfecbled for lack of any vigorous exercise ? Certainly, and however this may seem, it would be well worth while to submit to some trifling annoyance of the kind in question, rather than that such valuable land should remain not only useless, but likely very soon to become disgraceful to the city.
The building proposed is also very desirable, for the reason that it would furnish accommoda- tions for the schools in the Front street school house. In this way, the easterly side of the Old Common could be at onee cleared of a dilapidated nuisance which ought never to have been erected there, and for the removal of which everybody will rejoice to have provision made, before the extensive repairs already needed, shall become indispensable to its further occupation for edu- cational purposes.
Influenced by these considerations, and encouraged by a reasonable hope for the success of the scheme, your committee would suggest that, by a vote of this board, the City Council should be respectfully requested to give their careful consideration to the following propositions. with a view to such action in the premises as said council and the Commissioners on Public Grounds may hereafter decm expedient. These propositions arc-
First, That as soon as may be convenient, a plan of the Mechanic street burying ground should be carefully prepared. in such a manner as to show, so far as can be ascertained, the location of every grave, and the name of its occupant; and that as a precaution against loss or mutilation, two copies. at least of this plan should be deposited, for future consultation, in the office of the city clerk.
Secondly, That, excepting those to be removed entirely from the cemetery, all the grave stones, and other sepulchral monuments should then be buried one foot or more below the surface of the ground, just as those in the disused burial place on the Old Common were disposed of several years ago. So much, indeed, might be well worth undertaking, even without reference to any- thing further, but simply and specially for the reason that such a transformation of this burying ground into a sort of park, with open fenees around it. and convenient paths aeross it, would per- haps be the best possible way to protect the dead from constant exposure to insult, and the city itself from disgrace such as dishonored graves may reflect upon the neighboring homes of a civil- ized people.
Thirdly. It is recommended, as the next step in order, that a site within the limits of said ground should be selected for a school house of capacity sufficient to accommodate not less than four hundred scholars and that arrangements should then be made, or attempted to be made, with all persons specially interested-so far as they can be found-for the removal to Hope Cem- etery. or elsewhere. of so many of the bodies at least as lie within the space to be excavated for the foundations of the proposed building. Just here. if anywhere, it is apprehended, will be encountered the only real obstacle to the success of this entire project. It will, of course, be
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
of the utmost importance to proceed deliberately, cautiously, and with a scrupulous regard, not only for the riglits, but for the feelings of the surviving kindred of those whose final resting place must be changed. Reasonable compensation, where required, should be allowed; or, where relatives may prefer, the bodies should be properly removed at the public expense. What- ever shall be attempted toward the accomplishment of this very desirable improvement, the honor, as well as the welfare and embellishment, of the city ought to be kept steadily in view, and neither the success nor the failure of the undertaking should be stained by any act of injus- tice. All this, however, may be safely left with the departments of the city government to which this report, if accepted, should be properly referred. It remains to add here only, that all the essential features of the plan, hereinabove recommended, have been made known to the aforesaid Commissioners on Shade Trees and Public Grounds, and have received their unanimous approval as certified by the following communication : ,
COMMISSION OF SHADE TREES AND PUBLIC GROUNDS.
WORCESTER, MASS., Dec. 2, 1870.
Resolved, That in the opinion of this Commission, the occupation of the Burying Ground upon Mechanic street, for purposes of education, by the construction thereon of a handsome and com. modious school house, and the grading and adornment of the entire tract, with suitable fencing, would tend materially to rescue said Ground from its present shameful desceration and also relieve the city from existing and continued reproach.
Resolved, That this Commission tender to the School Committee assurance of their cordial co- operation in all fitting measures to give effect to the foregoing Resolve, it being understood that the discontinuance sf the school house upon the Common is an absolute condition.
ATTEST : EDWARD W. LINCOLN, Clerk and Sec'y of Commission.
To GEORGE JAQUES, of Sub-Committee of School Board.
For and in behalf of the Sub-Committee appointed, as above, GEORGE JAQUES. December 6, 1870.
VENTILATION.
The proper ventilation of school rooms is of such importance to health, and is so often discussed in communications to the daily papers, that some remarks on this hackneyed subject, may not be inappropriate here, to show the attention it has received and the difficulties attending it.
There is no lack of theories ; good practical results are not so plenty. Almost every school house in the city has been supplied with some attempt at a system of ventilation aside from the opening of windows, common to all. In some cases the system is ridiculously insufficient ; but the best results by no means follow the most elaborate outlay. Teachers are ex- pressly directed to attend constantly-every hour-to the tem- perature and ventilation of their rooms, using the best means at their command. At recess, when the pupils are out of doors,
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
and midway between recess and the beginning and the close of the session, when all are engaged in physical exercise, the windows may be thrown open and the air changed. So much, at least, all can do except on a very few of the coldest days ; and on these very days the air changes most rapidly, through the drafts of chimneys and the crevices around the doors. But this method is sadly insufficient. If any other has been pro- vided, it is the business of the teacher to understand its princi- ples, and day by day regulate it to suit the changing winds and temperature. On visiting an elegant school house in a neighboring city, the air was found very impure. The means of rapidly changing it, and securing a fresh, warm, pure sup- ply were at hand, but not used, because not understood. A committee of this board, visiting one of the finest school houses in New England, found an abundance of registers, passages and flues, for hot and cold air. But the principal could not tell which was for the ingress and which for the egress of air- which for hot and which for cold. In vain, the best system, unless it is used.
In a few of our older houses, small registers opening directly into the smoke flues, one near the floor and one near the ceil- ing, have been thought sufficient to change the air. The effect might be perceptible in a very small room occupied by only two or three children. It is to be noticed that all our houses are heated by stoves in the several rooms.
In some houses, as that on Salem street, a sheet iron smoke flue, which becomes heated, extends upward in the centre of a brick chimney. The draft within the chimney and around the smoke pipe, is sufficient to withdraw a constant current of air from the school rooms through registers near the floor and near the ceiling. Fresh air is supplied through an opening in the outside wall of the house, connected by a wooden tube with a hole in the floor beneath the stove. It is heated as in an ordinary portable furnace, and enters the room as high as the top of the stove. These stoves are not good heaters, and are not easily managed; the air is removed from the room only at one point, and that near the centre of the house; and
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
the smoke pipes are soon destroyed by rust. But copper pipes might be used, and a furnace or steam radiators might take the place of the stove. At least a constant change of air may be had whenever the fire is kept up. On this principle the Thayer street school house at Providence is ventilated, with very satisfactory results ; and on the whole we have in opera- tion nothing superior to it.
In the Dix street house we have the Robinson ventilator. This consists of a tube twenty or thirty inches square, leading from the ceiling of the room upward through the roof, above which it rises several feet. It is covered with a kind of hip roof with eaves .projecting several inches beyond its walls. Through the whole length of this tube, vertical partitions di- vide it into four parts. As the air in the room becomes heated it rises through one or more of these tubes, and the heavier external air descends to restore the equilibrium in the room. The wind, also, striking against the sides of the ventilator on the top of the building, is reflected and strikes against the pro- jecting roof above and thence is again reflected downward through the tubes, the hot air rising in the remaining tubes on the opposite side, Such is the theory of this apparatus. But in several of the houses where it is used, only two of the four tubes extend to each room ; and where it is properly applied the good results are not marked. The fresh air enters the room at a low temperature, and both the ingress and egress takes place in only one part of the room.
In some of the newest houses four registers through the floor, in different parts of the room, are connected by passages between the sleepers leading to a ventiduct, which extends hori- zontally across the building above the entries, and then verti- cally to cupolas above the entrance. Open sides with broad inclined slats admit the free passage of air through these cupo- las. The fresh air is admitted to the room through openings in the external wall near the stove, and, in the design, is to be heated in its passage by the stove. No provision seems to have been made for creating a draft upward through these cupolas.
Still another means of ventilation has been applied to some
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
of the old rooms. A series of glass slats in the form of ordin- ary blinds, is inserted in the place of one or more panes of glass in each window. As the air rises through the openings, it is distributed and shoots upward mixing with the air in the room, instead of striking in a single current upon the heads of those near it. Another series of glass slats at a short distance from each other, is secured in a frame which may be slid upward so as to close the openings.
In the new High School house, the hot air is conveyed by tin pipes to each room, from steam heated radiators in the base- ment. Registers through the floor, and passages between the sleepers, connect each room with a separate brick flue in which a jet of gas is to be kept burning. Thus a constant draft of air is taken from the room.
No one of these systems so far, as they have been put in operation here, seems free from objections. Fifty pupils in a room thirty feet square will vitiate the atmosphere in a very short time. To supply a fresh quantity at the proper tempera- ture as often as it is needed is expensive. Good ventilation cannot be secured without cost.
The conditions of wind and weather are so variable, that a system which works well at certain seasons, is deficient at other times. If we depend upon the action of the wind, on a calm day we must breathe impure air; if upon the rarification of air to produce currents, in summer when no artificial heat is necessary, or when the external air is warmer than that within the room, the air is unchanged. The greatest difficulty with ventilation is experienced in the muggy days of summer.
In discussing this subject the assumption is often made that all the air should be removed from the room near the floor, be- cause, it is said, carbonic acid gas which is thrown off by the lungs is heavier than air, and because the heated, upper air should be retained in the room. This assumption can be shown to be erroneous. There are impurities in all parts of an ill-ven- tilated room ; and from all parts the air should be withdrawn. drawn.
To secure a full supply of fresh warm air to a densely crowded room, in all kinds of weather, and at all seasons, there
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is only one reliable method-that is by means of a fan c machinery to force into the room every minute, as many feet as are consumed. This method is in use at the Insa. Asylum in this city, and at the State House in Boston. It is objectionable for its great expense and its impracticability in small houses. Whoever will produce some plan by which as good results can be secured in a practical and less expensive way, will be hailed as a public benefactor.
In speaking at such length upon so trite a subject, I have presumed upon an interest among our fellow citizens to know what has been attempted. If any improvement should result the effort will not be in vain.
SCHOOLS.
From the Course of Study which accompanies this report may be seen the gradation of the schools; and in the ques- tions used at the written examinations in April last, there is an indication of what attainments have been sought. But this course of studies is experimental rather than final-a platform from which to step to a more perfect system, not the system itself. Indeed, circumstances here are against any very close grading of our schools at present. No sooner does a new house furnish room for the rapidly increasing school popula- tion of any part of the city, than this opening of new schools disturbs more or less the classification of all the pupils in the vicinity ; and often the want of room interferes with a desira- ble classification still more. In some of the rooms two classes pursuing the studies of different grades are necessary. This happens oftenest with the fourth and fifth grades ; and in all the suburban schools, as well as in those in the borders of the city, from two to half a dozen grades are represented.
If all pupils who enter the lowest class of schools were to continue through all, the proper classification would be easy. There would be the same number of schools in each grade. But pupils are dropping out of school at every stage. The num- ber of schools must therefore diminish with the number of pupils, in advancing to the higher glades ; and the difficulty of
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
ning the proper ratio between these grades, is increased de constant accession of new pupils, and the increase of opulation in certain localities. It is not easy to secure such a classification of pupils as is desirable ; and "to secure uni- formity of instruction in all schools of the same grade" is a thing of the future.
The Training School has graduated twenty-nine teachers who are now successfully engaged in the Primary Schools of the city. At the present, eight young ladies are in training there, all graduates of our High School. The success of those who have enjoyed the advantages of this school, both in ob- taining situations and in filling them, would seem a strong inducement for those wishing to become teachers to avail them- selves of its privileges. But the school could accommodate a class twice as large.
Two causes seem to unite in keeping this school small. In the first place those who have completed a course of study which qualifies them to enter here, are unwilling to spend a year more in specific preparation for the work of teaching. They desire present employment.
In the second place, some may prefer teaching in a grade, other than the one for which, especially, this school prepares them ; and all see that we cannot always employ all the Pri- mary teachers who might be educated in that school. A school of this character, to meet our wants should not be lim- ited to a single grade of teachers, though this be the most im- portant ; its supply should not be drawn from a single city ; its influence should not be confied, nor should its graduates look for employment to one place.
The remedy then suggested for this evil of supporting a most excellent school, to do half the work for which it is fitted is, to broaden its aim so as to cover all grades, and to extend its territory so as to include the whole county. But this con- templates work which belongs not to this city but to the whole state. If this school were so enlarged, there would be always at hand a plenty of well trained teachers, not only for our schools, but for those of our sister towns. Let it not be for-
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gotten that the great need of this county now is a State Nor- mal School here; and let this legislature feel a throb from this central county, beating harder than Hartford and Erie, and deeper than the Hoosac Tunnel. The men at the state house can be made to see that schools are more important than rail- roads-that all material prosperity depends upon public intel- ligence and virtue ; and if they want proof, the Prussian guns proclaim the fact; for behind each gun in that wonderfully victorious army there is a brain ! And to these educated brains, not to the guns, the victory is due.
SCHOOL FOR SPECIAL INSTRUCTION.
In considering the present condition of the schools and their probable future wants, it appears that they might be greatly improved by a school of the above character, which would be an enlargement and modification of the present ungraded school. As now constituted, and in the hands of its efficient teachers, the ungraded school is doing an excellent work. Its sphere should be enlarged.
To this school we send, first, incorrigible truants ; who are assigned by the board of Overseers of the Poor, according to law, watched daily by the truant officer, and who are candi- dates for immediate promotion to the Truant School at the city farm ;- secondly, insubordinate pupils ; for whom a change of administration is desirable, to remind them that a change in their conduct is necessary, or because the superior skill of these teachers may prevail to subdue them ; thirdly, scholars who on account of sickness or poverty, or for some good rea- son, are very irregular in attendance at school; and lastly, young men and ladies more than fifteen years old, who work in the busy season and wish to attend school a part of the year only.
To the first two classes, it will be seen, the school has a penal character ; while to the last two, no such idea properly at- taches. And yet it is wellnigh impossible that the idea of penalty, which we wish should deter pupils from being sent there for the first two causes, should not also operate to keep out those who ought to go on other grounds.
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
The same idea is unpleasant to teachers who dislike the name of keeping a reform school when theirs is more largely of a different character.
The present arrangement is defective, then, because it throws together these two classes of pupils; and because it does not sufficiently provide for the last class, which might be and ought to be much larger.
The design of grading schools is to have, in one room, a class of pupils at very nearly the same stage of progress. Thus the explanation of a principle will not be lost upon any for want of previous knowledge; and the progress may be rapid. But in nearly all the schools, there are those whose irregular attendance seriously interferes with this. New pu- pils are constantly entering the schools from the country, where they have been taught a good deal of some things and very
little of others. Many more return to school after sickness or absence from town in the middle of the year, and find them- selves behind their own class and in advance of the one below them. Scattered through the schools there are numbers of Germans, French, Norwegians, and other immigrants who cannot speak English. Some of these are well instructed in their own tongue. It is interesting to see how well many of them can write. But they need to commence reading in the most elementary books; and so they must often be placed in a school of children much younger than themselves.
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